Just received a couple of new books in the CMG mailbox that might be of interest to the CMG readership.
Mondo Enduro tells the story of a group of seven British lads who decided (during a night in the pub) that traveling the globe on a bunch of Suzuki DR350s for a year would be a good idea. The trip took them from London across Europe, into Asia and to the east of Siberia. From there it was over to Alaska and down to Chile, then finally across to South Africa before heading home.
The book is a collection of the trip logs taken from all the riders as they circumnavigated the globe – and on a very limited budget.
This means that hotels and restaurants were not part of the deal, and as you’d expect, there’s lots of mishaps, setbacks and a good dose of British humour as a result.
Cost is US$29.95 and it’s available through Whitehorse Press (www.whitehorsepress.com).
Harley-Davidson Motorcycles – Everything you need to know is, as you’d expect, a book about Harleys and, errr, everything you need to know to fit right into the Harley lifestyle.
The book starts with a little history on the marque and then delves into how to buy the Harley that is right for you. It also explains why Harleys and their riders are different from other bikes and riders – something to do with a history stretching back to 1903 and the association with rebels and loners (although from my experience most Harley riders tend to be lawyers and like to ride in groups).
Still, it’s not a book aimed at anyone other than the Harley faithful, so there’s really no need to waiver from the standard script. And of course that script wouldn’t be complete without sections on how to customize your Harley, what to wear (black is always good), how best to tour, performance, maintenance and finally some riding tips.
Now it would be easy to dismiss this book as your usual "freedom in the wind/riding my Hog like the ghost rider" piece of crap that is all too common. Granted, it does have some elements of that, but it also throws in a lot of general info that really applies to any motorcyclist and with a relatively unbiased/chatty attitude to boot.
If you have a tattoo of an eagle on your arm, like to dress in black and think that any bike is a good bike as long as it’s made in Milwaukee, then you could do a lot worse than add this book to your collection. In fact, we’d hazard a guess that it’s likely to be one of the more useful ones you’ll have.
Harley-Davidson Motorcycles – Everything you need to know is published by Motorbooks and retails for C$29.95 and can be ordered directly from their website at www.motorbooks.com.
