Kirjahaku

After VE Day in 1945 the British population returned enthusiastically to the road. But the cost and availability of both vehicles and fuel led to the post-war scene being dominated by motorcycles, most of them ex-military machines, eagerly snapped up for everyday use in an age when a family car remained just a dream for many. The British industry, meanwhile, was exhorted to 'export or die', and until well into the 1950s the majority of new British bikes were sold abroad. During this period, the industry - the largest and most important in the world - continued to develop new and exciting machines. Mick Walker tells the story of the British post-war motorcycle during this golden age of the industry. With the help of archive photographs and advertising material, this book conjures up a lost age of the British bike, of journeys to work by popping two-strokes, and trips to the seaside in the family motorcycle combination.

For the first half of the twentieth century, Great Britain led the world in motorcycle design and production, exporting its products to countries all over the globe. However, by 1960 this once-great industry had fallen into what was to be a terminal decline. During the 1960s and '70s Britain still manufactured a wide range of machines, but a combination of poor management, lack of investment, foreign competition (notably from Japan), and the arrival of the small, affordable car conspired to sound the death knell for most British motorcycles by the end of the 1970s. Mick Walker uses a host of colourful illustrations to explore the models produced by British companies and their foreign competitors, and explains what the industry did to fight its ultimate demise.

Bill Ivy had a steely determination to succeed, an almost fearless courage, which meant he never backed away from a challenge, and a love of fashion and fast cars. In this fascinating biography of Ivy, Mick Walker highlights that Ivy was certainly not only a great rider, but also a unique personality. Walker documents a fitting tribute to Ivy's life that will interest any motorcycle enthusiast. When Bill Ivy was fatally injured while practising for the East German Grand Prix in July 1969, motorcycle racing lost one of its greatest-ever competitors. As a tribute to Bill, leading motorcycle historian Mick Walker has written "Bill Ivy: The Will to Win". Bill Ivy was certainly not only a great rider, but also a unique personality. He had a steely determination to succeed, an almost fearless courage, which meant he never backed away from a challenge, and a love of fashion and fast cars. Although only 5ft 2in tall, he more than made up for his lack of stature by his immense upper body strength, which meant he could cope with any size of motorcycle from a 50cc Itom to a 750cc Norton-engined Matchless G15 CSR.It was as a member of the Yamaha factory team that he not only became World Champion, but also set the first 100mph TT lap record on a 125cc machine - only a decade after Bob McIntyre had first achieved this feat on a machine with an engine size four times larger! "Bill Ivy: The Will to Win" is a fitting tribute to one of the world's greatest-ever motorcycle racing stars.

This title is reprinted for 2011 - back due to popular demand. Mick Walker - leading authority on all forms of motorcycle sport - examines the long career of the quickest and most determined competitors of all time in this enthralling biography. In the late 1950's John Surtees was the dominant rider in top-level British and European motorcycle racing. A precocious talent, he began riding competitively on Vincents in the early 1950's, then REGs and NSUs and Nortons. He swiftly established himself as one of the quickest and most determined competitors. He confirmed his outstanding qualities as a rider when he won his first 500cc title for MV Agusta in 1956, and this triumph was followed by six more titles, three at 350cc and three at 500cc. From 1958 to 1960, he won by a huge margin. In this fully illustrated and in-depth new study, Mick Walker reassesses Surtees' remarkable record and explores the background to his achievement. He recalls Surtee's early introduction to the sport, his rapid development as a rider and his years of dominance. The technical side of Surtees' career - the bikes he rode and his considerable skills as a mechanic and engineer - is covered in detail.The book gives a fascinating insight into the intense motivation that often gave Surtees the edge over his rivals and laid the foundation for the success that followed. As a rider Surtees was not only exceptionally fast, safe and consistent, but he was also technically adept and innovative. His race preparation was meticulous and single-minded, and this professional attitude to the sport marked him out from his contemporaries.

This is a paperback reprint - back due to popular demand. It includes analysis of his greatest races and the changing technology of his bikes. It is an in-depth, richly illustrated biography of one of motorcycling's best-loved characters. Fourth in a series intended to cover the careers of the world's greatest motorcycle racing champions, "Bob McIntyre - The Flying Scot" tells the story of the man who never actually won a world championship - but certainly deserved to. In many ways he was the two-wheel equivalent of car racing driver Stirling Moss, who is seen as one of the greats in his sport although he never won an official world title. Well over four decades since his untimely death, following an accident that occurred while racing his 500cc Manx Norton at Oulton Park, Cheshire in August 1962, Bob McIntyre's memory lives on. An annual Bob McIntyre Memorial race meeting held at East Fortune attracts racing enthusiasts from as far afield as Australia. Not only was 'Bob Mac' a brilliantly gifted rider and self-taught mechanic, he was also a man of the people, someone who would always help a fellow competitor or take the time to sign an autograph or chat to a fan.He was also honest, loyal and modest; his word was his bond. Unlike the three riders already covered in this series, John Surtees, Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini, Bob Mac was very much a self-made man; someone who started from the very bottom and reached the very top in his chosen profession. He was the first man to lap the Isle of Man TT circuit, the most fearsome in the world, at over 100 mph; and this was just one of his great achievements. This in-depth account of his career focusses on the bikes and the races but also provides an insight in Bob's life away from the track. Lavishly illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs, it is a must-read for any motorcycling fan.

Various events contrived to bring about the cafe racer era, together with the advent of the rocker - and subsequently mod - cults. New motorcycles such as the BSA Gold Star singles and star twins, Norton Dominator, Royal Enfield Meteor and Constellation, Triumph Tiger 110 and Thunderbird and Velocette Venom created a new breed of enthusiast. Films such as Marlon Brando's The Wild One expressed, albeit in somewhat extreme form, the biker-as-rebel philosophy. Add to this the potency of that biggest of all pop music phenomena, rock'n'roll, and the ingredients were all in place.