Popular motorcycle journalist and author Mark Zimmerman brings a comfortable, conversational tone to his easy-to-understand explanations of how motorcycles work and how to maintain them and fix them when they don’t. This practical tutorial covers all brands and styles of bikes, making it a perfect companion to the owner’s service manual whether you need to use the step-by-step instructions for basic maintenance techniques to wrench on your bike yourself or just want to learn enough to become an informed customer at your local motorcycle service department. This book includes more than 500 color photos and a thorough index to make it an especially user-friendly reference for home motorcycle mechanics of all skill levels.
I must say that I was disappointed at the misleading title of this book. I thought that it was more about maintenance issues, but instead it tries to cover the basics of “how a motorcycle works”. I can think of MUCH better books on this topic, such as Kevin Cameron’s “Sportbike Performance Handbook”, which despite its title, really is more about motorcycle technology. Another great book on the topic would be Gaetano Cocco’s “Motorcycle Design and Technology”.
The maintenance sections in this book suffer from being squeezed into the margins, with fairly small photographs, so that it is sometimes difficult to see what the author is really talking about. Of course, one cannot really fault this book alone, since most books on mechanics appear to suffer this fault.
Bottom line: It’s mostly about “how a bike works”, and there are much better books out there on that subject. Too bad it doesn’t cover maintenance in greater detail.
I found this book to be very informational and practical. The information contained in this book can be easily understood at first reading. There is no need to have a mechanical degree in order to understand how the parts work, or how to maintain them. (On a side note: The author was even kind enough to reply to my email question…thus, I very highly recommend this book). Thanks Mr. Mark Zimmerman.
This book was well thought out and goes through a logical procession of maintenance/repair items. Some typo/grammatical errors dispersed throughout the book, but not enough to lead the reader astray. What I thought best were some of the items covered that I never would have thought of as needing maintenance, much less being VERY important (ie., steering head bearings) – and I have been riding for nearly 30 years! This book almost makes you WANT to get dirty and dive into repairing your bike. Even if you don’t do your own maintenance, this book alerts you to issues that should be addressed by your mechanic, and allows you to be a much smarter motorcycle ‘consumer’.
I’ve had no real initiative to understand how motors work until recently purchasing a bike. Part of this is born out of wanting to avoid overpaying local service people for work that truly may not be done well or completely. This book does a wonderful job at laying out the theories and the practicalities of every subdivision of motorcycle mechanics, w/ extremely helpful multi-color pictures everywhere, including many step by step photos.
I was able to change out my brake lines after I read the chapter on braking- I actually understood hydraulic brakes, and successfully did a job in an afternoon w/ hand tools that would’ve cost me hundreds.
The author’s enthusiasm is contagious, and I’m finding that this book is part of a growing impulse to spend as much time as possible with my toolbox and my Ducati. Highly recommended for the novice or the expert!
While the author clearly knows what he is talking about he isn’t great at making things clear, especially to the total beginner like myself.
Diagrams and pictures are dotted haphazardly around the book, often 2-3 pages before or after the paragraphs they are meant to illustrate. Some terms are used but not explained and there are several mistakes that even the most cursory of proofreads would have uncovered. Especially the ‘how to’ section on replacing sprockets; when letting you know what tools would be required it said ‘all the tools for replacing a chain’ plus a few others. Of course the section on replacing the chain was omitted! This isn’t as big a problem as it would seem as you can figure out how to do this most basic of maintenance tasks from the ‘replacing sprockets’ section, but it smacks of carelessness.
On the whole it provided me with lots of useful info and the ‘how to’ sections are well-illustrated and, for the most part, clear and easily understood. It will provide you with an understanding of how all the sections of your bike work and slot together. However I have read clearer descriptions on the internet of how some of the sections work (namely the engine and gear box) and I’m sure there are other books out there which will be of more benefit to the beginner in that respect. Also it provides you with plenty of general ‘how to’ sections but again I’m sure that these must be covered in other books, possibly without the use of so much jargon (or at least with explanations for it).
In conclusion I find it useful and I’m unlikely to buy another general maintenance book to replace it, however if I were given the choice again I would choose some other manual.
I found this book to be a very good beginners book on motorcycle maintenance. If you know little to nothing about how to care for your bike, or if you are interested in riding, you’ll get a great idea on how much maintenance it will take to keep your machine running smoothly. The book has great “How To” sections and pictures, and defines things in easy to understand terms. If you already know how engines and other systems work in vehicles, pick up your motorcycle specific Service Manual instead, as you’ll find yourself reading things you already know. If you have both this book and your service manual you and your motorcycle should be happy for a very long time.
This book is absolutely awesome! Zimmerman has a nice, easy to read style of writing. His explanations are clear and concise, with great diagrams. Best of all, he doesn’t take himself to seriously. He goes to great lengths to make it all seem so easy. I’d recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand how every aspect of a motorcycle works,want’s to perform their own manitenance, or at very least wants to understand why the dealer is charging them so much for the repairs. In my opinion this one is top shelf.
This book tells it all. From the first chapter on the basics of the internal combustion engine all the way through the details of brake systems and suspensions. Mr. Zimmerman’s knowledge of his field is apparent in the way he presents the infornmation on each topic. Illustrations and diagrams are very inforative and easily understood.
I’m also giving the book to my 14 year old son so he can get a good base of knowledge to work on his own bikes.
Great job!
As a writer of an Internet advice column for women motorcyclists (VTwin Mama), The Essential Guide for Motorcycle Maintenance is my new bike Bible! Now I can answer technical questions with confidence (noting the sourece of course) and point people in the right direction. Along the way I’m picking up tips for my bike as well. This is a must have book for anyone who rides . . . the more you know about how a bike works, the better chance you have out the road when things go wrong!
wow where do i begin. first off im a student at mmi (motorcycle mechanics institute)which has campuses in both phoenix and orlando. i bought this book to supplement my education and honestly it was a great purchase. its very easy to read and understand the first time through whether or not you have previous motorcycle knowledge of which i had none or you are experienced in mechanics. the theory section is an absolute must and just as thorough as the notes i received at mmi. the photos are great much better than youd find in your average factory manual and if you have no mechanical experience forget about trying to read one of those. factory manuals are written for “seasoned” techs. mark zimmermans book is written for both the average joe biker or someone with plenty of experience. he even takes the time to put in tips such as “what to do when you strip a bolt”, “how to torque a bolt” and much more. overall im very impressed i have yet to find a section that i felt was inadequate. other books i have found dance around the subjects and dont give you the information you need. this book hits the nail on the head everytime…..thanks mark