Every motorcycle owner can now save money on those regular maintenance jobs with this step-by-step guide to general maintenance covering all types of machines, from scooters to superbikes. Superb photos show in stages how to successfully complete all basic repair and maintenance tasks. Full-color illustrations. 
This is a very basic maintenance book. Like someone told here, a compilation of several user’s manuals. Very well illustrated, nice pics, good advices, but falls short in going into the deep issues of bike maintenance. Buy it only if you’re quite new to motorcycling.
I was expecting much more from this book. It did cover the basics of most maintenance items, but it is a far cry from the manufacturers maintenance/service manuals. If you are completely inexperienced in mechanics I think it would be a good book.
Hugo Wilson has put together the essentials for learning to maintain a UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle;) though many of his techniques apply to many or even most bikes, his examples are all Japanese models, such as Yamaha, Honda & Suzuki.
This small book has many attractive, full-color photos, showing exactly the bits in question, and the tools used to fix them. There are also areas which explain the basics of how items like spring/damper suspension units work, which many people new to the inner workings of motorcycles will surely find interesting.
Wilson’s text is easy-to-follow, and informative. The book may contain some information that well-acquainted riders don’t know, but is, I believe, most useful for those who are relatively new to maintaining their bikes.
Although I consider myself a pretty proficient backyard mechanic, I’ve never owned a bike before so I decided to add this to my Clymer manual that covers my exact model. What a great combo! The Clymer covers the specifics of my bike while the “Motorcycle Owner’s Manual” covers basics of all bikes and has excellent sidebars on how things work. I especially liked the explaination of the two-stroke engine and the four-stroke as used in a motorcycle. Plus, if I ever sell my Suzuki, I have a general manual that will still be useful for my next bike.
Your new motorcycle came with an owner’s manual. Why in the world would you need a more general one?
If you are like me, you do not really know very much about motorcycles other than how to ride one. The manufacturer’s owner’s manual assumes more knowledge than you really have, and encourages you to get professional maintenance for all but the most routine matters. But if you love your motorcycle (and who doesn’t?), you want to take good care of it.
Here’s where Mr. Wilson’s guide is valuable. It simply explains keeping your motorcyle clean and safe. It also provides good background on how motorcycles are designed and the parts work. Even if you never plan to do any repairs, you will find this interesting. The photographs are very clear and detailed, and allow you to see what he is talking about.
My only complaint about the book is that some of the explanations assume a level of knowledge above what I have. “If you can rewire a plug, you can work on your bike.” Well, I still don’t know what “rewiring” a plug is, even after reading the book. My guess is that he is referring to adjusting the gap for the spark, but I’m not sure.
I did come away with a sense of what needs to be done with motorcycles. I recently read a similar book by the same publisher on bicycle maintenance. I found that there are more differences than similarities between bicycle and motorcycle maintenance. Also, because you will be riding your motorcycle at higher speeds than a bicycle, I came away thinking that professional maintenance is not such a bad idea.
The economic benefit from this book will come mostly from helping you be more aware of the importance of preventive maintenance (so you are more likely to do it) and spotting repair needs before they become more expensive. But I doubt if all but the most ardent do-your-own-repair people can hope to recover their money by owning this guide right away. Rather, the return will mostly come from improved knowledge and the comfort you have in knowing that your motorcycle is safer because of your enhanced awareness.
How much conscious competence is valuable to you? You probably don’t know much about electricity, but you can turn on the lights. I suspect that you can improve your enjoyment of life if you learn more about how things work that you love . . . and use all the time. A good place to start is to seek out books like this one that explain and photographically illustrate the basics in simple ways.
Have a great ride!
I give this a 5-star for the fact that it’s clear and understanding and will be very helpful for someone starting out or interested in motorcycles. Wether your young or older and have no background on mechanics, this book will teach you the basics, and you wont have to kill yourself trying to figure out how to do something, because this book makes it easy. Its how a book should be.
Its for beginners of course, not for people who already know this stuff and still post bad reviews because they think there should be more, duh! what do you expect!
The author did a fine Job, my hats off to ya….
It is not that this book is really bad in anyway, but it is very basic and only skims the surface. A nice little introduction, but if someone is really going to do maintenance on their cycle, they need a book specific to that bike.
This is a well written book for those wanting to know how a motorcycle actually works. The author states that ” this guide should be used in conjunction with an owner’s manual” and he is absolutely correct. Basic maintenance is well documented and the photographs are fantastic. A worthy addition to any motorcyclist’s library.
As a neophyte to mechanics, this gave me an introduction to motorcycles. Not one to just loosen bolts and see what is underneath, this proved to be a helpful and descriptive book with illustration. Anyone who has used and enjoyed the DK Publishing Travel Guides will appreciate the structure.
Note: There is only general information about how or why things work.
I’m new to bikes (3,500) miles and even newer to bike terminology and design. Placing a handle on motorcycle language, design and parts, and concepts comes fairly easy with this short and simple book. I’m giving 5 stars because of Hugo’s simplicity, clarity, and useful graphics. As such, his overall presentation is very comprehensible by the average reader. It will take the inexperienced rider-mechanic from ground zero to a respectable distance up the learning curve, considering the cost and time required by the text. I do recommend it for the novice, especially the electrical explanations.