[.ca] Motorcycle Handbook (ISBN 0801990998)

Typical Chilton detail:
This book, like all the other Chilton books I've purchased in the past, are informative and well illustrated. It contains many photographs, but often they are fuzzy or dark, and the parts shown are often not clearly depicted and not placed in context very well. It would help if you were already a mechanic, and knew the machine in question. Not an adequate book for the amateur trying to perform an appendectomy on the first try. This one is no exception. It is a generic motorcycle book, and not specific to any particular motorcycle, but it is helpful and a lot cheaper than the Clymer books that do cover specific bikes and model years. I think it is a book that everyone who has a bike should have in their library, for reference. ...

Good Starter Manual to Motorcycling:
This is about as basic a book as you will find on motorcycle mechanics without being too trivial to be of use. Plenty of pictures and diagrams for the visually-inclined. The troubleshooting section ("what do I do if the bike does this...?") is excellent. The book also covers the wider aspect of motorcycling like what to wear, what kinds of equipment you should carry on your bike, etc

Every new motorcyclist should have this book:
It's chock-full of information, with answers for all those "stupid" questions you're too embarassed to ask anybody else. Plus, great general info on basic repairs and maintenance.

A strange combination; better books are available:
This book combines step-by-step repair and maintenance and troubleshooting sections with chapters on choosing a motorcycle (mainly a series of pictures of different bikes with short comments), choosing riding clothing, accessorizing your bike, and other miscellaneous topics. It's written in an opinionated first-person style. I found it somewhat superficial. For learning how a motorcycle works, I would recommend "Motorcycle Basics Manual" published by Haynes; for repair step-by-steps, get the manual for your make of bike; for souping up your bike, "Sportbike Performance Handbook" is more informed and explains the why and how behind the conclusions; for riding wear and technique, I'd recommend Hough's "Proficient Motorcycling." After reading these, if you just have to read something else, this book is not bad.

A Useful Resource- But Not A Substitute for Other Sources:
Chilton's Motorcycle Handbook is a very good resource. It is, however, very broad in range and narrow in scope. Which is to say that a wide variety of topics are covered, but none of them are incredibly detailed. If you are in the market for a book on general motorcycling, I'd recommend The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence. If, however, you want information on how and why your bike works as well as maintenance tips, there is no substitute for a shop manual or, if the shop manual is unavailable, a Clymer book for your model. This book would be of interest if you are interested in killing all those birds with one stone using a less adequate substitute.