First of all, Amazon’s photograph of this item is misleading. The book is 12″ wide and 10 1/2″ tall. This is important, because the wide format allows the numerous full-page photographs of the motorcycles to be viewed in the proper perspective.

Secondly, the quality of the photographs is spectacular. It’s one thing to see a crystal clear studio photo of a brand new bike in a brochure, but to see all of these incredible motorcycles photographed this way is a real treat.

Thirdly, the motorcycles in the collection go well beyond the usual suspects. The early-century singles and twins are there, of course. But there are also several pages devoted to their early bicycles. Military and racing bikes (vintage and modern) are also featured. The biggest surprise (to me) was the nice little selection of 1960′s Aermacchi lightweights. Most Harley people choose to ignore these bikes, but they are part of H-D’s history, and deserve to be included in their archive and this book. The AMF era is well-represented, including an experimental 1100cc OHC Twin in a triangulated frame that looks more Japanese than Harley-Davidson. There’s definitely no shortage of modern-era machines, up to and including the 2008 Buells.

At Amazon’s current price of $35, you get about 400 pages of georgeous photographs and concise summaries of H-D’s motorcycles through the years. There’s much, much more to this book than this little review can cover.

Nearly everything sold in America is produced in China, and that includes this book. Personally, I wouldn’t mind paying more money for a book that was printed by men and women in North America. But that’s just me.

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New England Yankee (Northern New England) –

  

What this book is NOT: It is not just another pretty HD picture book of the type that floods the transportation section of your local bookstore. It is not a customization book, a chopper book, or any of the other familiar genres.

What it IS: This book is a high-quality, comprehensive “catalog” of Harley-Davidson’s motorcycle collection, much of which is on display at the new museum. Extensive descriptive notes accompany each entry, and the photos are stunning. Because the collection itself is extensive and this book covers all of it, this single volume covers more HD topics like engines, frames, company history and marketing, etc. than any book out there. While this would make an excellent coffee table book, it is actually much more, and I’ve spent many hours reading through it.

Between the quality and coverage you can’t go wrong. This is the HD history book to buy. Amazon’s price is excellent – I doubt you will find better.

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