Legendary Motorcycles

Basem Wasef sent me his book Legendary Motorcycles a few weeks ago and it's sitting on my coffee table already dog-eared from paging through it. I'm usually disappointed by coffee table books – all pretty pictures and no literary substance – but the stories here are stellar, placing the bikes in historical and cultural context with their owners and riders. I got a little thrill when I turned a page to find that Robert Pirsig's Honda CB77 Superhawk is included, the story puts the bike in context with his life and his book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Also included are are snapshots of Pirsig's son Chris and his friends John and Sylvia, all featured as fictional characters in the book. Wasef is a professional writer and motorcycle journalist and his love of motorcycling shows in the stories, from the Easy Rider Harley with the 43-degree fork rake to Burt Munroe's Worlds Fastest Indian. Anyone who is remotely interested in motorcycles will love these 26 stories accompanied by Wasef's beautiful photography and historical candid photos. Buy it here: Legendary Motorcycles: The Stories and Bikes Made Famous by Elvis, Peter Fonda, Kenny Roberts, and Other Motorcycling Greats Also, you can listen to Adrian Blake's interview with Basem Wasef on the Ride! podcast.