Publisher's Synopsis
This book has its focus on the 60s and the 70s - twenty years that saw the biggest sales boom in the 100-year history of the motorcycle. Rhys Jones rode motorcycles throughout this period and he recalls the races, the legendary New Zealand riders, and examines the motorcycles that revolutionised the industry.There were more motorcycles on NZ roads in the 1970s than at any other period before or since. There was more technological advance and there was more emphasis on safety and protective clothing than at any previous time. Motorcycles became a much more acceptable, and respectable, form of transport and motorcycle sport reached a wider audience than ever before. The Japanese who revolutionised motorcycle design, manufacture and marketing spearheaded most of the initiatives.To understand what happened in the 1970s, the book traces the early years of motorcycles, and features notable riders and bikes in each period covered. It touches on the 80s and 90s with the record-breaking bikes pioneered by John Britten and the revival of the great British bikes of the 30s and 40s.;With a photo-essay treatment and introductory text at the beginning of each chapter, the book is largely a pictorial testimony of the times. Special boxed features look at important racing personalities and bikes from each era, with bold highlights to record races, times and records broken. Chapters follow a chronological order with the ground-breaking 1970s taking up the biggest section of the book.Rhys Jones is editor of Motorcycle Trader and News. He has had a 30-year career in film and television, as producer, presenter and journalist. He raced bikes, not very seriously, in the 1970s.
