Just bought the Adventure Motorcycling Handbook...
 

Hi All!

Well I'd heard so much about it and finally on Saturday I treated myself to a copy of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook. How brilliant a book is that?! I swallowed it whole and it has completely ignited my dreams of riding across Africa at the earliest possible opportunity!

A great balance of practical info and anecdotal stuff from people who've been out there and done it. I am now utterly inspired!

Just need to get my full motorbike licence and then I'm off towards the horizon, yeeHA!!!

Jeanie :mchappy:

Yes, he's got a lot to answer for. :biggrin3::biggrin3::laugh:

That's where it starts :clap:

My copy is now rather well thumbed. I'm glad to say it's now the travel section that's as equally well worn as the pictures of shiney boxes and discussion on the merits of various bike and tyres. If you treat the book as a shopping list as I did at the start rather than as the general guide it is, you'll advance no quicker towards easy rides in interesting places. Spent your cash on petrol IMHO until you see if you need the stuff in the pictures.

You'd think after being the main reference work on the subject for so long, Chris would be due some sort of reccognition. I wonder if there is some sort of literary prize we could vote him up for?

Good look with the bike test and enjoy it :mchappy:

Andy

Yeah... I read his book over quite a few times back when it first came out. It was a great "bible" for me when I was just starting out in all this lunacy.

The travel stories in the back really got me wanting more too. They were fantastic !!

I wonder if a new edition is planned / published ???

I took mine to Dakar Motos where it sits in his travel Library. That's if it hasnt been "half inched"

I had a flick through the Haynes Adventure bike book too.. Very much a coffee table book for a BMW dealership. Nothing more ! Save your cash.

being dyslexic, i have to listen to audio books,
just riting on forums is hard enough, so i either get my GF or freinds to read the book or dont bother

Quote:

Originally Posted by *Touring Ted* (Post 296726) I had a flick through the Haynes Adventure bike book too.. Very much a coffee table book for a BMW dealership. Nothing more ! Save your cash.

Now I really liked it. And think it's very usefull in particular for people with next to no dirt riding experience and if you prefer the more scientific approach rather than the 'sit behind me and do as I do' approach.

I recommend it together with the Adventure Riding Instruction DVD.

We had this discussion when it came out. I'm with Ted, IMHO the Haynes one looked and read (had five minutes with a demo copy, so this is not a 100% fair recview) like a BMW/Touratech/other manufacturers advertising in an expensive hard cover. I don't think you can get dirt experience out of a book and the idea you must have a 21-inch front wheel for the dirt and must have over 900cc for the road and must have...... is over simplistic.

To keep the book review thread going I'd give 10/10 to Jupiters Travels and 9/10 to Lois on the loose. Lois only lost a point for not using a Triumph :oops2:. Both to me concentrate on the doing more than the having, while AMHB is a good balance and the Haynes book less so.

I've yet to get my hands on Lois in Africa or Dreaming of Jupiter. The less said about Zen and the Art (-15/10, it's self indulgent papp) the better.

I guess a lot of this is about how you take in information.

Andy

Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintainence is a novel, not a handbook, so it's not really fair to look at it in the same way as the AMHB.

By the same token, Jupiters Travels is also a travel book, not a guide.

Both are pretty self indulgent and surely your enjoyment of these books is subjective as they are more concerned with a philosophy of life and travel rather than providing overlanding advice and tips. BTW, I enjoyed both :biggrin3:

Personally, I found the first half of AMHB immensly useful, but thought the second half (travellers tales) a bit pointless and lightweight.... I'd rather buy and read the whole of Lois on the Loose (et al) rather than just an extract. I'd love a revised edition with the first half updated and expanded.

Just the oppinion of a man that is bouncing of the walls at work

I believe a new version of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook is in progress, but no idea of the timing.
I learned this over a year ago so it might be a little nearer now!

There is a Russian language version of the current book available.
In Russia the cost is about half of the English language book in UK.
There is a translator credited on the opening page, who presumably did it for a fee or royalty, so somewhere along the line this appears to be yet another example milking money from the AM Wannabees (but probably Neverwillybees) in "Rip-off Britain".

I wasn't saying you get 'dirt experience' out of reading a book. But it does have the possibility to teach complete noobs the basics of body position, balance and bike control. Something most people don't know a thing about. Particularly in an environment where there is next to no opportunity to ride in the dirt. Which is most people that start a RTW trip I reckon.
Interesting argument that you don't need a 21" front wheel for dirt riding. Since it's standard equipment for anything that is serious about riding the thing on the dirt. Not just a couple of green lanes between 500km of tar.

Personally I think this site and other sites supersede the AMHB. I took it with me on my first trip before I discovered this site. Now I don't any more.

Which is why the web has indeed superceded the books for really good info as you say. You say the bikes have 21-inch from wheels so they must be necessary, I say BMW R's and F's, Triumph Scramblers, the odd Harley, Suzuki GT's, Ted Simons Triumph, Enfields all managed just fine on 19-inch and 21-inch is meant for blokes who ride in small circles at the weekend just to see who can go nowhere the quickest. Sure knobblies really really help and 21-inch is the standard MX spec so the choice is greater. If you write the book the reader (assuming they take the writen word as fact) buys an oversize MX bike and tries to make it suitable for the 500Km of tarmac, if I write it they might start from the other direction. (If an actors ghost writer wrote it they head for the BMW show room :nono: :rofl:). If we both post here they get both points of view and decide what suits best.

There is still something nice about paper that laptops don't have though. My limit for the net is less that the battery life on the lappie. I can spend whole days with a book and the radio and come out feeling more relaxed. Maybe electronic readers will be a half way house?

Andy

It depend on your needs, but it seems to me that your idea of dirt it different from my idea of dirt. I wouldn't want to take a bike with a 19" designed for my back yard if all engineers in the biz design them with 21". 'Getting by' is not what I'm looking for if there is a good alternative.

As a newbie rider, I really got the AMH as inspiration - the mix of practical advice and anecdotes/riders' stories is the perfect introduction to the whole world of adventure motorcycling, I think, and unlike the internet, I can carry it around all the time in my rucksack! I'm sure I'll outgrow it in favour of other sources of infoas time goes on, but as a book to inspire, excite and ignite dreams, it's pretty damn good, I'd say!

Jeanie :mchappy:

Cough, Cough. Who's that good looking bloke on the front cover chatting up the local Shielas? I bet they thought he was sooooo handsome :innocent: Balls of steel too, I bet.:eek2:

Yes, that book is a good place to start and a good read :)

I'm waiting for someone to come out with a book that you can jack your bike up on!

I usually want as many of the things I take as possible to be dual purpose so using the book as a jack cushion would fulfill that. Maybe if the paper was softer and more absorbant you could get three uses out of it. You'd never get that from the internet :rofl: :rofl:

Uses for a copy of the AMH!
 

Chris, the whole reason I bought the Adventure Motorcycling Handbook WAS the guy on the front cover, hahaha! Looks like he'd already scored though, chatting up those two Tibetan (?) ladies...

And as for multiple uses for the book...mine's already doubled up as a fly swatter, a placemat, and a useful way of propping doors open while moving furniture in and out of my flat. Beat THAT if you will!! :laugh:

Jeanie:mchappy:

Hi all, just found this while looking for the long-lost Russian version. Thanks for the feedback. I can tell you that AMH6 has gained 100 pages and will be in the shops in October.
It took a while - I blame the Olympic traffic lanes.

As for 19/21. For overland travel which is mostly road and easy track, I've come to the belief that 19 front is a great compromise, depending in the tyre. On the road it's more roadbike-like - and on easy, dry piste I really couldn't tell any difference on a loaded 200kg GS twin the other month. I've since fitted 19" Heidi K60s to my own frankenbike (OE: 17").
For dirt racing of course it's different, you want every advantage. And if I were heading out on a big trip with piste or x-country as a focus, such as Algeria or Siberia or hardcore Congo, I'd put up with 21, but suspect bike lightness and tyre choice would have more significance to dirt handling.

Ch

Nice one. Will there be an electronic version?


I wonder where TMotten is these days? That was a fair old ding dong we had back in '10 but nice and civilised just like it should be. bier I hope he isn't stuck in central Australia somewhere courtesy of an oversize front wheels highway performance :innocent: :rofl:.

Just about to put the Wee on K60's. They changed the Bonneville from survivable to useable so I'm hoping for good things although not MX performance.

Andy

Hi Andy, yes, e-version is on the cards for 2013.

One thing I've just found is that the original 'chevron-bar' Scout K60 fitted F&R appears to have none of the bedding-in quirks of the solid-centre-bar Catspaw version I use on the back of the BMW. The Catspaw looks less off-roady but AFAICT is intended for more powerful bikes which might squirm about on the chevroned Scout.
But anyway, after a few hundred miles both tyres were normal.

Ch

Dyslexia.
 

Hi Chris, I had thought about how to help dyslexics get the benefits of all the information in you book. I couldn't think of anything really. Making a speaking book would take a monumental amount of time and would need your permission of course. I decided the only practical way would be to sit down and read it out, but that doesn't allow them to browse through it time and again. I've no training relevant either or knowledge in making a leaf-through type of speaking book if such a thing is possible.
Anybody got any thoughts? It seems really bad that not all interested people can benefit as I can. Lindsay.

Perhaps a Kindle/tablet etc can read out the text of an e-book?
Don't know but it would come across more Stephen Hawkins than Martin Jarvis, I suppose.

Ch

Linzi
if you need any PDF's read out-( like your bike's maintenance handbook) then Windows can read it out to you:
From the View menu:
Choose Alt + V for View, then A for Read Out Loud, and then O for Read this page only.
2 Choose Alt + V for View, then A for Read Out Loud, and then E for Read to end of document.
3 Choose Alt + V for View, then A for Read Out Loud, and then P to Pause reading. Note that if reading is paused, this command changes to Resume reading. Press the letter R to Resume reading.
4 Choose Alt + V for View, then A for Read Out Loud, and then S to Stop reading.


For Mac users:
( not tested as I do not have a Mac but a friend who has told me this does work)

1 Choose View > Read Out Loud > Read this page
2 Choose View > Read Out Loud > Read to end document.
3 Choose View > Read Out Loud > Pause reading. that if reading is paused, this command changes Resume reading.
4 Choose View > Read Out Loud > Stop to stop

Wow!
 

Hi Bertrand, I haven't checked that yet but it's great if it really helps people who can't read it all, or blind people with a little help too. More needs to be done in these areas I think. Lindsay.

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but this seems like the right place to ask - is there an ebook / Kindle version of AMH available? I have the paperback, but a copy on my iPad would be useful for my trip.


Dave

Hi Dave - it never happened.
They tried with Morocco but too much work with the pix and all.

Chris

Thanks for the reply Chris. Close your ears, but I'll probably scan sections of it then... If it makes you feel better, I might download 'Adventures in Motorcycling' so you will make a few £££ out of me.

Dave

that's what I would do but it's not all worth scanning.

The medical chapter is online for all, btw
Health and medical emergencies on the road | Adventure Motorcycling Handbook

I will make £2.88 off Advin, get paid in 2 months and yes, I will spend it all at once!

I thought it was a great book and really useful and well written
Safe riding
Paul

Just been told to get cracking on the 2016 edition.

Looking for a killer cover shot asap.

Ch

How about?

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ia2013_151.jpg

BAM Road 2013

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ia2013_159.jpg

Vitim River Bridge 2013

Not bad. Better if bike is going/pointing rightward (as #2) and also clear area (usually sky) on top 40% for titles (unless pic is totally brilliant).
Bright colours (red, orange etc) also good.
And it doesn't have to be hardcore/extreme, btw. Just a killer shot.
Usually all these requirements don't fall in the lap so if anyone's in the field with a suitable camera, set it on '11' and feel free to experiment.

Hummmm I was just about to buy the book today! Do you know when in 2016 the new edition will be released?

Right now I'm bogged down in soft baggage and that's a long way from the end, so prob March 2016.

No harm in having two copies I suppose :innocent:

I have about 6 - I buy every edition - they get better and better:-)

Although this thread is old, I just thought I'd mention that I received a copy of the 8th Edition yesterday. So far I've been thumbing through it, reading bits here and there that catch my eye. Looks great!
--
Later: Last night I read about 50 pages. Although I've been riding for almost 30 years, there is plenty of interesting and new info. I highly recommend the book.