There's no better explanatory text on all aspects of motorcycle performance. Way to go Kevin. We reference Kevin's work often in discussions at [...], the place for Buell Motorcycle Enthusiasts.

I don't think I've ever read a book that achieves this level of clarity. To be honest, I'm still only on the third chapter, but I'm telling you, anyone who loves motorcycles must read this book once. KC takes you by the hand and explains in painstaking, un-boring detail how every little bit inside works. He tells you how the engineers who built the thing reasoned the design of that particular bit, how the physical or chemical or both properties of the elements of that part interact. Involved as it sounds, this is a technical text that is unputdownable at the same level as some of other favourite books, like Stephen king's Cujo, Ayn Rand's Fountainhead etc.

I found this book a very interesting and informative read. If you are not interested in technicalities then this is not a book for you. The book explains all areas of sportbike mechanics and how to get different types of performance from them - engine, gearbox, electrics, suspension etc.

It doesn;t really tell you how so much as give you the knowledge you need to decide what it is you want to do and how to go about doing it.

If you've enver wondered what actually makes your bike tick, this is a good read.

Kevin Cameron, as always, manages to present very complex, highly technical information in an easy to access way. No specific bike tuning or tricks, but solid information about the underlying phenomena that form the basis for performance upgrades. Kevin approaches each system in the bike separately while referencing the whole, which really helps to deepen an understanding of why the bike is the way it is.

This is *the* book that really breaks down the fundamentals of the various sections of motorcycle technology, as well as the physics involved, to a level understandable by the interested mechanically-minded person. While I would not recommend it for someone completely new to the field of motorcycling (unless they had a very mechanically-proficient background), it fills the gap between backyard wrench and engineering student beautifully. Cameron's writing style is concise yet descriptive; all subjects are treated with not only a thorough understanding and focus on the basic points, but Cameron's long experience in design, engineering, and as a race mechanic. His book was one of the inspirations for my own, "The Motorcycle Fuel Injection Handbook", and this is the only publication that is suggested inside of my own book. Worth the price.

What Cameron does best is explaining "why?", as in "why is my bike designed the way it is?". If you want a service manual or a quick suspension setup ("3 klicks of preload, seven of rebound") guide for your make and model, look elsewhere.

Cameron explains every facet of sportbike technology (engine, brakes, suspension, tyres, etc. etc.) by showing the general principles that dictate why it has evolved like it has, and how the same principles shaped the racetrack creations of past decades. If there would be an updated edition covering also the most recent developments (EFI mapping, radial brakes, etc.) I'd buy it, but even this edition covers completely 95% of the sportbikes out there, and 95% of this book applies to all sportbikes. Plus Cameron's writing has a delightful dry wit that never lets you forget that the ultimate key to fast lap times is not in tweaking and tuning and spending $$$, but that the biggest lap time improvements come from learning to ride better.

I received this book today. Gave it a quick look through and it seems to be just what I wanted. I don't want a book that says do this and that to your bike, I need something that give me the theory and lets me plan it myself. I have been building and restoring bikes for 5 years and basic performance is not a problem for me. I am building a CBR600 from the ground up this winter and need to know what to do and what not to do to keep it reliable, but add a good kick.
This book seems to have lots of pics and drawings that explain how to tweak the entire bike to your needs. Goes far beyond bolt on and shows just about everything under the sun you could do. does talk about bolt on products for beginners though. Looking forward to reading the entire thing this weekend.

Well, I was looking for something to read along with my new Clymer's guide, thinking that in addition to just the basics about my bike I'd be well served to understand performance issues. This book is probably GREAT for people planning track days, who have a lot of self-service experience under their belt, but for a beginner to the mechanics of motorcycles the information is SO advanced it's basically useless.

Good stuff to learn, and I'm keeping the book because I figure by *next* year I'll be saving $$ for track days. Just too much for "all I wanted to know was how to gap my frikken plugs properly!" me.

I give it 3 stars as what I read was fairly clear, and the diagrams did seem to accompany the text well enough for me to realize I was WAY OVER MY HEAD. ;)

Well, I was looking for something to read along with my new Clymer's guide, thinking that in addition to just the basics about my bike I'd be well served to understand performance issues. This book is probably GREAT for people planning track days, who have a lot of self-service experience under their belt, but for a beginner to the mechanics of motorcycles the information is SO advanced it's basically useless.

Good stuff to learn, and I'm keeping the book because I figure by *next* year I'll be saving $$ for track days. Just too much for "all I wanted to know was how to gap my frikken plugs properly!" me.

I give it 3 stars as what I read was fairly clear, and the diagrams did seem to accompany the text well enough for me to realize I was WAY OVER MY HEAD. ;)

Despite the misleading cover, this is a wonderfully compiled book of all things related to how a motorcycle handles. I passed over this book several times because the cover made me think it was a book on how to do wheelies and stupid sportbike stunts. I could not have been more wrong. This is a must have book for anybody who likes to wrench on their motorcycle in the garage and wants to improve upon the design without making things worse. Cameron is brilliant at explaining the physics of how and why a motorcycle behaves the way it does without having to delve into the intricate mathematical equations so commonly found in books of this nature.

This book really changed everything for me with regard to motorcycle performance. Before reading this book I (like most other people) thought that motorcycle tuning was just a question of upgrading say airfilter, jetting and a louder pipe and of you go. What this book teaches is that the world is not that simple. A bike is a system of interrelated parts and you can't just change one of the parts and expect good results. Even if you do the tuning right there is still a price to be paid in performance. You want top end? Be prepared to sacrifice the lower end and the reliability. It's all about what you want from your bike.

In the end the book changed my focus from engine tuning to suspension and brakes and I really love the result. The above-mentioned mods was what I originally intended and would have destroyed the trait of my bike that I love the most. A killer torque straight from the bottom and up.

I found the book quite useful as an introduction to various performance topics, but there is little useful detail which is needed to actually put these concepts to practical use. For example, there is a description of the concepts and theory of ram-air box design, and general hints on the sizes and intake dimensions, etc. but the formulas lack any units of measure required to actually design/create your own ram-air box.
This similar lack of detail throughout the rest of the book results in this piece being good enough as a starting point, but further detailed reference elsewhere is needed to be any practical use in actual tuning / design work you would want to attempt.

To give this book only five stars is an understatement; it deserves ten. Kevins deep rooted knowledge of motorcycles and skillful writing ability to explain why and how the systems and components work or don't work is truly amazing. This is a book that will be read, re-read, and referred to for years to come. I would recommend this book to the novice rider or another forty year veteran.

The book cuts through the ridiculous claims made by many aftermarket parts companies. It covers pratically every performance modification you can make to your bike, listing the advantages and disadvantages of each. By far, the best part of the book is that it explains the "why?" behind the modifications so that you can make the best decision based on your individual riding skills/style. Firestone and Ford should read the section on tire pressure!

Excellent descriptions of how engines and suspensions work, and is very relevant to both motorcycles and cars. In fact, I think the book should be called something like "everything you wanted to know about internal combustion and motor vehicles but were afraid to ask". The hand drawn illustrations are very good; the book is easy to read; and it has an enormous amount of information. You couldn't really use the book to hop up your sportbike, but it is essential background information. Slightly dated due to the publication date, but an excellent source nevertheless.

While Mr. Cameron's understanding of the workings of the modern sportbike is obviously more than adequate to help sportbike owners understand the whats and whys of all aspects of sportbike functioning, he would have done well to have used a co-writer with more writing experience. I found myself having to reread several sections before I could pick out the pieces I was looking for. Many of the drawings were also crude. Very technical, but overall interesting and somewhat helpful to any sportbike owner.

Talk about putting the maximum amount of punch on every page of a book. This book packs loads of useful and detailed information on every page it small font. The pictures and diagrams are useful and informative. It will take you a while to read and it gets technical, but it will teach you so much you will just love it. It explains the intricacies of how and why your motorcycle works in a sharp, clear, and instructive writing style. I found it a gem to read and own. You must buy this book if you want to know as much as you can about how bike's work and why.

Very good book...good explanation of all aspects of motorbikes...I really came to know good deal about carbs and suspension from this book... I will recommend it to any sports bike enthusiast.

KC covers every aspect of sportbike performance, why sportbikes are constructed the way they are, and how each component works. If you're mildly interested in how your own bike works (or any bike for that matter) this is a goldmine of information. If you are a rider for whom a bike is an extension of your body, you'll definitely want this. As usual, KC explains everything in plain English without getting too technical. The 10-page section on suspension tuning alone was worth the price of the book. Now that my own suspension is set up properly, I am getting more money's worth from my bike. I've also become a much smarter consumer when it comes to aftermarket mods.

This book is very informative and simple to read. Cameron easily educates you without getting too technical. In about 15 minutes he had me understanding the operation of a turbo system without boring me with scientific jargon. He covers all aspects of the bike. Good for people who want to know about exhaust, jetting your carbs, suspension setup, etc. Loved it.

I have never let anybody touch one of my bikes and I have been working on others for 8 yrs or so and this book still taught me a great deal on information in a easy to read format,,, this is a must for beginners and advanced mechanics or do-it-you selfers

This book has very good explainations of all of the fine points of the motorycle. It is broken up into sections on engine, frame, tires, brakes, etc. In each section it gives background and theory plus the details of how to get the most out of your bike. I really like the easy to follow details of the inner workings of the engine, It makes very complex issues easy to follow.

This a book that nearly all riders can benefit from whether considering racing, street performance, maintenance, or just wondering about how all that machinery underneath us works. Kevin Cameron approaches each aspect of motorcycle performance with an explanation how that system works and how it interacts with you and the rest of the bike. This understanding of your bike's systems makes performance choices clearer and easier. Any mechanical modification or upgrade has its tradeoffs which Cameron make clear for every subject. But even without the need for "superbike" performance, understanding the inner workings of what you ride adds greatly to the experience. In reading this text it is clear that Mr. Cameron has considerable experience, education, training, enthusiam, and intuition into the workings of motorcycles. He is able to bring all of this into words for the enthusiast - without the need for an engineering degree.

As an avid reader of both Cycle World's and it's precursor Cycle magazine's 'TDC' column, I had long awaited a compilation of Mr. Cameron's thoughts and insightful observations on various aspects of the motoring world. This book has not disappointed me in any way, and has provided hours of fascinating reading as both a form of reference text and an entertaining commentary on current and past states of the art. If you're looking for more than a "how-to" guide, and actively seeking to understand why things are so, this is the one. Bravo, KC, more please!

This book brings together all the fundamentals required to develop at least an intuitive understanding of not only how your sport bike works but why. This book pulls together all the vocabulary and theories you have heard over the years and explains them in basic language and basic mathematics. Kevin also clears up topics like high octane fuel and when it is necessary to run it. (Not for more HP! Like a lot of people think.)

If you have a sport bike you should read this book. After reading this book you will be ready for more in depth study or be prepaired to go out and knowledgably purchase parts and services.

I have been driving bikes for years, and also done a lot of mechanical work on them. I must say that this book brings light over all the questions that I have had about the deeper "theories behind". One tends to take a lot of things for granted, accepting that things work in a special way just because we are used to that. Kevin Cameron shows WHY they do work. Read the book, you'll understand what I mean. Greatly recommended. (I wish I had bought it on Amazon, though, I payd the double in my local bookstore....)

This is one of the very few books on motorcycles where I have understood exactly what what was being explained. And by this I do not mean the text was 'dumped down'. Just the opposite, Mr Cameron has that rare abilty of explaining complicated matters in terms your average motorcyclist enthusiast will understand. I think the secret is that Mr Cameron really does understand what he is talking about. Not a very common attribute these days!

Sportbike enthusiasts have been waiting for years for this book. Exceedingly well written, with clear and concise diagrams and explanations on every type of performance modification available. From aftermarket pipes to big-bore kits, from nitrous cannisters to titanium fasteners and magnesium wheels, this text answers all the definitive questions on how to upgrade your motorcycle, and more importantly, which upgrades are actually helpful rather than mere gimmicks. I was impressed with Cameron's depth of knowledge in regards to motorcycle physics and engineering--he is careful to explain how motorcycles work, and the physics behind performance-enhancing modifications, yet he does so in a fashion that any non-engineer or mechanic can understand. I highly recommend this book for all motorcycle owners contemplating any of the host of aftermarket upgrades for their bike, or for the beginning or experienced racer who wants to know how to obtain maximum engine performance. Not to mention that this book is an enjoyable read for any motorcycle enthusiast who wants to know more about the science and development of the motorcycle.

For fans of Kevin Cameron's "TDC" column in Cycle World magazine, this is your book! Kevin possesses a unique ability to take the most complex topics related to motorcycle technology and make them not only understandable but also *enjoyable* to read. Even if you're not a fan of race replica machines, don't let the title, "Sportbike Performance Handbook" keep you from considering it. Kevin covers every major motorcycle system, in most cases without regard for the genre. So whether you ride the latest Yamaha YZF1000-R1 or a Honda GL1500 Gold Wing, if you're interested in maximum performance there's something here for you.

Kevin doesn't take the approach, "for this bike, use these components and settings." Instead, he uses thorough explanations to educate the reader about how and why things work. Then the reader can choose performance modifications that match his riding style, pocketbook and maintenance tolerance. Throughout the book he encourages the reader to be realistic about his expectations and to match the mechanical changes with improvements to his riding ability.

With the information in this book you'll be able to make your bike exactly the way you want it, and more importantly understand how and why you made it that way.

This is the book we all hoped Kevin would write someday...