Refurbishing, restoring, necessary tools, storage and types of riding — which includes vintage racing and showing your bike — are all covered in enough detail to give you a pretty good notion of what’s required, how difficult it might be and some tips on either how to get it done, or where to take it have it done.
Zuniga’s style is very chatty, as if you were just having a conversation about old bikes, and the joys and sorrows that can accompany ownership. If text books were written this way, the nation would have a much higher number of students graduating high school.
One of the toughest events in the life of a vintage bike owner (well sometimes not so tough) is when the bike has to be sold or moved along because you can no longer afford to keep it, or because you’ve simply tired of it. Zuniga covers determining value, getting the bike ready to sell and negotiating the sale price.
The back pages of the book are devoted to a glossary of vintage and general bike terms, and a list of websites helpful to the owners of old motorcycles. Even if you aren’t into collecting old motorcycles, this is an informative and entertaining read.
“Old Bikes” is available for $15 plus postage on Zuinga’s website, www.bornagainbikes.net.
