Motomerlin dirt bikes

Out of Print books

Bargain/Sale Books

Aprilia
Aermacchi
AJS & Matchless
Ariel
Benelli
Bimota
BMW
Biographies
British m/c
Brough Superior
BSA
Bultaco
Buyers Guides
Classic Racing
Classic Restoration
CZ
DVDs
Ducati
Forthcoming Books
General Interest
Gilera
Harley-Davidson
Haynes Manuals
Honda
HRD
Husqvarna
Indian
Japanese m/c
Kawasaki
Lambretta
Laverda
Manuals
Manx Races
Military
Montesa
Morini
Motocross
Moto Guzzi
MV Agusta
MZ
Norton
Off Road Riding
Ossa
Panther
Photocopy manuals
Racing
Royal Enfield
Rider Profiles
Sidecars
Suzuki
TT races
Travel
Trials
Triumph
Tuning & Technical
Velocette
Vespa
Videos
Vintage
Voxan
Villiers
Vincent
Workshop
Workshop Manuals
Yamaha

Links
Email Merlin
About Merlin

Merlin Books
P.O. Box 153
Horsham
West Sussex
RH12 2JG
England

Phone 01403 257626
Fax     01403 257626
 

VAT Reg No:
GB 515276257 

This site is 
© Mike Husband t/a Merlin Books & Merlin Motorcycles 1996 - 2004
 

Website design by
Mike Husband

mike@merlinbooks.com 

Volumes 1 and 2 of ‘The Racing Motorcycle, a technical guide for constructors’ are specifically written for those who wish to build their own race bikes. However, a lot of the information in Volume 1 will appeal to anyone who is simply interested in what makes bikes perform. Similarly, Volume 2 contains much to interest to those building cars and karts as well as bikes. 

Volume 1 deals with fundamental performance issues, covering areas such as engine characteristics, gearing and gear ratio suitability, chassis geometry, weight distribution, suspension and aerodynamics. There is also a section discussing straight-line performance, the influence of weight, rotational inertia etc. There are numerous examples and tables of data taken from a variety of successful bikes. In essence, Volume 1 provides a performance overview and identifies things that need to be thought about before spending significant sums of money. 

Volume 2 assumes you have formulated a design concept and are going to construct your own rolling chassis. It discusses numerous technical and practical issues but is primarily focused on the various engineering materials that are employed. This book covers all the materials normally used for motorcycle construction, eg steels, aluminium, magnesium and titanium alloys, plastics, composites, and a variety of more specialised alloys. 

This is not a text book and there is a constant practical theme running through the book, along with numerous contact details for suppliers, fabricators etc. There are over 300 photographs illustrating the way things are done. A significant part of the book deals with structural issues such as strength and stiffness, how to minimise structural failures etc. This coverage is non-mathematical so that every constructor can benefit from it, whatever their background.

Volume 2 does not cover those issues that are adequately covered by monthly magazines, things like making up brake hoses or where to buy standard motorcycle parts. Instead it concentrates on the engineering issues that are of vital importance but rarely discussed in depth. 
 

The Racing Motorcycle Vol 1
The Racing Motorcycle - A Technical Guide for Constructors (Volume 1), John Bradley.

We are pleased to announce the publication of an inspiring new book for anyone with an
interest in the design, construction or development of racing motorcycles.

The Racing Motorcycle, A technical guide for constructors, Volume 1 is the first of two
books specifically written for people who are serious about building racing
motorcycles and reducing lap times. Our pre-production copies have been greeted with
acclaim by all who have seen them and some of the comments we have received from
experts are quoted below. The author has 25 years experience of building and racing
motorcycles and is a former National winner and lap record holder.

'The most informative technical motorcycle book I have ever read. This book is a must
for all serious racers and bike builders' Roger Titchmarsh, constructor of Seeley
replica frames.

'John Bradley has explained, in layman's terms, but nevertheless in great technical
detail, every facet of the racing motorcycle. I am most impressed. Never, in the field
of motorcycle racing, has so much been available, to so many, for so little...'
Chris Kingsland, owner of Race Products, constructor and former UK 125cc Champion.

Contents:

Section 1. Introduction                              Page 
           1.1 Overview                               11 
           1.2 General notes                          15 
Section 2. Engines and gearboxes 
           2.1 Engine characteristics                 17 
           2.2 Gearing terminology                    37 
           2.3 Engine/gearbox selection               49 
           2.4 Driving force                          65 
           2.5 Chains, sprockets and gears            89 
Section 3. General layout 
           3.1 Front end geometry and wheelbase      103 
           3.2 Centre of gravity/rider positioning   123 
           3.3 Swinging arm geometry                 153 
Section 4. Resistance to motion 
           4.1 Introduction to resistance            163 
           4.2 Rolling resistance                    169 
           4.3 Origins of drag                       177 
           4.4 Minimising motorcycle drag            203 
Section 5. Suspension systems 
           5.1 Suspension overview                   231 
           5.2 Stiffness requirements at the wheel   245 
           5.3 Suspension springs                    273 
           5.4 Front fork springing                  287 
           5.5 Rear suspension springing             307 
           5.6 Damping and suspension problems       327 
Section 6. Aspects of performance 
           6.1 Weight and inertia                    367 
           6.2 Straight-line performance             379 
Section 7. Appendices 
           A.1 Metric and imperial units             391 
           A.2 Unit conversion factors               397 

406 pages, 280mm x 215mm (11in x 8.46in) on high quality paper.
216 illustrations/tables/graphs/photographs. 85 useful formulae, 133 examples with all
key formulae and measurements duplicated in metric and Imperial units............£32.00
UK Post £7.00

The Racing Motorcycle - A Technical Guide for Constructors (Volume 2)
Chassis materials and construction techniques 

Contents:
Section 1.     Overview                            Page 
               1.1 Introduction                     11 
               1.2 Getting started                  19 
               1.3 Strength and stiffness           37 
               1.4 Materials terminology            47 

Section 2.     Making a steel chassis 
               2.1 Introduction to steel            63 
               2.2 Steel tube                       75 
               2.3 Steel for spindles and fitments  91 
               2.4 Bending and preparing tube      101 
               2.5 Gas welding notes               119 
               2.6 Making a steel frame            141 

Section 3.     Aluminium alloy fabrications 
               3.1 Aluminium alloys                159 
               3.2 Alloy selection                 171 
               3.3 Non-structural fabrications     193 
               3.4 Structural fabrications         219 
               3.5 Anodising and other finishes    233 

Section 4.     Making exhausts 
               4.1 Exhaust overview                239 
               4.2 Making simple exhausts          251 
               4.3 More difficult exhausts         273 

Section 5.     Other materials 
               5.1 Aluminium casting alloys        287 
               5.2 Magnesium alloys                307 
               5.3 Titanium alloys                 321 
               5.4 Fibre reinforced plastics       339 
               5.5 Other materials                 365 

Section 6.     Reducing structural failures 
               6.1 Stress concentration            381 
               6.2 Minimising fatigue failures     397 

Section 7.     Structural stiffness 
               7.1 Introduction to stiffness       415 
               7.2 Measuring stiffness             431 
               7.3 Stiffness, size and section     441 

Large size softcover, 464 pages
now in stock £38.00 (uk p & p £7.00)
 

Reviews:

The Racing Motorcycle - A technical guide for constructors 
Magazine Reviews (Volume 1) 
Snippets:

'Awesome'..'worth every brass farthing' - Superbike Magazine. (read full review) 

'Indispensable'..'a compulsory purchase' - Cycle World. (read full review) 

'You get what you pay for - and this book delivers' - Classic Racer. 

'We could not recommend it more highly' - Motorcycle Sport & Leisure. (read full review) 

'You'll learn so much' - Motorcycle Racer. 

'The most comprehensive guide' - Streetfighters. 

'Masses of useful tuning information' - Motor Cycle News. 

'Buy it or live in ignorance' - Biker Magazine. 

'It's money well spent' - Performance Bikes. 

'Provides an excellent guide' - Motorcycle Classics. 

'Author John Bradley has a gift of explaining things' - Met on Wheels. 

'Good stuff, and plenty of it' - Motorcyclist. 

'Ideas could be applied to machines from almost any era, both competition or road' - Old Bike Mart. 

'Bradley treats every possible design variable in as much detail as your likely to need' - City Bike. 

Full copies of any review above are available on request. A few are reproduced below. 

Superbike - May 1997 (Gordon Ritchie). 
This book is quite simply awesome.  A better explanation of basic motorcycle engineering principles I am never likely to read.  Unlike some other so called experts in the motorcycling world, John Bradley has got impressive academic qualifications to go with decades of practical experience and real world knowledge.  And boy does it show.  If you ever want to modify your bike, from simple suspension setting changes to building a special from scratch, this book is a must.  It never got featured in last month's Super-Stuff because I was reading a chapter a night at home.  Worth every brass farthing of the £30-odd quid asking price. 
 
 

Motorcycle Sport and Leisure - April 1997 (Richard Stevens). 
Here at last in an authoritative work on modern motorcycle design and construction - or at least the first volume of a two part treatise.  The Racing Motorcycle is a 400 page softback in marginally smaller than A4 format, that covers gearing, geometry, aerodynamics and suspension.  Author John Bradley, a chartered engineer from Yorkshire with more than 25 years experience of building and racing motorcycles, explains the rationale behind the book as follows: 

"This is the first in a series of books that is aimed at people who want to design or develop motorcycles.  It is not a motorcycle book in the conventional sense but an engineering book, a text book of you like, that tries to provide basic technical support.  This volume covers some of the timeless principles that have always been and always will be, the basis of a competitive motorcycle.  It does not include anything on engine development and will I hope complement the many books on engine tuning that are available. A second volume covering engineering materials, standard components and practical construction techniques is currently being written. 
My book is based on roadracing but all the ideas can be applied to any type of motorcycle, from any era, given suitable dimensions and aesthetic adaptations.  Some non-roadrace data is included so that you can make the necessary comparisons between different specialisms." 

What I like most about this book is that it develops everything from first principles.  For instance there are twelve pages within the chapter on engine characteristics, that deal with torque.  They start by explaining that torque is the engineering term for turning effect and then show with that aid of diagrams how this is produced by a combination of a force and an effective radius.  The subject then progresses in logical sequence to how crankshaft torque relates to rear wheel torque, and then to the integral relationship between power and torque.  Then torque generation is discussed in terms of variation during each complete engine cycle (one crankshaft revolution for a two-stroke and two for a four-stroke).  This aspect, explains John, which is further influenced by the number of cylinders and the firing sequence, plays a key role in the way the rider perceives the engine and the ability to control traction, especially on slippery off-road surfaces.  And that's all before the variation in average torque as engine speed rises!  Then there are torque curves, torque units and BMEP - the brake mean effective pressure - which is a way of comparing torque production that is independent of engine size and the number of cylinders.  If you want to know how a YZF750R Yamaha and a 500 JAP compare you'll need to buy the book.  Or work it out for yourself, which means you'll have to buy the book.. 
    John has that rare ability to make a technical subject interesting to all.  He never assumes any prior knowledge, yet never patronises, and manages to include a wealth of information that will be invaluable even to the best read, best qualified and most practical designers and spanner men in the business.  Here at Motorcycle Sport & Leisure we've long been looking for someone to put the technical expertise of a Vic Willoughby or an Alan Baker back into the Quality Monthly and have asked John if he would help.  We're hoping to start on suspension systems, a subject that The Racing Motorcycle covers in a modest 130 pages, and which we will be asking John to abridge into a four-part series.  And just to reassure retro-minded readers, the intro to this section uses pictures of a girder fork Speed Twin, a Venom with angle adjustable rear shocks and of course a Vincent with triangulated swinging arm and monoshock. 
    In the meanwhile John Bradley's first volume is set to become the standard reference work on design and construction and we believe it is a must for anyone seriously interested in bikes - let alone racers or special builders.  There are 216 illustrations, tables, graphs and photographs, 85 formulae, and 133 examples with all the key formulae and measurements duplicated in metric and imperial units.  Quite simply there is no other single source for all the information in the book and we could not recommend it more highly.  But don't for goodness sake be put off by the inclusion of all the formulae and worked examples, because this is a book that works at all levels, from basic principles to detailed calculations.  Just use the parts that you need and ignore the parts that you don't.  It now sits on my bookshelf alongside Phil Irving's Tuning for Speed, Erwin Tragatsch's Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Motorcycles and the Shorter Oxford Dictionary and is already opened more times a day than the other three put together. 
 
 

Cycle World - June 1997 (Alan Cathcart). 
Every so often, a motorcycle book comes along that stands out from the rest as a must-have addition to the serious enthusiast's bookcase. John Bradley's The Racing Motorcycle: A Technical guide for Constructors. Volume 1 is one of those. It's literally indispensable if you want to extend your understanding of how all bikes - not just racers -work, and why. 
    The best compliment I can pay The Racing Motorcycle is to say that, on the basis of producing it, Bradley deserves to be ranked alongside Phil Irving as a writer gifted with the capacity to explain complicated technical concepts in a way laymen can understand. Like Irving, the author of Tuning for Speed and Speed and How to Obtain it, Bradley discusses contemporary motorcycle design in a direct, straightforward style, scorning the use of jargon or esoteric terminology in favour of plain English. 
    The subtitle, A Technical Guide for Constructors, is a bit of a red-herring, because the book is a bible for anyone interested in understanding why people build bikes they way they do - mistakes and all. It's also a great how-to manual: I invite anyone who reads the chapter on "Swinging Arm Geometry" to resist checking out and modifying their own bike. 
    This is intended as the first of two companion volumes, here relating to aerodynamics, gearing, geometry and suspension. Four hundred pages on those topics alone, replete with graphs and tables, certainly leave me looking forward to Volume II. 
    For anyone wanting to expand his motorcycle knowledge, The Racing Motorcycle is a compulsory purchase, well worth the steep cover price. 

Reviews Volume 2:

Snippets 

'It's not heavy reading, particularly for anyone with an engineering background, but it is extremely detailed.  No race boffin should be without it.' - Old Bike Mart  - 5 February 2004/Classic Racer - March/April 2004. 
 

'...an almost overwhelming source of detailed and relevant information, laid out simply with information suitably at hand...'     '...as relevant to karters as it is to any two wheel fans...' - KARTING Magazine - March 2004. 

Old Bike Mart - February 2004 and Classic Racer - March/April 2004 

Anyone into the serious technicalities of racing motorcycle design will already be familiar with John Bradley's first work of the same name.  Volume two is now available.  Whereas the first book dealt with engine, gearbox, chassis geometry etc, the second goes into detail on issues regarding chassis stiffness, causes of structural failure etc.  For example, there are comprehensive chapters on frame building, from the choice of material, steel, alloy etc, stresses involved in cornering, acceleration and braking, to the manufacture of jigs, types of welding, bending and preparation of tubes, fabricating fuel tanks, illustrations of set up, details of stressed areas around certain joints, headstock etc, where and where not to lay weld and in what order to weld tubes in order to avoid distortion.  There's a detailed chapter on anodizing and other finishes, exhaust manufacture, alloy casting, magnesium, titanium, carbon fibre, plastics etc.  It's not heavy reading, particularly for anyone with an engineering background but it is extremely detailed.  No race boffin should be without it. 
 

Karting Magazine - March 2004 

The Racing Motorcycle - A technical guide for constructors - Volume 2 is the book to own before you even consider fabricating components or indeed entire machines in your own workshop.  And this new book is as relevant to karters as it is to any two wheel fans, covering steel chassis construction techniques, exhaust fabrication and identifying and dealing with stresses with detailed ventures into construction with alloys and more 'exotic' materials. 
 Volume 1 of The Racing Motorcycle concerned itself with the mechanics and physics of engines, gearboxes, suspension and drivetrains.  Each book on its own is an almost overwhelming source of detailed and relevant information, laid out simply with information suitably at hand and easily absorbed by anyone with even a small amount of engineering aptitude. 
 Volume 2's 464 black and white pages (214mm x 279mm) are perfectly illustrated with 326 photographs and over 400 diagrams and charts.  The price of £38 plus P&P may worry you a bit but the prospect of not owning this book will certainly keep you awake at night. 

MCN Sport review

'For anyone seriously considering building a bike from scratch, or who simply wants to understand how bikes behave, there are perhaps four books on the planet. With these two volumes (the second one newly published), make that five.

John Bradley is an engineer and author who's spent over 30 years building and racing bikes. He knows enough for many world championship teams and factories to have bought his books. Volume 1 deals with what bikes do, and how to make them do it better; volume 2 is all about construction methods. Both are chock full of practical advice - and written with a dry humour you'd never expect. If you need these books at all, they're indispensable.'

How to Order
Worldwide mail order from England
phone/fax 01403 257626

Email Merlin