(In association with Amazon.com)
Rating:  -
Don't worry that I've only given it 3 stars, that's okay in my book. None of the other books would earn anything better. In my mind it needed more substance and details of how to do custom work, again like every other custom motorycle book I've seen. This is a better one, lol.
I've looked at several of these types of books now and I've found that no one book covers it all. Mr. Lane's book doesn't covery every aspect of bike building for sure, and on the topics he does cover the information is fairly high-level though stewn with details here and there.
I don't think this book is really about ego, corona ads, or whatever else that people have mentioned... All that was a result of it's casual and light style. But it's also truly not about building an entire bike. It's just about some areas of a build where Billy Lane tries to give you hints and tricks about how he does it.
If you are looking at building one bike from scratch for yourself, this book will not get you far. If you get several books and do a lot of Web surfing, you will get you some good information to get you through most every part of a build. If you are looking for a book to take you through every step with details, I'd say forget it, don't build a bike, have somebody else do it or buy a kit.
If you are looking to actually builds bikes as a business, you will not get anywhere with these books. They are still good to ready, but you have to have the ability and confidence to build a chopper without the books. The books are just actually ways for these builders to show you a project or two, and provide some details about what makes them unique. To get a business going, you have to be able to figure this stuff out in your head and turn it into something real. That's not the best way to design and build a bike, and I wouldn't advise anybody do it in their head... But if you want to be a professional builder, you should have that level of talent at least, which either you are born with or have to earn via experience.
Rating:  -
This book has been very helpful. Illustrations were good and fabrication tips were useful. Well written and easy to follow procedures; good blueprint for the project.
Rating:  -
I thought this was a pretty thorough book all things considered. Billy does a nice job covering some of the important tools you should have in your shop as well as the different aspects to consider when building a custom bike. He is an engineer and a master at his trade. I enjoyed it and felt it was informative.
Rating: -
You can judge this book by its cover. It's basically a glorified magazine with lots of color pictures of Billy building the Bobzilla bike. The captions are reasonably detailed, but lack enough information to be truly useful. Some of the text is thoughtfully written and fairly in-depth about Billy's personal preferences. However, DO NOT buy this book if you are looking for a step-by-step manual on how to put a bike together. On the other hand, if you like Billy Lane's bikes, and enjoy watching bike building on TV, you'll be glad to have this colorful (and sometimes funny) book in the bathroom. My legs have fallen asleep more than once while trying to finish a chapter.
Rating: -
Lots of pictures and easy to understand. Complete detail from end to end. It is however a little for the more skilled reader and builder. I enjoyed and learned form it.
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