Motorcycles: books - history, types and construction (2/3)

Encyclopédie mondiale de la moto - Plus de 1000 constructeurs de ABC à Zündapp

If today the number of motorcycle manufacturers can be counted on the fingers of two hands, they were a hundred times more numerous nearly a century ago. This proliferation can be explained by the craze for the internal combustion engine at the beginning of the 20th century and also that of the bicycle at the same time.
The marriage of the engine and the "Little Queen" seemed to be the simple and economical solution to motorize the masses. A few companies, craftsmen and DIY enthusiasts tried the experiment. Some quickly disappeared, others knew how to adapt, show imagination and flooded the emerging motorcycle market with great reinforcements of sporting successes which assured them advertising spin-offs increasing their sales.

Harley-Davidson in the USA, BMW in Germany, Moto-Guzzi in Italy, Triumph in Great Britain are today among the rare survivors of ancient times who can boast of having a real history. The Japanese quartet formed by Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki has, for its part, been able to breathe new life into the practice of two-wheelers by inventing the fun motorcycle.
But what do we know about the thousands of anonymous and passionate manufacturers who have flourished over the decades? This is what this encyclopedia proposes to help you discover through more than 1000 brands.

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Motos - Le temps des inventions 1895-1918 (2ème édition)

This book deals with the first turns of the motorcycle wheel, particularly in France, a country where the internal combustion engine would arouse an extraordinary craze during the Belle Epoque.
The image of the world of the motorcycle that has come down to us is ultimately quite unrealistic: we can easily imagine frail, sputtering machines, moving at the speed of a bicycle and piloted by some mustachioed eccentrics.
Of course, these machines still largely make use of materials such as wood, leather, brass or copper that smell of craftsmanship. But make no mistake: these are indeed "high tech" machines, relatively efficient. Moreover, from a purely technical point of view, everything or almost everything was invented between the end of the 19th century and the eve of the Great War.
It would still take years to "refine" these techniques, but during this period, manufacturers and engineers laid all the foundations of the modern motorcycle.

This work therefore echoes these marvelous machines by focusing not on the most mythical ones, but on motorcycles which are in some way the catalysts of the techniques of the time.

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100 ans de motos (3e édition)

Through this very comprehensive work, relive the great moments in the history of the motorcycle, from the De Dion tricycle of the late 19th century to the most recent models of 2020-2021.
Classified chronologically, the 200 motorcycles in the book are presented precisely, with a technical sheet and detailed photos. An explanatory and very well-documented text tells us the history of the model on the motorcycle market, and allows us to realize the spectacular evolution of this machine over the past century.

How far away the time of the motorcycle is... Today, the motorcycle has become in our countries a pure leisure product, adapting and declining to fashions, but it is also now a concentrate of very high technology. With this book, you will also discover or rediscover that motorcycle also rhymes with passion.

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Les plus belles motos classiques

Written by renowned motorcycle expert Patrick Hahn, this book presents fifty of the most iconic models in the world of motorcycle production, illustrated by Tom Loeser with a gallery of superb portraits created using a light painting process that involves photographing the bikes in total darkness and "painting" them with multiple passes of a hand-held lamp.

Packed with magnificent portraits bathed in light, the book tells the story of the motorcycle through the most significant and iconic machines of all time. It features the most famous brands, from BMW, Indian and Triumph to Vincent, Ducati and Harley-Davidson.

Summary:

1. The Experimental Years
2. The 1903 Mitchell
3. The 1910 FN
4. The 1913 Thor
5. The 1914 Indian Hendee Special and the 1938 Sport Scout
6. The Militaire Deluxe
7. 1921 Mars, 1000 Replica
8. 1922 Megola
9. 1922 Motosacoche
10. 1923 James
11. 1924 Moto Guzzi C4V 500 cc, 1947 Bicylindrica, 1955 V-8 Replica and the 1956 250 DOHC
12. 1927 Henderson Four
13. 1928 Neander
14. 1929 Harley-Davidson JDH and 1975 XR750.

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Les 100 plus belles motos du monde

Road or sports, off-road, sidecars, roadsters, American, Japanese or European, these legendary motorcycles, from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day, are all richly illustrated by more than 300 photographs.
Find the big names in motorcycling, such as the timeless Royal-Einfield 500 Bullet, the Honda CB 750 Four, the Moto Guzzi V850 Gt Califormia or the BMW S 1000RR HP4.
100 models that will make you dream and thrill.

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50 motos de légende

This book traces the destiny of 50 atypical motorcycles that have written history, each in its own way. On the circuits, on the road, in the cinema...
These 50 stars of two-wheelers have left their mark on their era. The BMW R60/7 of the Gendarmerie, the Kawasaki ZZR250 of KillBill, the Triumph Thunderbird 6T of Marlon Brando in The Wild One, the Harley Davidson Fat Boy of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2, the Yamaha XT250 of Rambo or the BroughSuperior SS100 of Lawrence of Arabia, the Suzuki GSX-R (first replica), the Honda CB750 Four (the best-selling)...

The reader will travel through a century of legendary motorcycles.

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Motos insolites & prototypes hors normes

From the first De Dion tricycles to the Honda 750s, from the world champion MV Agusta to today's Yamaha M1 Grand Prix or from the first Vespa of 1946 to the Piaggio MP3 born in 2006, the history of the motorcycle is essentially known by its most famous models.
These stars have often hidden in their shadow the work of the precursors, the sometimes crazy inventions of a few inventors and those, brilliant, which nevertheless did not achieve success due to lack of means, technology or simply luck.

It is to all these motorcycles abandoned by history that this book pays tribute today with a predilection for all those which in their time pioneered new ideas and concepts, however unusual they may be.
Félix Millet five-cylinder from 1897, Peugeot 500 cm³ double overhead camshaft from 1913, Killinger front-wheel drive from 1938, Carniti three-cylinder scooter from 1953 or Japanese copies of BMWs in the 1950s, this extraordinary history opens the doors to the unknown.

Illustrated with nearly five hundred photos, this collection, which brings together road and racing motorcycles, engines, sidecars and scooters, is a revised and enriched anthology of the articles published by the author in the specialist weekly "La Vie de la moto" since 2005.

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Motos muy antiguas

This illustrious volume portrays the pioneering motorcycle manufacturers and their innovative designs during the first forty years of the history of this iconic vehicle.
Offering a comprehensive visual catalog, the book presents technical data, historical narratives, and anecdotes that encapsulate the evolution of these machines from their inception.

From early bold experiments to the most iconic models, the work covers the fascinating journey of the motorcycle, revealing its impact on mobility and culture. Each page is imbued with the essence of those formative years, where creativity and engineering converged to bring the first motorcycles to life.

Text in Spanish.

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