Building Budget Brits: A Practical Guide for Refurbishing BSA and Triumph Unit Twins (Tech Series) Paperback – March 15, 2009

To be honest, I bought "BBB" after having a classic bike manuscript declined by Whitehorse Press, and therefore curious to see what it takes to get accepted by this US motorcycle publisher.Mike Brown and Dan Kennedy have made a solid contribution to the worldwide restoration of the Meriden and Small Heath twins. While the title perhaps doesn't translate well into 'strine' (Australian English!)...the contents certainly do. This is a very, very useful book to have around when riders are restoring British twins in any English-speaking country. Nice to see him recognising the long-time support he's received from Mark Appleton of British Cycle Supply, a sentiment many would echo.There are tips in here I would cheerfully have co-opted for my 2007 book, "Classic Motorcycling: A Guide for the 21st Century". Mike Brown's inventiveness in designing tools for Triumph twins is exemplary. It's worth buying this book for these tips alone. Despite writing for a US audience, Mike's book will appeal to the worldwide classic audience. He writes simply and laconically in a style that suits downunder audiences. Whitehorse are providing this work at a price-point I find unbeatable. Grab a copy before they put the price up! Oh as well, some of Mikes many restoration pics in the book look more like concours bikes than budget bikes, so don't let the title dissuade you from buying it. Rex

Great addition to my Britbike library and garage. I'm a BSA owner/rider for 33 years I have 7 BSA's in various condition in my garage. Obviously this subject matter has great appeal to me. However the scope of this book is so wide and interesting that anyone with just a cursory interest in these bikes will find Mike Browns book most helpful. Mike has written this book in an easygoing freestyle style that is entertaining but the material is not fluff. It is obvious he is an enthusiast of the highest order and I am sure this book will take the trip from the bathroom to the garage over and over.Highly recommended!Doug

I am restoring a '72 Bonneville and had already bought a few books, including the shop manual, so I thought buying this one would be redundant. As it turns out, this is well worth the money. A lot of good tips that you won't find elsewhere, a fair price, good photography, well-written and quite precise. It takes some of the fear out of starting a rebuild for an amateur like me. I say buy it.

I am the owner of several BSA A65 models of different ages and I also own the original BSA workshop manuals and parts books for these machines. I have found this book to be an excellent aid to rebuilding this model of BSA. There are many hints and tips for assisting the home mechanic in these endeavours,most of which will prevent you making costly mistakes and making a fool of yourself, especially in front of your fellow afficionados!Most of these hints and tips are not in the manuals as they are the result of experience by the author and not possible for a technical writer in a factory who has probably never ridden such a machine, much less ever taken one apart and rebuilt it.It is well written, in an orderly fashion providing guidance in an easy-to-understand format. I wish there were more books like this.

This book is a must have, particularly if your new to motorcycles or British bikes. It's very detailed and has a lot of tips and tricks to working on these old machines. It walks you through the whole process, from picking the right bike to start your build to starting your bike for your first ride. It tells you about the inherent problems of different models and what to look for. I wouldn't start my project bike without this book.

Worth having on your bookshelf, but highly generalized info. A specific book on your specific bike would be money better spent.

I bought this recently issued book on a whim and it has been indispensable in the rebuild of my old Triumph. In contrast to most shop or restoration manuals, this book is a lot about the strategy of rebuilding with a lot of advice on judging wear, a rational approach to tolerances, devising home-baked and inexpensive methods for getting stuff done. It's also an entertaining read - I read it cover-to-cover, something I've never done with any manual. As the author notes, this is not a stand alone manual - you need a standard shop manual, but don't pass on this one!

I wish I had purchased this before I botched the rebuild on my BSA. But now I know where I went wrong and how to rectify it. Nicely segmented into the parts and functional grouping of the bikes, its easy to locate the information that you need. Lots of clear, concise pictures, with tips, techniques, tools, warnings, recommendations.