The Strange Death of the British Motorcycle Industry

Firstly I have to condemn the words of the reviewer who rated this book as poor due to its lack of anecdotes and the detailed description of various motorcycle models. This has been done to death by many others including the motorcycle press. There are far too many 'anecdotes' and myths surrounding the crisis this industry found itself in. These myths often become accepted fact in the repeated telling (At present a notable and long serving motorcycle journalist is pandering the myth that Bert Hopwood and Doug Hele were not friends and that Doug Hele told him that he had no respect for Hopwood, this is a blatant lie and is in direct contradiction even Doug Hele’s much published opinions - it is easy to make up stories when the protagonists are dead) Mr Koerner has produced a work of such academic clarity that shows just how much damage the anecdote tellers have done. This book, is the first complete bringing together of all the core materials to form a coherent whole I have ever read. Since I have read most if not all the other attempts to tell this story, I can say this with some conviction. This book is an excellent and proper source of a real and complex tragedy brought on by so may factors. Well done Mr Koerner.

This book is based on the Ph.D. dissertation of the author. It is a very comprehensive study of the decline to near extinction of a once worldwide leading industry. The author used many primary sources, such as government documents, company accounts and the records of the Motor Cycle Industry Association. It gives a clear picture of the history of the motorcycle industry and contains also interesting statistics. It covers many aspects from the technical side up to the changing immage of motorcycling. It is exhaustively researched. The reader gets a very clear picture of the relevant circumstances leading to the death of the once great british motorcycle industry.

This looked like a interesting book and when it arrived I discovered that I had already bought and read it.It was interesting to discover that many problems of the British Motor Cycle were probably caused as much by its success as its failures .The answer seems much more complicated than the fairly transparent troubles in the British Motor Industry in the 1960s and 70s

An excellent book well researched over many years. Written from the white collar angle and is to me, the best you're going to get from this perspective of how it all went wrong. Steve Koerner pretty much covers all the bases and does allude to some of the production models as you go so bikers will know what the relationship is between the factories, the management and the bikes they were producing at what time. The book has a couple of faults and that is that the designers and engineers (and education) get off virtually scot free bar a paragraph in the epilogue and we lack any anecdotes from people who were there. It covers the political and boardroom side superbly. Koerner blames the lack of a lightweight/small bike and segment retreat, inept management etc but he fails to get into any technical detail and therefore we still await a book that will tell us that the only successful post war British design was a German reparation fed BSA Bantam. What with Bert Hopwoods 'nothing to do with me':Designers and Engineers are coming out of the debacle crystal clean. We must await the book that tells of this, the real fiasco of the industry.

This is no coffee table book, but I found it irresistible as the author, who is an academic, backs up his opinions with evidence, a lot of it new to me. As a fellow motorcycling author, I applaud this title , recommended for the inquisitive enthusiast.

An excellent insight into the demise of the motorcycle industry. Well written and very comprehensive. Rec

The book is absolutely excellent. It has exceeded my expectations. I liked the professional approach to a subject which has been dealt with emotionally many times. I shall tell all my motoring friends about it.

Excellent historical account with an interesting sense of narrative

If you think that British motorcycle companies were amateur minnows this book will set you right. They worked together through a strong industry body, they worked energetically to open international markets including the USA, they tried to expand ridership for example by attracting women to motorcycles they even started planning for the end of WW2 in1942. They also made some huge blunders as the text reveals. This excellent book is readable comprehensive and intelligent.

this book is a comprehensive account of the events contributing to what the author calls the death of the british motorcycle industry. its 277 pages of text and over 70 pages of detailed notes and references listing the sources including page numbers and how to find the pertinent publication giving this information. this is an impressive work chronicling these events starting from the beginning and covering through the seventies and maybe beyond (I haven't finished the book yet). this is not an afternoon's reading. this is a book with so much information it deserves to be studied instead. i believe that this book will emerge as the leading resource for information about this subject.

Well written informative and entertaining

I have read every book I came across about the British motorcycle industry. Having grown up on Triumphs in the fifties, I always wondered what happend. While rehashing some things already well-known, this book covered it all with fascinating insight and historical facts.

Probably the best book on this topic. I have several other books on the demise of the British motorcycle industry, and this is the best one out there. Worthy every penny!