Customer Reviews

Building Budget Brits: A Practical Guide for Refurbishing BSA and Triumph Unit Twins (Tech Series)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

This excellent book is to British bikes what 'Guzziology' is to those fine machines; except a lot cheaper and a good deal more compact. It is packed end-to-end with tips, tricks and wonderfully practical advice on restoring and maintaining BSAs and Triumphs without riding off to the poorhouse while you're at it. The chapters each deal with a particular aspect of the bikes we know and love with a modest slant towards the 'daily rider' although if you're dead set on a perfectly restored machine this book would be no less handy.

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!

A well-organized book that attacks the difficult task of dealing with the similiarities and differences of BSA's and Triumphs. Every long-time builder of British bikes has a few of their favorite homemade tools and this book added to my collection. I have been away from working on these bikes for more than ten years and after reading this book I feel I am up to speed on what the popular set-ups are now. A new fan to this classic brand of motorcycle will receive a relevant education on what to do with the positive grounded, constantly fouling-up electrics and the bolts and nuts that his American and Metric wrenches refuse to grip on. Makes a dry subject comfortable to deal with.

For a lay mans book this is still confusing and muddled futhermore by Mr. Brown making corny plays on words. As a mechanic some sections of the book were completely useless. Good book for a beginner and had good section on crankshaft rebuilding. Book needed more attention to detail however.

This book is a great, simple to understand, practical source of info if you own a Brit bike, especially a Triumph or BSA. You HAVE to buy this if you own either model. 5 stars.

Great book - I wish I had it 30 years ago when I owned these bikes. Lots of good tips and info that you only learn when you spend a long time with these bikes. This book is applicable to most old Brits (not just the BSA and Triumph twins) as the chapters on electrics, wheel building, carbs, strip down, etc apply to all 60s and 70s models (Nortons etc etc).

Great book for vintage Brit bike fans. Although it is primarily for Triumphs and Beezas, the information can be applied to any vintage British bike.Seems like every time I thumb through the book ,there's some useful info that I either forgot or never really thought about even though I have owned English bikes since the seventies. Cheers, Mr Brown for a book well written and illustrated

Just like the others said,spoken in an easy to understand manner.I would still buy the service manuals but this is a great tool for the backyard restorer.