Customer Reviews

Donny's Unauthorized Technical Guide to Harley Davidson 1936 to Present: Volume II: Performancing the Twin Cam

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I genuinely enjoyed both volumes of his Harley Encyclopedia. I am an amateur HD mechanic and have read all of the books by Rook, Buzzelli and every other performance book I could find. Peterson has a deep understanding and interest in HD engines. His comments are all well taken and even Denish's books don't get to Peterson's tech depth, though Peterson doesn't restrict himself to only performance related topics. Many of his chapters are purely engineering analysis and excellent nonetheless. I'm sorry he Didn't begin the projected 12 volume series with Sportsters, but I bought a 2001 TC88 yesterday and his books are the bibles. His writing style is more or a series of comments by category, but very readable and good natured. From a purely objective viewpoint, his books would only appeal to the HD enthusiast who really wants to master the machine. For my part, I loved them. I also recommend Denish (out of print) and Bill Rook's "How to build a Harley Torque Monster" (very available). Bill Rook's book is mistitled as it is truly one of the best and simplest performance manuals out there. Denish goes into deeper depth and is also excellent, but the Peterson books are as detailed as one can get. Both Rook and Denish illustrate their various techniques and thoeries. Peterson has no pictures and is for the technician who already knows how things work.

One of the best manuals for the Harley Twin Cam motor. Volume I: the Twin Cam was rather poorly written, but chock full of knowledge broken down into understandable pieces. Volume II is easier to read thanks to an improved editor. Donny is the Einstein of Harley engines. Can't wait to get my hands on Volume III!
I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who wants to know exactly how and why the Twin Cam works and how to make it that much better of a motor.

Awesome text loaded with information that appeals to all knowledge levels. Book contains nothing short of precise, objective, "tribal" knowledge. It's so impressive that if my HD dealership can't incorporate the fixes for my CVO 110, I'll haul my bikes to Toronto from NC to Donny's shop to do the work. Thanks Donny !

In terms of maintaining their machines there are many different kinds of Harley-Davidson owners. At one end of the spectrum are slackers who treat their bikes like household appliances; aside from wiping the grime off occasionally they wait till something breaks before they pay someone else to fix it. At the other extreme are fellows to whom a Harley-Davidson motorcycle is more of a home entertainment center than a motor vehicle; these compulsive tinkerers can't wait to rush home with their brand new machines, rip up the warranties and spend months or years with lathes, milling machines and digital micrometers honing every last component of the drive trains until they've got "perfect bikes" - and dozens of crates filled with trashed parts. One thing I've noticed about the slackers and tinkerers is that both types spend almost as much time pushing their bikes as riding them. When motorcycles are neglected or over-tweaked things constantly go wrong with them.

Now comes Donny Petersen, who is certainly one of the most knowledgeable Harley-Davidson authorities as well as the uncrowned king of the tinkerers. Donny's technical articles in American Iron Magazine are well-written, interesting and helpful to the majority of riders who simply want to keep their bikes running reliably and looking good. Unfortunately though, this book has little or nothing of benefit to anyone except professional Harley-Davidson mechanics and race tuners. In fact the only thing of interest to me was the author's mention of a poorly mounted switch that was fixed long ago by the Motor Company. I'm waiting for Donny Petersen to publish a compendium of his AIM articles. That will be a lot more worthwhile to average riders like myself than this Harley-Davidson pro-wrench cookbook.

I bought the book because I wanted to get in-depth technical knowledge of the V-twin engine. I got that and more. The book gets very technical and dives into principles as they relate to the Harley Davidson Twin Cam but those principles can relate to any internal combustion engine. Additionally, if you are wanting to cover a specific topic, prior to reaching it in the book, it is pretty easy to jump around without having to have read a previous chapter. Lastly, and the best, is that it is written in a way that it is easy to read and easy to follow along some pretty technical aspects.

Could not be happier. All as described.Very Very informative Just what I was looking for.Thank You

This is the second in the series and it is a gread read, just like the first. I have gained a great deal of knowlage about my bike from these two books. I am looking forward to the next in the series. Jim

Very informative a well thought out book. I enjoyed this book and would recomend it for anyone wanting information on Twin Cams .

Donny's Unauthorized Technical Guide to Harley Davidson 1936 to Present: Volume II: Performancing the Twin CamThis is a great Book for people who really want to learn how the twin cam works and learn how to make the motorcycle run like it should. Donny talks to you in a very simple way that anyone can understand.

I really enjoy learning from Donny Petersen. He is so extremely knowledgeable in everything Harley related. I've read the first volume, and anxiously awaited the second. It's just as filled with great information as the first, and I can't wait for number three.