Honda Gold Wing and Valkyrie [Paperback]

Malcolm Birkitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 1999

In 1974, Honda took the wraps off a 1000cc flat four with shaft drive and water cooling, and the Honda Gold Wing was born. Renowned photographer Malcolm Birkitt has included coverage of Honda's dynamic, new Valkyrie in this update of his best-selling Honda Gold Wing title, as well as examining all the changes in the Gold Wing since 1995. Included are intriguing early design sketches and portraits by Honda's designers and engineers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks; 2nd edition (June 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855328798
• ISBN-13: 978-1855328792
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,242,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More Wing, Less Valk, April 25, 2004

By 

Michael W. Vachon (Rochester, NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Honda Gold Wing and Valkyrie (Paperback)

I've noted that there aren't many books available on the Valkyrie, other than the standard service manuals. I happened to pick this one up, as it was the only title I could locate after doing a bit of web searching. When I got it, I was sorely disappointed. The Valkyrie portion is a mere 16 pages of the 144 total, most of that being photos, and all of the content focuses on the Standard model [no mention of the Tourer or my ride, the Interstate model]. To be fair, this is a 1999 publication and the Valkyrie IS model did not debut until then.

The Gold Wing portion is on par with most of the other bike-bio books I own. The book does contain a good mix of 'behind the scenes' and development stories, promotional materials, and plenty of photos. There is also a specifications thumbnail section at the back of the book that covers initial key models: 1000, 1100, 1200, 1500cc Wings, and the standard Valkyrie.

Bottom line: If your looking for background details on the Valkyrie, this may be your only choice, but consider it Valkyrie-lite. For a Gold Wing fan, I'd say it rates about average among other offerings I've read.

My hope is that, since Honda has apparently pulled the plug on the Valkyrie line [no offense to the Rune model], either this author or others will see fit to document the birth and death of motorcycling's first true heavy cruiser.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A real disappointment !, May 27, 2004

By 

CollectorQ (San Francisco CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honda Gold Wing and Valkyrie (Paperback)

In short, the author went to a few bike meets, took some photos and probably put the book together in an afternoon.

If you are interested in the technical aspect of the bike and its hardware, you can get more technical info from Honda's sale brochure.

The photographs are colorful, in focus and correctly exposed and that is about it. Any competent person with an auto everything SLR can probably do the same.

But if you are looking for ideas to accessorize your wing, this may be a good starting guide.

3.0 out of 5 stars review of book, January 1, 2012

By 

2lobstercreek - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Honda Gold Wing and Valkyrie (Paperback)

The book looked fine when it finally arrived. The packaging was poorly done. As a result, the package was ripped and the book could have easily been removed. Book was undamaged. Book was not placed correctly in the padded envelope. It also took weeks for it to arrive.
Holly Haggerty