Customer Reviews

Motocross & Off-Road Motorcycle Performance Handbook, 2nd Ed. (CyclePro)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're a motorcycle enthusiast and you like to work on your own bike, this is the book to have! It tells you just about anything you may ever have wanted to know about working on your bike and more importantly, how to set it up properly. It goes through everything step by step, but not in a dummies fashion. The writing is straightforward, entertaining and best of all fact filled. I would call this the bible of dirtbikes. Now that I have it, I don't leave home without it.

By the way, I don't know the author, I just bought the book because a professional mechanic I met on the trail told me about it.

My wife and I are in the market for a couple of used off-road machines and I'm the type of person who likes to do some homework before jumping into uncharted waters. After picking up a copy of Mr. Gorr's book and just beginning to read through it, I can already tell its just what the doctor ordered. It gives great tips on what to look for when shopping for a used bike and the known trouble areas on most of the popular models. The tips in the rebuild and performance sections tend to helpful and "no nonsense". Its been difficult to put the book down thus far.

Eric Gorr's book is a great help to all dirtbike owners. In addition to your bikes workshop manual it should cover absolutely EVERYTHING you will ever need to do to your bike.

The writing is good, it's organized and to the point. There are specific sections for all the major models.
This is one of the better tecnical books I own, and I highly recommend it.

Bottom line - well worth the money, but there is a 3rd edition available. I ordered the 2nd edition by mistake and returned it. The 3rd edition is in color and MUCH easier to read. 3rd edition has a 'bit' more 4 stroke info but not enough to justify buying the 3rd edition if you have the 2nd.

Good book. Good for beginners and as a reference for the experienced.

You may want to take some of the things he says with a "grain of salt" or "does this apply to me" attitude though. Page 22 has a Maintenance Interval Chart that suggests changing the transmission oil every 2 hours and a top end rebuild every 10 hours - or less depending on riding conditions. Not sure I want to change the oil in the middle of a 4-hour easy trail ride. Yes it probably is supposed to apply to 2 strokes on the mx track but he does not state that.

Just buy it.


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I have 2 boys who race MX and off road and I race off road and we do most of our own repair and tuning work. This book makes it much easier. It goes way past the repair manual with time saving tips and necessary illustrations. The tuning stuff is completely missing from the repair manual. I don't know if this is THE best book to have in the garage but it works for me. I've read it almost all through and highly recommend it to someone who races or pits for a racer.

I decided to check out this book after hearing many good things about Eric Gorr's engine modification work. I was looking for something that had a bit more "theory" to it than a a factory service manual. In your service manual you have step by step instructions on how to perform maintenance. In Motocross & Off-Road Performance, Eric Gorr shares his extensive knowledge and secrets of the trade.

Everything from basic control set-up to engine porting and crank rebuilding is covered. While the more advanced topics are not as in-depth, they serve as a great primer for those looking to take their do-it-yourself to the next level. If you're just doing basic work and maintenance on your motorcycle, there's still plenty of information for you. Suspension set-up is covered in extreme detail, as well as carburetor tuning.

The bike-specific section is extremely helpful as well. Eric looks at all the Japanese bike manufacturer's and gives each model and year an overview; it's strengths, weaknesses, and ways to fix those flaws.

Again, you'll find plenty of insight and little tips and tricks in this book. There's no doubt that this is an essential shop book for everyone from avid dirt bike riders to enthusiasts.

As an active veteran off-road motorcyclist, here is my review of the second edition of the new Motocross & Off-Road Performance Handbook. The original edition of this book was released in 1996. It featured a unique way of organizing and presenting technical information about off-road motorcycles including a master reference of extensive tuning tips for bikes. The original edition of the Performance Handbook was a best selling motorcycle title that won a Bronze Medal at the 1997 International Automotive Media Awards, in the technical how-to books category. The new edition of the Performance Handbook includes expanded sections for beginners like choosing types of off-road bikes and basic maintenance, as well as enhanced interactive links to online forums for more technically advanced tuners and race mechanics. Nearly 50,000 words and 50 photos have been added for 225 pages of information on dirt bikes from the early 1980s through 2001 models. Chapters like Suspension and 4-Stroke Engines have been enhanced to cover the latest models and newest technology. The new book also features a dirt bike buyers guide for companies in America and the UK including web site links. The author, Eric Gorr was a monthly columnist in the off-road motorcycle press in the US, UK, Australia, and Spain. Gorr is also published in the SAE and holds two US Patents related to IC engine technology. Currently he's a moderator on the dirt biking web forum DirtRider.Net Other interesting books on similar subjects would be the Sport Bike Performance Handbook by Kevin Cameron, the Two-Stroke Tuning Handbook by A. Graham Bell, Motocross and Off-Road Riding Techniques by Donnie Bales, Freestyle Motocross by Garth Milan, and Supercross by Joe Bonello.

The Trail Bikes is a really good book.If you are looking for a
dirt bike,or if your looking for how to ride one this is the
place for you go to.Believe me this is the place for you to
go to.GOOD LOOK