Today’s world is full of superlatives, but occasionally something comes along which truly deserves being extolled as the biggest and best. And that’s indeed very much so with the 940-page large format (11.1 x 14.2-inch) English-language Ultimate Collector Motorcycles masterwork just released by Taschen Books, a luxury art book publisher based in Cologne, Germany, which until now had never dealt with anything to do with two wheels and an engine. For there’s little doubt that this massive two-volume 220,000-word title weighing 20.68 pounds in total is the finest book about motorcycles yet published in any language, both in terms of content and presentation. Anyone who spends $250 will not be disappointed with their purchase. And, for full disclosure, I say that as someone asked to read the title through for accuracy before publication, but who otherwise played no part in its creation — so I have read every word in both volumes!
That satisfaction will follow because what may at first glance appear to be a massive coffee table picture book, with an array of magnificent studio photos of each of the 100 featured motorcycles, when you start reading through it swiftly turns out to be a motorcycle history textbook, with a detailed account including the genesis and technical makeup, plus any competition history, of each of the models included. Ignore the misleading “Born to be Wild” strapline of the book’s promotional blurb, which might make you think you were about to open a picturebook of Custom Streetfighters. This is a concise, well-written, well-researched, and above all well-balanced journal of record of those hundred bikes, the majority (though not all) of which are iconic landmarks in motorcycling’s evolution, spread over the 125 years interspaced between the 1894 Hilbebrand & Wolfmuller which heads the list of featured models, and the 2020 Aston Martin AMB 001 which ends it.
The title is a slight misnomer, though, for don’t infer that this book’s purpose is about exploring two-wheeled stamp collections, or even those owned by men who’ve assembled a significant array of bikes and opened them to public view, like George Barber and Sammy Miller, who are featured in interviews in the work. Instead, it’s a detailed look at many of the most significant motorcycles yet built, irrespective of their present location, as chosen by the authors, Charlotte and Peter Fiell. They did so with help from the likes of Jay Leno, who wrote the foreword and knows a thing or two about acquiring desirable bikes of all eras, and Ben Walker, Director of Motorcycles at Bonhams auctioneers. Paul d’Orléans, founder of The Vintagent blog and Gordon McCall, co-founder of California’s annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering concours, add further North American viewpoints.
The Fiells have written many previous Taschen books, more than 60 in all, but principally about various aspects of transportation and interior design and furniture, and while they did recently author the likewise two-volume Ultimate Collector Cars title, they have never previously dealt with motorcycles, don’t ride them and came cold to the topic.
All I can say after they spent the best part of two years producing this book is that they’re fast learners, for the huge amount of research needed to write such accurate and detailed yet concise descriptions of such a vast array of motorcycles is a genuine achievement worthy of the greatest praise. Add in the numerous period photos, posters and other images, and each chapter is a detailed portrait of the creation and subsequent existence of each different model, as well as of its life and times.
From pioneering record-breakers, luxury tourers, and legendary Grand Prix-winning road racers — sorry, very few off-roaders, perhaps the only fair criticism of the title — to iconic Superbikes and exotic Customs, this beautifully produced book is a record of the evolution of motorcycle design at its highest level over the past 125 years. There’s an appropriate balance in terms of the space taken to tell each story, too, with the Moto Guzzi V8 500cc GP racer getting 3,000 words of detailed coverage, while the Aston Martin AMB 001 which finishes the book has just 1,400 words to it — each of them the necessary space to tell their full story.
Until someone examines and handles these books for themselves, it’s difficult to convey the massive sense of quality in terms of the title’s design and substance, just how superbly produced and HUGE a publication it is, and the excellence of its content in both words and pictures. There has never been anything remotely like this published before in the motorcycle world, and I very much doubt there will be again.
Taschen terms the volumes as “A cornucopia of motorcycle treasures, and an absolute must-have for all bike enthusiasts.” That sums it up well, for this is quite simply the best motorcycle book ever published — no contest.
Ultimate Collector Motorcycles by Taschen Books is available at the Motorcycle Classics Store.
Originally published as “Ultimate Collector Motorcycles” in the September/October 2023 issue of Motorcycle Classics magazine.
