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READING BIKE STUFF Here some publications that I have read, enjoy reading and re-reading and recommend:     Click on the logo for Roadracing World. Excellent source of information for racers.  You can browse RoadRacing World website and / or subscribe to their monthly publication.  Highly Recommended    WHAT'S THIS GUY UP TO THIS MONTH? If you read Cycle World magazine you should know Peter Egan. He does not write about technical stuff, he writes good - and more important stuff about motorcycling, like how many bikes are enough, why dirt bikes are ugly, why cowboy boots will not go with a sportbike and the right boots for the specific bike, how to buy a bike two thousand miles away from you and without seeing it, or that an active life is nothing but a long series of errors and overcorrections.  If you appreciate important things about motorcycling, you should read what this guy writes every month on Cycle World magazine. It may not be the latest news on the most revolutionary bike, but it will certainly be stuff you were wondering about...  NEW BOOK: Leanings: The Best of Peter Egan from Cycle World Magazine  Hardcover Highly Recommended   at Amazon.com    and ... Volume One and Two. Both volumes are excellent. For racers and high performance riders, or anyone looking to improve their riding skills.  A Twist of the Wrist: The Motorcycle Road Racers Handbook. By Keith Code.   Highly Recommended  at Amazon.com  Sportbike Performance Handbook by Kevin Cameron.  Great book. All motorcyclist enthusiast should have this at their home library.  Highly Recommended  at Amazon.com    Sportbiking: The Real World (The Advanced Riders Handbook) by Gary S. Jaehne. GOOD BOOK, QUICK READING. Recommended    Amazon.com   The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is about Motorcycles by Melissa Holbrook Pierson, 240 Pages.  I particularly was not excited about this book. I actually never finished this book. A Fair book  However, recommended read-and re-read by Peter Egan (Cycle World). I wonder...  Amazon.com The Top 10 GP Winning Factories (as of June 2001) Factory Total 500cc 350cc 250cc 125cc 80cc 50cc Honda 500 145 35 167 140   13 Yamaha 395 117 68 163 47     MV Agusta 274 139 75 26 34     Suzuki 153 88 35 30       Aprilia 111     62 49     Kawasaki 85 2 28 45 10     Derbi 75     1 32 25 17 Kreidler 72           72 Garelli 51       44 7   Moto Guzzi 45 3   24 18       WHO ARE THESE GUYS ?   American Motorcyclist Association AMA has reported that current motorcyclists are slightly older, better-educated and make more money than general U.S. population.  The average rider is 38 ½ years old, married, has attended college and earns around $ 44,100/year.  That makes him 4 ½ years older than average American, and $ 7,600/year richer.  Three-fourths of today's riders paid for their motorcycles in cash, 91% are males, although the number of female motorcyclists is growing.     Women who ride are more likely  to be married (64% vs. 59% for male motorcyclists). They are also older on average (39). Women riders tend to be better educated than men and they have correspondingly higher household incomes than male riders. However, men spend more in motorcycling apparel.    An important trend to watch is that in the past eight years, the motorcycling population has aged 5 ½ years, probably reflecting the number of baby boomers coming back to motorcycling after raising families.  This means that younger riders are not coming to the sport as frequently as older ones, which could generate ramifications for the future. Said that, all this may demonstrate a picture far different from the one that many people - non-riders in particular - may have about today's motorcyclists.