Café Racers: Speed, Style and Ton-Up Culture

21 ratings
Out of Print: Future availability is unknown
Notify Me When Available
Hardcover Book
item number:  62CVR
on most orders of $75+
Brand New

Hardcover Book Details

  • Hardcover
  • 223 Pages
  • Released: June 15, 2014
  • Originally Released: 2014
  • Publisher: Motorbooks

Authors:

Author:

Product Description:

A photographic chronology of some of the fastest, most stylish, and most individualized bikes in motorcycling history. Originally used as a slur against riders who used hopped-up motorcycles to travel from one transport café to another, café racer describes a bike genre that first became popular in 1960s British rocker subculture - although the motorcycles were also common in Italy, France, and other European countries. The rebellious rock-and-roll counterculture is what first inspired these fast, personalized, and distinctive bikes, with their owners often racing down public roads in excess of 100 miles per hour ("ton up" in British slang), leading to their public branding as "ton-up boys." Café Racers traces café racer motorcycles from their origins in the mid-twentieth century all the way into modern times, where the style has made a recent comeback in North America and Europe alike, through the museum-quality portraiture of top motorcycle photographer Michael Lichter and the text of motorcycle culture expert Paul d'Orléans. Chronologically illustrated with fascinating historical photography, the book travels through the numerous ever-morphing and unique eras of these nimble, lean, light, and head-turning machines. Café Racers visually celebrates a motorcycle riding culture as complex as the vast array of bikes within it.

Keywords:

History | Motorcycles | Pictorial works | TRANSPORTATION

Product Info

  • ISBN: 9780760345825
  • Shipping Weight: 4/lbs (approx)
  • International Shipping: 1 item

To place an order or for customer service, call toll-free 1-800-336-4627 or outside the United States, call 1-610-649-7565
Open Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm, (Eastern Time)