Big Sid’s Vincati is Matthew Biberman’s honest and heartfelt expression of admiration for his father as well as love of motorcycles which comes through as a memoir of two men reconstructing their relationship one motorcycle part at a time.

After a near-fatal heart attack struck his father, Matthew Biberman could see Big Sid’s will to live wane. Looking to the common ground of motorcycling in their often turbulent relationship, Matthew decided that motivation in the form of a custom build would be Sid’s best medicine.

Not just any custom build would do. Big Sid’s reputation as a renown expert on vintage British bikes and in particular Vincent, meant that this project would have to be something special.

Taking inspiration from an unusual and extremely rare combination first executed in Australia, the decision was made to mate a 1,000cc Vincent motor with a Ducati 750 GT chassis. This combination would most probably viewed as blasphemy in both the Vincent and Ducati faithful, but the results speak for themselves in the beautiful finished product.

More than just a story of a bike build though, Big Sid’s Vincati explores Sid’s life including introduction to motorcycling and eventual kinship with England’s premier hotrod motorcycle – Vincent. Further along, the tale continues in a way familiar to many of us. Sid starts his then young son, Matthew on course for a lifetime of love of motorcycling eventually culminating in the Vincati project that brings the two generations together in difficult times.

Big Sid’s Vincati is an entertaining and heartwarming read that is easy for anyone afflicted with the motorcycle bug to understand and enjoy. Complementing the story nicely are photos reaching back to the mid-1950’s including Big Sid himself well on the way to looping his Vincent on the dragstrip, but I would have appreciated more shots of the beautiful subject bike, the Vincati itself.

Chapters online retails Big Sid’s Vincati for $21.45