An e-reader lets you expand your knowledge of many of the world’s most famous motorcycles, as written by one of the world’s most famous moto journalists.

British journalist Alan Cathcart’s series of tests of racing and road bikes constitutes one of the world’s largest archives of motorcycle data, including rare insider photos, much of it unavailable anywhere else.
Thanks to online digital publishing, this can be accessed and downloaded by anyone wishing to build a personal library of fully illustrated, hands-on information about favourite bikes through The Motorcycle Files series of Kindle e-books.

Since its launch two years ago, the series has been continually expanded, and now covers 24 of the rarest and most significant racing motorcycles and exotic streetbikes ever built, ranging from the prototype 1963 Ducati Apollo V4 1260 and the 1939 supercharged AJS 500 cc V4 to the four-cylinder 500GP two-strokes from Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki that lined up on GP grids during the 1980s and ’90s. In the case of the Honda NSR500, The Motorcycle Files covers the entire run of models from 1984 to 2002 of the most successful 500 cc racer in Grand Prix history, and is a special extended issue equal to 136 digest-sized pages.

All those motorcycles were ridden by Cathcart, invariably on an exclusive basis, and his hands-on impressions are backed up by model histories, technical features and interviews with the riders and engineers involved in developing and racing these bikes back in their prime. GP race fans will find it particularly interesting to view the stripped-down detail photography of the engines and other technical features of the most famous motorcycles in Grand Prix history, or of rare road bike prototypes that never reached the marketplace.

Individual titles of the series can be downloaded as e-books from Amazon or its Kindle store for viewing on all versions of the Kindle digital reader. Additionally, by using the free Kindle app, they can also be read on similar devices, including iPads and other tablets, laptops and even iPhones.

Each standard issue download is the equivalent of a 50- to 75-page book, and all are lavishly illustrated in full colour. Prices average around $4 per book at Amazon.ca. All titles can be accessed and previewed before purchase by going to either Amazon Books or the Kindle Store and entering “The Motorcycle Files” as the start of the search process.

Future releases are planned at regular intervals, and titles of forthcoming issues of The Motorcycle Files to be published shortly will include the legendary 1950s Moto Guzzi 500 V8 and the 500 Bicilindrica that preceded it; the failed but fabulous oval-piston Honda NS500 Grand Prix racer of the 1980s and its limited edition NR750 road-going derivative; and Giacomo Agostini’s multiple-World-champion three-cylinder MV Agusta.