British Motorcycles of the 1960s and ’70s: 654 (Shire Library) - Softcover

For the first half of the twentieth century, Great Britain led the world in motorcycle design and production, exporting its products to countries all over the globe. However, by 1960 this once-great industry had fallen into what was to be a terminal decline. During the 1960s and '70s Britain still manufactured a wide range of machines, but a combination of poor management, lack of investment, foreign competition (notably from Japan), and the arrival of the small, affordable car conspired to sound the death knell for most British motorcycles by the end of the 1970s. Mick Walker uses a host of colourful illustrations to explore the models produced by British companies and their foreign competitors, and explains what the industry did to fight its ultimate demise.

Mick Walker was acknowledged as one of the world's leading motorcycle authorities. In a career that spanned fifty years, he wrote some 120 books. A successful racer, tuner, team manager and talent scout, Mick was involved in almost every aspect of the motorcycle industry, even acting as the British importer for several leading Italian brands.