Free books for aspiring motorcycle or scooter mechanics & new riders

Here I would like to point your attention to an overlooked free source of motorcycle related books.

It is openlibrary.org

I know looking for books, service manuals and other motorcycle or scooter related things can be very frustrating.

You keep being redirected between some shady websites and finally you end up on some site that demands payment to access whatever you are looking for. I guess even if you do pay you will probably get scammed so please don’t.

Well Open Library is completely different. Yes you need to register to borrow books, but you just need an email and that’s it. And it is not only books – there are service manuals too.

It is like Wikipedia and it is a part of Internet Archive.

So it is fully legit source, no ads, no spyware, no everything that most of your searches are bound to end up with. You do not breach copyright by accessing the books.

And what you get are books that are still a solid piece of knowledge about motorcycles and more. Not the latest or newest, but still perfectly relevant.

Just to give you an idea here I will recommend a few gems from the site:

Motorcycle basics techbook (Haynes)

Borrow it here

This book is a perfect starting point for everyone new to motorcycle mechanics.

Published in early 2000’s it does not seem obsolete at all. It is perfectly relevant to today’s fuel injected motorcycles and scooters as well as still popular older carburetor models.

How to repair plastic bodywork

By Kurt Lammon

Borrow it here

A comprehensive guide to repairing all types of motorcycle fairings and plastics.

Honda 125 scooters service and repair manual 2000-2010

Borrow it here

A service manual for Honda Dylan, Pantheon and S-wing scooters. As an S-wing owner I can tell you that this book is worth it’s weight in gold.

I was trying hard to lay my hands on original Honda’s shop repair manual for S-wing, but to no avail. This book seems to be the only available one.

Proficient motorcycling – the ultimate guide to riding well

By David L. Hough

Borrow it here

This book for long has been considered to be an excellent starting point for everyone wanting to get into motorcycling.

The book has been published in 2008 and I am sure you can still learn a thing or two from it.

Street Strategies – a Survival Guide for Motorcyclists

By David L. Hough

Borrow it here

This book is another classic. It shows you on a case by case basis the patterns of dangerous situations you can find your self in on the road.

A great way to learn form others’ painful experiences to ride safe.

This was one of the first books about motorcycles that I read and it got me interested in learning and recognising patterns on the road.

Other books

There is no point and no way for me to include all motorcycle related books on Open Library, so follow this link to see the list of motorcycle related books available from Openlibrary, I am sure you will find something interesting there.