"Big Sid's Vincati"

[DarthRider]

We had a brief discussion of this book in one of Jeremy's threads but I think it deserves its own.

I finished the book on vacation and really recommend it to anyone who loves Vincents.
Or has been lucky enough to own or even ride one.
Or Ducatis.
Or cool motorcycle stories.
Or genuine American motorcycling icons.
Or has lost their dad.
Or still has their dad.
Or has a son.
Or a daughter.
Or wants to learn more about what our motorcycling fathers did when they were young...and do when they get old!

The excellent book is not the "great American novel" but it is a very good read that leaves you wishing for two more chapters.
Here's what the author, Big Sid's son, Matthew Biberman had to say about it in Bike EXIF:
http://www.bikeexif.com/vincati

I'm going to pitch a developed "book review" on it to Motorcycle Classics Magazine, I'll let you know how it goes.
And the Vincati itself...one of only 7 in the world, is so much more than the obvious "a Vincent engine stuffed into a Ducati frame".
Si, there is a real, mechanical and even "physic" British connection there that you may not know about and would just love!
And it is a genuinely fine motorcycle and "rider" in its own right...not some garage queen for display.

If this picture doesn't stir your soul...skip the book.
http://www.bikeexif.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/vincati-2.jpg

http://www.bikeexif.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/vincati-3.jpg

[mnnden]

Thanks , I always enjoy a good read, and this looks like a winner, Den

[Griffon]

It is a fine read. Matthew was blessed in so many ways, and also Sid. There's is a very touching story. I'd recommend the book, certainly.

[Sir Limpsalot]

I'll have a word with my bookstore. Any idea of the ISBN #?

Si.

[NoRRmad]

ISBN-10: 1594630534
at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VPE9NQ?ie=UTF8&tag=leafsalon-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002VPE9NQ

Hope this helps.:)

[Sir Limpsalot]

Thanks NoRRmad.

Si.

[DarthRider]

That's a great deal on Amazon. My copy is a paperback and cost as much as their hardback.
Mine is a birthday gift from my son, oddly enough. He has no idea (yet) what he really gave me for my birthday.
I had sort of let this book go by, thinking it was "just another motorcycle book, of which I have lots.
I nearly blew it!

Jeremy, I guess we're not the only ones who liked the book - here are the Amazon reviews.

Reviews
"If you believe it is possible to fall in love with a motorcycle, you will love this book. It's a guy's romance novel with mystery, adventure, and real passion."
-Jay Leno

"I don't think you need to be a motorcycle enthusiast to lose yourself in this book. It is an open- handed classic about living and love, with a heart as big as a Vincent V-twin engine."
-Mark Knopfler, musician and former Dire Straits frontman

"First of all, while this is a book chock full of interesting mechanical wizardry and a tribute to a true legend in motorcycling, calling it simply a "motorcycle book" is a bit like calling Field of Dreams simply a "baseball movie." Because in this remarkable tome, father and son learn a lot about life and each other while creating a dream come true motorcycle."
-Greg Harrison, Antique Motorcycle, www.antiquemotorcycle.org

"Every motorcycle has a story. The Vincati is an extraordinary one and Big Sid's Vincati seals its place in motorcycle history."
-George Barber, The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

"A heartfelt and beautifully written story of a family and the meaning of motorcycles in their lives--and the meaning of one particular bike that brings a father and son back together during difficult times. The enthusiasm is dangerously contagious; it'll make you want to go right out to the garage and restore your own bike--or build one."
-Peter Egan, journalist and columnist for Road & Track and Cycle World

"Motorcycles are many things. Obsession; thrill; the church at which a certain tribe worships. But did you know they are a solace, too? In joining two of the greatest machines ever conceived, Matthew Biberman and his father made something greater than any single bike: a transcendent story about machines that is really about love."
-Melissa Holbrook Pierson, author of The Perfect Vehicle

"If you can come away from this book--this opportunity to see up close what Sid Biberman and his son are made of, without a new respect for how a piece of machinery can come to life and take along with it the lives of a family, you didn't pay close enough attention. A beautiful story."
-John Healy, editor, Vintage Bike magazine

"The average American male spends half a lifetime making peace with his father. Big Sid's Vincati describes how a quest to reconstruct one mythic motorcycle can wildly accelerate that process. A rewarding read for anyone who's ever loved a man, or a motorcycle."
-Aaron Frank,editor-at-large, Motorcyclist magazine

"There are precious few well written motorcycle books; this is one of them. It's the human stories behind each machine that make them fascinating. This is a great tale that will resonate especially with people like me, whose love of motorcycles was sparked by family."
-Hugo Wilson, Editor, Classic Bike

"A splendid motorcycle tale about unlikely things coming together: an imperfect past with an uncertain future, a professor of Shakespeare with a mythic speed-tuner, and a stylish Euro-bike with the most iconic motorcycle in the world."
-Fred Haefele, author of Rebuilding the Indian

"There are few times when a man has a passion for a machine like Sid Biberman has for Vincents. What makes Big Sid's Vincati especially beautiful is that in this case, the son has taken the time to write down that love in words for others to appreciate."
-Denis Manning, BUB Enterprises

"By no means just for bike nuts, this is an absorbing and often poignant story. Matthew Biberman paints a sensitive and touching picture of his father Big Sid, a man with a remarkable empathy for quirky machines."
-Mick Duckworth, journalist and author of TT100 and Ace Times


Amazon Product Description
A father and son build a legendary motorcycle and, along the way, reconstruct their relationship in this moving memoi.r

When his father had a near-fatal heart attack and gave up the will to live, Matthew Biberman panicked. Impulsively, Matthew promised his father, an expert motorcycle mechanic, that they would build a Vincati motorcycle together. The Loch Ness monster of motorcycles, a Vincati-half Vincent, half Ducati- had never been completed in North America. Building a Vincati was considered, at best, a fool's errand; at worst, an expensive waste of motorcycle parts.

But for nearly sixty years, "Big Sid" Biberman was the mechanic to see to refurbish and repair motorcycles, especially British-made Vincents. If anyone could build a Vincati, it was Big Sid. Despite sharing his father's passion for motorcycles, his son Matthew lacked Big Sid's mechanical gift, gave up on tools, and became a Shakespearean scholar. As adults, father and son barely spoke. But after his father's brush with death, Matthew vowed to learn the techniques that had made Big Sid a legend among bikers. Reminiscent of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Big Sid's Vincati is an irresistible combination of step-by-step motorcycle construction mixed with a powerful story of fathers and sons, and shows not only how the Bibermans built their Vincati (which was featured in Cycle World and Classic Bike) but also how the two men reconstructed their relationship, one motorcycle part at a time.
About the Author
Matthew Biberman teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Louisville. He also works on Vincent motorcycles in his garage with his father, "Big Sid" Biberman.

[Donson]

I am going to add that to the library!

[DarthRider]

Hey, I just noticed we have a new member with the handle of "vincatimatt".
That would not be Dr. Matthew Biberman, author of Big Sid's Vincati now...would it?
Welcome aboard Matt!

[jb44]

I finished reading Big Sid's Vincati... a worthwhile read for me.

I couldn't help feeling that the writing of this book was a bit of therapy for Matthew.

There is a picture of a young Matt astride his Honda CX500. That could have been a picture of me astride my CX500.

If any Cafe member would like to read the book, i would be happy to pass it along.

jb

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/mascioj/Miscellaneous/BigSidsVincati.jpg

[vincatimatt]

Thanks JB, glad you liked the read. Sorry I haven't been around the forum much. Just busy, had a nice ride on my Hawk GT today!

cheers,

Matthew

[X-Troller]

http://knick.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Brooksville-FL/2010-11-2810-58-16898/1110131693_NV4LH-L.jpg
An example of one that was at the Brooksville Hess station Sunday.

[Sir Limpsalot]

Very nice too. Still a crowd puller after all this time.

Si.

[DarthRider]

If a visitor from Mars arrived and asked me to show him the most beautiful motorcycles humans had ever made, I'd show him an XLCH Sportster, a 1969 Bonneville and a Vincent Black Shadow.

Oh Hell...Geezerdom has arrived. And he's riding an old bike!

Of course, if the Martian wanted to see beautiful cars, I might show him a 1953 Studebaker and a 1957 Chevy...probably more argument starters here than with the bikes.

[Sir Limpsalot]

probably more argument starters here than with the bikes.

Indeed. No mention of Jaguars there? That's jag-u-ar by the way, not the lazy jag-wah I've heard colonials use!

Si. :111:

[DarthRider]

Indeed. No mention of Jaguars there? That's jag-u-ar by the way, not the lazy jag-wah I've heard colonials use!

Si. :111:
"Jag-Wah"? That's what hillbillies call their Jags.
In Texas we call ours "Jag-Wire". Although we pronounce it "Jag-War".
Like barbed wire is "bob war".
I'm just happy we still have at least one state where we know how to talk good...:085:

[Donson]

"He plays a mean guitar, loves to drive in His jag-u-are" Pink Floyd.