Top Dead Center 2: Racing and Wrenching with Cycle World's Kevin Cameron »

Kevin Cameron is one of the premier motorcycle writers. His feature stories and monthly column have been appearing in the industry's largest-circulation magazine, Cycle World, for more than 20 years. Kevin lives in Gill, Massachusetts. cycleworld.com

Cycle World’s Kevin Cameron is the most insightful motorcycle racing journalist and technical writer on the planet. He not only understands why racers race and how motorcycles perform, he explains both in ways that lead the rest of us to “aha” moments. This second volume of Cameron’s articles and columns highlights his perception that the pursuit of higher performance improves our general understanding of the way things work. Referencing motorcycle geniuses like Soichiro Honda and Erik Buell, and legendary machines like the Bimota Tesi and the Britten V-1100, Cameron shows how racing serves man’s never-ending quest for excellence.

Foreword Erik Buell 7

Part 1 Memorable Machines

The Honda CR-72: The Past as Future, October 1974 10

Cosworth-Norton Technical Analysis, January 1980 19

Bimota Tesi 1D, Superbike Annual 1991 33

Honda NR750, January 1992 36

Britten V-1100, June 1992 45

Voxan Boxer, March 2000 52

Part 2 Timeless Technology

All about Transmissions, May 1978 56

The Ignition Process, May 1979 71

Chassis and Suspension, Part 1, March 1983 85

Chassis and Suspension, Part 2, April 1983 99

Chassis and Suspension, Part 3, January 1984 114

Chassis and Suspension, Part 4, May 1984 127

TDC: Rods, November 1984 139

TDC: Pistons, December 1984 142

Tires: The Basic Vocabulary, Part 1, March 1984 146

Tires: The Basic Vocabulary, Part 2, April 1984 152

Tires: The Basic Vocabulary, Part 3, June 1984 161

Cars & Bikes & Planes: Anti-Lock Braking, November 1988 174

Two-Wheel Steering, February 1992 181

TDC: A Short History of Chassis Flex, June 2004 185

Part 3 Gearhead Geniuses

Morbidelli: On the Cutting Edge of Two-Stroke Technology, March 1978 190

Buell: The Other American Maker, July 1985 200

Silent Hero: Erv Kanemoto, April 1990 212

Soichiro Honda: 1906-1991, November 1991 223

Forging a Future: Michael Czysz, August 2006 227

Part 4 Racing Revealed

The Racer as Tourist, March 1980 236

TD1: A Personal Remembrance, July 1984 249

Breaking Away: Doug Chandler, January 1991 255

Forever Young: Gary Nixon, November 1992 262

Ago: Giacomo Agostini and MV Agusta, May 1994 269

History at Speed: 20 years of Honda Superbikes, May 2000 275

Behind the Barrier: John Kocinski, September 2000281

Farewell, 500s, January 2002 288

Grip, Gripe, Grip, March 2005 292

Index 300