The Gatefold Book of Harley-Davidson
Compared to many of the books about Harley-Davidson, Gatefold also features a large in format with glossy heavy bond pages measuring 9 inches by 11.75 inches. But each of the 36 bikes included in the collection is treated in a gatefold page with four panels measuring 9 inches high by 34.5 inches wide in total!
Each gatefold page includes a huge image of the bike covering three of the panels and smaller detail images, a listing of selected specifications, and some narrative on the fourth panel.
What really makes the book work superbly for use of the gatefold images is how the pages are binded. Instead of the standard book binding practice of bringing the pages together in a semi-rigid binding, the pages are all loosely held in a wire loop-type binding fixed to the back cover of the hardcover. This allows the book to lie flat to allow the gatefolds to easily be fully laid out for viewing.
Garry Stuart’s high resolution full color images are clear and detailed – if there was a scuff on a tire or ding in the paint, or if the images weren’t retouched in editing, it would probably be visible.
The collection of bikes range from bone-stock classics like the 1947 61E Knucklehead to mildly modified examples such as a 1976 FLH Shovel up to major customs including a 88 cubic inch Shovel hardtail chopper called “Shovel Trouble Two.” The Harley-Davidson book also features a radical dual-supercharged 120 c.i. Harman-powered super cruiser.
This book is great archive of images and information that may be best enjoyed in its bound form, but each bike’s images make tempting wall poster material, as well.
- Title: The Gatefold Book of Harley-Davidson
- Author: John Carroll with photographs by Garry Stuart
- Published: 1997.
- Publisher: Barnes & Noble, Inc., by arrangement with Brown Packaging Books, Ltd., Bradley’s Close, 74/77 White Lion St., London, N1 9PF, England.
- ISBN: 0 7607 0507 0
Note to readers: many of the books that we’ll feature in Rider’s Library may be out of print and some may be difficult to find. That could be half the fun. The Internet should make the search relatively easy but ironically, none of the books currently scheduled for eventual retro-review for the Rider’s Library section were found with the help of the Internet. They all were found at book stores, used book stores, antique shops, motorcycle shops, yard sales and so on. Of course, check in with Ultimate Motorcycling for reviews of the latest in motorcycle literature, as well.
