Phil Irving, Chief Designer of the Vincent, has commented that Sid's restoration work is "probably the closest thing to a Stevenage built example we shall ever see." (The Vincent Works was located in Stevenage, England.)

Jay Leno kindly contributed an Introduction. In it he writes that Vincents with Big Sid is "a unique book that every motorcycle enthusiast should treasure."

And the reviews are in . . .

* "A true motorcyclist enthusiast who can translate his passion for the sport onto paper . . . Sid captures the essence of a jaunt at daybreak. Big Sids book will keep you entertained on those long winter nights." --The Antique Motorcycle

* "A refreshing change from straight marque histories and restoration guides, Vincents with Big Sid is . . . tidily presented and highly readable." --Classic Bike [UK]

* "Lushly illustrated . . . a flowing conversational narrative [that] transports the reader to the streets, racetracks and gritty workshops of the 1950s . . . with some very realistic recreations of high speed blasts." --Long Riders

* "If Big Sid's love of motorcycles comes through in every chapter, so does his passion for people. The pages are filled with dates, facts, and figures, but the words fill the reader with images and impressions, shared memories and personal insights. . . . Vincents with Big Sid is no dry historical compendium, but a book that virtually drips with emotion." --Winding Road Motorcycle Times

* "A vibrant chronicle . . . filled with snapshots of street and track racing scenes from the last five decades, and personal accounts of what it was like riding and wrenching the world's fastest motorcycles. Immensely detailed and as handsomely designed as the bikes it covers, Vincents with Big Sid should have a parking space in any motorsports library." -- Mike Seate, Ironworks

* "An excellent Vincent story with a US perspective . . . a book for reading and studying, rather than a 'coffee table' book of glossy pictures." -- Jacqueline Bickerstaff, MPH [UK]

* "A treat for the Vincent aficionado." -- Road Racing World

* "Big Sid's book puts a human face on the Vincent legend, both in the creation of the bikes by Vincent and Irving, and in their use by all the many who set speed records, smoked the opposition at the drags, or just rode informally with friends and rivals on their favorite roads. Of special interest are the sections written by the racers themselves, full of the 24-carat enthusiasm of the 1950's and '60s. Sid loves his subject-he has spent a lifetime building and riding these machines-and he writes about it with grace."--Kevin Cameron, Cycle World

* Confirmed additional reviews to appear in upcoming issues of Cycle World, Vintage Bike,VQ, and Walneck's Motorcycle Trader, among other U.S. and international periodicals. *

Vincents with Big Sid: An Overview

This book is an outgrowth of the photograph collection I have amassed over the years. I have spent many evenings both at my home and at rallies sharing this collection with interested enthusiasts. I would imagine that you too have spent time with friends pouring over such photographs, the images and the stories working together to marvelous effect--it is in large part the joy of that experience I have tried to capture. I hope to convey a sense of the spirit that Vincent ownership brought to guys like me who owned, raced, and loved these machines. Such a book then is by its very nature anecdotal and to a certain extent, autobiographical. I have not tried to replace earlier Vincent books; rather I have tried to write one that would complement those books by providing a kind of evocation of a time and a place--in short, an impressionistic rendering of the Vincent scene.

Contents:

Section One consisting of a short history of the Vincent.

Section Two, One Rider's Beginnings, tells my story from my first scooter to my first Vincent--of how I came to become a part of the Vincent fellowship.

Section Three, Vincent in Competition, surveys the accomplishments of Vincent racers all over the world, among them: Rollie Free, George Brown, Burns and Wright, Vic Proctor, and Neville Higgins. I tell these stories from an angle designed to emphasize how the feats of these men inspired me and many other motorcyclists to get a Vincent and go fast. Neville Higgins' memoir of his racing days in the sixties is included here, as well as tales from the great west coast Vincent drag racer, Tom Auger who raced in the fifties and retired unbeaten, thus giving Vincents with Big Sid's a bi-coastal (and global) perspective. Additionally, Al Holloway has contributed an account of his racing days in Florida where he was state drag champ and ran 173 mph.

Section Four, The Vincent Today, concentrates on the longevity of these motorcycles. I discuss how Vincents are set up for the road today. I profile the Vincent Owner's Club (VOC) and VOC Rallies, with a focus on the joys of Sunday drives and touring and getting together with other enthusiasts. Here I also include accounts of contemporary Vincent competitors such as Dave Matson. This chapter ends the book with various accounts of all the fine men and women I have had the privilege to meet and befriend thanks to Phil Irving's handiwork.