Yes, motorcycle enthusiasts do read, and here are a couple of books that have come my way:

First, the simply titled, Honda Gold Wing (Whitehorse Press, $14.95 [U.S.]) by Darwin Holmstrom, is a somewhat-biased look at Honda's top-of-the-line touring bike.

Starting from its inception in 1972, Holmstrom tracks the Gold Wing's progress from a top-heavy cruiser with mediocre performance, to its final evolution as one of the finest long-distance touring bikes on the market.

He details the various engineering changes Honda made along the way and explains why they were made.

For example, early GL1200 versions of the Wing were prone to a faulty stator connector, which basically immobilized the bike when it failed. Holmstrom tells the reader why it happens and what can be done about it (remove the engine cases and rewire it).

He also details the evolution of the current generation "flat six" engine that propels the newer bikes, with a small section on Gold Wing clubs and things to look for when purchasing a used model. He even has a couple of pages devoted to the Wing's brother-in-arms, the Valkyrie.

At 80 pages, Honda Gold Wing is not an overly complicated or technical book. Holmstrom, who also authored the Complete Idiot's Guide To Motorcycles, delves into the engineering aspects of the bike, but not to the point of tedium.

If I have a criticism, it's that Holmstrom is obviously a Gold Wing enthusiast and tends to go over the top in his praise of the bike, not to mention his criticism of rival brands. The Gold Wing is a fine motorcycle, no argument, but it's not perfect.

At the beginning of the book, Holmstrom lets the reader know exactly where he stands and lambastes Harley-Davidson, claiming the only thing its Electra Glide model is good for is leaving an oil stain on the driveway. (Better watch where you say that, Darwin.)

Nonetheless, if touring on a Gold Wing is your idea of heaven, this could be a valuable addition to your collection.

Honda Gold Wing is part of Whitehorse Press's Collector Series. It can be ordered via the company's catalogue (1-800-531-1133 or http://www.whitehorsepress.com).

Next is Two Wheels On Two Reels: A History of Biker Movies by Mike Seate, also published by Whitehorse Press ($15.95).

If you've ever had to sit through some of the excruciatingly bad biker flicks of the 1960s and '70s, this is an indispensable and entertaining guide.

Seate, a contributing editor for IronWorks magazine, leads us through such memorable films as Angels From Hell (1968), Dragstrip Riot (1958), Chrome and Hot Leather (1971) and Run, Angel, Run (1969).

Not to mention biker chick flicks like Hell's Belles (1970) and my personal favourite, Chopper Chicks In Zombietown (1989), which features a gang of Sportster-riding babes lost in the California desert.

Seate digs up some little-known facts about this movie genre. For example, did you know that soul singer Marvin Gaye starred in the aforementioned Chrome and Hot Leather or that 1980s rockabilly star Robert Gordon straddled a full-dress Electra Glide in the somewhat artsy The Loveless (1982)?

Or that Miami Vice star Don Johnson once described the 1991 movie he starred in with Mickey Rourke, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, as "a piece of s---."

There is also a section on British biker movies, including the idiosyncratic Psychomania (1971) and These are The Damned (1962), not to mention The Leather Boys (1964) with Rita Tushingham.

Rockers with rolled-up socks poncing around London on Trumps and Beezers never had quite the same visual impact as North American hardcore bikers, but the films were equally entertaining in their own way.

In fact, Quadrophenia (1979), with rocker Sting as a bellboy/scooter-gang leader at a Brighton seaside hotel is actually an excellent film, definitely a notch above most of the clunkers mentioned in Seate's book.

Obviously, better-known biker movies like The Wild One (1953), Easy Rider (1969) and On Any Sunday (1971) get their fair share of attention, but it's the laughably bad bikesploitation movies of the '60s that deliver the most guffaws.

Filmmakers apparently got confused when they made movies about motorcyclists in those days, usually having their characters behave like loopy beatniks rather than pathological 1 per centers.

(A great line from one of these howlers, uttered by a guy in a fur hat riding a panhead chopper: "What's the matter with you? Can't you see we're menacing someone?")

Two Wheels On Two Reels (112 pages, $15.95) can also be ordered through Whitehorse Press's catalogue.