Big Sid's Vincati: The Story of a Father, a Son, and the Motorcycle of a Lifetime - Softcover

Biberman, Matthew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452296153 ISBN 13: 9780452296152

Publisher: Plume, 2010

Synopsis

Read Matthew Biberman's posts on the Penguin Blog.

"If you believe it is possible to fall in love with a motorcycle, you will love this book." -Jay Leno

When Big Sid had a heart attack and gave up the will to live, his son Matthew Biberman panicked. Impulsively, Matthew promised his father that they would build a Vincati together. This fusion of two legendary motorcycles, the Vincent Black Shadow and the Ducati GT, a Vincati was considered near-impossible to build.

But if anyone could do it, Matthew knew his father could. Big Sid was the mechanic to see about repairing Vincents for nearly sixty years. But now, Sid was old, busted up and broke. Matthew, despite sharing his dad's passion, had become a Shakespearean scholar. The two men hadn't spoken in years-but called a truce to attempt a shared dream.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance meets Shop Class as Soulcraft, in this heartfelt memoir that shows how two very different men built a legendary motorcycle, and along the way, discovered what it means to be father and son.

About this title

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.

Review

"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

Edition details

• Publisher: Plume
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0452296153
• ISBN 13: 9780452296152
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288