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Motorcycle Art: Motorcycle Stories, Motorcycle Tattoos, Motorcycle Books, and More

By Walter F. Kern

Gives articles, features, and links about motorcycle art including motorcycle literature, motorcycle poetry, motorcycle painting, and motorcycle tattoos.

Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle
This article discusses my first motorcycle book called Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle. This motorcycle book is available in a Kindle edition, as well as a paperback edition from Amazon.com. -- Walter f. Kern

50 Wild Motorcycle Tales
This article discusses my second motorcycle book called 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales. This motorcycle book is available in a Kindle edition, as well as a paperback edition and an Audible audiobook edition from Amazon.com. You can also get the audiobook from iTunes and Audible. -- Walter f. Kern

Motorcycle Haiku Poetry
This article discusses my third motorcycle book called Motorcycle Haiku Poetry. This motorcycle book is available in a Kindle edition, as well as a paperback edition from Amazon.com. -- Walter f. Kern

50 MORE Wild Motorcycle Tales: An Anthology of Motorcycle Stories by Walter F. Kern
Many readers have indicated that they wanted more motorcycle stories similar to those contained in the previous book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales. This new book gives 50 More Wild Motorcycle Tales for your reading enjoyment. Most of the stories were submitted to Motorcycle Views by visitors to the site. Walter lived and wrote 19 of these tales; eight of the 19 are fictional depictions of far-out motorcycle events that could happen. Jane Ann Kern wrote four stories before her untimely death. Some tales are short, and some are long. Each tale was intensively edited to provide a good reader experience. You'll find humor, risk-taking, adventure, two-up excursions, stupid tricks on bikes, winter riding perils, hazards while riding, and lessons learned. This book is available in paperback and Kindle editions, as well as audiobook (Audible) and CD editons from Amazon.com.
Read a Page from the Book

Normal Secrets: A Search for Identity, Growth, Love, and Motorcycles - a memoir by Walter F. Kern
This memoir is a departure from the motorcycle themes of my previous four books. I grew up in Normal, Illinois, but had lived in New Jersey for more than 30 years when my father died at the age of 84. I was 54 at the time and soon learned that family secrets had been kept from me. Strange deaths, tragedies, indiscretions, and relationships lay in my past, totally hidden. It took me seven years to uncover these secrets from personal interviews, genealogical studies, public records, and cutting-edge scientific work done by worldwide experts. Along the way, I trace my own life path from wanting to be a mechanic to gaining a master's degree at MIT and working at a famous research laboratory. I also tell my own 50-year love story. The secrets are now known, and I thought it was time at the age of 79 that I should write this memoir to tell you all about my Normal Secrets. This book is available in paperback and Kindle editions, as well as audiobook (Audible) and CD editons from Amazon.com.
Read a Page from the Book

Motorcycle Kick-Starts: Getting Started, Stories, Tips, and How-Tos by Walter F. Kern
This book gives a condensed view of motorcycling for new and returning riders. It's designed to whet your appetite for more while sticking to basic motorcycle information without overpowering you with details. The book is based on articles Walter F. Kern published on the Motorcycle Views Website. The book starts out telling you what motorcycles are and showing you how you might learn to become an active, safe rider. Then ten short motorcycle stories, written by actual motorcyclists, are presented. These stories allow you to observe some unusual things that happen to people who ride motorcycles. Between stories, some practical advice about motorcycles is given in the form of ten motorcycle How-Tos and ten motorcycle Tips that you will need to know to become a proficient rider. This book is available in a paperback edition, a Kindle edition, and an audiobook (Audible) edition from Amazon.com. The audiobook is also available for download from Audible or iTunes. You can listen to a 5-minute sample of the audiobook on Amazon.

Antique Motorcycle Ads
These ads appeared in magazines and newspapers and go back to the early days of motorcycles.

Motorcycle Tattoos
Many motorcyclists have tattoos. To recognize these riders and commend their bravery in the pursuit of motorcycle art, we are now displaying a gallery of tattoos that adorn motorcyclists. If you are a rider and have a tasteful tattoo, submit it to our Moto Tats Gallery.

Wild Motorcycle Tales
Got a great clean funny motorcycle story? Share it with others here.

Motorcycle Haiku
Bikers have taken to the haiku to express their love of riding motorcycles. Haiku is an old poetic form using only 17 syllables in three lines. Here are original haiku poems written by bikers. We think you'll be amazed.

Motorcycle Art
Motorcycle Art is big on the Web. It's more than tattoos.

The Art of the Motorcycle - A Review
I spent the better part of a day going through the book. It's a big one and heavy. It has over 400 pages of pictures, essays, and descriptions of the 100 or so motorcycles that were on display in 1998.

Draw a Triumph
15 year-olds paint motorcycles in art class. From our forum.

Bikerlady - A Review
The book "Bikerlady: Living & Riding Free!," by Sasha Mullins is reviewed. This is an important book following in the tradition of Pierson's, "The Perfect Vehicle" and Ferrar's, "Hear Me Roar." Over 160 personal stories of women riders are given showing how the motorcycle changed their lives.

Cowboys With Chrome Horses - A Review
This book presents the historian's approach to motorcycling. The author, William Carrington, is an historian as well as a seasoned rider himself having put over 115,000 miles on his Harley-Davidson FXR. He gives the reader a well referenced history lesson of the building of America. He then intertwines the development of motorcycling into this narrative making for an interesting read.

Dream Rider - A Review
It's a fast read about Ms. Carstens' determination to learn to ride a motorcycle in her fifty-sixth year. This 113 page paperback traces her life as she gets the motorcycle bug, learns how to ride, gets her first bike, and sets out -- sometimes with friends and eventually alone -- to match wits with the elements on various roadtrips through the western states.

Ducati - A Review
From vacuum tubes to puppies to Monsters, that's just part of the story of the rise of Ducati. The book Ducati by Tod Rafferty is reviewed for insights into the popularity of this great Italian motorcycle.

Growing Up Harley-Davidson - A Review
Jean Davidson, granddaughter of one of the founders of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, has written a book about her life growing up as a Davidson. This book is like picking up an old family album with lots of pictures and stories, except these have to do with the people who took a simple one-cylinder machine and converted it into a world icon. Your Guide reviews.

The Harley-Davidson and Indian Wars - A Review
The Indian Motocycle Company was founded in 1901, two years before Harley-Davidson. These two companies fought tooth and nail for over 50 years. Read a review of the book The Harley-Davidson and Indian Wars.

The Harley-Davidson - A Review
This book, written by Allan Girdler and Jeff Hackett, gives you a look back over nearly 100 years of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. With outstanding detailed pictures of Harley models through the years coupled with expert commentary about how Harley did it, this book will provide you a quick and enjoyable read.

Hell's Angel - A Review
There have been many books and movies about the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) but no inside definitive source of information about this well known but mysterious club has surfaced until now with the release of Sonny Barger's book.

Motorcycle Song - A Review
I don't run across a lot of children's books about motorcycles. When this book, "Motorcycle Song," was offered to me for review by Harper Collins Publishers, I was pleasantly surprised as soon as I opened it.

Proficient Motorcycling - a Review
David L. Hough has spent over 30 years writing articles about motorcycles and how their riders can learn to ride them safely. Now, he has compiled all these into a new book, Proficient Motorcycling - The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well. I review this book.

Ridin' High, Livin' Free - A Review
Sonny Barger of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club has penned another best seller. His latest work is a collection of biker tales that cuts across the spectrum of biking. His 38 tales expertly collected and edited by Keith and Kent Zimmerman will amaze you, make you laugh, and reveal the inner workings of the biker lifestyle.

The Savvy Guide to Motorcycles - A Review
The book, The Savvy Guide to Motorcycles, by Shirley Duglin Kennedy is reviewed. I have read many books about motorcycles but few good ones about the whole subject from the beginner's viewpoint. This is an exceptional book that should be read by all beginners.

Walter's Books:
Click cover to listen to my audiobook.
Click Picture for Walter F. Kern's
Kindle, Paperback, and Audible Books

1941 Indian Motorcycle Replica
This is a video of a full size 1941 Indian motorcycle made completely out of wood. Every part has been sculpted to look exactly like the real thing.

The Airbrushing World of Pamela Shanteau
Click on Motorcycle Airbrushing to view her motorcycle gallery. There are two pages of pictures.

Bert Ballowe Artistry
This artist with over 15 years of experience is based in Dandridge, TN USA. His airbrush technique is displayed in two showcases on the site.

Bikesters
Bikesters is a set of stories and pictures developed by Fred Vosk. With machines named Superbike, Rocket Bike and Big Al and characters named Terry, Nitro and Celeste pitted against the Grungers, you get action adventures with a motorcycle theme suitable for all ages. This is unique and a must-see.

Covered Bridge Customs
This Pequea, PA USA artist and painter does custom painting and airbrush, antique cycles and trick graphics and hot and subtle flames on motorcycles. He also works with leather and does miscellaneous artwork. Site has examples of his work.

Cycle Portraits
Melissa Harris does watercolor portraits of you and your bike. She believes that the bike and you are a complete unit and each complements the other. Contact the artist for an estimate.

Dave Mann Art
This is the Web site of Dave Mann, motorcycle artist, who is most well known for his centerfolds in Easyrider magazine. Dave died September 11, 2004 and many of us first heard about it on the TV show American Chopper where they were building a chopper in tribute to him when they, too, heard about his death.

International Journal of Motorcycle Studies
The International Journal of Motorcycle Studies (IJMS) is dedicated to the study and discussion of motorcycling culture in all its forms -- from the experience of riding and racing to the history of the machine, the riders and design to the images of motorcycling and motorcyclists in film, advertising and literature.

John Guillemette - Motorcycle Art - Bikes On Canvas
Original and custom Motorcycle themed oil paintings and portraits. John Guillemette's Bikes On Canvas Gallery offers original oil on canvas paintings, Limited Edition and open edition prints of his Motorcycle and Chopper Art. Has a great painting of Indian Larry. Buy online.

Quotations about Motorcycles
Motorcycle quotes on a single page.

Ronnie Cramer
Ronnie Cramer is an artist, filmmaker, and motorcycle webmaster. This site shows 14 of his watercolors, collages, pencil drawings, and ink and watercolor motorcycle paintings.

V-Twin Biker
Site has good selection of biker photos taken by the author. You can even send an ecard containing the photo. Background sounds are poor and annoying. Find mistakes on the site and get free beer. Any good spellers will do well.

Wolf's Fine Line
Tattoos from the Wolfpack. Turn your speakers up and listen to the wolf wail.

More about motorcycles

Walter's Audiobooks:
© 2019 Walter F. Kern. All rights reserved.