New Adventure Motorcycling Manual - Photos Wanted
 

Hi everyone

Here's an opportunity to be part of something special - I am writing a manual on adventure motorcycling in conjunction with Haynes Publishing which will be launced in early 2008. "Adventure Motorcycling - A Beginner's Guide" is expected to be a leading title for Haynes and will receive considerable promotional and marketing support. It will be sold predominantly in the UK and US markets. The book will feature 200+ photos across 176 pages.

Editorially it will cover the practicalities of planning a trip, choice of motorcycle, bike preparation, equipment and clothing, documentation and legal issues, living on the road, personal health and safety, riding techniques, maintenance, navigation and emergencies. It will act as an indispensable resource for those who have already started thinking about a trip, it will inspire those who have never contemplated such an undertaking and it will satisfy those who may only ever dream of an overland adventure on two-wheels.

If you or anyone you know has good quality high res photography and/or slides of recent trips anywhere in the world and would like to have them included in the book, please contact me on: adventuremotorcycling@gmail.com

I would need confirmation that the images could be used copyright-free for the book and I would be more than happy to credit the photographer(s) for each image used. I have already got a fairly extensive photo database, but the more images there are for the design team to choose from, the better the quality of the book.

Also, if you have a particular tip or recommendation that you have picked up in your planning or trips, let me know and I can include this too.

With the right mix of editorial copy and images, it should become the definitive guide for anyone planning an adventure ride.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Rob

I think you've missed the boat...
 

See: http://www.adventure-motorcycling.co...ion5/index.htm

IMHO you'll struggle to beat Chris Scott's and his contributors' wisdom and pictures (My favourite is the front cover :thumbup1: ....).

Chris Bright

Probably always a place for a new book - particularly if you're doing something out of your comfort zone. I went to a lot of trouble to track down a copy of Chris's original A4 Desert Biking when I was planning an Algerian trip back in the early 90's despite having 20yrs experience then. Mind you we didn't have the HUBB then!
I hope it'll be a bit better than the usual Haynes lifestyle offerings which seem to consist of 200pgs of stating the obvious.

Thanks
 

Thanks for the comments and to those of you who have submitted contributions already.

I'm very familiar with Chris' book and have used it myself when planning trips, particuarly in Africa. The new book is intended as a Beginner's Guide to adventure motorcycling and people would probably derive great benefit from reading both titles. It's certainly a pursuit which is ever-expanding and becoming more popular.

I look forward to more comments and contributions in the coming weeks.

At last!
 

I look forward to this book. I have been rather disappointed with one or two US books on this topic (Greg Fraziers book, for example, encourages a good attitude to bike travel, but is too basic for me, and naturally enough deals too much with those ugly great rolling armchairs of motorcycles with fridge sized topboxes, much favoured in the States), so I welcome this Haynes publication. Chris Scotts book is excellent and useful, and focuses well on desert travel.

Most of us stay usually on tarred roads (though not exclusively). The "backpacker on two wheels" image is very close to the truth for many, including me.

I have one suggestion to make - dont aim too much at beginners, or the book will quickly be outgrown, or rapidly bettered by a more advanced publication. If you can make it comprehensive enough to satisfy most needs, then youre onto a winner!

PS excuse the lack of apostrophes -Im using a French/Arabic keyboard in Morocco and its giving me a slight headache!

Best wishes

This is out now and listed on here http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/books/index.shtml I've seen a copy and the pictures are excellent if nothing else, you may even recognise a few faces ;-)

It's not clear from here but did Haynes actually pay anyone to use their pictures?

Matt

What with Long way Down, Davidoff smell of adventure and now a bloody haynes manual I'm going to find something else to do, this "adventure Biking" lark is way too mainstream for me!

That’s a valid question and should go to all people that use other people’s pictures.

It would be interesting to compare the content of this Haynes A M book with Chris Scott's A M H which is now in it's 5th edition.

Looking on the Haynes website, the A M seems to have lots of pretty pictures of shiney BMW and KTM bikes with riders wearing shiney bike gear straight out of the BMW/KTM catalogue. The rest of the book might have pics of other bikes... I'll have to check at Halfords to see if I can flick through a copy.

With ref to the question of people getting paid for their pictures, Chris Scott does pay for his colour pics. Did the Haynes man pay or did he rely on people getting a warm moist sensation from seeing themselves in print?

ShineyShiney

The implication is that no money changed hands.

Yes! A BMW catalogue, that's where I have seen the front cover of this book before:- those mega-expensive tours organised by world of BMW.

usage
 

Hi was just interested in what you are paying for usage of photos.i am assuming you are getting paid for your book.

Not sure on the paying for pictures.
It's not all BMW brochure stuff - I've seen a shot of a dejected BMW airhead rider will multiple punctures by Ruta 3....ugly fellah, and there are LOTS of nice bikes on there sides, upside down etc etc.
I'll rest judgement until I get a read, but there are lots of nice pictures and my brief flick suggested it'll be enjoyable.
At end of day, this is the place for the up to date factual stuff, The AMH is probably the best printed m/c book...but...there are lots of crap (no disrespect) travel books that we'll all happily buy to relive or plan dreams.
I've ordered a copy anyway - uses up the Xmas book tokens!
Maybe we could have an official review by one of the in house authors?

Who is "you"?
 

If this is a question for me (Chris TheBrightStuff), then I can't tell you, because I don't have a book. If it's a question for Chris Scott, please ask him. If it's a question for HaynesMan, I think we are assuming he's not paying anything.

It is my picture on the cover of Chris Scott's AMH. Exactly how much ChrisS paid me isn't relevant.
ChrisB

payment
 

sorrythe question was meant for bob.

Why is there a difference between B/W and color pics?

Personally I think that pictures should be paid for and the photographer should always be credited.
There are also laws about this subject.

Don't hold your breath for that answer
 

After 2 consequetive days of posts, Bob has been gone since Jan 07.

Lazy journalism
 

Sounds a bit like this chap on 4wd section http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...dcruiser-33439

Just trying to get you to do the work for them. That's the beauty of the Hubb people take and people give, not just ask a and make a quick buck.

The advice Chris and the others give here is invaluable - i'd much rather suport them than some multinational like Haynes or google.

Can it really be adventure motorcycling if one has to use a manual to figure out how to go about it?

Plus who are you and why does Haynes care? If you guys are out to make a contribution to the AM community please provide details, but this sniffs like somebody is out to make money off our hard earned lessons...if so, no thanks...I prefer to share my experiences with others who do the same, and that is the beauty of the HUBB.

Well put. I wonder if I'd ever have gone on my big trip if I hadn't found a copy of 'Desert Biking' purely by accident amongst the 'Lovely Planets' in my local Waterstons.

Matt :)

"Refitting is the reverse of removal" - how many times has Haynes lied to me with that simple sentence? I hope their new manual is more truthful. That said Just the title makes me curious and well worth a flick through at the book store. It is easy to be dismissive about this sort of venture and there is an air of disdain here about the commercialization of bike travel through LWD and LWR.

What we love is getting popular - there seems to be a storm of interest in this kind of activity these days. Perhaps some of us on the HUBB want to get together to do a "1000 places to visit on your bike before you die" type of book. Then as bike travel gains in popularity we can be more specific and we can do "1001 places to visit on your GS1150 before you die". Anyone in on it?

Matt

Got my hands on a press copy last week - I must say it's beautifully put together - Chris's book is the default, full of insanely brilliant information that you'd never think of.

The Haynes book is stunning, the visual shots all do look as if they've come out of KTM and BMW press sets, but the information it contains is really very good - it's a well done introduction to Adventure Biking - in fact I'd go as far as to say if you've not even really thought about it before, get the Haynes have a read and get inspired, then when you actually get into planning your trip get the proper book from Chris S.

I'll be writing a full review in the next few days for a few sites but I'll post it up on this thread too.

Oh incidentally Haynes pay standard NUJ rates for shots used in their books.

m

Matt, I eagerly await the 4 hour video of you reading the book! :rofl:

I hope it includes a section on drinking "wodka" in Russia, a skill we all need to learn!

Your welcome to any photos that ýou can see on my blog gallery (in sig)

High res available.

The Book of Lies!
 

As this is the name used by everyone I know when referring to a Haynes manual I would be a bit concerned about relying on it for anything serious, but then again replacing your brakes is potentially serious....

The AMH is a great read, but perhaps under marketed as I didn't get a copy until it was too late. No doubt if Haynes did a manual it would inspire more people as it would probably get mentioned in all their standard titles, along with being stocked in Halfords! Lets just hope they get some other input - does the book tell people about HU, the font of all knowledge?

Trust you! It won't be four hours though.... maybe three and a half.... :rolleyes2:

Horizons is indeed mentioned in the new book - in fact Grant has a half page to himself to talk about HU and his trip on page 34. On page 33 they suggest HU as a good place to start on the net to start researching your trip.

I'm still not passing judgement yet, haven't really got into it properly.

m

Are they still looking for contributors? I was a beginner myself not so long ago and have some interesting-ish pics of me and the Elefant in central asia if they want them

Hi Henry - I don't think so the book has now been published.. .I'm sure Mr Wicks will post up on the forum again if there's a revision.

m

Had a flick though it in Halfords yesterday while buying some Carlos Fandango Super-Wide wheels for my Corsa :cool4:

It's a pretty looking book. Lots of pics of shiny new bikes parked in front of scenic bits. Even got a pic of the new Tenere with (i think) Ait-Benhaddou in the background. All the pics are credited; mostly BMW / Touratech.

No information you can't get in more depth from other sources though.

Warning regarding sharing your pictures
 

Take this as a warning, not as any misappropriation by the publisher, but by abuse by fellow travellers.

It is fairly standard practice when you have shared time together on the road to copy and share photographs – in the digital age you may wish to consider that carefully.

You may find your copyright images appearing on other peoples web sites without your approval, you may find them in their published books, but worse, you may find them in a professionally produced book without your knowledge, approval, and naturally without you being paid for your photograph.

This has happened to us previously, and once again in this book.

That is not only illegal, it’s not at all within the travel ‘ethos’ I and most of you subscribe to.

This is no reflection on the book, from my very brief perusal since purchase today it is worth buying for the images alone. There are a few folk from on here in there, and there are references to all our old favourite mines of information. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with contributing images or words to anything of this sort – no need for snobbery inverted or not. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.

But be warned - when you share those images of your travels with your new best friends they might not offer you the same courtesy you would offer to them in return!

Rant over.

By the way, just to clarify I was referring to a photograph I took, with my camera, and a third party submitted without my approval or discussion - and was presumably paid for.

Thats naughty!

Not the same as the sketch which pictures something wholly different (no offence by way).

Quite happy to have a picture of me, us, or the bike published that was taken by a third party, such as appears else where in said book, in fact flattered.

That however is a whole different matter and not a legal breach of copyright.

I assume most people wouldn't submit someone else's photograph for publishing as their own, and that was the warning to the many of us that share our images after spending time together on the road.

After 2 consequetive days of posts, Bob has been gone since Jan 07.
Well at least it was clear what he wanted.
I have been expecting a competitor to AMH and although I have not seen the Haynes yet, from what I hear it... has nice pix. The author even tried to poach some AMH contribs but the one I know of declined the offer of no fee.

It's not clear from here but did Haynes actually pay anyone to use their pictures?
I heard he did not have much success here and so did an FoC deal with BMW and TTech (so said Nick P to me) plus whatever words and pix he could get off others for free. Good luck to him; he gets quality pix but a bit of a brochure look that many readers will see through. But to do a book in full colour is expensive and I suspect the author just got a one-off fee from H, not royalties (% of cover price sales) so has no long term stake in the title.

FWIW, I have never had much success simply asking online for pix either and for me covers are always a compromise (I mean 'Chris Bright on an Enfield', really... ;-D). I do the work and trawl the many great AM travel websites looking for killer shots and yarns. There are plenty out there.

My fees seem embarrassingly low to me but I know that Rough Guides for example pay about the same for pix.
I think last time round I offered $/€50 or equivalent per half page of colour (so double that for a full page, 4 x for a spread); £200-ish for the cover (for which CB was commissioned as he was in the right place at the right time on the right bike and a good camera).
For the many monos in my book I dont pay as I dont want to be held back using monos by cost. So I do most of them myself. Monos are generally technical anyway plus any significant fee offered would be a joke to the 'tog but add up a lot to me on top of the colours and yarns. It comes out of my pocket (not the publisher) and maybe it was the same with the Haynes bloke so he did the BMW TT deal.
I thought about doing an AMH dvd with TT's backing and Nick in UK was potentially up for it. But in the end I thought I may end up dressed in flash BM gear on a flash TT-festooned bike - it aint me and anyway, we've seen that already on telly...

By the way, just to clarify I was referring to a photograph I took, with my camera, and a third party submitted without my approval or discussion - and was presumably paid for.

Yep, I know that feeling. I take pix of each rider on all my desert tours as its hard to get a good shot of yourself looking cool - and hand them all out after. Many riders do the same back and on their websites of course I dont mind.
But I was a bit miffed when matey from 2007 wrote a yarn on the tour for TB Mag recently and used mostly my shots without a credit or even a "do you mind if..." It's not about the money; it's just bad form (tbf, could have been the mag's laziness, not his).

Anyway, may as well ask while I'm here....
Doing a bigger and better AMH6 for 2009 - I'll track them down anyway but your killer pix and yarns wanted! £250 in gold for the cover!

Everyone - paid or not - gets a © credit and a copy of AM6 if they want. All text contribs are listed on the title page and have the opp to do a biog in the back too.

afn

Ch

Someone bought me a copy of Adventure Motorcycling for Christmas. Lovely book, even if it is, as some have already pointed out, a bit like a BMW/Touratech catalogue, with everyone looking neat and tidy in their pristine BMW/KTM outfits on their(?) pristine BMW/KTMs. A bit sanitised then, but nice nevertheless.

I have to say, I am finding on the HUBB something that I don't find on ADVrider: A lot of people getting rather snide about the increasing popularity of our passion. Frankly, their utterings are reminiscent of the spotty sixteen-year-old who always claimed to have liked the band before they became famous. He invariably followed this remark with "They're not as good as they used to be".

The publishing of the all-colour Adventure Motorcycling is a natural reflection of the growing awareness of and interest in our shared passion. Some of that will be down to the much-derided (why?) Ewen & Charlie. So what?

What's wrong boys? Don't you feel special any more?

I don't think anyone genuinely has deep hatred for E&C and the whole "all the gear no idea" scene but I do think that most of the people on this site are generally more nitty gritty, down to earth and free thinking people who just happen to use motorcycles as their transport. From the people I know from the HUBB, we are mostly working class people with dreams that we only achieve with hard graft, lots of saving and all the pain and woes that go along with that.

I think many of us make huge sacrifices to travel, so yes, the guy with the £20,000 bike & gear combo who pooters off to Wales for the weekend and calls himself an "adventure biker" spouting "I'd do a longer/harder trip if it wasn't for this n that blaah blaah" does raise a few cheeky grins and groans here and I dont think there's anything really wrong with that.. It's all tongue in cheek and no stockbrokers on 1200GS's have been unwelcome at any meetings as far as I know.

I guess we're a close knit community of odd balls who like our little niche of "not quite fitting in" and don't want it diluted and catagorised by all the bollocks that goes along with commercialising it.

Also, the one thing I have noticed is that everything to do with adventure biking seems to have rocketed in price since the whole E&C bandwagon thing. Eg. Aluminium luggage is incredibly expensive now compared to 4-5 years ago.

Just my opinion... I'm sure there are many others.

Chris,

You could contact TBM, point this out and ask for payment. Pretty sure it is them who have breeched your copyright having not ensured who owns the c for the pix. In theory you could ask for whatever you thought would be cheaper for them than fighting you in court. If you can be bothered of course!

Matt :)

I loved your book Chris.. And particularly like the yarns in the back :)

Your free to use any of my pics and crash/robbery/loss tales... Gratis !!

Por ejemplo.....

http://www.tedmagnum.com/gallery/alb...pics%20047.jpg http://www.tedmagnum.com/gallery/alb...pics%20048.jpg http://www.tedmagnum.com/gallery/alb...b_DSC00549.JPG

http://www.tedmagnum.com/gallery/alb...C00554%7E0.JPG http://www.tedmagnum.com/gallery/alb...b_IMG_3322.jpg http://www.tedmagnum.com/gallery/alb...mb_Unfall2.jpg http://www.tedmagnum.com/gallery/alb...b_DSC00553.JPG