Buyer questions
Will this actually fit how you restore? The questions we hear most often before a classic-bike owner pays for a guide. If you're hesitating, start here.
How do I know which guide fits my bike?
Match the model and the year. Single-year buyer's guides cover exactly one model year, and the covered years are printed on every shelf and product page. If your year isn't listed for your model, we don't sell a guide for it yet — the catalog only lists what's live.
What's the difference between a buyer's guide and a restoration guide?
A buyer's guide is for evaluating a motorcycle before money changes hands: inspection checks, year-by-year changes, numbers and title concerns. A restoration guide is for the teardown, repair, and assembly work that follows — it covers every model year of the line in one book.
What do I get when I buy?
A PDF download, delivered at checkout. Single-year buyer's guides are compact (the BMW /7 guides run 7 pages); the all-years restoration books are the big references — 133 pages for the Honda CB750 SOHC, 134 for the Ducati bevel and the Shovelhead. Page counts are on the product pages.
What's inside a guide?
The original service data, organized: factory tolerances (bolt torques, bearing preloads, clearances), step-by-step assembly procedures derived from official service manuals, and model-specific tool checklists. No filler — every page is technical.
What if the guide isn't right for me?
Every guide carries a 7-day money-back guarantee: reply to your purchase email within 7 days for a full refund. The full mechanics are on the refunds & cancellations page.
Can I use a guide in my workshop?
Yes — workshop owners may reference a guide internally for an active build. The licence doesn't allow sharing the PDF with customers or other shops; the full licence is in the terms and the guides disclaimer.
Do you cover my bike? It's not in the catalog.
The store sells guides for Harley-Davidson, Indian, Triumph, BMW, BSA, Honda, and Yamaha today, plus the Ducati and Kawasaki restoration books. Suzuki, Norton, and Moto Guzzi aren't in the store yet — the library grows model by model. Tell us what you're restoring and read the journal for buying notes in the meantime.
Are the guides a substitute for a factory service manual?
No. Guide content is informational; it doesn't replace a factory service manual, an official dealer bulletin, or the judgement of a qualified mechanic working on your specific motorcycle. That's stated plainly in the guides disclaimer.