From time to time I hear grumblings about the book Driving A Sidecar Outfit, aka "The Yellow Book", or to be specific--that it costs too much, and someone must be making a huge profit.
So, let me clear the air. The book was written by David L Hough, the same author who wrote the best-selling two-wheeled book Proficient Motorcycling. Dave spent many hours on the original sidecar book, and many additional hours updating it to the second edition. He donated all his work to the Sidecar Safety Program, who publish the book in the interests of providing helpful information to sidecarists. The second edition also contains a chapter by "Coach" Ramey Stroud, who donated his work.
The Sidecar Safety Program pays a printing house to publish, take orders, and ship the book, primarily to sidecar companies and booksellers such as Whitehorse press. Yes, the SSP makes a small "profit" on the books to pay expenses, but the emphasis is on "small." And none of the contributing authors, or any of the SSP staff receives any payment for their efforts. It really is a voluntary effort.
Retail price is $34.95 plus S&H. The reason for the current price is that the book is published in small quantities, in the USA. Printing books a few hundred at a time is the most expensive way to publish, but the total volume of books on sidecars is extremely limited. Fancier books are generally published in Hong Kong in minimum quantities of 10,000, which would require more money up front than the SSP could dream about. Our USA printer gets the job done with very little up-front investment.
For sidecar sellers and installers, the SSP highly recommends including a copy of the "Yellow Book" with each combination, to ensure that the buyer has the necessary information available to manage the risks. The SSP sells the book at a substantial discount for quantity orders--one reason the SSP receives so little money from book sales.
There are other sidecar-oriented books available in the world, but Driving A Sidecar Outfit is the only sidecar book that includes lessons suitable for a complete sidecar novice, and also includes chapters on advanced driving techniques as well as mounting and alignment. It's a complete book for the sidecarist, whether novice or veteran. Most importantly, it's been vetted by sidecar instructors nationwide, so it really is the standard sidecar driving textbook.
Individual copies are available from Whitehorse Press 800 531-1133, or directly from the printer at 800 736-1117.
pmdave
So, let me clear the air. The book was written by David L Hough, the same author who wrote the best-selling two-wheeled book Proficient Motorcycling. Dave spent many hours on the original sidecar book, and many additional hours updating it to the second edition. He donated all his work to the Sidecar Safety Program, who publish the book in the interests of providing helpful information to sidecarists. The second edition also contains a chapter by "Coach" Ramey Stroud, who donated his work.
The Sidecar Safety Program pays a printing house to publish, take orders, and ship the book, primarily to sidecar companies and booksellers such as Whitehorse press. Yes, the SSP makes a small "profit" on the books to pay expenses, but the emphasis is on "small." And none of the contributing authors, or any of the SSP staff receives any payment for their efforts. It really is a voluntary effort.
Retail price is $34.95 plus S&H. The reason for the current price is that the book is published in small quantities, in the USA. Printing books a few hundred at a time is the most expensive way to publish, but the total volume of books on sidecars is extremely limited. Fancier books are generally published in Hong Kong in minimum quantities of 10,000, which would require more money up front than the SSP could dream about. Our USA printer gets the job done with very little up-front investment.
For sidecar sellers and installers, the SSP highly recommends including a copy of the "Yellow Book" with each combination, to ensure that the buyer has the necessary information available to manage the risks. The SSP sells the book at a substantial discount for quantity orders--one reason the SSP receives so little money from book sales.
There are other sidecar-oriented books available in the world, but Driving A Sidecar Outfit is the only sidecar book that includes lessons suitable for a complete sidecar novice, and also includes chapters on advanced driving techniques as well as mounting and alignment. It's a complete book for the sidecarist, whether novice or veteran. Most importantly, it's been vetted by sidecar instructors nationwide, so it really is the standard sidecar driving textbook.
Individual copies are available from Whitehorse Press 800 531-1133, or directly from the printer at 800 736-1117.
pmdave
