Superbike: An Early Illustrated History is a 192-page book, composed of black-and-white photos by seasoned racing photographer John Owens and copy by longtime technical writer Kevin Cameron, is a fascinating glimpse into the formative years of AMA Superbike racing. This is due to three reasons. First, the visually stunning reproduction and printing of Owens’ photography of the period. According to Editor Matthew Miles, likewise a moto-industry publishing veteran, Owens stayed at the Connecticut printing facility for three days while the book was on press to ensure reproduction met his standards of excellence. It does. Rarely might anything but a premium art book match the production quality of Superbike: An Illustrated Early History.

The second reason is the choice of photography and the way in which the images were created in the first place. Owens isn’t just a race fan and photographer; he is also a former road racer. And if you race motorcycles, you are by nature acutely aware of and interested in their technical details. Only a racer would photograph the details that Owens found. Not only did he capture the bikes, mechanics and riders in action, but, moreover, in the pits where he had liberal access, his fascination drilled into the smallest of details, such as safety wire on a nut, the shredded edge of a slick tire, or the far-away look in riders’ eyes as they anticipate the race start. The types of images that attracted Owens’ attention, reproduced to the exquisite level that they are in this volume, put this book number one in a category of one. It is that special.

The third factor that makes this book so fascinating is the accompanying freewheeling, seemingly stream-of-consciousness text blocks. Everyone familiar with Cameron’s writing knows he gets to the point. There’s no fluff, no fancy lead-in to the topic at hand. The first sentence digs deep into the subject, and he keeps digging from there. Where some people might look at a 1983 Honda Interceptor and wonder in amazement at its purposeful lines, Cameron is just as likely to focus on a sheet metal shroud that funnels air into its radiator. Or he will notice a bike with a front-treaded Michelin tire (rather than a slick), which suppressed the chatter common at the front of the streetbike-based racers. Only a tuner — as Kevin was at the time — who spoke to riders in depth about their challenges, would understand the importance.
Altogether, Superbike: An Illustrated Early History is so detailed that racing fans will want to study every photograph intimately and read every word carefully. Editor Miles says that Cameron received a digital package of 900 photographs and wrote 30,000 words. Of course, this was distilled to the 85 feature photos and texts in the volume; ranging from ten to nearly 600 words, they make the book a quick read.

Ultimately, what stands out here is the bare essence of the sport, as witnessed by two artists. Even more remarkable, although they live nearby, each did their part separately. Owens shot the photos on his Hasselblad, Nikon and Pentax cameras 40 to 50 years ago, and Cameron wrote the words in 2020. Their relationship in this book is reminiscent of the one lyricist Bernie Taupin and composer Elton John shared over many decades. Taupin would write lyrics to a song and send them to John; it wasn’t necessary for them to be in the same room at the same time to create genius-level music.
For Motorcycle Classics readers, especially those interested in 1970s and 1980s Superbikes, certain photographic spreads in Superbike stand out. Here are four we think you’ll enjoy:
A side-by-side battle between Rich Schlachter (Ducati) and Mike Baldwin (Kawasaki) through a Loudon corner in 1979 shows how the narrow and low Ducati had an inherent advantage over taller Japanese Fours of the time, by keeping its rider tucked out of the airstream. “When it came to aerodynamics, engine width was unimportant,” writes Cameron. “Rider width is what counted.” (Pages 68-69)
The hand-welded braced swing arm and cantilevered shocks of a 1981 machine at Pocono catches the urgency to advance handling to match the grip of the Goodyear racing slicks and the power increases of the 1-liter engines. “Tires like this one with extra sidewall height were designed to provide additional flex and damping that could suppress chassis oscillations,” Cameron notes. (Pages 96-97)

Stripped of its engine, a 1981 Yoshimura Suzuki chassis reposes in gritty neglect, also at Pocono, as soiled racing leathers hang on the garage wall behind. Racing at the dawn of the “professional” era was brutally basic, as were most of the old-school steel streetbike frames. “In 1978, Goodyear instrumented one of the top Superbike chassis with strain gauges and made a frightening visual animation of its findings,” Cameron writes. “Never mind, better chassis were on the drawing boards.” (Pages 112-113)
Owens caught a young Freddie Spencer awaiting his time on track at Daytona in 1982, eyes down in a low, thoughtful, quiet gaze. Soon his world would be spinning powerfully fast. “Riders on the starting grid are getting their minds ‘right,’ so it is not a time for small talk,” Cameron writes. He is correct. (Page 130-131)
If you love technology or road racing, Superbike: An Illustrated Early History gets into your head and stays there. Despite its highly technical nature, rather than being a chore to read, it is compelling, and you’ll always put it down in anticipation of the next opportunity to pick it up, and the knowledge gained in each spread will drive you forward until you’re done. And then, you may want to flip it over and start again.