Author Topic: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?  (Read 3053 times)

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Offline Kenneth S (222)

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Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« on: April 27, 2012, 07:14:45 am »
I have had his book kicking around for 15-20 years, so long the pages have all turned a brownish tinge on the edges. It was the title that caught my attention way back when I bought it. I finally began to read it earlier this year and while heavy in parts, it has a great message I am relating to in relation to the many hours I spend working on my bike and trailer.

Anyone read it? What are your thoughts?
Kenneth S
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Heaven VMX Club - Racing No 222 - 79 CR250RZ - 84 CR250RE (Steam Train) - 89 CR250RK

Race Bike History
76 RM125A, 77 RM125B, 78 RM125C, RM400C, 79 CR250RZ, 80 YZ250G, 81 RM465X, 82-83 RM490 Frank Pons Special(Beetle's 81 Race Bike)

Offline vandy010

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2012, 09:49:21 am »
it was years ago that i read it and i found it wasn't quite the read i was hoping it to be.
a bit too complex for me.
but i pushed through it just so i could tick it off the list.
good in places for sure.
but i'd much rather grab a cold beer and look at a map of the simpson desert.
"flat bickie"

Offline Mick D

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2012, 10:28:39 am »
it was years ago that i read it and i found it wasn't quite the read i was hoping it to be.
a bit too complex for me.
but i pushed through it just so i could tick it off the list.
good in places for sure.
but i'd much rather grab a cold beer and look at a map of the simpson desert.
My sentiments also.

I considered suing the author for wasting my time. If I lived in the US, I probably would have and won.

Although it kind off makes me wonder why I have two off them ???
"light weight, and it works great"  :)

Offline Mick D

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2012, 10:30:23 am »
No actually, cross that out, its a great read ::)

Does anyone want to buy a copy ;D
"light weight, and it works great"  :)

Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2012, 10:33:15 am »
I read it when twenty something and up for that kind of stuff.  'mechanical spirituality'.  still a good spin on 'the ghost in the machine' - the sense that we animate our mechanical creations with some of our own spirit, and whether they play ball with us or not will depend on our overall karma and how we mentally approach the task at hand.  ie how you hold your mouth.  

The main character in the book is a writer of technical manuals, and god knows its true in general engineers don't make good explainers of how to do something.  How many times you been reading a manual and find yourself saying 'say what - did i just miss something?'  So its a fair point, that there's a bit of a planet sized gap between creating something and then passing on to others that whole world that is that creation.

All the stuff about Greek philosophy bit tedious to my mind now, but back then, I felt compelled to take in every word.....but doubt i really understood it back then....or that it amounted to much.  But say the word 'Phaedra' to me and I'll still feel a slight shiver up my spine.....

Offline Mick D

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2012, 10:35:19 am »
True, true 8)
"light weight, and it works great"  :)

Offline firko

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2012, 10:52:19 am »
I first read and revered ZAMM when I was young and truly believed that my generation was going to change the world using Zen philosophy. Thirty five years later I tried to re-read it and found the 'Chautauquas' to be more than a bit a bit boring without the aid of chemical enhancement. ::).

However, I can see in Pirsig's Zen philosophy that rationality and romanticism can coexist in our lives and his 'quality over quantity' message has an inescapable parallel in our love of old bikes. It's just that I find the hippy style of ZAMM to be a bit dated these days.

I much preferred Jack Kerouacs 'On the Road' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MjPtem6ZbE
« Last Edit: April 27, 2012, 10:59:47 am by firko »
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Offline Graeme M

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2012, 12:42:23 pm »
Hmmm... I read this book years ago and was impressed by where he was going with the philosophy. What intrigued me most was the personal journey he was relating. Phaedrus was only present through what he could remember and divine from his writings and it struck me as incredibly sad that on the threshold of his deep insight Phaedrus lost it all. I found the book a fascinating journey within the mind of a man who is not the same man he once was, and his struggle to re-establish contact with his former self and the stunning insights to be found there.

It is of course also sad that his son was killed so young... Pirsig seems to be a man whose life was dogged by sadness.

Offline smed

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #8 on: April 27, 2012, 06:40:57 pm »
I read it years ago whilst on a motorcycle trip,The copy was lent to me by a mate, it started out ok but then got bloody weird & done my head in :-\

& yes I have a copy picked up at a garage sale a few years ago,dont know why coz i am never going to read it again, i value my semi sanity :D

A much better read is Around Australia The Hard Way In 1929 by Jack L Bowers,about Jack & his mate riding a Harley outfit around Oz, Top read ;)   

Offline FAT-TOY

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #9 on: April 27, 2012, 07:24:27 pm »
  Only books I read when I was young were National Geographic or Man magazines tossed out by the local barber and maybe the odd Phantom comic.   Which shows what my interests were back then.  Come to think of it they are not much different now except for VMX magazine and a few Bike manuals.
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Everyday I find one more name to add to the list of people who piss me off.

Offline Tim754

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #10 on: April 27, 2012, 09:55:56 pm »
Hmmm ,,,,,,,,,,,,,At 16  a Load of Bullshit ::) ;) But now I do have a copy of "Motorcycle Data" as pictured above too for.. Reality.. breaks  :D
« Last Edit: April 30, 2012, 08:13:34 am by Tim754 »
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Offline SIEGE

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2012, 12:42:57 am »
One time I went and rented the movie American Beauty, thought it was mindless turned it off - & then realized that I rented American Pie by mistake~! I think it is easy to say something is a load of shit when you were expecting something else....

SO having said that  - I read Zen & the Art in college, and I thought it was difficult, and didn't seem to go anywhere - (same with the Road by  JK)  but the little part in the middle about gumption Traps is one of the most FANTASTIC bits of writing I have ever seen - and think of it very often when I am out in the shop. All of it imho is RIGHT ON.

For example - hurrying up wildly to make up for lost time - this after realizing you forgot a part and had to disassemble the engine again and are now putting it together a second time is right when you make THE BIG MISTAKE. And he wrote it in caps, just like that. So true.

- Siege

Offline Kenneth S (222)

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2012, 06:09:48 am »
I was in the Apple store yesterday with my family. Whatever you think of the company, I don't think there is a better example of Quality in a technical product, and as Robert writes, people just know Quality instinctively, they are flooding to that store and range of products.

I'm now off to spend another few hours fitting the windows to my trailer. I'll see if I can quiet my mind and enjoy building it to a standard, not a deadline.
Kenneth S
Go For It

Heaven VMX Club - Racing No 222 - 79 CR250RZ - 84 CR250RE (Steam Train) - 89 CR250RK

Race Bike History
76 RM125A, 77 RM125B, 78 RM125C, RM400C, 79 CR250RZ, 80 YZ250G, 81 RM465X, 82-83 RM490 Frank Pons Special(Beetle's 81 Race Bike)

Offline crash n bern

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #13 on: April 29, 2012, 09:12:34 am »
I started reading it when I was 15 or 16 thinking it was all bout fixing motorcycles.  I got bogged down half way through and gave up on it.  But the general gist of it stuck with me and over the years I have constantly repeated the title to myself as I tinker away on mechanical gremlins.

Offline Dono113

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Re: Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Anyone read it?
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2012, 01:43:54 pm »
Yep read it when i was young and dumb, thought it was artsy, you know help the IQ a few points, if I  can remember right it was a cross country with a father/ :P son sort of journey. There some electric shock treatment thrown it there too.
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