BIG SID'S VINCATI

Big Sid's Vincati tells the story of two men, a father and his son, who built a bike in their garage that became part of motorcycling history and in doing so discovered the wisdom to look past life's disappointments and connect with each other in a way they no longer thought possible.

After a lifetime spent working on motorcycles, Sidney "Big Sid" Biberman lost his will to live and moved to Louisville, Kentucky so that he could be near his son when he died. Matthew Biberman had grown up on the back of whatever bike his dad was riding at the time, but decided in his teens to distance himself from the biking culture and instead became an English professor at the University of Louisville.

Not long after moving, Big Sid suffered a massive heart attack that he barely survived. Matthew, desperate to give his father a reason to live, ran across a picture of a Vincati, a legendary melding of two great bikes, the Vincent and the Ducati, into one. At the side of his father's hospital bed he proposed that they build one together. This one conversation would transform their lives.

Thirty years after Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, we have yet to see a worthy successor, a book able to capture the hearts of motorcyclists and then ride the initial wave of support to the New York Times list. Big Sid's Vincati is the book to end that drought. The Bibermans' inspirational father/son story is the ideal candidate to follow in the footsteps of such bestsellers as James Dodson's Final Rounds, Mitch Albom's Tuesday's With Morrie, and John Grogan's Marley & Me.

The Bibermans' first book, Vincents with Big Sid, is a beautifully illustrated account of Sid's history with the famous brand. Jay Leno is a fan of Big Sid's and provided a glowing introduction. I have copies on hand to send over if you would like to see one.