It seems like writer and Motorcyclist contributor Ed Milich was up in the Pacific Northwest not very long ago touring for his first book, Wrenched. That was back in late 2009, so it truly was relatively recent. For Milich, however, it was more than enough time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) again in order to produce his latest motorcycle-related book, Fueled.
Ed Milich, the man behind Fueled
Ed Milich has been known around the Southern California Moto Guzzi crowd for quite some time and has developed a well-earned reputation as a performance guru of all classic motorbikes from Italy – and BMW. Half of the well-renowned, oft-visited GuzziTech parts, accessories, forum, helpful documentation and endlessly linked web-based operation belongs to Milich, the other half being Todd Eagan; there you have access to an enormous supply of information, technical expertise and a chance to locate those hard to find parts for your classic bike.
Fueled from the inside
Milich’s Fueled is much like his first work in that it is focused on life as a motorcyclist and as a racer and wrench for said vehicles. The first section of the book – about half of it – is the free verse with which readers of Wrenched will be most familiar; this prose concerns the many days and nights spent all around the inner workings of motorcycles. The frustration, idiosyncrasies, twisted working logic, and simply confounding problems mix well with moments of levity and humor to give the reader a glimpse into this man’s mind.
In the second half of Fueled, Ed Milich included smaller focused essays, guides and many stories that gearheads the world over can identify with and will find not only informative but insightful as well. This includes a story which is quickly attaining legendary status – it’s the tale of how Milich took a Moto Guzzi V65 for which he paid $600 to the top of the podium at Daytona International Speedway in the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) Vintage Superbike Lightweight class.
All work and some play for Milich
Granted, Milich does detail his experience working on and tuning the Guzzi within the pages of Fueled, so his journey was not simply from purchase straight to winner’s circle, and that is one of the many reasons the book is so good. The age of the machine, its condition and his competition all required that work be done to the bike if it were to win. Milich did the work himself, but he did get help from some experts in the field such as Bruce Meyers and Bob Brant, who provided the all-important beer.
Fueled on tour
Ed Milich has already done literary readings at some venues and is scheduled to be at another in Los Angeles on 14 May 2011, the Fueled debut in that city. The book is available via Internet http://www.fueledbook.com/ and at some West Coast motorcycle shops. For further information about this addictive look inside a moto-obsessed rider writer’s experiences with classic European iron, pick up a copy of Ed Milich’s Fueled.
