Rating: 
Summary: a project finally finished
Review: Being a person who has started many a "project" I can truly appreciate the pride and satisfaction found in completion. This book demonstrates the value of lessons learned from the little things in life. So often I forget that life is a journey and not a destination. This book reminded me of that reality.The book's descriptions are honest and accurate regarding the frustrations of dealing with the relationships of both human and machine. It is somewhat simplistic in its language, but then again so is life in the "real" west. I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend this book for the man who is seeking his "claim" in life and (due to its short length) doesn't want to spend a lifetime finding it.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, easy to read story of a brief point in life.
Review: I couldn't put the book down. The focal point, the Indian Motorcycle, deals with a subjet I can relate to, along with the daily aspects of life. If you like "people" stories, without the fancy backdrops, you may just enjoy reading Freds, Rebuilding The Indian. It centers around a subject the brings the author in contact with people he would normaly not build a relationship with. If you're looking for a complex story, with suspence and action, look for a fiction book! If you want a real look at a brief slice of life of regular people, and you approach life with an open mind... you'll like this book a lot.
Rating:
Summary: I want to do it too!
Review: I read this book after hearing about it on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." The premise intrigued me, even though I've never ridden or driven a motorcycle (and probably never will.) But Fred (you too will refer to him by his first name after you've devoured his book) captures all the romance, heartbreak, and high drama of trying new things and restoring old things. He inspired me to do something similar. Will I rebuild an old motorcycle? Come on, get serious. But revitalizing a tube-era radio receiver just might be within the limits of my expertise and budget ... Thanks for the fun read, Fred. Only one quibble: why didn't the publisher spring for a color--rather than a B & W--photo of the Indian?
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!
Review: I recommend this book to anyone you loves their motorcycle. Stroker brings his Indian to life with the help of Chaz.
Rating: 
Summary: Juggling the Responsibilities
Review: I very much enjoyed and identified with this book. After a difficult divorce, I turned to motorcycling as a new way to enjoy being alone and found it to infect me with enthusiasm about the new life I had to adapt to. Rebulding the Indian talks not only about the author's restoration of a vintage motorcycle, but how the journey gave him new perspective on his life as well.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Best Basket Case
Review: Rebuilding the Indian is a joy to read. A smart, funny, and informative adventure that revolves around starting a new family at fifty and (as if that wasn't enough) rebuilding a classic Indian motorcycle from, well, a "basket case" -- that is, a couple of boxes of gunked up parts that could belong to just about anything except a Honda. I love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but it could have been better.
Review: The author tries really hard to make this a story about the motorcycle. Unfortunately the book is mostly a personal memoir of a guy who just happens to be restoring a 1940's motorcycle. The author talks too much about his prozac medication when you really want to hear more about bike restoration. He doesn't go into too much detail about which parts fit where and how hard to torque the bolts. Instead he talks more about what goes on in his life and how restoring a motorcycle makes him feel. One thing that really disappointed me was that the author did not rebuild the engine himself! He sends off the motor at the beginning of the book and then gets it back at the end. The stuff in between is a story about waiting for parts and finding enough money to pay for the restoration. "Rebuilding the Indian" is really about bike-people and bike-culture and only slightly about bike-rebuilding. Lastly, the author makes a big point about how wonderful his Indian looks painted in midnight-blue, but the photographs in the book are only black and white. The publisher could have at least put one color photo on the cover, showing the completed motorcycle. This book was a good effort, but not quite 100-percent of what one might expect from the serious-sounding title.
Rating:
Summary: Men, Montana, and Motorcycles
Review: The author's midlife crisis is solved by rebuilding a motorcycle and having a new baby. Starting over at 50. Some of the writing is a little simplistic, but the images are pretty clear. He does a good job of developing the several sides of Chaz, his mentor and nemesis. I found it strange that in the pictures there wasn't one of Chaz. Did they finally go their separate ways? I also got the feeling that the author was leading two lives, that of a wannabe English professor who attended the college parties and that of a biker. The biker life was only to rebuild the Indian and I admire him very much for that. I think he enjoyed the biker life better. He also did a good job praising the knowledge of the older Indian restorers, Ken and Magoo. This is a good book and an easy read. Makes me want to go out and restore an old Triumph like I had 30 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: best motorcycle book
Review: this book could be twice as long as it is. it was such an enjoyable read, i just couldn't put it down. i agree with some other reviewers that it is better than "zen and the art of motorcylce maintenance". although actually there is not much going on in "rebuilding this indian", the reader is drawn into the story and follows the recontruction of the classical motorcycle. i can't quite understand why people see parallels in the bike and fred's daughter phoebe, who is born during the rebuilding of the bike. the bike is always in the foreground. the book is for sure no masterpiece languagewise, but this is i think not the intention of the author. i really liked it, and was sad when i finished it!
Rating:
Summary: best motorcycle book
Review: this book could be twice as long as it is. it was such an enjoyable read, i just couldn't put it down. i agree with some other reviewers that it is better than "zen and the art of motorcylce maintenance". although actually there is not much going on in "rebuilding this indian", the reader is drawn into the story and follows the recontruction of the classical motorcycle. i can't quite understand why people see parallels in the bike and fred's daughter phoebe, who is born during the rebuilding of the bike. the bike is always in the foreground. the book is for sure no masterpiece languagewise, but this is i think not the intention of the author. i really liked it, and was sad when i finished it!
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