Chris Rooke was brought up in a mechanical family where his father was always tinkering with clocks and engines, and Chris inherited his love of all things mechanical from him. Where he gained his love of motorcycles from is anyone's guess! His first bikes were a Vespa 125 and a Lambretta SX200 at the tender age of 13, followed by a Raleigh Runabout, and then his first 'real' bike - a Casal moped (a rather cheap version of the Yamaha FS1E, made in Portugal) when he was 16. He then bought a BSA Starfire 250 when he turned 17 and this was the first bike he ever rebuilt that went again afterwards! After a short dalliance with a Suzuki Rebel 350, and having the dubious pleasure of sharing a flat with the owner of a 'tired' 1972 Norton Commando Combat 750cc that was off the road more than on, he bought the love of his life - a 1954 Matchless 350 GLS Heavyweight single that he stripped down and turned into a bobber/chopper and this remained his sole means of transport for many years. Sadly that bike was then stolen and after rebuilding a Triumph T100 for a friend he purchased a Triumph Bonneville T140 which was duly rebuilt and pressed into service, but this was soon sold to fund a house purchase (familiar story?) and for many years he remained bikeless. When his fortunes changed for the better he bought an E-Type Jaguar 4.2 FHC Series II which he completely restored form the ground up and formed the basis of his first restoration manual. The whole process took nine years, but as soon as he completed it he was forced to sell it for financial reasons. Undaunted he was then able to buy two Triumph Tridents, a 1973 T150V and a 1975 T160 which he completely restored quickly followed by the iconic Kawasaki Z900, and these form the basis of two further restoration manuals, along with the Essential Buyer's Guide to the Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket III.

Chris was brought up in a mechanical family, inheriting his love of all things mechanical from his father, who was always tinkering with clocks and engines. Where he gained his love of motorcycles from is anyone's guess! His first bikes were a Vespa 125 and a Lambretta SX200 at the tender age of 13, followed by a Raleigh Runabout, and then a Casal moped when he was 16. He purchased a BSA Starfire 250 when he turned 17 - at that time the first bike he'd ever rebuilt that went again afterwards! After a short dalliance with a Suzuki Rebel 350 he bought the love of his life - a 1954 Matchless 350 GLS Heavyweight single that he stripped down and turned into a bobber/chopper, and this remained his sole means of transport for many years. Sadly that bike was stolen, and, after rebuilding a Triumph T100 for a friend, he purchased a Triumph Bonneville T140, which was duly rebuilt and pressed into service, but later sold to fund a house purchase (familiar story?) and for many years he remained bikeless. When his fortunes changed for the better he bought an E-type Jaguar 4.2 FHC Series II which he completely restored from the ground up. The whole process took nine years, but as soon as he completed it he had to sell it for financial reasons. Undaunted, he was then able to buy two Triumph Tridents, a 1973 T150V and a 1975 T160, which he completely restored.

He has recently turned his attention to one of his most coveted classic motorcycles - the Kawasaki Z1. Having lusted after one for so long he bought two! - a 1974 Z1A, and a 1976 KZ900, which have both now been carefully restored. Chris Rooke's own motorcycle restorations form the basis of his Enthusiast's Restoration Manuals : his first book covers the complete restoration of the Triumph Trident, and now this book details the complete restoration of a 1976 Kawasaki Z1.