great to see such a book in the 'offing' but do you realise how massive the subject is? if it is to list all the makers like Erwin Tragach's? motorcycle encyclopedia it would be huge. i am sure many people this side of the pond would be more than willing to contribute, alas many of the 'old guard' do not have access or inclination to the 'net' ..in fact many of these old eccentrics believe the internet to be the spawn of the devil...living in Derbyshire on the border between South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire i meet some of these guys on occassion at carboots sales (garage sale?) and the stories told are very interesting but sometimes details are lost in time...i have just started to plot the history of one local dealer/maker Websters of Chesterfield ..i live in Chesterfield and 1 year on i still have not got the full story...good luck with the project.
Steve Chambers, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England