Chilton's Motorcycle Handbook is a very good resource. It is, however, very broad in range and narrow in scope. Which is to say that a wide variety of topics are covered, but none of them are incredibly detailed. If you are in the market for a book on general motorcycling, I'd recommend The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence. If, however, you want information on how and why your bike works as well as maintenance tips, there is no substitute for a shop manual or, if the shop manual is unavailable, a Clymer book for your model. This book would be of interest if you are interested in killing all those birds with one stone using a less adequate substitute.