Motorcycle Magazines

[Lex]

Yeah, Cycle is still a sorely lamented loss. I wonder if Ziff-Davis let the trademark lapse? It would be great to resurrect it [w/ the express intent of providing a similar experience, not with the idea of ripping off hopeful customers like all the attempts to date to resurrect the "Indian" marque...] ;-)

 

Be tough to do w/o someone of Gordon Jennings caliber to provide the tech editorials, & Kevin Cameron seems to be content over at Psycho Whirl... where's a competent gear-head journalist when you need one?

 

I seem to be stuck being the third person to agree with a point. I still have my Cycles from the late sixties to when it was killed. The quality of writing was so superior to any other English language magazine I've ever read it is silly. A paraphrase from a comparison test between a Guzzi, a Ducati and a Laverda from the seventies: "The Guzzi is a slow acting drug that appeals to your brain, the Ducati grabs you three feel lower". I own a Guzzi and a Ducati and it would take me three paragraphs to put it as clearly.

 

My impression of how the same idea would be written in in the major US magazines today:

 

Rider: While each motorcycle has strong and weak points and you couldn't go wrong with either. The Moto Guzzi might be slightly more appealing to riders looking for an more long term experience. The Ducati, an equally good choice, would be slightly more appealing to an owner looking for gratification on a shorter time scale.

 

Motorcyclist: The Guzzi sucks, the Ducati beat it at the track by over a second per lap. Even more important, the Ducati made my GF hot for me. If you buy a Guzzi to are a nerd, unhip and possibly gay.

 

Cycle World: After checking our advertising records we have decided not to review the Moto Guzzi. Please turn to page 47 for our sixth open superbike comparison test of the year.

 

Motor Cycle Consumer News: After careful analysis of the alloy used in the shift lever with an HP model 50007 spectrum analyzer (not the inferior Dyno Jet analyzer) we have concluded the Ducati is a superior motorcycle due to the higher content of nickel in the alloy used in the shift lever.

 

All in fun,

 

Lex

[gstallons]

It isamazing how motorcycles are tested and rated by how many times they are advertized in said magazines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Orson]

I enjoy Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.

 

It doesn't seem to concentrate on the latest, greatest and fastest. More of a pipe & slippers publication for the elderly. I also like that they test oddball bikes like Urals & Sachs. They also seem to have touring articles in most issues.

[jihem]

I miss the english magazine called Fast Bikes: it was funny, witty, not-too-serious at time and Colin Shiller, the editor, had a nose for recruiting pilots that were good witers and very fast indeed (one of them was Shakey Byrne, english SBK champion but at the time he was unknown). Another great recruit of him was Andy Ibbot, who now runs the Keith Code School in Europe.

Lost of italian bikes bias, lots of real scoops and tests of rare bikes.

[belfastguzzi]

The only one I read is the Gambalunga - Moto Guzzi Club GB bimonthly magazine. A wee bit biased in favour of Moto Guzzi but then so am I.

But it's

 

Did you shave your beard off for Ken Bridge?

[sullvarni]

I think you guys are taking it all a little to ser'iously as regards the mags,i buy them all and take each on merit in any given month,somtimes there good lots of content,other times not so,in the off season for those of us in those climes things tend to degrade.

 

I would suggest that trying to keep everybody happy all the time is a tough job and i think on the whole

most of them do quite well,the ones i rate right now are, All Metric RoadBike,Rider,and in my part of the world Cycle Canada,Canadian Biker,as regards Cycle it was proberbly the best mag over this side of the pond before it's demise',i just won one on Ebay Nov 81 it has two art'icles of intrest to me,one was on a 82 Yamaha XJ650 RJ which i still have,the other was on a Moto Guzzi V50 Monza,so there you have it my 2 Cents.

 

Stu.

[Paul Minnaert]

I almost don't buy magazines anymore. New bikes are found on the net first, and I'm not interested in comparisons between sportsbikes. In the past I bought the magazines where Alan Cathcart wrote for, the man came all over the world to drive the most extreme bikes. He even did race in our country a whole season with a trx 850 in our bott series. When I'm in italy I get a copy of Motociclismo. And Super Moto Tecnica, the let you see whats inside bikes.

[macguzzi]

moto ciclismo classico for me spanish mag with good detailed photographs, also more unusual european bikes