You're right, some of the Brit mags are way better than the American versions. But for nearly the price of one Brit mag I can subscribe to a year (two if you get a special) of an American rag. If Brit mags were offered at an affordable rate, those would be sitting next to my toilet instead.

 

Dunno. But I can say I have let my subscriptions expire and the only thing I have missed are the marketplace ads in the back of the mags. I hated the fact that Sport Rider came out every couple of months and it would always have the same thing that Cycle World had in it. What's the point? I gotta gree with ya. If the US came out with a good mag like BIKE, I'd be all over it!

 

It goes hand in hand with what most Americans want......slam, bam, thank you mamm.......naked girls, pictures of stunts, and superficial little test articles that quickly tell the reader which bike is the so-called "winner", instead of doing what the British do, which is to provide a lot of analytical data that forces the reader to use their brain to figure out which bike is the best for them.

British car magazines are way better too.

 

You might as well just ask why bikes in general aren't as big here as in Europe and the UK. Because that's part of the answer right there.

It would be cool if we had a monthly equivalent to Road & Track (which I think does a pretty good job).

You realize Cycle World is a French magazine, doncha?

I downloaded the "trial" issue of MCN's online edition, expecting a few pages of tabloid crap, but dang, it was excellent!! Several excellent articles, and that thing comes out every WEEK! Still, I decided not to subscribe...

I subscribed to Autoweek for two years, which was good, and I wouldn't mind a bike version of that.

The magazines really are about bathroom reading, since most of the info and pics are available much sooner on the net.

Maybe you should try Motorcycle Consumer News, the black & white rag.

I just pulled Motorcyclist out of the mailbox and I'm enjoying thumbing through it, but you're right, it is thin on content, even compared to American gaming and car magazines.

 

+1 I only get BIKE and T.W.O. They actually have articles and do more that 600 shootouts. They also do real world testing. The only thing I hate is having to figure out how much a pound is in dollars. Hurts my brain... :headbang

I also think the writers are alot funnier and less bias. They do great articles on technique that I read over and over.

 

'Cause American bike mags are pom-pommed cheerleaders printing glossy brochures for advertisers to showcase their products.

 

You might as well just ask why bikes in general aren't as big here as in Europe and the UK. Because that's part of the answer right there.

Exactly...the same reason we have almost no coverage of the Moto GP..."SPEED" channel cut most of its Motorcycle coverage.:doublefli

Europe in general and Great Britain specifically are huge motorcycle (racing especially) fans. Ask anyone in Europe who Rossi is, and you'll get the answer. Ask most Americans and you'll get "WHO?"

 

To agree with Rick and Nepenthe:

US motorcycle magazines blow because the fan/subscriber base isn't sufficient to generate a large enough profit for the owners.

Since the revenue stream isn't there:

1) "Articles" are written without benefit of detailed analysis

2) The magazine cannot hire enough staff, writers, and researchers to provide large amounts of fresh content. It's the same 2~3~4 guys doing all the testing for everything.

3) The magazine depends more on advertising revenue than subscription/sales revenue. So they're *certainly* not going to piss anyone off...

4) The magazine cannot afford to buy their own aftermarket parts for comparison and comment. So their bias is suspect.


The subscribers are there. The demand is there. So Brit mags can print stuff like "at least the (Katana 600's) brakes are half decent so you can successfully pull into a lay-by and BURN it..", and not worry about pissing Suzuki off. Brit mags can do articles like "Best Tires for your GSX-R 600 SRAD" where they actually go out and thrash 10 sets of new tires on a particular bike. That's $2000 bucks in tires, plus track/facility time, mechanic's labor, photographers etc etc etc, that Motorcyclist or CycleWorld can't/won't lay out. They can load up their long-termers with different parts month after month and tell us what works and what doesn't. They also track their long-termers month after month, every month. What happened, what worked, what Brand-X's tires are like on it etc... Some of the US mags have had long termers that readers never knew they had until they did the "we're sending it home now" little one page (or half page) write up.


I understand that the revenue stream isn't there to justify hiring more staff and being more independent of the advertisers. I just wish it were cheaper to subscribe/buy the Brit stuff...

Scott

 

Its about price to me.
I am NOT paying 8/9$ a mag. Thats close to cheap hardcover book price!
Plus they make $$$ on the ads...WTF?
Make that price reasonable (like $4-5) and id buy it.

 

The US mags are a pain because

1. The design work sucks (not many people may care about that).

2. The writing is hit or miss.

3. The photos suck much of the time.

4. The articles are the same crap month after month.

The Brit mags are superior for all of the reasons that the US mags stink.

But, to be fair, some of the UK magazines are lousy too....just wheelie pics and empty content.

The costs of UK magazines are high because they're specialty import. I doubt they cost nearly that much over there.

 

US rags suck because Americans suck.

American's already have all the answers we need. We already know everything so why try to give us relevant data to process?

Sorry, I love America, but sometimes? American's are dumb.




Okaaayyy...........

What do I read? I prefer to let my friends spend cash on these foriegn mags and read their leftovers. Another fun thing to do is adopt a British accent in your mind when you read the articles.

 

I just like SuperBike becuz of the boobies, but its too expensive
Boobies should be free

 

I just like SuperBike becuz of the boobies, but its too expensive
Boobies should be free

Proving my point about American's!!!

Get back to work slacker!

 

Hey, Real quick. Since you are all talking UK.
My question is: "what is the difference in their Fireblade and the US 954RR?"

 

My question is: "what is the difference in their Fireblade and the US 954RR?"

The sticker on the side of the bike.... "Fireblade" is the name for the CBR900 series of bikes. That name, like "Interceptor," was perceived by Honda USA as having negative connotations to insurance companies. At that time, Insurance companies were seriously pushing for surcharges on "Ninjas," not that they actually knew what it was... But those names were judged too aggressive, and that the negative reputation reflected badly back on the companies that made these bikes. Kinda like naming a bike "WidowMaker" and "BabyKiller." The decision was made that "CBR900RR" sounded more neutral.

'Hurricane' and 'Interceptor' were also dropped and Kawasaki stopped using the 'Ninja' moniker at the same time, though they brought it back later.

Scott

 

Yeah, I really like the Brit mags, BIKE is my favorite. They arent cheap tho, it actually costs less to buy BIKE at the newsstand than to get a subscription.

 

I would think that US magazines have a much greater level of subscribers than the UK mags due to the population differences. Interesting. Totally agree that US mags suck in comparison to UK mags.

 

All I can say, RoadRacing World.

 

But, to be fair, some of the UK magazines are lousy too....just wheelie pics and empty content.

I find that with most of the brit mags. Plus the british don't even speak English. :rant

Personally, I but whichever one has an articel that interests me at the newsstand.

 

I find that with most of the brit mags. Plus the british don't even speak English. :rant

This coming form someone who says 'eh" after every sentance?:nanana :redflip :redflip :redflip :redflip

 

man, i want to start a GOOD american motorcycle magazine so bad. most of the photos look like someone took them on a disposable and the design work is... let's say... rudimentary. hey milo, let's start a bike magazine. :laughing

 

I will agree that the UK mags are more interesting...due to a few things.

1. They appeal to the squid/hooligan in us all.

2. The layout and magazine composition(manufacturing) just looks plain better

3. They actually put more $$$ in the magazine

The actual content of the US mags and UK mags is almost the same, but the UK mags do it with a more interestig "flair"

 

man, i want to start a GOOD american motorcycle magazine so bad. most of the photos look like someone took them on a disposable and the design work is... let's say... rudimentary. hey milo, let's start a bike magazine. :laughing

I'm so in!!! Imagine the write offs!!

"Yeah sorry Uncle Sam, my RC51 DID need some PVM wheels to test against those Marchesini's..."

I can write snarky editorials and make graphics! How much money do we need?

 

seriously. i've thought about it. it would be an expensive proposition i'd imagine though. hmmm. what's the lottery at again?

 

seriously. i've thought about it. it would be an expensive proposition i'd imagine though. hmmm. what's the lottery at again?

Hrmm... no idea what raising cash would be like for a magazine. Wonder what success rates are like? Sounds like it's too expensive to drop my own coin into...