If you have been reading The Kneeslider for any length of time you’re already familiar with Jesse James’ radial motorcycle, the Wakan 1640, Roland Sands’ KRV5, Matt Hotch’s Vinnie, the new Vmax, the eCycle hybrid motorcycle, the new Can-Am Spyder, the changing trend away from the old choppers and even the recent CARB fines Jesse James faced over some motorcycles he built. So it was with a bit of deja vu that I read the new copy of Cycle World when it arrived in my digital inbox yesterday to find all of those things and more in the current issue.
Cycle World has road tests of Radial Hell, the Jesse James radial, the Wakan and the Can-Am Spyder. They have an editorial about the CARB fines and they lead off a series of motorcycle features by saying the old choppers are morphing into bikes that can be built with almost any engine and style, more customs than choppers, really, and that’s a good thing.
If you have been following the enthusiast magazine world at all, you probably know that their world is changing drastically with companies buying and selling magazines, trying to make a buck as the online world closes in. The automotive magazines have been thrashed a lot and Primedia has bought and is now selling a whole group of mags. Writers and editors keep coming and going and some of the changes are a bit hard to take, certainly on their end I would imagine, but as a reader the changes can leave you wondering what the heck they’re doing.
My own view of this changing landscape is that the motorcycle magazines (or automotive or most any segment) should concentrate on the in depth articles which they do very well and not try to get the latest breaking news items out to their readers. Ink will never flow as fast as pixels on screen so step back, think, gather the story and write it well. I enjoy reading magazines like Cycle World and Motorcyclist and many of the British magazines, more when they do longer articles but much less when they try to be an in print version of a website. The Cycle World road tests in this issue and the associated photos were cool, and if they keep on that course and try not to become a printed website, they’ll do OK.
jim says
Agreed that magazines need to be out of the news business, they (should) have their own websites for that and I agree they should focus on indepth articles. Going forward the model for the print press maybe morel like magazines such as the New Yorker, The Atlantic or the New Repbulic.
Some the more recent print launches that focus on touring fit this model, the article is unique to the magazine and it engages the reader at a level other than simple curiosity.
One problem for the auto and MC press is that this type of magazine will force them to hire staff and freelancers who can actually write and tell a story.
redrunner says
It is the best of times… It is the worst of times. Print media is a rapidly losing its share of the world’s readers to the internet. High speed information and the ability to connect with readers all over the globe means the information available online is surpassing the demand for magazines, newspapers and soon even books.
The internet movie, “epic 2015” is a quick flick you can view online at http://epic.makingithappen.co.uk/. It lays out the future of how “professional” writers will soon be competing with basement bloggers for their fair share of readers.
Change is coming; you can either ride the wave or get crushed by it.
motoquest says
Yes I agree with the post and these previous comments. Great topic BTW!
I write motorcycle articles for magazines in Mexico and as you may guess it’s very difficult to make a living with that.
I also have my webpage and these magazines agreed to mention it in my articles and they allow me to publish a web-version of my articles (enhanced with more pictures, maps and GPS files that a mag can’t provide due to limites space). I even offer bike and apparel reviews that I’ve tried or researched, and my visitors seem to enjoy them. All that in a non-profit scheme aiming to boost local motorcycling and touring.
The result? I can take advantage of the best of both worlds while I’m growing in this field. But you need to be a good writer and a good webmaster at the same time.
Sean says
I love to sit down and have a good read of whatever hands on test the Bike Rider Magazine guys have done this month. I’m subscribed to them, and will stay subscribed because of the local content, but hearing about the Contours, various concepts and other assorted motorcycle news is a bit of deja vu for me as well. I read the Kneeslider every day now, it’s a great, often updated website that gets me the freshest news I can possibly get. I’ll read my magazine if I want to know what everyone around New Zealand is doing, but if I want to know what the world is doing, I turn to the internet. More specifically, I turn to the Kneeslider. Motorcycle magazines: Become more local! Give us news about what’s happening in our countries! Motorcycle websites: Try not to infringe on this. You do what you do best, which is serve a world wide audience. So please, serve us world wide news, not country, province, state or town specific news.
Trey says
I like CycleWorld, but my buddies that just go and buy thier magazines from the newstands end up getting thier mags several weeks before me – and it iritates me that I pay for the subscription…
Trey
hoyt says
The Moto mags should start doing month-to-month “to-be-continued” articles. For example, a documentary about John Britten in print that spans 3-5 months worth of continued reading.
This would keep things different from online publications while at the same time, capitalizing on what seems to be a void of dvd’s related to motorcycling documentaries. I know the John Britten documenatary exists, but there is a whole lot of history & current stuff to document in print (even sell their own dvd once the final article has been printed).
The article about Sonny Angel in CW was very cool. Those types of articles & American Flyers keep me tuned in.
Trey – you can get some insane subscription deals for cheap (I think I got 3 years worth of CW at under $20. Probably less than your buddies paid with 4 issues at newstand prices)
Gary Sacry says
I enjoy Cycle World, Motorcyclist, and the British magazines Classic Bike and Classic Bike Guide, and subscribe to the same. Personally, I don’t think that I could ever give up the paper and the feeling of holding it in my hands. I’ve have got some great deals on subscriptions on e-bay, but have found that you wait until they’re on the shelfs before you get them, if you don’t mind waiting for it, it not so bad, it makes me crazy though.
chris says
i buy 4-5 mags a month. from the newsstand. it’s kind of nice to go to the store with my wife, browse around, flip through the other mags that i’m not going to buy. but you’re right. they need to stick to the features. i get so tired of reading the entire front HALF of a mag, whose news i’ve already read on here. and yes, i read every last redundant letter, just in case they caught something the Kneeslider didn’t. they rarely do.
hey hoyt – genius idea. “to be continued. . .” LOVE IT!
goodnslo says
I think another problem in the magazine world that should be addressed is the slower time to print or specifically their printing process. Magazines tend to write 6 months ahead before it even reaches the newstands. If an addendum in newsprint material can be added to be sold with the magazine, then great mags like Cycleworld can be more current (or give a nice overview of what’s happening in cycling or weblinks or calendars or whatever). Afterall, if tabloid newstands can be current within 2 weeks and still make money then speeding up printing for a magazine by adding an item might be an option.
motoquest says
I agree… speeding up the printing process will bring morfe up to date bike news. But then mags will be kinda catching tabloids and websites. I guess it’s better for mags to stick to those in-depth reviews and touring articles with top-notch photography. Besides, bike mags generally are invited to press events such as new bike presentations and they get to grab the handlebars first and take pictures and write an article.
kneeslider says
Thought I would jump in here to add a quick follow up. Virginia Postrel just made a comment on this same subject, coming to the same conclusion that magazines should do more in depth articles and let the web handle the shorter stuff, also noting magazines are better at high quality photography. I began thinking about this again when I read the latest (July ’07) Cycle World and like before saw a lot of items that had been covered in The Kneeslider some time back.