Motorcycle Magazines/Publications

[jpcfjr]

I have been an avid car guy for my whole life and thus Autoweek has been my publication of choice for 20 years. Now that I've become motorcycle crazy, is there a comparable motorcycle magazine?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Josh

 

[FJRay]

You will get a ton of opinions. I get MCN, Rider and Road runner. There are lotas of good ones but as my subscriptions run out I tend not to renew except for a few.

 

[FJRBluesman]

I subscribe to none.

Well, that's not totaly true. I get The Amercian Motorcyclist with my AMA membership.

 

[Patriot]

Motorcycle Consumer News is the one I've stuck with religiously

check out their web sight

I also will continue to subscribe to Rider

Cycle World and Motorcyclist are only "token" pubs I barely breeze through and get lately because they are way under $10 a year special rate

 

[rickcorwn]

There really isn't a comparable magazine in the two wheeled world to Autoweek, I'm a long time subscriber also.

My two wheeled subscriptions are Rider, Cycle World, Motorcycle Consumer News. MCN would a really good one for a new rider lots of good gear reviews and regular articles about ridding safety and the mental and physical aspects of ridding.

Welcome to the two wheeled world :drinks:

 

[Big Sky]

You have to read any of these publications with a discerning eye. Eventually you will come to spot which direction they tilt. Then you can discontinue those that are not providing what you need or want. MCN has low production values but many find their information content the best. I currently don't subscribe to this one but do get it as a pass-along from my brother. I like Cycle for the writing quality - Egen, Cameron, etc. - but am also getting Rider and Motorcyclist. I find Rider just a little too trite with articles that lack depth. Their contributors also struggle with getting facts right. They also lean too far toward touring and not enough toward sport, from my perspective, but my wife really likes this one, as she functions as our route planner/logistician anyway. Motorcyclist is on sort of a weird editorial soul searching trip at the moment and hasn't really found its footing yet. They are capable of good reporting but I sometimes sense pandering - to the reader, if not the advertisers.

Just like bikes, the mags are mostly a matter of personal opinion and preference.

Talk to your friends who are avid readers of enthusiast publications. One, or maybe some, often offer free gift subscriptions when you resubscribe. Maybe you can get a bud to do this for you.

 

[Bounce]

+1 to Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN).

 

[Old Michael]

...my AMA membership.

Please, Bluesy. No politics.

 

[happyPuppy]

+1 MCN , I like Super Bikes out of the UK but I only read it at B&N it is pretty $$

 

[jpcfjr]

Thanks for the quick and informative responses. I will definitely take a look at MCN first as there seems to be some consensus there. Big Sky mentioned "low Production Values" but I'm not sure I understand what that means.

What I really hate is magazines that serve as big advertisements for product. I'm referring to the articles. I'm cool with ads. I just don't want my magazine to pull punches...tell it like it is and let the advertising dollars fall where they may. I know, doesn't often work that way but Autoweek seems to have struck a decent balance.

I see some support for Rider. I'll pick one of those up too.

 

[Crash Cash]

+1 MCN , I like Super Bikes out of the UK but I only read it at B&N it is pretty $$

Oh yeah, "Performance Bikes" is pretty damn good too, but apparently it's printed on gold leaf, according to the cash register.

 

[jpcfjr]

Motorcyclist is cheap...$9.95 a year from DeltaMagazines.com. I may just throw that in the basket for shits and grins.

MCN is $36 for two years from Amazon...

edit: Just got two years of MCN for $31 from Amazon...some $5 off deal today so we'll see how that works out for me.

Thanks everybody!

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Motorcyclist is cheap...$9.95 a year from DeltaMagazines.com. I may just throw that in the basket for shits and grins.
MCN is $36 for two years from Amazon...

edit: Just got two years of MCN for $31 from Amazon...some $5 off deal today so we'll see how that works out for me.

Thanks everybody!

Pick up a copy of roadrunner at the bookstore... best ride reports of any magazine IMHO. Very large and glossy format with gorgeous photography and pull out tankbag maps.

Gunny to MCN, Cycle World (for Egan and Cameron). I read Sport Rider as an enjoyable change, but gave up the subscription as I lean toward touring more. American Motorcyclist format was changed last year and I think is pretty lame now.

Anything with Clement Salvadori is worth the price of admission.

In my opinion

 

[MotorToad]

Cycle World IMO is a must due solely to Egan and Cameron. The other stuff in the magazine is bonus material. They're the only ones, though, that I think give a fair nod across teh motorcycling spectrum. Motorcyclist is usually good enough to keep your eyes moving while you're on the can. Other than that, a monthly trip to B&N/Border/BAM keeps me up on the excellent British mags.

 

[Big-D]

Let me see, I subscribe to Motorcyclist, Cycle World, Rider, RoadRunner Tour & Travel, Sport Bike, MCN, Sport Rider, Road Bike & Dirt Rider. And there are probaably a few more I can't think of without dragging my ass from my chair and going to look. I am retired and enjoy reading bike magazines and am a sucker for ads I get in the mail when it comes to bike magazines.

Granted, many of these magazines are probably published by the same company because they seem to cover the same articles and bikes each month, but enjoy them anyway and will for years.

After I read them I supply two different hair salons where my wife and daughter work. I also get some boat, gun and NRA magazines also. If it wasn't for me supplying magazines to these two salons, the men going there would be stuck with nothing but women's magazines.

 

[doctorJ]

+1 to Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN).

Gunny on that.

doctorj

 

[Big Sky]

By "low production values" I was referring to inferior paper quality, low cost printing methods, unimaginative graphic design and so on. But, I fiollowed that observation with one regarding content, which many consider the best. I tend to go with "function before form," but if you can get both, that's optimal. If the information is useful and valuable AND it's pretty, too... kind of like the FJR, eh?

 

[Silver Penguin]

I've had subscriptions to most of the current mags, and let them go, except MCN. That's the one I'm keeping. It's not the cheapest but I believe it's the best. No ads, just info.

 

[jpcfjr]

Just got my first edition of MCN, and not a moment too soon as we are getting pounded by snow once again in the Northern VA area. First off, I like the magazine. I just read the article on the 2010 Honda NT700V ABS and I certainly appreciate the no-punches-pulled assessment. I also especially like the CycleStats page and seeing it made me want to see a page like that on the FJR. So, I went searching through their website and found that in the December 2007 edition, they did a comparison of the FJR, ST1300, and Concours 14. I would have to pay $7 for that back issue.

Does someone have that magazine? It's not the $7...I'm not that cheap. I'd just like to get the info sooner than they would mail it to me. Specifically I'd like all the numbers listed under performance data and the max hp and torque values with corresponding RPM listed under dynamometer data. If someone could provide that I'd be greatly appreciative.

On a separate note, it looks like I won't be riding the bike for a long, LONG time! TOTAL SUCK.