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Which mag to read for unbiased info?

Fubar

By Fubar
in Motorcycle Talk

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Fubar

Fubar

Posted
Posted

First, an apology. I have never subscribed to a bike magazine, ever. Picked an issue up every 5 years or so when I saw a cover story that wasn't just about crotch rockets but.... So, as I find myself looking to get one I find that I know nothing about any of them.

 

I'm looking for something that focuses mostly on sport touring (if possible) but isn't a screaming, "every bike is the best ever!" hyperbole-laden rah-rah rag or a single make digest. I'm looking for honest, thoughtful comparisons a la "Consumer Reports" though a bit more emotion would be fine. :grin: (If you've read "Automobile" magazine you'll understand the style I'm after, information presented honestly and accurately with some humor by people who don't take themselves too seriously.)

 

I couldn't care less about chrome or some heavily tattooed guy's latest chopper creation. Some dual-sport info would be fine, too but not necessary. I want to read and learn more about real bikes that are useable in the real world that we ride in, two lanes, some twisties, some slab.

 

So, what recommendations do you have?

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na1g

na1g

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I agree that Motorcycle Consumer News is unbiased and uninfluenced by advertising - there isn't any! Which is why it costs so much more than the other mags. Besides bikes they review related products, too.

 

For a strictly touring perspective there is Roadrunner magazine. Several British magazines tell it like it is pretty much when reviewing bikes - Bike, Motorcycle Sports and Leisure are two I'm familiar with and I find them at Barnes and Noble book stores.

 

pete

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Jagman

Jagman

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I agree that Motorcycle Consumer News is unbiased and uninfluenced by advertising - there isn't any! Which is why it costs so much more than the other mags. Besides bikes they review related products, too.

 

For a strictly touring perspective there is Roadrunner magaine. Several British magazines tell it like it is pretty much when reviewing bikes - Bike, Motorcycle Sports and Leisure are two I'm familiar with and I find them at Barnes and Noble book stores.

 

pete

 

I'll second the Roadrunner magazine. They have bike comparisons but mostly it is about great rides, where they are at, what to do there.. etc. You can get a pretty good look at them from their website and even order a web only version of their magazine which is exactly like the hardcover one.

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kmac

kmac

Posted
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MXA {motocross action} as long as you ride a Honda CRf450R and you want your ego stroked...

 

That was sarcasm agreeing with your critique of MANY industry mags. I got burnedout on mags long ago and I used to be an addict. As many as 4 subscriptions at a time. Dirt Rider, Dirt Bike, MXA, Transworld, Cycle world...I kept Peterson Publishing in business I think.

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hopz

hopz

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All that above is true, but I have been reading Motorcyclist lately and think they have an entertaining product.

 

They have writers who can, and often do tell interesting stories that are far better than the others mags. I just ignore the crotch rocket/dirt/B.S. and selectively read the rest.

 

The good news is that they are inexpensive and easily thrown-out if nothing appeals...

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Matts_12GS

Matts_12GS

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All that above is true, but I have been reading Motorcyclist lately and think they have an entertaining product.

 

They have writers who can, and often do tell interesting stories that are far better than the others mags. I just ignore the crotch rocket/dirt/B.S. and selectively read the rest.

 

The good news is that they are inexpensive and easily thrown-out if nothing appeals...

Cycle world is the same way to me, plus you get Eagan and Cameron. I have a subscription to Rider I got as a gift, but have rarely broken the seal on them as I don't care for the magazine's style.

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TEWKS

TEWKS

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Cycle world is the same way to me, plus you get Eagan and Cameron.

I got to rub elbows with Eagan on an Edelweiss tour. As long as he hangs around I'll keep buying CW. :thumbsup:

 

Rider has a way of reading my mind. I swear, I'll plan a ride and within a few issues someone will get their story published on the exact location I had planned. I'll keep that one coming. :)

 

 

Pat

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beemerman2k

beemerman2k

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I only do e-books/magazines, so I subscribe to Bike (which is my favorite), Cycle World, Motorcyclist, and Sport Rider. As soon as Motorcycle Consumer News offers an electronic version, I'll subscribe.

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OoPEZoO

OoPEZoO

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I'm another Cycle World fan. I've been a subscriber for probably 12-14 years and still read it pretty much cover to cover every month. The only exception is that I usually just skim through the crotch rocket shootouts and racing coverage. Getting Peter Egan articles alone is worth the subscription costs to me. I like his writing well enough that I also bought both of his Leanings books......twice. Once for myself, and once again as gifts.

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hopz

hopz

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I just noticed that the actual title of the thread asks about "unbiased" information.

 

I think all the publications mentioned... er... make that any publication will have "bias". It is the nature of writing and more so for writing for publication.

 

I have said for many years... "What you see depends on where you stand."

 

You are going to have bias no matter what you read. On the other hand if your personal bias is the same as the writer's then you might not notice.

 

just say'n... and that is my bias.

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Fubar

Fubar

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  • Author
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Good point, Hopz. Every one is going to have some sort of bias. I guess I was just trying to say that I was interested in more factual information than just one guy's opinion.

Example: One of the car magazines (can't recall which) turned me off quickly years ago because their stuff was more about the people - with big pictures of them - and the writing was as if Zeus was speaking from Mt. Olympus. That's when I picked up "Automobile".

What I want is objective, quantifiable data with which I can make my own informed opinion using my own biases. As Joe Friday used to say, "just the facts".

Writer's perceptions can be very informative in some ways but can be misleading as well. I take their feelings on subjective issues with a grain of salt. How the writer feels about the seat or bar height or does the suspension have enough pre-load settings is something that will vary with every writer and rider.

I've checked out MCN's online reviews (well done and quite useful) and will have to check out (library?) several others based on the input received so far. Thanks, folks.

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lkchris

lkchris

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Nobody's mentioned BMW Motorcycle Magazine.

It's pretty good and seems to have lots of European sources.

Don't think it pulls punches on BMW foibles.

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roadscholar

roadscholar

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Good point. Picked up one a couple months back and enjoyed it, and as a bonus discovered where Sandy Cohen landed, I always liked her.

 

Stopped renewing MCN years ago.

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hopz

hopz

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Nobody's mentioned BMW Motorcycle Magazine.

 

Don't think it pulls punches on BMW foibles.

 

Now you are going to pick a scab... I am a BMWMOA member and get the Owner's News every month. My personal feelings are that the ON is so quiet about BMW failures, warranty issues, it is like reading the Party line.

 

I get the feeling that their position is, if we ignore it, they will go away. It is true that the older bikes (Airheads) get nice detailed repair coverage but if you have a current model RT/GS you are not going to read any objective information about things like Final Drive/Drive Shafts/Fuel Strips/ Fuel Pump Controllers, ESA failures etc. My guess is that the Mothership won't allow it.

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lkchris

lkchris

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Don't think BMW can control what BMW MOA does, but they indeed do very little in representing BMW owners when it comes to BMW problems. To my more limited knowledge I think BMW RA doesn't either.

 

Even the worst car club there is, i.e. MBCA (Mercedes), once had an interview with MBUSA regarding all the electrical problems in the early 2000s models.

 

BMW Motorcycle Magazine had an interview with someone from BMW Germany regarding the S1000RR rod bolt recall.

 

Personally, I'd rather BMW MOA have a real paid staff to represent riders vis a vis BMW rather than having a foundation. It sure seems more a fun-for-board-members organization than anything.

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dba

dba

Posted
Posted
Nobody's mentioned BMW Motorcycle Magazine.

 

Don't think it pulls punches on BMW foibles.

 

Now you are going to pick a scab... I am a BMWMOA member and get the Owner's News every month. My personal feelings are that the ON is so quiet about BMW failures, warranty issues, it is like reading the Party line.

 

I get the feeling that their position is, if we ignore it, they will go away. It is true that the older bikes (Airheads) get nice detailed repair coverage but if you have a current model RT/GS you are not going to read any objective information about things like Final Drive/Drive Shafts/Fuel Strips/ Fuel Pump Controllers, ESA failures etc. My guess is that the Mothership won't allow it.

 

BMW Motorcycle Magazine is different from the BMWMOA Owner's News. ON comes out monthly. The BMW Motorcycle Magazine is a quarterly publication from elsewhere than the BMWMOA.

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Ponch

Ponch

Posted
Posted

Personally, I'd rather BMW MOA have a real paid staff to represent riders vis a vis BMW rather than having a foundation. It sure seems more a fun-for-board-members organization than anything.

 

And I thought it was the Paul and Voni show. :)

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moshe_levy

moshe_levy

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There are all degrees of bias. So what are we talking about, exactly? Bias because the magazine does or does not accept paid advertising? Bias of the writer who, by definition, has all sorts of feelings about the products in industry at large? You don't go into writing about your opinions because you're a wallflower - you do it because you think you have something to say, and some editor somewhere agrees with that sentiment (and hopefully, some readers as well).

 

I stick mostly to product testing myself, but honestly when I read it's usually not product related. I love the columns that are universal and perhaps not even directly related to motorcycles at all. Peter Egan is wonderful. And MCN has many regular columns that are so interesting, especially Glynn Kerr's design analysis and Dave Searle's technical opening column. Sometimes he drifts into an Eastern-Zen type of mode, as in the February issue, and it's really a breath of fresh air.

 

When I read, I WANT a bias. Not the "Kawasuzkis are great because they bought a big ad spread" type of bias, but a bias in a writer that shows me where he's coming from, why he thinks as he does, and illustrates a perspective that perhaps I hadn't thought of before. Someone whose words I either love to love, or love to hate. But nothing vanilla that I forget 5 minutes after I read it. That, to me, is the entire point.

 

-MKL

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hopz

hopz

Posted
Posted

 

BMW Motorcycle Magazine is different from the BMWMOA Owner's News. ON comes out monthly. The BMW Motorcycle Magazine is a quarterly publication from elsewhere than the BMWMOA.

 

DBA you are absolutely correct I confused the two different publications. I replied about the ON and still believe BMW influences editorial choices in the ON.

 

Regarding BMW Motorcycle Magazine... it is a publication from BMW. It certainly has a bias (duh) and would support owners just exactly like BMW NA supports us now...

 

 

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lkchris

lkchris

Posted
Posted
Regarding BMW Motorcycle Magazine... it is a publication from BMW.

 

Not correct.

 

It's published in Tucson by Sandy Cohen, former editor of BMW ON.

 

The magazine originally began in Germany and I'm not sure how Sandy came to own it.

 

The masthead contains the statement

This magazine is published for all owners, riders, and enthusiasts of BMW motorcycles. It is entirely independent of BMW or its dealers or of any club or association.

 

BMW itself neither owns nor publishes nor controls any motorcycle magazine.

 

BMW does itself publish BMW Magazine, but you'll probably have to buy a new car to get on the mailing list. It may occasionally have something about motorcycles, but not often.

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marcopolo

marcopolo

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I have always enjoyed the Brit magazines best, especially Bike. They have a certain irreverence not found in North American bike mags. That said, they all accept advertising, so I have to think all of these publications, save MCN, sometimes pull their punches. The downside of the Brit mags is that they're rather expensive over here. I'll have to check out Bike on the iPad to see what it's like and how much it costs.

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