Our Favorite Motorcycle Magazines
by webBikeWorld Staff
More: wBW Reviews Home
Labels and stereotypes; for good or for evil, they put people and things into little boxes with closed lids.
Labels tend to shut off debate and prevent people from dealing with real issues.
But labels are a reality, so we just have to learn to live with.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! So we're hereby labeling webBikeWorld as an online motorcycle magazine.
Now this may seem obvious to some, but not to others. If you can't wrap your mind around the fact that webBikeWorld is a magazine, or your definition of a magazine is something that's paper-based, glossy and comes in the mail once a month, then you've been had by the Lords of Labels.
webBikeWorld certainly is a magazine; albeit one that fits a more modern definition of the genre in this, the Age of Broadband.
The mission of our magazine is simple: to provide information that helps our visitors make informed purchasing decisions.
To implement this mission, we exploit three of the basic advantages that a web-based magazine has over its print cousins: the near-zero incremental cost to provide more -- more detailed information and photographs than can be offered in print.
Visitors also have 24/7 access to the huge and growing webBikeWorld database of information kept on the site. And don't forget that a website has the ability to deliver the information to its readers in a much more timely fashion than any print magazine can manage. Oh, and one more thing: don't forget the hyperlinks!
In contrast, print magazines typically have a lead time of 2-3 months in a world when people want information right now. Print magazines are generally designed to be read once and discarded. This is as inefficient as it is wasteful.
Ever try to look up a year-old article in a magazine? First of all, you have to hope it hasn't been tossed out with last month's trash. If it was, the search ends right there. But if it's still hanging around, it's then a matter of pawing through every page until the article is found.
Looking for archival information on webBikeWorld? We have a simple policy for the retention of information: we don't delete.
You can count on less than one hand the number of webBikeWorld pages that have been removed from the index in the past 6 years. The information on some of our pages may be out of date, but it's always there for you, just a search box away.
That's one of the most powerful advantages of a website -- there's basically no incremental cost for storing old information, just as there's really no incremental cost for providing as much detail as possible and plenty of photographs.
So print magazines are obsolete, right? Absolutely not! Print magazines definitely have their place. Riffling through pages you can feel with your hands definitely has its advantages. Even finding the latest issue in the mailbox is a thrill that never fails!
And some print magazines serve as more than entertainment; they provide timeless documentation of our sport. If you've never seen Classic Bike or The Classic Motorcycle, you're really missing out on a lifetime of motorcycle knowledge and also some of the best motorcycle photography around.
Which brings us to the point of this article: a general survey of our favorite print motorcycle magazines. We're letting out one of our secrets here, because many of the products and accessories that we review were first discovered by reading the articles and the ads in these magazines!
Kind of ironic, no? We're dissing print magazines because of their ads, yet those very ads are the source for many of our ideas!
One of the things that prompted this article was a recent survey we conducted to count the number of worldwide motorcycle magazines. We stopped at 340, but our educated guess tells us that there are almost certainly three times that many if local motorcycle magazines and industry and trade magazines are included.
We get several dozen sent to the webBikeWorld offices from all over the world each month and some of them are not cheap. Cross-border postage can be outrageous!
So we thought you might be interested in a list of some of the magazines that we read. There's not a lot of originality in this list, because you can certainly find this information elsewhere on the web without much digging. But we thought you might like to see what we read to help keep you informed.
If you have a favorite magazine that you'd like to see added, feel free to ping us at
Looking for a print magazine? Many British and other motorcycle magazines and obscure or out-of-print motorcycle books can be ordered through Motorsport Publications in Jonesburg, Missouri | The Magazine Man is the Motorsport Publications of the UK! | Emap is also one of the largest publishers of motorcycle magazines in the UK
Here are some of the magazines we can't live without (in alphabetical order) along with our personal opinions of their content. Below that is a text listing of some of the magazines we read, sorted by country
(Publication Date: June 2006).
|
|
|
 |
Bike Road tests and limited product reviews. General interest and world adventure travel articles. Occasional articles on performance riding with good graphics illustrating the points. The "Really Useful Section" in the back is just that; it has ratings for used motorcycles by brand and model, buying tips, what to look for and more. And don't forget the monthly Ogri page, the longest running motorcycle cartoon in the world. The photos alone are worth the cost of a subscription to Bike. |
|
|
|
 |
Classic Bike Feature issues that focus on specific bikes or marques are very useful as a guide for new or wannabe owners. Great want ad section with hundreds of bikes and photos; high drool factor! Classic bike owners need this magazine. |
|
|
|
|
The Classic Motorcycle Features on specific bikes with information on their history, racers, racing and more. Don't throw these away -- they can be read again and again. |
|
|
|
 |
Cycle News |
|
|
|
|
Cycle World Hachette Filipacchi publishes both Car and Driver and Road & Track and subscribers to those will know what we mean when we say that Cycle World reads like a combination of both; slightly irreverent and slightly stuffy. The front half of the magazine uses a format nearly identical to the car mags; one-page editorials, complete with the obligatory stylized head shot of the author. The format may seem old-school, but at least they employ two of the world's greatest motorcycle authors: Peter Egan and Kevin Cameron. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Motorcyclist Seems more accurate, less frothy and more technical. Very good occasional in-depth studies of certain topics, like their recent series on motorcycle helmet testing issues and problems. This is our favorite U.S. motorcycle magazine. |
|
|
|
|
Motorcycle
Classics Interesting articles and history, sort of like the UK's "The Classic Motorcycle" but with advertisements for American retailers and parts suppliers that you never knew existed. I hope there's enough of a market in the U.S.A. so that this one lasts... |
|
|
|
|
Motorcycle Consumer News Occasional detailed studies of topics like oil, cold-weather clothing, helmets, etc. but these are costly to produce and seem to have become less frequent. Robust letters section and good articles on esoteric topics like motorcycle training, health and others. Probably the best pure motorcycle magazine in the U.S.A.; unfortunately has limited readership. |
|
|
|
|
Motorcycle News Everything new in motorcycling appears here first. Once available as a weekly electronic download in .pdf file by (very expensive) subscription; now only available in an even more expensive print edition only. |
|
|
|
|
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure Some touring and special interest articles and occasional historical profiles of antique bikes. Not as much content as some others, but what's there is useful, logical and believable. |
|
|
|
|
RiDE Tons of practical information on choosing and maintaining motorcycles and gear. Probably my all-around UK favorite for content. |
|
|
|
|
Rider Good but basic info mostly feels like you've read it somewhere else before, only in more detail. Occasional road tests of the less popular bikes that the other magazines never seem to review. They do seem less editorially beholden to advertisers than other mainstream magazines. |
|
|
|
|
Roadracing World Very good in-depth technical articles on race technology. Again, maybe not as useful to the average street rider, but prospective or armchair racers should take a look. |
|
|
|
|
Sport Rider We don't get as much satisfaction from
this magazine as we do from others, perhaps
because we've never been a fan of Japanese
sportbikes. And why is Kent Kunitsugu always scowling? |
Moto Retro Illustrated is a relatively new, U.S. based magazine that focuses on the '70's. '80's bikes (dirt and street) that many of us grew up with. It is helmed by industry veteran Mitch Boehm.
RoadRunner (Bi-monthly) - Focused mostly on tourers, cruisers, destinations and general interest articles. Several webBikeWorlders suggested this magazine.
Robb Report Motorcycling - "This magazine, like any Robb Report publication, is primarily concerned with the higher end of the market. As such, the focus of the publication is is such that more emphasis is placed on the aesthetics of a bike than its technical merits. Nevertheless, perfect for aficionados and/or blue bloods ("K.T.")
If you have a favorite magazine that you'd like to see added, send the name of the magazine and a brief description (and don't forget the URL) to
More magazines that we either receive or read on a regular basis.
| Australia: Rapid Bikes | Cycle Torque | Two Wheels |
| Austria: Der Reitwagen |
| Belgium: Moto & Loisirs |
| Canada: Cycle Canada | Canadian Biker | Inside Motorcycles |
| Denmark: Bike |
| Finland: Bike |
| France: Moto Journal | Moto Magazine |
| Germany: BMW Motorräder, Klassik Motorrad and Motorrad Magazin | Fighters | Moto | Motorrad | Motorrad Reisen & Sport |
| Greece: Moto |
| India: Autocar India |
| Ireland: Irish Bike - Order from the Motorcycle Man (UK) | Irish Racer |
| Italy: Motociclismo |
| Netherlands: Het Motor Rijwiel |
| New Zealand: Kiwi Motorcycle Rider - Available from the NZ Magazine Shop |
|
Norway:
Bike
|
MC24 is a web-based motorcycling
magazine with news, tests, general interest, travel, classics - just about anything concerning motorcycles. |
| Russia: Bike Freak |
| Slovakia: Moto Magazin |
| South Africa: Bike SA |
| Spain: Motociclismo |
| Sweden: Allt om MC | Bike |
| UK: BikeSport News | Classic Bike Guide | Classic & Motorcycle Mechanics | Classic Racer | Fast Bikes | The Bullet-In | What Bike? | Motorcycle Racer | Superbike | Old Bike Mart | Performance Bikes |
| USA: Biker Ally - for women motorcyclists | American Iron Magazine - Best selling Harley -oriented magazine in the world. Great reviews, tech and how to and feature bikes - custom, classic and reader's ride | Motorcycle Business - MotoSports Business, new online magazine replacing the older print version | The Motorcyclist's Post - "The longest-running motorcycle newspaper in the United States." | RoadBike - All-around street bike magazine. real world reviews, rider skills and tours | Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader | 2 Wheel Tuner |
Motorcycle Product News - Monthly. Primary audience is Powersports dealers.
Note: For informational use only. All material and photographs are Copyright © webWorld International, LLC - 2000-2012. All rights reserved. See the webBikeWorld© Site Info page. Product specifications, features and details may change or differ from our descriptions. Always check before purchasing. Read the Terms and Conditions!
