Article in Rider Magazine

[Land Surveyor]

Somebody on another board says there's an article on the new Bullet in the current issue of Rider Magazine.  Haven't been able to lay hands on one.  Has anybody seen it yet?

[Blltrdr]

Read it a couple of days ago. I wouldn't waste my money on the issue just for the article because it's kind of a rehash of similar articles. I think a majority of members here that post could write a better article describing the Bullet. If you have ever read the articles in Motorcycle Escape you would have a good reference point for a great article. I'm not sure if that publication is still on the stands but that's the mag I would like to see a Bullet article in.

[Land Surveyor]

I understand we can expect a good article in an upcoming (March?) Cycle World but this one was news to me.  I have only ever read a couple of issues of Rider and it was OK but a bit light on details.  About the only mag I can really do without is Motorcycle Cruiser.  They all write like people who only started riding bikes a few months ago.

I have read a few articles on RE's in different magazines in the past and they begin bellyaching about the finish, proceed to "lack of power" (compared to a sportbike, I suppose) and end up b****ing about maintenance issues.  I'm no tinkerer myself so I have hopes this new bike will give the Japanese a run for the money.  Still, one must consider a bike as what it is, not what it is not.  I want it for what it is.

[Cabo Cruz]

LS, as Blltrdr said: "Read it a couple of days ago. I wouldn't waste my money on the issue..."  I also look forward to receiving my Cycle World March (hopefully) issue for the article that RE1 mentioned under another thread!

[ace.cafe]

I haven't read it, and I won't be wasting my money on it, either.

I've pretty much come to expect that kind of article from most of the mags. That's IF they happen to spend any copy-space to even mention an RE.

Let's face facts. The majority of bike rags out there are primarily venues for promoting the Japanese multi-cylinder sportbikes. That's who pays for the ads in those mags, and they know "where their bread is buttered". I almost can't wait for the next "600cc SportBike Shootout" article. They haven't had one since last month's issue! And the issue before that one, And the issue before that one....
Then there's the Cruiser mags, and the occasional touring or MX mag.
We just don't "fit in" to their mentality.
Their idea of an "all around" motorcycle is a hypermotard that comes with a it's own matching step-ladder..
I think they forgot what motorcycles are supposed to be, and are swirling around in their own maelstrom of hype.

To most of these writers, speed is the only interest in motorcycling. It's all about what lap-time it can do at "Willow Springs". Most of them wouldn't even know what to do with a Bullet. It's outside of their little box of ideas. And the publishers are going to place articles based on who is spending the most in the advertising department.
So, it became apparent long ago that these magazines may as well change their names to "TheYamasuzuhondasaki Journal".
They grudgingly had to start talking about Ducati when the Japanese bikes were getting their clocks cleaned for about 10 years straight by Ducati in Superbike competition, and the mags just couldn't be so blatant about ignoring them anymore.

The mags are fun if you own a Hayabusa or a GSXR, and want to have your ego stroked every month for $4.50 at the news-stand.
Squid-bait.

Hopefully, Cycle World will make some effort to write a decent article on the UCE, squeezed in between fold-out  glamour ads for the the new Japanese liter-bikes.

[REpozer]

Well said ,Ace,, when I talk to some cycle folks ,I say its all about torque not speed ...I get  look.,"Hey cool looking bike , how about the maintenance? .....After we talk about adjusting, valves , dry sump engine ,and separate gear box ,I get anther

Yeah it's in league of its own.

[Leonard]

I read the article a couple of days ago and thought it was very complimentary given the bike only had 14 miles on it and evidently the dealer turned it over to the writer without a good prepping as he had to tighten several fasteners.
The bike was an AVL Classic BTW, not the UCE.  So unless you have that very bike and want the article to help sell your bike down the road or got the mag free you haven't missed too much.

[Chasfield]

Their idea of an "all around" motorcycle is a hypermotard that comes with a it's own matching step-ladder..
I think they forgot what motorcycles are supposed to be, and are swirling around in their own maelstrom of hype.

Ace

If I remember rightly, Triumph got roundly criticised around 1971 for the excessive tallness of their new oil-in-frame 650 twins. You have to laugh. One of those bikes would look like some kind of radical custom low rider if you parked it next to your average 2008 hypermotard/adventure bike.

Chas

[Bullet Bill]

Back to the topic at hand, it seems there's at least one useful magazine article out there in the U.K. magazine "The Classic Motorcycle."  It won't tell you anything you didn't know (or at least could not have guessed) if you've kept up with the Enfield forums, but it's a fairly detailed article, and it's available for the moment on their website.

http://www.classicmotorcycle.co.uk/

[Land Surveyor]

I get that Brit mag from a local bookstore.  Those guys over there are WAY serious about their bikes.  Their idea of restoration is darned near resurrection in some cases.  They mostly give "Not British Make" bikes a fair shake as well.

The articles I have read in that and one of its sister publications (whose name I can't remember at the moment) have been very complimentary to Indian RE's, which are also featured in ads in practically very issue.

[Cabo Cruz]

Bullet Bill, very good article... thanks for sharing it.

[Blltrdr]

Back to the topic at hand, it seems there's at least one useful magazine article out there in the U.K. magazine "The Classic Motorcycle."  It won't tell you anything you didn't know (or at least could not have guessed) if you've kept up with the Enfield forums, but it's a fairly detailed article, and it's available for the moment on their website.

http://www.classicmotorcycle.co.uk/

Bill, I purchase all those Brit bike magazines. Not only are the articles well written you have a large amount of ads in the mag that can direct you to many parts and accessories you may not find in the states. The articles are well written by journalist who have grown up riding many of the bikes we can only dream about. Bravo for posting the web site. Actually I have corresponded with James the editor of The Classic Motorcycle, he took the time to write back to me right away and answer my question. Wonder if you would get the same response from an editor from one of the US cycle mags? Do you have a week!

[Bullet Bill]

I definitely share what seems to be the common opinion around here of most U.S. motorcycle mags.  They'll give you a stat chart, rave about how the bike is good or bad based on its top speed compared to a hayabusa, then move on to an advert. page.

I've only just gotten into The Classic Motorcycle, starting with the November issue (The Black Shadow on the cover caught my eye), and I'm more than impressed with the writing quality.

[Kevin Mahoney]

The European and especially the Brit motorcycle magazines are much kinder and much more interested in the Enfield.

[hutch]

They also have a short article in the American magazine "Motorcycle Classics" this month. They thought the bike was smooth, handled well, got good gas mileage, but the motor had the Quote "same lazy feel of previous models". Another quote said..."Still this is not---and never was---a machine to encourage anything other than a leisurely pace. The extra power means 70mph isn't a strain anymore, but the bike is happier-----and a lot quieter and smoother at 55mph."    All in all they liked the bike. I guess some of us just don't "feel the need forspeed" . If I want to go fast I just jump on one of my other bikes. I still love cruising at 55-60 on the LAZY old iron head Bullet. After getting used to the Idea of the new engine(i still hate EFI) I might just get a new UCE Electra, but the extra cost of the trials kit is making it quite an investment, and I have to think on that awhile. Now that I think of it. This has probably been asked before, but is the Electra with a UCE motor available in the US?     Hutch 

[Kevin Mahoney]

We will most likely bring is the Electra with the UCE in it. At this point it is lower on our priority list than the G-5 and the C-5

[Land Surveyor]

I guess I shouldn't give our American magazines too hard of a time, but I would like to point out that the Brits,who are complimentary to the Indian RE's, would be the people who would have the most experience with the older, English-made bikes, and should know what to expect better than our crowd.  It also seems that our brothers across the pond are predominately an older crowd and it seems that the American mag staffers are mostly younger than my 49 years.

Still waiting to see what the Velocette guy has to say this March.

[Kevin Mahoney]

For the most part it is an age thing with the writers. I am 56 and any American around my age or older most likely learned to ride on an old Brit machine which I think explains wshy we have a bit more gray hair (if we have any at all). This is one reason that the RE is usually quite welcome at Harley only events.

[ace.cafe]

It may be an age thing.

But I think it's something beyond that too.

Let's look at the magazine thing in its entirety.

Virtually all of the articles in the main magazines are based around the criteria of speed performance. Typically at speeds that are triple the legal speed limits in most areas.
And why is this?
It's because the Japanese makers, and some of the others, are funding racing efforts with their machines, which goes along with the mantra "What wins on Sunday, sells on Monday".
And so all of the sales efforts are geared toward selling bikes based on their racetrack performance.
Well, at one time in the past, the street bikes were modified into race bikes, and even the race bikes only did 100mph or so, and there was some kind of connection between a street bike and a race bike.
Now, things have changed to the point that a race bike and a street bike are almost the same things, and are designed to do 185mph, and don't even get out of first gear at the legal speed limit.
There is no longer a real working connection between the current motorcycles and riding on the street.

So, this being the case, the magazines are tasked with convincing the public that they need to have a 185mph race bike to ride to work in the morning. And if they don't have that, then they are somehow "inferior to the next guy who does". After all, there's "winners" and the rest are "losers". You don't want to be seen at the local drive-in on "last years model", which is now "down on horsepower" by 5hp compared to "this year's model"., when the guy on his shiny new "this year's model" rides up, do you?

So, the magazines run 500 articles a year on "how bike XYZ can lap Willow Springs". And how bikes YZX and ZYX lost out by .4765 of a second. So that means that "this year" you should buy bike XYZ, but watch out for next year when bike ZYX is supposed to release their new world beater, so get ready to trade your XYZ for a ZYX next year, or you're a dweeb come spring.

And that's all that is supposed to matter, and thats' all that is presented, and for a very good reason.
And that reason is that "that's all they've got". There's nothing else to really recommend the bike. It's a "fish out of water" for street use, so they appeal to your ego as a Walter Mitty "Roger Racer", to make you NEED to have this bike or your ego will suffer.

And this has become totally pervasive in the motorcycle market, to the point where more normal road bikes are looked at(down their noses) as some kind of inferior thing. We need to have "the fastest", and if it's not the fastest, it needs to be traded-in immediately. If it's not the fastest, it's "worthless" in the minds of many of these people.
And that is what the Japanese makers need people to think, because that is what their entire marketing efforts are built on.
This years champ is next years obsolete hardware. This perpetuates the need in the buying public's mind to "trade up" every year and keep sales volume flying out the door, while flooding the market with last-years models whose values have dropped like a stone, now that the new model is out.

It's perpetuating sales cycles of a basically useless vehicle for the street.
And they're making biliions on it, selling people something that has 3/4 of its capabilities  outside the range where it can be used. You're paying money for capability that you cannot use.

On the other hand, a bike like the Enfield has most of it's full capability which can be used on the street. You get to use more of what the motorcycle can do, and you don't pay for capabilities that you cannot use.
The RE is a better value in terms of utility.
But in the view of the writers and readers, the RE is "just a slug" that can't even keep up with the latest Ninja 250 in a race. And you can tell that's what they think, because words to that effect are the first thing to come out of their mouths when something like an RE comes up in conversation.

All the other stuff is ego-driven, and will likely never get used by the owner in most cases. It's all "bragging rights" about how "Rossi beat so-and-so on the same kind of bike I ride". etc, etc
The whole industry runs on "Walter Mitty" buying the latest race bike models
And that's okay, if that's what you want to do. But to keep the "image" going, the racebike mentality requres that other bikes are viewed as "losers" if they don't lap Willow Springs faster than what you've got.
So, the writers for the magazines write articles to perpetuate that scenario, so that their advertisers sell alot of bikes every year, and keep buying millions of dollars of ad space in the magazines.

[ace]

Nailed it sir... I quit buying bike mags because of exactly those shootout  articles  Dirt bike mags are much the same, disposable consumerist society at its finest. And we can see where all this consumerism and growth is getting us ( Secretary Paulson's friends are getting wealthier).Most squids are fooling themselves if the think they could ride those bikes at the level where that-.467 seconds advantage would ever become evident.

[REpozer]

I save money by not prescribing to the "must have now" crowd. I purchase the level of technology I need or want a let the rest go.

Ace.cafe brings to light, what a lot of us were feeling and couldn't put to words.I've returned to motorcycling after a 15 year break, and jumped at the chance to get back in with an RE. I have no regrets yet. ( except I wish I had 2 or 3 more MCs).

I can't find a MC magazine that suits me. I considered some Brit publications, but price 50-60 GB Pounds  weasels into my RE parts budget, so I rely on you folks though this forum to fill in.

[stipa]

"the Horse, Backstreet Choppers".... If'n you lean that way.  Lots of Brit iron,  Triumphs, BSA's,  some Japanese stuff from the 70's, a Guzzi once in a while. Some really interesting thumpers too.  Of course, being a chopper mag, it is geared towards those who would take a perfectly good, (or not so good), motorcycle and pull all the junk off,  stretch it, rake it and hardtail it,  and lighten it by a few hundred pounds, but still....
This one leans more to the home/garage builder, and restoring advocate.  Not so much concerning power generation as insinuating reliability into the power plant, enjoying the machinery, and certainly, looking cool. 
I am building a little rigid framed, Bullet engined cycle for my daughter. She tends not to "follow the crowd," and I think this bike will look good and ride great with her.  If this works out as a decent power plant, I would build another with one of the UCE's.  (If they become available as a crate package).
Check that mag out,  see what some of the "other" crowd is doing with the English bikes. 


e author=REpozer link=topic=3101.msg33147#msg33147 date=1229200583]
I save money by not prescribing to the "must have now" crowd. I purchase the level of technology I need or want a let the rest go.

Ace.cafe brings to light, what a lot of us were feeling and couldn't put to words.I've returned to motorcycling after a 15 year break, and jumped at the chance to get back in with an RE. I have no regrets yet. ( except I wish I had 2 or 3 more MCs).

I can't find a MC magazine that suits me. I considered some Brit publications, but price 50-60 GB Pounds  weasels into my RE parts budget, so I rely on you folks though this forum to fill in.
[/quote]

[Leonard]

I can't find a MC magazine that suits me. I considered some Brit publications, but price 50-60 GB Pounds  weasels into my RE parts budget, so I rely on you folks though this forum to fill in.

You might enjoy Motorcycle Classics a USA magazine at $20.00 for 6 issues a year(new subscription).  On the web at http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/.

[REpozer]

Thanks Leonard, that's starting to look more my speed

[Blltrdr]

I can't find a MC magazine that suits me. I considered some Brit publications, but price 50-60 GB Pounds  weasels into my RE parts budget, so I rely on you folks though this forum to fill in.

You might enjoy Motorcycle Classics a USA magazine at $20.00 for 6 issues a year(new subscription).  On the web at http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/.

 Leonard, good call. That is a really good mag. Here is a link to their web page for those of you amateur journalists who would like to get published. www.ogdenpubs.com/writers/mcc.html

[hutch]

I knew this site was more my kind of people. On top of sharing a love for the RE for years, you like the same mags as me. Motorcycle Classics is a great mag. I started with the premier issue in october of 2006, and look forward to each and every new magazine. The price has went up to $24.95 for six months. I just renewed for a year 2 days ago. Reading the mag brings back plenty of memories of the old bikes I rode or wished I had owned. Great publication.   Hutch