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  • Who buys motorcycle mags these days

    Just had my renewal notice for OBM (Old Bike Mart) not sure if I will bother to renew this year. The content is getting very samey now, some news, advertorials & of course the small ads, (same old bits being advertised at inflated prices). The letters page only appears about every two months & for me the only interesting pages are Mike Worthington-Williams Unearthed.
    I also up till last year used to take Real Classic but I found this repetative with the same old articles, the guy with the old Triumph outfit & his mates riding out on jollies, the Bend Swinging Dave Minton, Pub Talk, the usual road tests, increasingly of more modern bikes, & of course clueless Frank in his Tales from the Shed
    With the glossy mags now around £3 per time & in the main revisiting the same old subjects/bikes (how many times can you tell the Triumph story?) I have given up on the 'glossys'
    What do others think?

  • #2
    Who buys motorcycle mags.

    Having got tired of the glossies some while ago, I kept OBM going just to feel in touch with the outside motorcycle world. Having just taken on a new restoration project I find it a valuable source of reference for the bits I shall need. Perhaps when this need ceases it will be another subscription saved. Project involved 1964 Essex Mk2. Les,

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    • #3
      Magazines

      Like you Les I have kept OBM going just to keep in touch but I am not on the look out for parts etc & its the same old thing. shows, advertorials, old archive articles (I note The Classic Motorcycle are now reprinting old stuff from the Morton archives) this really shows they are struggling to fill the mags.
      These days if you want bits you can usually find them quicker & cheaper on line from eBay. I think eBay has knocked the stuffing out of OBM no where as near as many ads (particularly bikes) as there used to be, & the price has crept up to £1.33 per copy. They used to give it away free at shows, maybe still do.

      Comment


      • #4
        I vary rarely buy "new" magazines anymore. If I can't find information on the net about a project or interest, I do seek out and buy old magazines that contain articles or photographs of relevance to my project or interest.

        David.

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        • #5
          mags

          My grandfather used to buy classic bike and classic motorcycle £1.40 every time

          I used to as a young man go and read them avidly in front of a fire and sip some home made wine with coconut fingers and fig rolls with two teacakes to acompany them ~~(memory of my youth)~~.

          I gave up buying magazines (when grandfather died) to expensive and bland information reading the old ones are best "the motorcycle" "bike" to name a few but i think with the onslaught of the internet and with google you can condense all information quickly and easly ! i downloaded one search engine that uses 10 search engine at once and it was free called "COPERNIC" but still read OBM now and again for they who are not frequented with the modern computer advertise precious bits lol.

          gary gwillam

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          • #6
            Motorcycle magazines

            The best magazine catering for older motorcycles in this part of the world is
            "Old Bike Australasia" which is edited by Jim Scaysbrook, a noted past racer and
            journalist.
            It is a bit aimed at local themes, but many excellent general articles.
            I thoroughly recommend it.
            Last edited by rarpos7; 31/10/2013, 05:15 AM.

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            • #7
              John, I hate to admit it but I have to agree with you!

              I have heard that circulation figures are allegedly well down. Classic Motorcycle was even offering to hold 'focus groups' (an EEC eye test?) with VMCC sections to find out what would make people buy the mags.

              When Ken Hallworth (or whatever his name was) started OBM, it was well and logically laid out and a joy to read. Content, then services, then ads all logical to an engineering and practical mind. Now it is an absolute jumble of content and ads with the services pages spread to the 4 winds. I think this approach is at the behest of the marketing and ad people who imagine that readers will hunt through looking for what they want and spot other 'must have' ads on the way. Well it doesn't work with me and I have given up on it. I was speaking to a mate earlier today about this quite by chance and he said he still had the last 2 months unopened in the plastic bags so he is binning it too plus another 2 mates are doing the same and all for identical reasons.

              I also abandoned Real Classic which is a shame because the early issues were quite good with old Humbernut actually making bits. However, it became very samey testing the usual old bikes and with Daisy going off to yet another rally, burning out it's exhaust valve on the way there and breaking its chain on the way back with lots of jolly ale around the camp fire in between! Regrettably, it became just as bland as the rest and I found I was not even opening it when it arrived.

              I looked at Classic Motorcycle the other day - 'the Bonneville Ridden' and 'We Look at the Monobloc' were a couple of the articles - they've never been done before then! I just think that the mags are not aimed at us old timers. Compared to to the mags of 20 years ago, the articles are not anywhere near as long or comprehensive.

              The only exception is Classic Racer and that does seem to find interesting and well-written articles.

              Some time ago, I counted the full-page ads and it worked out at 33% of the mag. Buy 3 titles and you are paying for 100 pages of ads, a lot of which you will receive in triplicate. So if each mag is 100 pages and you pay £4 each, you are effectively paying £4 for those 100 pages of ads!

              Bring back 'Classic Legends' and Derek Wylde's 'Off Road Review'!

              Anyway, I don't get a chance to read them as I waste all my spare time on this damn PC!

              Comment


              • #8
                Time to move on.

                Rob, theres is only so much that can be written about old classics, & it appears that saturation level has been achieved.
                Being that the british bike marque is long dead, & hardley likely to produce anything new in the short term, are you really surprised!.
                The old ways are gone, if you want info/ stories/ anthing/ its all on line & free, the only limit is the imagination.
                How is an old glossy gonna compare with that?. dave

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Rob View Post
                  John, I hate to admit it but I have to agree with you!

                  I have heard that circulation figures are allegedly well down. Classic Motorcycle was even offering to hold 'focus groups' (an EEC eye test?) with VMCC sections to find out what would make people buy the mags.

                  When Ken Hallworth (or whatever his name was) started OBM, it was well and logically laid out and a joy to read. Content, then services, then ads all logical to an engineering and practical mind. Now it is an absolute jumble of content and ads with the services pages spread to the 4 winds. I think this approach is at the behest of the marketing and ad people who imagine that readers will hunt through looking for what they want and spot other 'must have' ads on the way. Well it doesn't work with me and I have given up on it. I was speaking to a mate earlier today about this quite by chance and he said he still had the last 2 months unopened in the plastic bags so he is binning it too plus another 2 mates are doing the same and all for identical reasons.

                  I also abandoned Real Classic which is a shame because the early issues were quite good with old Humbernut actually making bits. However, it became very samey testing the usual old bikes and with Daisy going off to yet another rally, burning out it's exhaust valve on the way there and breaking its chain on the way back with lots of jolly ale around the camp fire in between! Regrettably, it became just as bland as the rest and I found I was not even opening it when it arrived.

                  I looked at Classic Motorcycle the other day - 'the Bonneville Ridden' and 'We Look at the Monobloc' were a couple of the articles - they've never been done before then! I just think that the mags are not aimed at us old timers. Compared to to the mags of 20 years ago, the articles are not anywhere near as long or comprehensive.

                  The only exception is Classic Racer and that does seem to find interesting and well-written articles.

                  Some time ago, I counted the full-page ads and it worked out at 33% of the mag. Buy 3 titles and you are paying for 100 pages of ads, a lot of which you will receive in triplicate. So if each mag is 100 pages and you pay £4 each, you are effectively paying £4 for those 100 pages of ads!

                  Bring back 'Classic Legends' and Derek Wylde's 'Off Road Review'!

                  Anyway, I don't get a chance to read them as I waste all my spare time on this damn PC!
                  Think you have covered it all there Rob except to mention RC 'Tales from the Shed' clueless Frank trying to sort out his AJS (or is it a Matchless) with a Thor hammer. No Humbernut now or our own scribe Colin Sparrow who did pen an excellent article on Greeves. Obviously not what the readers wanted. RC even abandoned its online forum (now IKBA and still going strong independently) in favour of a Facebook page.
                  I have actually renewed my OBM subs but really only to read Mike Worthington-Williams Unearthed column, the only bit worth reading.
                  Last edited by John Wakefield; 29/10/2013, 11:39 PM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Old bike mags

                    Rob
                    I suppose there could be scope for yet another 'old' motorcycle mag. Motorcycle Invester or OBI (Old Bike Investor) I will leave it to your imagination as to what the contents may be.
                    Last edited by John Wakefield; 30/10/2013, 10:14 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Getting RC....

                      Originally posted by John Wakefield View Post
                      I also up till last year used to take Real Classic but I found this repetative with the same old articles, the guy with the old Triumph outfit & his mates riding out on jollies, the Bend Swinging Dave Minton, Pub Talk, the usual road tests, increasingly of more modern bikes, & of course clueless Frank in his Tales from the Shed
                      If it's any consolation John, it looks like the feeling could be mutual....
                      Attached Files
                      Last edited by Brian Thompson; 31/10/2013, 12:29 PM. Reason: Pic attached.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Getting RC

                        Originally posted by Brian Thompson View Post
                        If it's any consolation John, it looks like the feeling could be mutual....
                        Brian, welcome back
                        Interesting that the Townmate is mentioned as you know I have one of these as my daily rider. I took pics & submitted a piece on this for Your Pride & Joy feature in RC some time ago, but Frank Westworth turned it down saying it was not the sort of bike that his readers would be interested in. It seems as though they want more & more Triumphs.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Oh dear! Triumph twins! That was my gripe with them so obviously I'm not alone. I own 2 but find them terrible things to work on and the yearly (or more frequent) revision of non-interchangeable parts doesn't help either!

                          However, I digress.

                          Good to see you back in action Brian! The articles you posted give some examples of things from the past that were much better. Most of those mags were worth a look but I don't even bother perusing in 'WH Smith's Lunchtime Reading Rooms' any more.

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                          • #14
                            All the money being saved on not buying mags can be sent to me in exchange for a copy of "ISDT1968". I have taken delivery today of several copies of this magnificent work of about 330 pages with many photos (some of Greeves) and (blowing my own trumpet) quite a few photos from me.
                            The cover price is 80 Euros, but the UK price is not yet set as the Publisher has been more than a little busy dealing with other family matters.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I wouldn't mind one on 'ISDT 1961' !!

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