| Author | Message | ||
     Stang37 |
So I just opened the May issue of Sport Rider and noticed the Wheelspin editorial about underengine exhaust and the benefits of such technology. I figured I would 'wait for it' and be silently pleased they mentioned the Buells...but it never came. Disappointment. I know these aren't the first bikes to pioneer this, but they are truly the ones that brought it mainstream, right? Not one mention of them...though Kent does mention the Yami and Gixxer, but more for comparison than praise. Ironically, they do a short review of the TT that appears approving. | ||
| Xbullet |
I was in the newspaper business, and let me tell you a secret that everyone should know before buying another paper/magazine/rag.... Those articles are not about giving you an unbiased opinion about a product or innovation. they are about selling advertising. check the number, size, and location of buell ads versus the suzu and yama ads. lotsa suzaha ads? lotsa print for them. only one buell ad? little write up on the TT. dig? i mentioned on the gas thread that exxon mobile is capitalism at its finest. print media, however, is capitalism at it's lowest form of life. it's simply writers and editors pandering to manufacturers for money to build/sell ads. | ||
| 4cammer |
Have a sub to Sport Rider and am not too impressed w/the mag. The "oversight" of Buell in the article does not bode well for me re-upping when the time comes. One can only stomach so many gixxers, r's and rr's. | ||
| Krassh |
Well I would say most mags fit that mold but motorcyclist did a controversial article that pissed off some major helmet manufactures last year. They lost a lot of ad revenue as a result but provided an unbiased article on helmets and how they compare to one another. | ||
| Tdiddy |
Road Racer-X is a good mag. I can't think of any bike tests, only racing reports and rider bio's. I can't get enough MotoGP. | ||
| Crusty |
Motorcyclist is the parent magazine for Sport Rider, and they have been blatantly prejudiced against Buells since at least the S2, maybe even before that. They pander to the Japanese in a way that I find both dishonest and disgusting. The head Editor, Mitch Boehm worked for American Honda for a few years. Expect nothing good (or honest or unbiased) to come from them. | ||
| Kdan |
Hey guys, guess what? Buell isn't mainstream. They pander to the mainstream owners. Hokawayamasuki. I'll bet there's a majority of riders at these mags that haven't even been on a Buell. Don't be surprised. | ||
| Bomber |
Krash -- you're right on the helmet issues cost them a buncha ad revenue -- oddly, Snell is in the process of updating their standards -- guess in which direction? not sure I understand the opinion that print media is capitalism at it's worst -- so long as you understand that the company exists to make a profit, the information contained is more easily processed if you're looking for a moto-journal that is 100% ad free, hoping to get an unbiased opinion, you're limited to one, in so far as I know, and it is not at all unbiased. Journalism 101 teaches that reporting alters news -- the decision of what to cover, in and of itself, affects the news, and, in many cases, makes it. | ||
| Rainman |
You also have to remember that years ago Motorcyclist acquired a Thunderbolt touring bike and it 1, caught fire, 2. the frame cracked, 3. the engine apparently sucked a valve or some other horrible thing all in the first 10,000 miles. They damned with faint praise the XB and begrudgingly (they even admitted that they hated to say it)liked the Uly and that it seemed to be of higher quality. That's why they don't drool over Buells. As a 30-year veteran of the daily news wars, including city council meetings, budgets, mass murders, mob hits, highway fatalities, abortion rallies, 4-H club meetings, I can tell you that the average newspaper reporter comes to work, gets the stories written by dealing with people who A) hate him or B) want to manipulate him or C) all of the above and then moves on to the next story. There isn't much time to think "Gee, I want to spin the story this way" unless you're CNN, MSNBC or FOX in which case your spin appears to be part of the reason you are hired. With few exceptions, newspaper coverage of the recent Virginia Tech massacre was fair, balanced and well thought out. I can't say the same for TV. OK, I'm going to get another cup of decaf, wipe the foam from my lips and try to relax. Sorry about that. | ||
| Rick_a |
"Mass centralization" has been a byword at Buell for a long time. Read your popular bike rags and you'd think Honda recently invented the concept. It's all good though. I've never been very popular either  | ||
| Rainman |
Hell, I'm still not! Even my friends hate me. | ||
| Fullpower |
If I may offer a counter point to crusty, in regard to Motorcyclist magazine. They have quite a bit of non-Japanese bike coverage, and even devoted about half of a recent issue to extreme Ducati-lust, incuding the Ten-Nine-Eight, a 620 Monster hop-up article, a Paul Smart Replica, and several additional models, and even a Triumph Thruxton/Ducati Retro comparison. Of course they are obligated to write much of the mass market bikes which sell by the hundred thousands, but I wouldn't go as far as saying there exists a strong editorial bias in favor of the newest Oriental Race Replica. In any case the rag is about worth the subscription price of a buck a month. | ||
| Rick_a |
Hell, man, at least you have friends! | ||
| Rainman |
Shhhh, don't tell them. They need to be the last to know. |
