The Authoritative Harley Tech and Performance Magazine
Written: Jun 01 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of great pictures of cool looking bikes. Good tech section.
Cons: Very little content. Only for die-hard motorcycle mechanic types. Cheap printing.
The Bottom Line: Eye candy for motorheads and shop geeks.
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| jay1051971's Full Review: Hot Rod Bikes Magazine |
If you look at your average newsstand magazine rack, you’re sure to find a whole conglomeration of titles devoted to motorcycles. Like their riders who indulge their passions for such machinery, motorcycle magazines are a diverse array. You have magazines on sport bikes, cruisers, custom bikes, dirt bikes, and so on. One title I had the pleasure of surveying recently is Hot Rod Bikes, a publication devoted to high end and custom bikes, and the technical aspects of maintaining them. In hand, I have two recent issues – the August 2002, and July 2003 editions.
Hot Rod Bikes is a monthly publication from the Primedia Group. This saddle-stitched book generally runs in the neighborhood of 100 pages. The cover price is listed at $3.99, but a subscription offers the better deal at $15.00 for one year. I found one of those pesky subscriber cards in one of the magazines that offered a two-year deal for $24.00.
Skimming the magazine, one is immediately struck by the apparent lack of content. There are tons of advertisements throughout the book, mostly for motorcycle equipment, dealers, and clothing of interest to bikers. The problem isn’t that there is lack of content, it’s just that most of the articles rely more on photographs than lengthy editorial to deliver value. There are also entire sections of the magazine printed in black and white. This gives the impression that perhaps the publishers were trying to cut costs on the printing.
In each issue, there are main features and regular departments. There is also a section where the magazine covers some current event. The “Event” in the July 2003 issue is a very brief photo essay from this year’s annual “Bike Week” held in Daytona, Florida. For the significance of the event, I thought that this magazine’s coverage was pretty lean, spanning a whopping two pages. The August issue is just a bit more generous in their coverage of the Laughlin River Run. If you’ve never heard of this event, don’t try reading the article to find out where it is, because they don’t tell you. This event is named for the town of Laughlin, Nevada along the banks of the Colorado River.
One part of the main features is usually about some biker designer, or new bike model. The brief introduction story gives way to a collection of photos to help give the reader a close up of various parts of the bike. At the end, a “tech chart” is often included to list the exact specifications of the bike’s engine, frame, tires, and other details of its construction. Granted, many of these bikes are sleek looking street machines, but unless you are incredibly rich, or are really serious about motorcycles, I can’t imagine that these articles are anything more than eye-candy.
The tech portion of the main features provides more value. Here we have detailed reports about various bike parts. For instance, in the July issue we find an article about mufflers, comparing and contrasting Hard Krome and Hooker Headers. They are installed on various bikes and evaluated. The August issue includes an article on breaking systems. This portion of the magazine is designed to be very practical, and does pretty well in that endeavor.
The regular columns are your run-of-the-mill type of offerings. There is a letter to the editor section, reviews of various products, news for biking enthusiasts, and a preview of next month’s issue.
Overall, Hot Rod Bikes is an ok magazine, which is only suitable for people who are very serious about motorcycles. It is very similar to American Rider magazine, only without the depth that AR provides in its articles. I think this magazine could be improved by working on its layout and design a little more, to make it appear less like a catalog, and more like a magazine. I am going to give this a three star rating and a marginal thumbs down for the recommendation.
Related Review:
American Rider - http://www.epinions.com/content_58976341636
Recommended:
No
Recommended For: Professionals
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Epinions.com ID:
jay1051971
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Member: Jason
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Reviews written: 343
Trusted by: 216 members
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The 4 Essential Food Groups: Drugs, Guns, Booze, and Hookers.
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