Will the last writer out of the Cycle World offices please shut off the lights?

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Printed editions ceased in 2020 now even the online version is Kaput.
Eric Maurer · Follow

It's a very sad day today - from multiple sources:
Cycle World magazine was shut down yesterday and reportedly all employees walked the plank.
By the end, Cycle World was owned by Octane Lending, and the online operation looked more like a pleasant corporate content shop than a motorcycle magazine. The editors worked in spacious, well-appointed offices, and every behind-the-scenes photo seemed to feature another tasteful desk, exposed brick wall or designer light fixture (and if it wasn't that nice they sure made it look so). Stress didn't appear to be part of the décor. Kevin Cameron remained in Massachusetts and piped in for podcasts and stories, Justin Dawes was in South America and flew in for press intros and the like. Other staffers worked out of the Octane offices where they had access to a dyno and assuredly a nearby coffee bar. It seemed so nice, what with polished concrete floors, tasteful furniture and enough creature comforts to make old-school magazine veterans wonder if anyone had ever thrown a typewriter across the room.
What killed Cycle World?
In reality, Cycle World was as much a networking asset as it was a magazine. Owning the industry's most recognizable title helped Octane present itself as an insider while it courted manufacturers for lucrative financing partnerships covering motorcycles, ATVs and side-by-sides sold through dealer networks. Octane landed several OEM deals to provide financing in the motorcycle industry but after five years they decided to shut CW down.
The reality is that it isn't 1999 anymore. Kerker and SuperTrapp are history. Yoshimura no longer races Superbike, instead hawking bucket hats on social media. One by one, Japanese manufacturers have packed up and left California, chased away by high costs and regulation despite the state being home to some of the best motorcycle roads and weather in the country. Kawasaki has pledged to stay in California but the days of all the manufacturers being in So-Cal are over which just 25 years ago seemed unthinkable.
And that's how a magazine that once set the agenda for the motorcycle world quietly became another archived website. No funeral. No last issue worth framing.

https://moto-1.com/cycle-world-reportedly-winding-down-operations-after-a-bumpy-decade/
 
I really miss how good all those old motorcycle magazines from the 70’s and 80’s were. I used to subscribe to a whole bunch of them but Cycle and Cycle World were my favorites. I loved the big shoot out issues where they would test a whole bunch of comparable bikes. And do you remember how comprehensive their long term tests used to be? Man they would strip those bikes down and photograph every detail, they would run them on the dyno and the drag strip.
They REALLY tested everything. I used to spend hours pouring over those issues, even at work you’d often see me walking around with a folded magazine in my back pocket! 😄

Towards the end they were just a sad shadow of what they once were. Super thin, more photographs and ads than content. Long term tests gave way to “riding impressions” and a two paragraph story. They went from monthly publications to six issues a year, and then to add insult to injury the costs skyrocketed. 🙁

By the way this was not only a motorcycle magazine problem , I also used to get several car mags and popular science and popular mechanics. I canceled them all.

The internet killed them. 😢
 
Mailman said:
I really miss how good all those old motorcycle magazines from the 70’s and 80’s were. I used to subscribe to a whole bunch of them but Cycle and Cycle World were my favorites. I loved the big shoot out issues where they would test a whole bunch of comparable bikes. And do you remember how comprehensive their long term tests used to be? Man they would strip those bikes down and photograph every detail, they would run them on the dyno and the drag strip.
They REALLY tested everything. I used to spend hours pouring over those issues, even at work you’d often see me walking around with a folded magazine in my back pocket! 😄

Towards the end they were just a sad shadow of what they once were. Super thin, more photographs and ads than content. Long term tests gave way to “riding impressions” and a two paragraph story. They went from monthly publications to six issues a year, and then to add insult to injury the costs skyrocketed. 🙁

By the way this was not only a motorcycle magazine problem , I also used to get several car mags and popular science and popular mechanics. I canceled them all.

The internet killed them. 😢
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WELL i SUBSCRIBED O cYCLE MAG UNTIL IT'S LAST ISSUE IN 1993, pLUS CYCLE wORLD UNTIL THE PRINING PRESS STOPPED. THE INTERNET DIDN'T KILL THEM ITSELF. THE subscribers that turned their backs on the glossy great pics,test rides that weren't brand advertising, teardowns ,dyno runs like you stated. all good stuff for we gearheads. Have bookshelves and wooden crates of the old mags. Wel worth saving. My nephews love going thru them when they come over. So the younger gen already realize the value to the printed mags. A sad day. I believe the same corp bought both mags and eventually killed them both.
 
I was an avid subscriber to both Cycle and Cycle World back in the 80's, but gradually let them expire as I had no interest in dirt bikes and whatever they were touting as the Japanese superbike du jour. I really like listening to the podcast with Mark and Kevin and hope that they work out a way to keep it running.

As for the Manufacturers leaving California (I have been chastised for calling it Co**iefornia), there is no earthly reason to keep a US headquarters there. Prices of warehousing and office space is through the roof compared to elsewhere in the US and traffic in Southern Cali is nuts. Taxes are another reason many large companies are moving to Texas, Florida and Tennessee.

The scenery in Cali is stunning, but quite honestly, If they want to take beauty shots of motorcycles riding up PCH, they can truck a few bikes in, take the pics and leave without having to deal with the high cost of living there. I was born and lived on the Central Coast for most of my life right up until I realized there was no way I could retire there and have any sort of decent quality of life so I packed my junk, moved Tennessee and have never regretted it for a moment.

For some reason, all the automotive and motorcycle journalistic companies have shut down over the last few years. I am sure poor corporate decisions have a lot to do with it as maybe the profit margins aren't worth the effort. Motor Trend, once the largest automotive magazine content creator, has also folded it's tent and colsed shop. I think the future is going in the direction of having a presence on platforms like You Tube or maybe Rumble and using creators as independent contractors instead of direct employees.
 
gunk said:
I have bookshelves and wooden crates of the old mags. Well worth saving. My nephews love going thru them when they come over. So the younger gen already realize the value to the printed mags.
Click to expand...

I used to be the same way, I had cardboard boxes full of them. They didn’t survive my last move to a smaller house. 😢

Some other magazines that I used to buy were British publications, I used to buy them at classic bike shows and swap meets, I’d buy them by the stack. Lots and lots of good content in them.
IMG_9526.jpegIMG_9527.jpeg

And I always had a stack of Walnecks Classic Cycle Trader magazines lying around too. I found my ‘76 Bonneville in a Walnecks catalog. Bought it the old fashioned way, made a few phone calls to Baxter Cycle in Iowa
( who had placed the ad ) talked to Randy himself. Then I sent him a paper check through certified mail, then waited a month for it to arrive! 😄
IMG_9528.jpeg

Walnecks always had period road tests in them and great how to articles for rebuilding and repairing stuff. And those old grainy black and white pages! 😄
 
MacMcMacmac said:
Damn. I guess the archived back issues will be gone too. I used to love reading old tests from the 70s and 80s. It used to be the highlight of my month to trudge down to the drug store to get that month's issues. Fitting it was a drug store really, as I was really addicted.
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I used to go to the local drug store also for those mags, but all those local drug stores are gone also
 
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