After over a century of supplying the world with two-wheel-centric media, Motorcyclist Magazine has ended its print run. Bonnier Corporation, which owns the name, has decided to transition Motorcyclist to a purely digital brand, and print subscribers will be given Cycle World instead. The magazine was given a revamp in 2017 to focus more on long-form storytelling, and the format change worked, as the publication gained a lot of subscribers across 2018. But it was still cut.
I picked up the first issue of the revamp at an airport and devoured it on the plane. I’d never been a fan of bike mags before, as they tended to focus more on specs and tech than on the stories that make bike people tick.
Motorcyclist always made the story an adventure, the paper quality was nice, and the photography was second to none. I submitted an order for a subscription as soon as I’d landed.
I’m an old soul, and while I spend most of my day paying close attention to the automotive and motorcycle news, reviews, and stories on the internet, I like to unfurl at the end of the day by drinking heavily and reading quality words printed on a page.
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There is room in my life for both digital and print, and I lament the loss of this particular piece of the media landscape. Especially when it’s something as old and storied as this. 107 years is a long damn time. It survived the Great Depression, several booms and busts, and the ’08 recession. It’s hard to believe a decision can be made to render something with such a long timeline obsolete.
I know that a lot of people worked really hard to make this magazine happen, and I hope they know that I, for one, appreciated it.
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