Need MC Magazine Suggestions

[BexarWolf]

My daughter recently acquired her MC license through the MSF course and purchased a Ninja 250. She's a total newb at riding so I've been sending her articles and such just to educate her.

She has no internet access from home and using her work computer isn't the best idea. I'm looking for an all-around motorcycle magazine I can get her a subscription to so she can keep up with what's going on in the world of MC's.

I'm not looking for a racing magazine (that's the LAST thing I want her to learn more about) and although the Texas motorcycling magazine is good, she doesn't have a lot of time for sight-seeing at this point. I'm just looking for something that has articles to improve her safety skills, news of the laws as they pertain to motorcycling, maybe a few ride reports to whet her appetite, basic bike upkeep, etc.

All of my magazine subscriptions are photography and mechanics so they're not of much use to her for riding.

So, what do you TWTex's folks suggest?

Thanks in advance.

Tad

[gocatgo]

I used to enjoy Rider a lot - just general stuff. Roadrunner has gotten sort of boring, IMO. The only thing I take the time to read now is the AMA Motorcyclist and Ride Texas.

[RedPill]

I like Rider. It's daughter-friendly.

[Dragwn]

http://www.bestdealmagazines.com You can get rider cheap here, less than $10 a year, along with some other bike mags if "cycleworld" doesn't fit the youngin friendly mold.

[Cagiva 549]

Motorcycle consumer news . They run rider safty articles and address riding skills improvement regularly . The rest are just advertisments printed on shiny paper , the only one worth more then $5 bucks a year is Ride Texas because it is for Texas riders . SEYA

[Diderich]

It might be worth a look at some of the books, twist of the wrist, proficient motorcycling etc...They go beyond what's covered in MSF, and are good for someone learning to ride.

I'll second motorcyle consumer news. I also get Motorcyclist because I like the pretty pictures, and they have good tech articles most of the time.

[Rangoon]

Motorcycle Consumer News. It's pricey, but you can find some deals. I also like Rider and Cycle World. Motorcyclist doesn't really appeal to me anymore. But, do I have a subscription? Heck yeah. $10 a year for bathroom reading.

[bushwhacker]

MotorCyclist is pretty good. Here is their Helmet Review article

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/

[BexarWolf]

Thanks for all the input so far. I've ordered the free one-month of Rider magazine to check it out and will probably keep the subscription for myself and get her one. Ride Texas is probably my all time favorite so far and I need to get a subscription to it, also. I can't keep relying on the wife to pick one up for me. It t'aint her job, ya know.

Keep 'em comin'! :clap:

[P-Ratt]

Motorcyclist isn't very kid friendly in it's current form. The new editor has a rather loose interpretation on what is appropriate these days. Rider is a pretty safe choice.

[Buba Gump]

I used to enjoy Rider a lot - just general stuff. Roadrunner has gotten sort of boring, IMO. The only thing I take the time to read now is the AMA Motorcyclist and Ride Texas.
Did you read the aug/sept ride texas? There is an article in there on page 12 about a friend of mine (Randall Cater) that builds bikes out of piles of junk. He teachs shop in Presidio, Texas. He (and his students) recently put a 78 sporty of mine back together in mint condition.

[jhansen]

+1 for both MCN and Ride Texas. Also a membership with the American Motorcyclist Assc. :rider:

[jtormo]

One of the most important gifts you could give is a membership in the AMA. $35 per year, includes American Motorcyclist monthly magazine. The mag has the same range of motorcycle tests as the mainstream mags, plus detailed lists by state of events of all types - from the major rallies to club poker and charity runs to amateur and professional races. AM has frequent articles about basic safety techniques, stories about "near misses" and reminders from riders about how a 1 second mental slip led to a newfound respect for skill enhancement, plus lots of "favorite rides" across the US.

You will also be supporting riders' rights - lobbying for tougher laws against drivers who hit (and often kill or seriously injure) riders, protect us against unscrupulous insurance companies, and fight discriminatory laws that attempt to ban bikes from public roads (a recent issue involves a Denver ruling that would require bikes to always have stock mufflers, while placing no such restriction on automobiles).

I enjoy Rider magazine - probably the most literate of the monthly mags. There are lots of places to find a good discount ($10-12 per year) rate. Rider has more articles aimed at women riders than any of the others, plus lots of articles geared to new riders - basic techniques, how to pack, etc. They too have good articles of favorite rides across the country, and I save these for my 3-4x per year road trips.

Cycle World is also well worth the $12 per year that it costs, just for the Peter Egan columns. Cycle World covers the universe of street, dirt, and racing with humor and good writing. They take themselves less seriously than Rider, which is more focused on sport touring than other forms of our sport.

As mentioned above, Motorcyclist has gone gonzo, with a much stronger bent toward hooligan riding and near-racing. They need a very different editor to regain my interest. Also stay away from "Sport Rider," for the same reasons. If it isn't a repli-racer, it isn't of interest to most of their testers. Even well-designed bikes such as the new Kaw KLR 650 get ****** with light praise as "not the kind of bike I'd choose for myself."

Another very well-designed mag is the UK mag Bike. They tend to have a more sport-oriented flair, but cover the European scene (heavy emphasis on sporty naked bikes with mid-displacement, almost no mention of the big touring and cruiser rigs that dominate US sales). That one will cost you over $25 per year, mostly due to international postage.

Ride Texas is more of a travel mag than a mainstream bike mag. Val Asencio keeps women riders' issues up front, they have more limited access to new bikes on loan from the mfrs/importers (Triumph, BMW, and Kawasaki's mostly), and they have great maps and tour guides around Texas and neighboring states.

I've left out the V-twin mags, which I know very little about. Many of those tend to be showcases for custom builders and the companies that provide parts for customization or one-off design and assembly.

[Astroman]

Cycle World and Road Runner

[P-Ratt]

Rider has a fair, real-world approach to riding. I appreciate the angle of approach they have to most bikes. It usually includes info that is not seen elsewhere.

Cycle World I read selectively since their approach doesn't entirely suit me. They have decent coverage and variety.

Sport Rider covers the harder angle to sport riding and considers everything NOT track-worthy right out of the box for a 150lb rider to be crap.

Motorcyclist was my favorite rag for many years. The new leadership has done a really poor job on giving the magazine a facelift through style and writers. In the past they have covered the bikes I was interested in very well.

MCN has such a "holier-than-thou" attitude with several issues. I really find it a big turn-off. They have some sort of agenda, and I don't enjoy reading political nutballs writing about motorcycles. I don't always read it cover-to-cover.

I have traditionally avoided the UK magazines because they are so close to porn. They have an interesting point of view on many bikes, but it doesn't always translate as bikes cross the pond with different stats and performance traits. If I do pick one up, I usually wind up drooling over a bike that isn't sold here anyway, so what's the point?

[GreyLion]

For what it's worth -- Rider Magazine for $5.95 a year.

http://www.bestdealmagazines.com/title.asp?title=RIDER

I'm always a little leery of the really inexpensive internet subscription sites, but I've subbed to probably a dozen magazines over the years from this place with no problems.

I visit TWT a couple of times a week and don't post much. This thread pushed me into subscribing. Thanks, guys!

I'll probably do MCN next month, available for a mere $22 from their site here:

http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/

One of my MSF instructors gave out a bunch of his old copies to us newbs, and I really liked it. I respect their refusal to take advertising so they don't have to kiss up to anybody. And its low-tech appearance appeals to me.