Just to add to this thread.... Was clicking around you tube.... Watch the fast bikes h2r at santa pod.... Tapped on the next vid in line on the 1199r. While i really like Al Fagan, seems like a nice bloke.... I though it was a bit harsh to describe the 1199 before it as "a scaffold pole with wheels".... Funny description, but it kind of higlights what im talking about! The 1199r in turn described as beautiful, which even as he says...." Well it is 28k!"
Thing is 5/10 years down the line they do a feature on lets say sports bikes for under 3k and that old dog they slated 5 years ago is the worlds best hidden gem !!
Talking of hidden gems: So many of the things journos slate new models for can be easily sorted to transform a bike. Models can be dropped from production without people realising what a good bike it could have been with a little input. Wrong OE tyre choice, poor fuelling, cheap suspension, seats, controls, excess weight, strangulating exhaust systems etc. Occasionally they ought to review used bikes which have been fettled and sorted by owners against new factory equivalents which are invariably compromised by production costs and legislation. The bikes we end up keeping can be very different from the bike the manufacturer sold us in the first place . Often a bike bought S/H and then highly specced is much cheaper than built-to-a-price new models and a better bike. They should review the finished article to show buyers the potential that lies beneath factory compromises.
The other benefit is that the bike is set up for you, whatever size, shape, weight, riding style and bike preferences that you have. Not always ideal for the next owner though...
If they don't write good reviews they won't get invited to the press launches or given test bikes. Same goes for gear:my mate,(in the trade for years and knows many journos and staff),says that the more stuff you give "Ride",magazine,the better your write-ups will be. Not forgetting that the price YOU pay for something includes the cost of advertising that thing to encourage OTHERS to buy it. I hate the thought that I've fallen for someone elses hype,so I generally,(but not always), buy used bikes /cars privately... Also,I let someone else suffer the depreciation,fark buying something and it loses value the moment I drive it off the forecourt.
Agree with the comments that all bike reviews tend to give the impression that the latest is best, but you can get something from them if you read between the lines. I've often thought, when I see reviews of a bike that I know, that the reviewer must be riding a different bike to the one I know. Must be great to change bikes for a new one every week. I once entered into correspondence with a reviewer with a long-term tester which was my bike of the time in connection with tyre choice. In my opinion, the bike was very sensitive to tyres and the three he had tried all seemed pretty inappropriate to me and I suggested what I know all long term users had on as first choice (which was none of these). I has a response back which was polite, charming & ignored.
Just thought Id bring this up again....I cant let stuff go...just me I suppose....I stumbled across this.... MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINES – DEAD, DYING OR JUST IN NEED OF A GOOD BACKHANDER? - BIKE ME! And based on what he had to say about the above, then I read his review on the GSX-s1000 here.... 2015 Suzuki GSX-S1000 Review – BIKE ME! Probably one of the most refreshing reviews ive seen for a while...mostly because he didn't pitch it against anything else and its the first review ive read on the gsx-s that ive read that's on the whole positive. My zed comes alongside this in the reviews also (from all the usual suspects) - had I have not gotten the zed I would have seriously considered it and I would have at least gone for a test ride as well...it also made me laugh - something which bike magazines now don't do for me....I always remember years ago PB used to make me laugh out loud a lot. I miss that. Anyway - see if you agree.
Yep, excellent and entertaining road test. The Suzi is on my 'to test' list next year when I treat myself to a new bike for my 60th birthday (gulp). I'd really like a Diavel but the GSX-S can't be ignored at that price.
The guy seems pretty angry and not a little up himself, having read his rather over-long piece on bike rags. Not a fan of his macho lads' mag style myself, but it takes all sorts. As for the review of the Suzuki, I'll spare others the bother of reading it. He likes it; it's not overly fancy; it's a real world bike; it's great for what he rides bikes for; it's relatively affordable. I can't say that I found his pieces especially entertaining or amusing. All magazines and printed press are are suffering competition from the internet, because no one will pay any more. Same for music, same for film, same for everything. If you can get it for free, you don't pay. Aus bike mags may be rubbish - I don't remember. I used to buy them when I was there in 1986 and haven't since. But then I stopped buying bike rags years ago, full stop, so I'm probably not the person to ask about them.
Well, yeah - each to his own - that's probably his personality coming out in his writing but I found it quite refreshing to read, didn't make me laugh out loud but made me chuckle. Stuff that I liked: 1. Not comparing it to anything else in great detail apart from the sister bike. 2. Not doing a chart with split second laptimes. 3. Not bringing up dyno readouts. Theres more stuff that I liked but id have to read through it again to remember them.... As I say on the whole It was an enjoyable read, and as you say, it was free....
I'd just like to resurrect this thread.... In time honoured fashion the mt-10 is now "the best thing ever...." from what I read....
