Adventure Tourer Magazine

[Tama's Tigre]

Has anybody thought about starting a new magazine called "Adventure Tourer"  :?:

There is such a wealth of knowledge coming from the members of this website (and the other one too).  In particular, I think that our own mad scientist, the go-to man, the ever helpful, the walking Tiger encyclopedia, the all knowing, all caring, "STRETCH," would make a fine and qualified editor of such a publication  :!:

I don't really know about the marketability of such a venture, but if a fraction of the members of advrider were to subscribe, it might just go.  Just a thought  :idea:

[FullMonte]

There was a mag called Motorcycle Adventure that was a pet project of Jamie Elvidge IIRC.  Neat concept.  I don't know if its still around.  Something like it with an emphasis on dirt road rides would be the ticket.

[Tama's Tigre]

Fullmonte,

I think you may be referring to:

www.motorcyclistonline.com/escape/

Which, I don't believe took off, except for this web page that hasn't been updated since inception a year or two back.  However, there are some great asphalt rides featured, which I have taken full advantage of  :D

[Stretch]

Thank you for the flattering words, Bro.  I appreciate it.  Very kind of you.

But I'm not sure how well a printed ADV magazine could survive with so much free information on the internet.

I've had subscriptions to Jeep and RV magazines in the past, but they really can't compete with the larger internet forums.  In both cases I had high hopes for the magazines, but was quickly disappointed when the tech articles and trip reports were oversimplified, merely hitting the high points, and three or four months out of date.

A big, high-traffic internet forum is exactly the opposite, with readers asking questions and the writer answering them, usually within a matter of hours.  This exchange makes the whole experience interactive, something a printed magazine could never hope for.

I think quite a few folks would initially subscribe to an Adventure motorcycle magazine.  But in order to keep the subscribers after the initial year, the photography, articles, and paper / print quality would have to be second-to-none (read: very high production costs).  I'm afraid subscribers would become disappointed when they found that they could get more detailed (and more current information) and great photos on ADVrider dot com.

I'm not sure that a magazine for such a narrow market could actually make it.  How many people would actually pay money for it, when they can get the content for free on the internet?

The mainstream motorcycle magazines can survive in the internet age because they are able to get their hands on the latest machines and gear months before the rest of us, and people are scrambling to read about the latest 190-hp Gixxers and 900-pound chrome-and-black cruisers.

Case in point:  a couple years ago, I subscribed to Road Trip magazine at the Cycle World show in Atlanta.  I paid thirty dollars for a one-year subscription, and received one issue.

I recently have received a notice from a California bankruptcy court that the owners have filed for bankruptcy protection, and that I won't be getting a refund.  That makes for a pretty expensive magazine.

Reading between the lines, these folks invested a substantial sum of money into producing a very nice magazine, but it catered to such a narrow market (long-distance motorcycle travel) that it could not produce enough profit to cover its own production costs.

A damned shame, that, as I really enjoyed the one issue I received.

I'm more of a nuts-and-bolts guy anyhow, so if anything, I may produce a few items from my own designs (in small numbers) here in my home shop.

My long-term pipe dream is to have a small ADV bike-specific shop here in town, offering service, used ADV bikes, accessories, installation, and production of a few of the parts and accessories I've come up with.

[nightrunner]

That "Motorcycle Escape" magazine did come out in print for like a year or two.  I went to subcscribe last fall and got a letter it was being discontinued.   I plan to hit this big used magazine store someday when I have the time and see if I can find a few issues.

Roadrunner is a decent M/C adv mag.  I would have thought it was geared toward the touring-bike types, but they cover (including route sheets) a lot of back roads and out of the way spots, and even run some dual sport articles.

Then we have Dual Sport News, which was renamed to Dual Sport and Adventure.... something.  Its pretty good for what I think is a small team putting it together.  They do bike reviews and some very good ride reports.

There was an annual mag called Dual Sport Rider that was put out by Beaverton Honda (in OR).  They did like 3 or 4 issues but no issue last year and I have not heard anything about one this year.

Dixie Dual Sport is a B&W mag put out by a fairly large and active riding group in the SE.  Kinda like a deluxe newsletter.

Yeah, I think it would be a tough market.  But maybe an annual mag.  And I still think if we collect all the Tiger wisdom we would have enough for a book.

Cheers

[iansoady]

There was a UK mag called Motorcycle Voyager which started off quite well but folded after a few issues because of the same kind of problem. TBH, I find far more information faster through forums like this than I ever have done through magazines - and it's free. I have probably learnt more here and in other Tiger forums in a couple of years with the Tiger than I did with 20 years' ownership of a Norton Commando (although became much more familiar with the Norton's oily bits).

[WIDGIN]

Reminds me of a conversation I had at "Motorcycle Classics" booth at last years trade show.  I told the salesman "I love your magazine, it's much better than competing mags, but I have to question your lifespan before spending cash on a subscription."  He was smart enough not to understand and not argue.  I've had several scuba diving mags go belly up on me in the past and they have a wider audience.  Unfortunately, haven't seen this mag lately (but I do need to check again).

[nightrunner]

Almost forgot about Trail Rider magazine.  They mostly cater to hare scrambles and such but they run dual-sport articles from time to time.  They have managed to survive for several years so far.  Not a bad read.

[Rod]

There is a great website called Horizonsunlimited.com run by Grant and Susan Johnson and covers everything you could imagine about traveling the world.
It covers everything from what kit, spares, sleeping gear,visas, documents etc you need to take, to how to deal with unfriendly border guards looking for their payment. So if you fancy take a trip down to south America or Siberia the website has all you need.
There are also lots of stories from subsribers about their travels and experiences and their enroute blogs. I think it is very inspiring so don't log on unless you want to take off yourself, cos you will after reading a few pages....!!
The next "Travellers Meet" will be in Viedma, Argentina on 8-9December.

Get inspired and use that Tiger to the full...!!!!!

Rod

[curt]

There is a great website called Horizonsunlimited.com run by Grant and Susan Johnson and covers everything you could imagine about traveling the world.
It covers everything from what kit, spares, sleeping gear,visas, documents etc you need to take, to how to deal with unfriendly border guards looking for their payment. So if you fancy take a trip down to south America or Siberia the website has all you need.
There are also lots of stories from subsribers about their travels and experiences and their enroute blogs. I think it is very inspiring so don't log on unless you want to take off yourself, cos you will after reading a few pages....!!
The next "Travellers Meet" will be in Viedma, Argentina on 8-9December.

Get inspired and use that Tiger to the full...!!!!!

Rod

+1 It's easy to get lost in that site. So many people with so many stories to share.

Curt

[TigerTrax]

Well...
you can count Tigers OUT !

As you may very well know.... an adventure Tiger was discontinued for a
'street-fighter/touring' bike that is incapable of adventure rides.

It's a shame. Those Tigers used to be good bikes!

[flyingpackman]

Has anybody thought about starting a new magazine called "Adventure Tourer"  :?:

There is such a wealth of knowledge coming from the members of this website (and the other one too).  In particular, I think that our own mad scientist, the go-to man, the ever helpful, the walking Tiger encyclopedia, the all knowing, all caring, "STRETCH," would make a fine and qualified editor of such a publication  :!:

I don't really know about the marketability of such a venture, but if a fraction of the members of advrider were to subscribe, it might just go.  Just a thought  :idea:

There is one:  I subscribe to it.  Check it out.

http://www.dualsportnews.com/ (http://www.dualsportnews.com/)