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Is Motorcycle Consumer News (USA) going out of business?

GAJ

GAJ

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Location
SANTA ROSA
Moto(s)
F800ST
Name
Geoff
I mean, WTF, the latest issue has a motorcycle on the cover as usual, you know, with a test inside?

But for the first time ever there is no test inside and it is the thinnest issue I can ever recall in my decades of reading it.

And Dave Searle's first page Editor's column announces his sudden departure after 15 years.

Anyone know WTH is going on?

The little used website forum has a thread by DataDan wondering the very same thing..with not a peep from the MCN powers that be.

Troubling.

Can anyone shed light on the situation?
 
Aaaand that screaming deal for subscribing for $5.00 is seeming like a cash grab now...
 
Shades of City Bike toward the end of the Halton years....pre Gabe/Surj.
 
Smash Allen said:
Aaaand that screaming deal for subscribing for $5.00 is seeming like a cash grab now...
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I subscribed. If this is actually going out of business I'm very much looking forward to a $4.58 refund from Amazon. Or the credit card. This kind of crap can't be allowed to fly - people shouldn't have to request financial statements and conduct credit analysis to subscribe to magazines.
 
turboLT said:
I subscribed. If this is actually going out of business I'm very much looking forward to a $4.58 refund from Amazon. Or the credit card. This kind of crap can't be allowed to fly - people shouldn't have to request financial statements and conduct credit analysis to subscribe to magazines.
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They are betting that you will not put in much effort for $5 refund

Think about it, it is the cost of a Starbucks... how much effort are you going to put in for that?

How much effort is it worth to you?

How many minutes are you going to waste for that?

And yes the principal is bad but so is wasting a lot of your time and energy trying to get a refund...

Life is too important to sweat the small stuff and $5 is small stuff.

I am a firm believer in karma and they will get what is coming to them if the $5 subscription is in fact a cash grab.

I hope they are not going under but all the signs seem to be pointed in that direction...
 
MCN's former parent company, BowTie, sold MCN and other titles to I-5 Publishing in 2013. Possibly because it is subscriber-supported with no advertising, MCN made the cut and continues. I haven't heard anything that suggests it won't continue.

But without Dave Searle, it will be different. It's not like he has a big crew of editors-to-be ready to step into his shoes (remember when Art Friedman at Motorcyclist had Ienatsch and Boehm working for him?).
 
^^^thanks for that dan, as usual you bring some important information to the fray. I've been a subscriber since the mid 90's myself and I realize this is just my two cents but I hope MCN will find an even better replacement for Searle. The reviews have become less accurate, more shallow and less detailed as it once was, in-spite of the mag's evolution to color print. I'll stand by and hope they carry on myself but i'm with gaj in wtf? Indian new Scout on the cover and nothing inside? C'mon man!!!:laughing
 
First time subscriber... I actually thought I had a few pages missing in my mag as I was looking forward to the scout review. Lol
 
DataDan said:
MCN's former parent company, BowTie, sold MCN and other titles to I-5 Publishing in 2013. Possibly because it is subscriber-supported with no advertising, MCN made the cut and continues. I haven't heard anything that suggests it won't continue.

But without Dave Searle, it will be different. It's not like he has a big crew of editors-to-be ready to step into his shoes (remember when Art Friedman at Motorcyclist had Ienatsch and Boehm working for him?).
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On the last page they usually provide a thumbnail in a small box of tests in the forthcoming issue.

That box is blank in this issue. :(

And, usually, when a long term editor announces their resignation there is a plug for the new editor.

Didn't see anything like that.

Searle is certainly not going out in a classy fashion even if MCN continues, which I certainly hope it does.

Oh, and a few months back they stopped doing real performance data on acceleration and top speed because of allegedly getting nailed by the cops on their remote public road test site.

Sadly all done with a computer algorithm now.
 
GAJ said:
Searle is certainly not going out in a classy fashion even if MCN continues, which I certainly hope it does.
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No, he's not. He started whining in his January column, but he also mentioned that his father had passed on recently, so I put it down to that. Then in Feb he announces his departure but says that he will remain as a consultant to ease transition. :wtf

Oh, and a few months back they stopped doing real performance data on acceleration and top speed because of allegedly getting nailed by the cops on their remote public road test site.

Sadly all done with a computer algorithm now.
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Did you infer that from Tony Foale's articles? Because Foale is a contributor in the UK, now apparently marketing his performance simulation software. I don't think a change like that was announced, and "measured top speed" is still reported.

Magazines do quarter-mile acceleration tests at a track. If they need a place for top speed tests, they get LE to close the road. Years ago when Car and Driver used "Mrs. Orcutt's driveway" in the Mojave desert, I think they had CHP supervision.

Maybe Searle was squeezed for budget for track and test rider, and got caught doing a real "road" test, but I kinda doubt they're passing off simulations as acceleration tests. Readers (or at least one reader) wouldn't stand for it.
 
DataDan said:
No, he's not. He started whining in his January column, but he also mentioned that his father had passed on recently, so I put it down to that. Then in Feb he announces his departure but says that he will remain as a consultant to ease transition. :wtf


Did you infer that from Tony Foale's articles? Because Foale is a contributor in the UK, now apparently marketing his performance simulation software. I don't think a change like that was announced, and "measured top speed" is still reported.

Magazines do quarter-mile acceleration tests at a track. If they need a place for top speed tests, they get LE to close the road. Years ago when Car and Driver used "Mrs. Orcutt's driveway" in the Mojave desert, I think they had CHP supervision.

Maybe Searle was squeezed for budget for track and test rider, and got caught doing a real "road" test, but I kinda doubt they're passing off simulations as acceleration tests. Readers (or at least one reader) wouldn't stand for it.
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I give my old MCN's to a buddy so can't find Searle's column maybe six months ago saying Top Speed, roll on and acceleration were all going to be via a computer algorithm as they go nailed by the cops.

Just looked at my issue prior to this fucked up one and it said that in this issue we could expect tests of the Indian Scout Sixty as well as the new Triumph Twins.

What we got was a photo of the Scout Sixty on the cover and no tests of any of the bikes.
 
GAJ said:
I give my old MCN's to a buddy so can't find Searle's column maybe six months ago saying Top Speed, roll on and acceleration were all going to be via a computer algorithm as they go nailed by the cops.
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Found it. August 2015. From that column, it sounds like every test since then is simulated. Fuck 'em. :mad
 
I have been getting MCN from a friend who I give my CW and Motorcyclist too. At $5 I decided I could get it. Wow the first issue is a disappointment. Did you notice Dr John Alevizos wrote his last Medical Motorcycling column also.
 
Wow, uh, yeah... I just looked at my MCN and there is no Indian Scout article.... MCN has been a fixture in my life for many years. They were a big part of my life when I was learning to ride. I hope they survive.
 
I just called I-5 subscription services. The pleasant cs rep didn't have any details, but they know the current issue is terrible.
 
DIY said:
Wow, uh, yeah... I just looked at my MCN and there is no Indian Scout article.... MCN has been a fixture in my life for many years. They were a big part of my life when I was learning to ride. I hope they survive.
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Same here and after the op I went down to my mailbox and yep, same thing, i'm thinking what......the.............where the hell is the review on the cover of the Indian Scout? First time for everything I guess?:laughing
 
scootergmc said:
I just called I-5 subscription services. The pleasant cs rep didn't have any details, but they know the current issue is terrible.
Click to expand...

While there is no excuse for this month's 'edition', I am hoping it is just teething issues while the new owner is cleaning house. If they admitted they knew there are problems with the current issue that will make me feel...less irked.
 
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