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PROSTITUTION AND PRINT MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINES
 Barnyard
Banter From Dave Preston
I used to get irritated when motorcycle
magazines I read religiously reported on the faults of a new bike the
following year, after the improved model was introduced. You know, something like:
“The new HYKS XSP 750, unlike last year’s model, does not suffer the problem
of the fuel tank melting in the sun.” I
knew I had read last year’s test several times, and I would have bet my
soul they never mentioned the problem then. That was when I began to
suspect that print motorcycle magazines had a vested interest in spiking new
bike sales. I was 16.
Now, so very many years later, print
magazines have become much more sophisticated, and much less honest. Now they
are willing to torpedo a new model’s sales for the sake of their own.
Exhibit A:
The Kawasaki ZX12R. When the
Suzuki Hayabusa first appeared, there was little doubt that Kawasaki would fight
back with a competing model. During the 18 months or so of the gestation period,
magazine covers routinely blared forth with headlines about sneak previews and
inside information. What little
information they had was usually a variation of a response to the only two
questions they asked: #1:
Would it be faster than a Hayabusa, and #2: Would it top 200 mph?
The fever pitch increased as each monthly issue throttled down to the
inevitable stand-off, and the magazines were blithely willing to ignore
everything else about either motorcycle in a mad quest to resolve the top speed
issue…which they had created.
Let us pause to reflect. Both the Hayabusa
and the ZX12R are fantastic pieces of technology. They both push the art of
motorcycle design into places it has not gone before, and they offer
technology to make real weaknesses that we previously did not know existed.
There is, for example, no currently available rear tire that will last
for any appreciable mileage on either bike. The problems of getting an object
capable of attaining 200 mph through the air smoothly force styling
considerations that result in unusual looks and odd riding positions. The
Haybusa’s appearance is “interesting” to some, “beautiful” to others,
and “butt-ugly” to the rest. The
ZX12R winglets are either the last word in aero-trickery or an obscene pandering
to the desire to create an “in” look.
In any case, the magazines all made a sales
killing when they tested the two bikes and found that A.) The ZX12R is not
faster, at least in top speed and B.) Neither bike will top 200 mph.
For this the ZX12 was disparaged in the motorcycle press, with the result
that sales of the new model were considerable dampened.
You can now find them at your dealer, and most likely you can make a deal
for less than MSRP.
My point is not to pity the dealer, any more
than it is to blame the Chrysler dealer for obscene profits made on the PT
Cruiser, which is, after all, a $12,000 Neon with a different body.
The PT Cruiser was also the object of media frenzy, and dealers are not
going to miss an opportunity to rake in a bonanza while it lasts.
Now I wonder about the customers whose
purchasing decisions can be so mightily swayed by such a biased group of
“journalists.” Are print motorcycle magazine journalists objective? Of
course not. They are in the business of selling magazines. I will predict for you that, if they have not already hit the
magazine racks, there will soon be a glut of articles detailing exactly how to
modify your ZX12R so that it will top 200
mph, thereby triggering more sales…of magazines.
Is that all we want in a big sport bike? 200
mph? Who declared this to be the
only design consideration? I would
consider buying a ZX12R because I think it is a wonderful statement of
technological expertise and because, to me, it is gorgeous.
OK….speaking of being objective…I do work for a Kawasaki dealer! Others feel the same about the Hayabusa.
Don’t forget the Honda CBRXX, the briefly famed Blackbird, recipient of
a fawning media crush in its first year and now regarded almost as an antique!
All have amazing brakes, and terrific reliability for the astonishing
performance delivered. They handle
much better than you would think, and can actually be used to commute to work
AND for thrilling weekend play, and none will ever approach 200 mph in the hands
of most riders. They are all
beautiful in the eyes of their owners, and they are, compared to cars or any
other recent product based on technology, almost absurdly inexpensive to
purchase.
Nobody needs 200 mph.
Nobody ever did. The print
media needed it, purely to sell magazines. They were able to run to the bank on
the promise of 200 mph, which they made; on the failure to achieve 200 mph,
which they took advantage of; and on the corrective path to 200 mph, which they
will publish.
Dave Preston
is the author of Motorcycle 101, a sensible book for the new and returning
rider. Pick up a copy today in the
Sound
RIDER! store.
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