Fazer Owners Club - Unofficial
General => General => Topic started by: agricola on 26 June 2019, 07:48:16 pm
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First Wednesday for a considerable time that I have not picked up a copy of Motorcycle News. Ive found less and less of interest to me inside the pages, it seems to be preoccupied with high end, expensive, technologically advanced machines that most riders dont want (cos you hardly ever see them on the roads) or simply cant afford. I reckon it provides little entertainment or information for the majority of riders, so it looks like the parting of the ways. Anybody else any views on it?
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Not even looked at it for years. I always pick up one of these whenever I am in a place that dishes them out. Free to pick up in bike shops or you can pay for a postal subscription.
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Haven't bought one in years. I use their website occasionally just to check basic reviews bit that's about it. If I get any bike related reading it tends to be RIDE magazine, and that's only if it's either free or very cheap
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Used to regularly read their website fairly often to catch up on bike news, but they pissed me off when they installed the adblock blocker script. Now you're forced to load up a tonnes of huge intrusive ads that cover everything and cause my old laptop to grind to a halt. So just dunna bother with it anymore, no big loss.
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Haven't bought one in years. I use their website occasionally just to check basic reviews bit that's about it. If I get any bike related reading it tends to be RIDE magazine, and that's only if it's either free or very cheap
+1 for Ride mag. Yes it still has exotic road tests but tends to have "Buy a bike for 2k", "Best puncture kit, tank bags, touring tent & routes tyres etc". Tend to find I read more of it and keep it for reference.
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Used to regularly read their website fairly often to catch up on bike news, but they pissed me off when they installed the adblock blocker script.
Run NoScript and block anything you don't want running :thumbup
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My local market sells (new) previous copies of Ride, Bike, Classics etc for a quid. Usually only a month or two out of date :)
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My local market sells (new) previous copies of Ride, Bike, Classics etc for a quid. Usually only a month or two out of date :)
Jammy Bar Steward.......grrrrrrrr !
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Bought a copy this week reminded me why I stopped buying it a few years back full of BMW's. Ducati's, KTM's, mainly adventure bikes. I'll stick to Ride and Practical Sportsbike they aren't yet full of euro adventure bikes.
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high end, expensive, technologically advanced machines
Isn't that every new bike nowadays?. Ever more stringent Euro laws have dictated that haven't they.
MCN is less relevant, but then so is motorcycling in general.
There used to be 7 main dealers in my City up until just a few years ago selling all the brands. Every single one has closed down. Says it all :\
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There used to be 7 main dealers in my City up until just a few years ago selling all the brands. Every single one has closed down. Says it all :\
Thats because of the likes of us keeping 21 year old bikes on the road :lol .
I forgot to add a link to my post last night
https://www.morebikes.co.uk/motor-cycle-monthly/ (https://www.morebikes.co.uk/motor-cycle-monthly/)
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There used to be 7 main dealers in my City up until just a few years ago selling all the brands. Every single one has closed down. Says it all :\
35 years ago when I started riding, in Crawley we had 4 bike dealerships. One did Kawasaki, one did Suzuki, one did motor cross stuff and one did all sorts. The next town to the west (Horsham) had one bike shop, the one to the east (East Grinstead) had 2 or three and the town to the north (Horley) had one. Today, we have P&H and Crawley having now taken over all the brands locally and T.Northeast in Horley. The next nearest bike shops are bout Triumph dealers which are about 40 mins away.
35 years ago, every 16 year old had a moped or wanted a moped and many went on to ride bigger bikes. Today, barely any mopeds are on the road and not many of those are ridden by people who want to go onto bigger bikes.
35 years ago, or thereabouts, the 2-part test was introduced with part one being in the car park dodging cones and part 2 was on the road riding around the block with an examiner jumping out from behind a tree to see you do an emergency stop. Once you took that test at 17 you could ride anything. Today, you need to do the CBT before you can even think about going on the road, then the hazard perception (which is really aimed at car drivers) then the theory then the cone avoidance and finally a long complicated road test with an examiner who may or may not be following you in a car because it goes against their H&S to let them ride a motorbike :pokefun
Is it any wonder less people are interested in bikes these days?
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With my local library, West Sussex, you can read MCN and other bike mags, including BikE, Ride, etc, for free, you just need to use PressReader, and login with you library number.
Don.
Got an app on the iPad.
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Never been a regular reader of MCN.
The impression I get is that bike sales are relatively healthy. I suspect also cheap credit and PCP deals are keeping the stock rolling out the door.
Harley Davidson seems to be one of the big sellers up here – piloted by folks dressed up as outlaws and often wearing silly masks as if they are off to rob a bank or hold up a post office or something.
There seems to be a lot more to choose from in the way of new bikes, but then it seems hard to find something to fit the bill.
There seems to be shit loads more bikes on the road. But then as bikes are now generally kept for leisure use or toys, they seldom get run into the ground and scrapped.
technologically advanced machines that most riders dont want
It seems to be there is a demand for stuff like rider modes, traction control and electronically adjustable suspension etc.
Can’t argue with ABS. I’m surprised that tyre pressure monitors are not mandatory now as they are in cars – it can be a life saver.
I’ve been pouring over the options list for BMW’s R1250R
I like and I want;
Heated grips, Tyre Pressure Control, Cruise Control and Centre stand. (why are these not standard on the beemer anyway FFS?)
I’m tempted by Dynamic ESA (electronically controlled active suspension)
I could not care less about;
Keyless ride, daytime running lights, Quick shifter, Riding modes pro, GPS prep, alarm, Intelligent emergency call etc.
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I agree with most of the above,you'd buy MCN because it was for the bikers of the time,affordable transport,now it's a rich mans' hobby if you want anything new,big and powerfull it's getting so £10,000 is actually cheap! I'd like an MT10,but if I chopped mine in or sold it I'd have to find about £7,000 to change, nearly twice as much as my FZ1! MCN back in the day was something every biker looked forward to,couldn't wait for Wednesday to catch up on stuff,I sometimes buy it if I'm on hols or got a hospital appointment and want to read something but it's just full of exotic stuff I could never afford and you can forget about PCP deals,IMO it's just a way for dealers to stitch you up for years,then end up with fuck all if you can't afford the payments or the big lump sum tacked on to the end,WANKERS :finger
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There seems to be a lot more to choose from in the way of new bikes
Complete nonsense. If look back through the archives at the Japanese manufacturers ranges from years ago the choice on offer was immense compared with today.
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There seems to be shit loads more bikes on the road.
Really?. It's the complete opposite down this way.
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The impression I get is that bike sales are relatively healthy.
The other week you were telling us how it was all going down the pan due to the dreaded B word :rolleyes
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The impression I get is that bike sales are relatively healthy.
The other week you were telling us how it was all going down the pan due to the dreaded B word :rolleyes
:lol
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Never been a regular reader of MCN.
The impression I get is that bike sales are relatively healthy. I suspect also cheap credit and PCP deals are keeping the stock rolling out the door.
Harley Davidson seems to be one of the big sellers up here – piloted by folks dressed up as outlaws and often wearing silly masks as if they are off to rob a bank or hold up a post office or something.
There seems to be a lot more to choose from in the way of new bikes, but then it seems hard to find something to fit the bill.
There seems to be shit loads more bikes on the road. But then as bikes are now generally kept for leisure use or toys, they seldom get run into the ground and scrapped.
technologically advanced machines that most riders dont want
It seems to be there is a demand for stuff like rider modes, traction control and electronically adjustable suspension etc.
Can’t argue with ABS. I’m surprised that tyre pressure monitors are not mandatory now as they are in cars – it can be a life saver.
I’ve been pouring over the options list for BMW’s R1250R
I like and I want;
Heated grips, Tyre Pressure Control, Cruise Control and Centre stand. (why are these not standard on the beemer anyway FFS?)
I’m tempted by Dynamic ESA (electronically controlled active suspension)
I could not care less about;
Keyless ride, daytime running lights, Quick shifter, Riding modes pro, GPS prep, alarm, Intelligent emergency call etc.
Wow. Bikes are a rare sight indeed down here in the east midlands. When i first started work in 68, i reckon perhaps 20% of the workforce at the old steel works travelled to work by motorcycle, 30% on pushbike (including me) 30% by bus (there were dozens servicing the steel works daily at all times), and the rest either walked or could afford a motor car. When I finished work 3 years ago, my motorcycle was generally the only one in the bike racks, along with half a dozen cycles. No buses came into the site (a major pharma site), and the car parks were rammed such that you had to arrive really early to get a parking spot at all. The Council twigged on and introduced a car park tax
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Quote from: VNA on 27 June 2019, 06:36:35 PM
The impression I get is that bike sales are relatively healthy.
The other week you were telling us how it was all going down the pan due to the dreaded B word :rolleyes
You need to pay attention to what I write and not what you thought I wrote. :pokefun
Before the dreaded B event, we were told by the economists that a vote for B would weaken the pound. The UK as a whole voted for B and sure enough the pound loss quite a lot of it’s value.
So before B the asking price of a new MT10 was £9999.00 Quite a deal I’d say.
Almost three years down the road it’s £12000.00 and you’ll need to pay for the first service.
It’s nothing like as attractive a price.
But hey it's what you voted for.
However, Yamaha is offering a 2.9% APR PCP deal.
Honda a 0% APR PCP deal.
So, for now, sales are holding up.
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Wow. Bikes are a rare sight indeed down here in the east midlands. When i first started work in 68, i reckon perhaps 20% of the workforce at the old steel works travelled to work by motorcycle, 30% on pushbike (including me) 30% by bus (there were dozens servicing the steel works daily at all times), and the rest either walked or could afford a motor car. When I finished work 3 years ago, my motorcycle was generally the only one in the bike racks, along with half a dozen cycles. No buses came into the site (a major pharma site), and the car parks were rammed such that you had to arrive really early to get a parking spot at all. The Council twigged on and introduced a car park tax
As I remember it, up here, there were shed loads of bike running about in the 70’s. Then through the 80’s and 90’s they just whittled away.
My CBR600F was often the only bike in the car park at work on a nice sunny day mid 90's. Sometimes 2 or 3 others joined it.
I didn’t count how many bikes there were today at work, maybe about 15, not as many as I expected, maybe some left early or numbers are down now the school holidays have kicked in.
Living in a seaside town every sunny weekend it’s like an invasion of bikes. In the 90’s there were a few but now it’s bonkers.
The highlands have always been popular for day rides and folks up from England or abroad touring. But with the promotion of the NC500 it’s gone ballistic. The far North was always popular with the Germans but it’s seen major growth in the last few years.
These are just my impressions, but I feel in central Scotland and around I see a lot more bikes on the road. Of course, it depends on the weather. I’m not too fussy, but some folks won’t head out if there is even so much as a chance of a shower.
Meanwhile a lot of the dealers are seriously worried about B. And I’m thinking maybe I should just get something now – just in case.
Think of an MT10 priced at 14 or 15K. Doesn’t really bear thinking about.
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I've had MCN every week since I was a teenager, over 40 years ago....until January this year, when I finally got fed up with it and haven't read it since......a very sad end to something I once wouldn't miss for the world.
Like others have said, they lost their way and all they really seem to be doing today is promoting new bike sales and trying to convince us all that paying huge "deposits", low monthly payments for 2 or 3 years and then massive balloon payments (or handing back a bike leaving you with absolutely nothing after 3 years but a big hole in your bank account), so that we've paid 50% more for a bike than what it would cost to buy....is the best way to go motorcycling......and they've not gone ballistic at the likes of Arai/Shoei for only selling helmets that cost more than some bikes :eek , not to mention the protective clothing makers.
I remember reading results from a huge number of national/club events every week, with most of the editorial articles aimed at the typical "rider of the day", plenty of tests and info on affordable bikes/gear and real world info (not stories of what the latest bikes are like to ride in the sun on a press launch in Portugal, in winter......) and that's why I loved MCN.............But not any more, too commercially tied up with the manufacturers and even maybe too "elitist". I think they've forgotten their roots (or their audiences roots) !
Right now, its Practical Sportsbikes and Classic Motorcycle Mechanics for me.
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Agree with everything that Millietant's posted. I also used to be a long time MCN purchaser, although in my case my allegiance waned about 5 years ago. My motorbike magazine days started in the late 50's with The Motor Cycle and Motorcycling. Both weeklies, coming out on a Thursday if I remember correctly. Other kids were buying The Eagle or the Beano/Dandy, but I bought bike comics. Motorcycling magazine became a paper in around 1962 and I stuck with that for years before MCN really established itself. Together with Bike, Classic Bike and Classic Racer, I've spent a small fortune on bike mags, Racer being another one.
MCN used to be, and still is, a great source of info on the racing scene, but there are plenty of websites now relaying realtime updates and info, so there's little point in reading about news that's several days old. I'm pleased several have already mentioned Practical Sportsbikes, as I think this is a great mag for real world motorcyclists, and it's my only regular purchase now. It doesn't stop me hankering after stuff I can't afford, a Wes Cooley GS1000S replica for one, but certainly relates more to my world of bike ownership. Not a PCP deal in sight. :lol
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Right now, its Practical Sportsbikes and Classic Motorcycle Mechanics for me.
My two favourite mags every month ☺
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I like BUILT magazine,a bit expensive at a fiver but a good read if you like "shed built" stuff.I've got quite a few copies now and I find myself going back to them all the while so they're good value really. :)
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I see the Fazer 600 just crept into the MCN Uk's Best Loved Bikes top 20 at number 19.
It was based on an insurance database or something similar.