Practical Sportbikes Magazine is toast

[F5 Dave]

Of a Saturday morning, one of my pleasures is reading a bike magazine.

More and more are disappearing. Can't compete with the free content on OhhToobe etc.

A great shame. Mail arrived yesterday. Cover says ;

Final Issue.
150 forgettable issues.

Doubt those guys will all get jobs. There's more journalists than seats currently.


Nothing like paper copies with great pictures.

Wonder if I'll get a refund of my subscription or if they try fob my off onto Country lifestyle and Leisure?

Wonder how the printed porn industry is going? Probably even worse.

[george formby]

According to a bloke on the radio, the Rock, natch, finding a stick mag under a truck drivers seat is a thing of the distant past.

[F5 Dave]

On the What? Do they still have radio?

[Laava]

Ten four good buddy come back.

[F5 Dave]

I haven't gone anywhere, and your counting backwards confuses me. Aren't there some other numbers in between? A 9, 6 and some others? :confused:

[Laava]

Sorry, what was that? I was busy hammering down my rubber ducky!

[HenryDorsetCase]

I'm fucking gutted by the demise of Practical Sportsbikes. I used to get Cycle World (US) Performance Bikes (UK) Bikerider magazine (NZ) and an occasional Two Wheels. I started subscribing to bike mags in 1982 when I had to send a money order to the States to get cycle world. The Duct Tapes. Kevin Cameron. Phil Schilling editor.

I love to loll about the house or sit on the shitter reading a magazine.

Dislike.

Grumpy old man out.

I think I will write to my MP. and also Echo and the Bunnymen. Dear Mr Echo......

[F5 Dave]

The Duct Tape with Ed Herdfield- someone-or- other was a firm favourite.

[SaferRides]

It is sad to see so many mags stop publishing. I never really connected with Practical Sportsbikes, but still miss Performance Bikes!

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[F5 Dave]

I'd subscribed to pb since near inception, but had grown tired of the general format and changed over to ps. Then they combined the mags. Sure sign of trouble I remember from my comic days.

I used to read SportRider from US. But eventually I couldn't face yet another 600 or 1000 shootout followed by Tire shootout and an article on setting sag.

[pritch]

I'm fucking gutted by the demise of Practical Sportsbikes. I used to get Cycle World (US) Performance Bikes (UK) Bikerider magazine (NZ) and an occasional Two Wheels. I started subscribing to bike mags in 1982 when I had to send a money order to the States to get cycle world. The Duct Tapes. Kevin Cameron. Phil Schilling editor.


Ahh the Duct Tapes by Ed Hertfelder. Some of the funniest stuff I ever read. "The Clint Eastwood Invitationl Enduro" magic.

And Peter Egan. I have a couple of his books - and a Cameron. Maybe I should have a look at Abe's Books to see if I can get a used copy of The Duct Tapes collection

Thanks for the memories.

[Berries]

So I have deleted a teary eyed lament about PB and my youth and will just say that tonight I am getting the VHS player out and having a solid session of watching Gus and Ronnie fucking about all over Europe.


Chin chin.

[R650R]

Used to eagerly await the latest copy of Fast Bikes with there honest road tests and occasional crash tests meant they sometimes had to buy their own test bikes as manufacturers wouldn’t let them have press bikes.
The Emmett brothers with their BSBK and 500GP efforts, Ian Cramps technical articles and later his lion heart home built 500 gp engine project....
Colin’s Schillers bitingly prose protesting at onslaught of political correctness. Met him at Ally Palace bike show in the twilight years of the original mag.
The turbo fire blade project...

Performance Bikes was ok especially when they had the dole bludger Kevin part time road testing. His epic cover shot rear wheel sliding Suzuki RF900 on full lock...
High point was when both started doing tits on bikes centrefolds for the man cave.

After fastbikes collapsed a few years later Colin did another mag that was purely racing scene focused had some great interviews

[jellywrestler]

Wonder how the printed porn industry is going? Probably even worse.

probably thriving with people too scared to watch on line porn as they think the camera in their device maybe activated and recording them interfereing with themselves.

[onearmedbandit]

I miss John Robinson's articles.

[HenryDorsetCase]

probably thriving with people too scared to watch on line porn as they think the camera in their device maybe activated and recording them interfereing with themselves.

stop pretending you dont know theres an entire section of pR0nHub dedicated to just that.

[husaberg]

I miss John Robinson's articles.

TBF he stopped riding them when he died rather then retired or was laid off, he was a great read much like Keven Cameron.
Both wrote pretty decent books.
Robinson was writing in the 70s for Classic mechanics

[onearmedbandit]

TBF he stopped riding them when he died rather then retired or was laid off, he was a great read much like Keven Cameron.
Both wrote pretty decent books.
Robinson was writing in the 70s for Classic mechanics

Yeah I'm well aware that it was due to his passing, I was an avid reader of PB while he was on staff and loved his articles, just the mention of a few of the old favourites made me think of him. There was a very large outpouring of grief at the time, both from his colleagues and fans.

[husaberg]

PB and Sportsrider cycleword and FB with the occasional ocker AMCN? plus one other pommy one occasionally superbike?but that was toofull of silicon slags. PB was easily the best.
I only buy a mag now if i was am flying or staying away. i buy an occasion classic one that funny enough are full of the stuff that used to be in mags of the late 90-or early nourty's.
i think the last mag i bought was actually practical sportbike with the kettle in it.

[MD]

Opening a magazine, turning the pages, sitting in the sun, or your lounge chair or bog, there was something relaxing, rewarding and enjoyable in the tactile reading of books and mags that tapping on a keyboard and monitor doesn't offer. All those mags I eagerly looked forward to turning up on the shelf. Yeah, we had to get of our arse and go to a shop! That was part of the fun. Was quite fond of AMCN and Two Wheels and always supported the NZ ones.

[HenryDorsetCase]

I was in a record store this morning flipping through vinyl records and I wondered idly if there is any hope of a renaissance of proper magazines as there has been for vinyl. A lot of the same tactile/emotional triggers apply. You have to go somewhere and hunt it out, you have to interact with the physical artifact, you can read liner notes, etc etc. I sort of hope so.

[F5 Dave]

People just want shit for free.

[jellywrestler]

Opening a magazine, turning the pages, sitting in the sun, or your lounge chair or bog, there was something relaxing, rewarding and enjoyable in the tactile reading of books and mags that tapping on a keyboard and monitor doesn't offer. All those mags I eagerly looked forward to turning up on the shelf. Yeah, we had to get of our arse and go to a shop! That was part of the fun. Was quite fond of AMCN and Two Wheels and always supported the NZ ones.

all is not lost https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/motorbikes/parts-for-sale/manuals-magazines/listing/4046067864?bof=VkWsWZpC

[SaferRides]

all is not lost https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/motorbikes/parts-for-sale/manuals-magazines/listing/4046067864?bof=VkWsWZpC[emoji106].

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[F5 Dave]

Amazing what you find when doing a clean out of the TShirt drawer.

[TheDemonLord]

Something Something Ogri something Volvos something Mitzi something.

[R650R]

One of my fav reads in fastbikes was when they were testing that years latest fireblade and they lost front end fully cranked over crashing the bike. The photographer was in perfect spot to capture a photo of the sump and shower of sparks.
The opening words were to the effect of “Kenny Roberts was lying when he said you can’t possibly lose the front end if your on the gas...”

[pete376403]

Was it Fastbikes or Performance Bikes who tested the NR750 and sent it back requiring a new carbon fairing at a cost of thousands?

[F5 Dave]

So no comms from them. Have 2years worth of subscription left. Email them. How are they going to get my money back to me?

"We are glad to announce subscriptions have been transferred to Classic-Bike."
I bet they are!

Um. That isn't what I asked.

I used to buy the occasional CB way back as they often had 80s stuff in there, but they retrenched back to only real old stuff so not to cross over to Practical Sportbikes turf when that was launched.
I mean it's spent money. Do I just roll over and hope they start newer stuff again?
Or do I push back?

Laziness may mean Sunday mornings reading about Panther starting procedure. Sigh..

[SaferRides]

Did you subscribe through Great Magazines?

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[F5 Dave]

Yes ..

That's them.

[SaferRides]

They should refund if you ask. But they'd prefer not to!

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[F5 Dave]

Not only would they prefer not to; They'd gladly announce it.

Might newsagent library a copy and see what it looks like these days.

I used to absorb anything motorcycle in print except Easyriders sort of stuff. But in the recent decade I've accepted that I really don't care about ye oldie British nails. I tried, but yawn.