What's Your Favorite Mag?

I received the latest issue of Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN) in the mail yesterday and it got me wondering, what magazine does the nation feel is the best? There are so many choices out there and at one time I was subscribing to three of them. In the mid 90's I subscribed to Easyriders. I liked reading Easyriders and enjoyed the pictures. They mixed in some humor and normally featured a hopped up bike or restoration of an older one. The main drawback with Easyriders is that they mainly cover American built motorcycles. You might occasionally find a Brit bike such as a BSA or Triumph from days gone by, but they made it in the mag based on their role in the early chopper craze. More recently, I subscribed to three mags at one time. It was 2005 and I had subscriptions to Rider Magazine, Cycle World, and MCN. Each one had many attributes that I liked and were beneficial to me in their own right. Cycle World is a good all around magazine that I enjoyed but found that I skipped many of the articles. Rider magazine held my interest more, probably due to the fact that I anticipated one main article every month. Larry Grodsky, a motorcycle safety advocate, wrote an article covering safety and technique every month. I found myself flipping through the magazine when it came every month and heading straight for Larry's page. Larry had a motorcycle school called Stayin' Safe and I was intrigued by his outlook and respected his opinion. I learned many things from Larry's perspective that I still use today as I teach motorcycle safety classes for ABATE of Indiana. Unfortunately, Grodsky was killed April 8th, 2006 when he hit a deer in South Texas returning home, the long way, from a motorcycle safety conference in California. In '07 I decided to go back to school and found little time to do outside reading. Paying the money to keep the mags was unnecessary so I pared it down to just one. Motorcycle Consumer News. I have to say that I believe this magazine to be THE best on the market. Don't agree? Good. The purpose of this article is for all of us to share our favorites so that we open up new avenues to fellow riders. I want to know of other mags. I won't stop reading MCN but adding another quality read to the mix is worth my time. What is your fave? Put it in the comments and share with your fellow riders. What I am looking for is a good touring magazine. One that gives good rides to follow. One that has articles on how to pack for different rides. Anyone know of one? Please share. That is what this blog / podcast is all about. Sharing information. But, let me get back to MCN. The biggest factor in my choice of this magazine as the best of the best is simply the fact that they do not accept advertising money from any of the manufacturers or the accessory producers. The funding for this magazine comes from subscriptions. By not relying on cash inflows from the industry, MCN does not have to feel any obligation to overlook negative aspects when doing a motorcycle or gear review. When not liking an aspect of a product being reviewed or not feeling that quality was the number one priority, other magazines have to give thought to whether they should omit the problem, sugarcoat it, or report it. They must give thought to what weight truthful reporting will have on future advertising contracts. MCN does not have to worry. They provide fair and unbiased reviews each and every time they twist the throttle on a bike or try out that new piece of gear. They are also very fair across the board whether they are testing American or Metric machines. I have read magazines that focus on one side of the fence or the other that choose to spend their time bashing the other side. Most American focused mags won't even review a foreign motorcycle. MCN reviews them all. Cruiser, Tourer, Sport, Adventure, take your pick. You can find something for everyone in this magazine. Beyond the reviews you will find some of the most professional moto-journalists in the industry. The team is led by Dave Searle and includes such names as LT Snyder, Fred Rau, and David Hough. You will find other awesome content between the covers of this awesome mag. To cover some of my favorites, I will start out with Medical Motorcycling. The article covers the physical attributes of riding and is a reminder of the things that we need to do to be physically at our best every time we lift the stand up on our motorcycles. Contact Patch, by Fred Rau, is one article that you never know what you will get when you open to the back inside cover. The one thing that you can count on though is a professionally written article from a well respected journalist that has hundreds of thousands of miles on two wheels and leads many tours. I can't forget about Proficient Motorcycling by Ken Condon. This article provides tips and techniques of riding and addresses strategies to keep riders safe and alive. This article was formerly written by David Hough who has authored books of the same name and the book is considered to be the bible of safe riding. Check these guys out on Google or whatever search engine you choose. There is so much other content between the covers of this magazine every month but I would have to keep you up all night. So, now it is your turn. Share what you think is the most useful motorcycle magazines on the market with the rest of us. Leave your favorite mag in the comments section. Don't forget, I am searching for the best touring magazine out there. Anybody got one? Ride Safe Bullitt