#motorcycle-com

Motorcycle.com’s Best Of (MOBO) award season has finally rolled around again! While we typically roll out each year’s MOBOs before EICMA, this year we were so busy with the Heavyweight Naked Shootout that we decided to delay the MOBOs. Although the bulk of the 2022 motorcycle models have been announced, the 2021 model year isn’t officially over until all the accolades have been handed out. So, let’s get started!

Motorcyclists come in all shapes, sizes, races, genders, and orientations. So, it’s only natural for us to also have a wide variety of computing platforms represented within our ranks. From Android to Chrome to iOS to Linux to MacOS to Windows, the web has you covered for content delivery, but sometimes it’s nice to have a central location for when you want to sit down with your favorite beverage and read the news in all its variations. As someone who is thoroughly ensconced in the Apple ecosystem, I’ve spent a lot of time curating my Apple News feed to give me access to all my favorite kinds of reading, but there was one notable absence, Motorcycle.com. This bugged me more than a little. 

At Motorcycle.com, we do everything we can to get our greasy mitts on the latest and greatest motorcycling has to offer throughout the year. That includes shootouts, gear testing, and single motorcycle reviews. Even in a year as fraught with challenges as 2020, our staff continued to work hard, actually doubling our normal content generation during the first half of the COVID-induced lockdowns. The self-isolating nature of motorcycling also made it easier for us to continue with business as usual when it came to testing and shooting in order to keep fresh content flowing to Motorcycle.com. 

John Burns sure has impeccable timing, doesn’t he? Just as he was penning his piece about the revolving door that is the moto industry, I was penning my deal to make my return to Motorcycle.com. Of course, it was far too soon to be announcing anything to my MO compatriots (or anyone else, for that matter), but as I read JB’s Whatever column I couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle. “If only he knew…” I thought.

Hello. Is it safe to stick my head up out here yet? Yes, it’s true. Big Dirty Sean Alexander and Kevin Duke have Left the Building (not that MO actually has a building) – also our compadre Scott Rousseau from sistership Dirtbikes.com. As the wise man once told me on my way out the door, don’t think of this as a door closing, but as another one opening. Ahh… why not? The bad news is we don’t get to work with those guys anymore. The good news is they’ll be fine; Duke’s already slogging away making videos for a large marketing company with oceanfront offices – his strong suit, really. The other good news is that my direct deposit is still depositing. C’mon, that’s a joke. I’m gonna miss those big lugs.

Do you want to be a motojournalist at one of the world’s very best motorcycle publications? Motorcycle.com is seeking a new associate editor and you might have a shot at it if you possess and/or can do the following 10 things better than other applicants:

In a previous era, the extent of social media was writing a letter to the editor or passing a magazine on to your buddy. Today there are numerous ways in which we can share our thoughts and experiences in real time over the internet. You’ve probably noticed near the top of each MO page are buttons to share the article on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.

The past decade has brought about radical changes around the world. During this epoch, not only has America elected its first black president (and first orangey one), motorcyclists have been introduced to a plethora of ground-breaking new technology. Back in 2007, traction-control systems and ride-by-wire throttles were just coming on line, and things like semi-active suspensions, IMUs and Cornering ABS were unheard of from production motorcycles.

Good news, Motorcycle.com fans – we are now on LinkedIn! Why LinkedIn? Well, like you, we’re already on all the other social media platforms that matter ( Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube – you know, the good ones), and, like you, we thought it was time to show the classier side of ourselves and open a LinkedIn account, too.

Why you’d rather watch a bunch of MOrons attempt to explain a thing with their mouths when you could read our eloquent prose instead still escapes me. I’m with Flaubert: “Human language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out a tune for a dancing bear, when we hoped with our music to move the stars.” Well, I guess there is that whole advantage of seeing and hearing the vehicle in motion…

There’s a conversation I’ve had with new acquaintances that repeats itself time after time once they learn I’m the Editor-in-Chief for one of the biggest and most respected moto publications on the web.

Motorcycle Dot Com, formerly known as Motorcycle Online (origin of the MO nickname), has been conducting motorcycle testing for nearly 20 years. Basically, since the year after the internet was made available to the public.

If you’ve ever been a fan of a popular, long-running TV show, you’ll probably remember at least one instance of the characters pausing and looking back at previous episodes. While this technique is mostly used in sitcoms and is probably put together by the writers for the show when they couldn’t get a new episode written in time to meet the production schedule, the episodes usually are a great tool for reminding ourselves about why we are so attached to particular shows. These retrospectives drive discussions among fans about why certain clips were or weren’t used for the episode.