Ten Years Later

Reader Contribution by Richard Backus

Has it really been 10 years? It hardly seems possible, but this issue, September/October 2015, Vol. 11, No. 1, marks our 10th year of publishing Motorcycle Classics.

In July 2005, after the better part of a year identifying and defining the pieces that had to fit together to make the magazine work, we sent the first issue to the printer. I was literally holding my breath as we packaged up the digital files and hard copy proofs and sent them out the door on the FedEx truck. The buildup to that first issue was without question one of the most exciting times of my life.

Creating this magazine was something I’d dreamed about for years, but I knew the chances of successfully launching a new magazine, no less a niche magazine for classic motorcycle fans, were slim — especially when all the pundits said that A) it couldn’t be done and B) print’s dead, so why bother? Guided by blind enthusiasm and a capable publisher — and more than a little good luck — we ignored conventional wisdom, put together a plan, designed the magazine and launched into the great unknown. And 10 years later, we’re still here.

The motivation behind Motorcycle Classics came from a number of directions. As a dyed-in-the-wool vintage bike fan, I just couldn’t understand why all of the good vintage bike magazines on the newsstand — hell, the only vintage bike magazines on the newsstand — were British. How was it possible there wasn’t a magazine for U.S. vintage bike fans produced right here in the good old U.S. of A? Please understand that I have great respect for the British magazines. They’re excellent and in many ways they’ve set the bar for quality, but they’re limited because, well, they’re British. The British look at things differently than we do. Their social and cultural evolution drive their history and engagement with motorcycles. It’s a history uniquely different than ours, driving a different perspective and a different set of interests. The British vintage bike scene is extremely dynamic, but the U.K.-to-U.S. classic bike scene isn’t a hand-in-glove fit because the U.K. versus U.S. social and cultural mindset is different. The U.K. spawned the Isle of Man TT, the U.S. Daytona Beach and the Bonneville Salt Flats: They may share similarities, but they’re not interchangeable.

Long before Motorcycle Classics, I worked for a number of years at a brew pub, first as a bartender and eventually in the brew house, learning how to turn grain, hops, water and yeast into beer. That was a pretty cool job, but being a good brewer requires passion and dedication, and I realized my real passions were motorcycles and magazines. That stint in brewing pushed my return to college and a master’s degree in journalism. And that’s where Motorcycle Classics began.

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