Bike magazines full of cover ups

kawashima · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 May 2005 Karma :

Recently I often find bike reviews full of praises and no negative shoot downs. For example, new yamaha XJR1300 with FI is inferior to previous XJR1300 in low range due to the setting for Euro-3, but they never express it in a more straightforward manner. They often use the word "mild" instead.
This is typical in a new model impression article.
I heard bike magazines totally depend on bike makers which provide test ride bikes for reviews to magazines, place ads on magazines. I also read that some magazine which wrote a negative impression was suddenly rejected by certain maker and lost the chance to get test bikes, ads from it, and discriminated from then on.
This tendency is worse in bike magazines than in car magazines(I feel). Now all of bike magazines are full of puff pieces. I'm totally disgusted, and I stopped buying most of bike magazines. There's a rumor that some testers control the acceleration of certain bike in review of 0-quarter battle, so that maker will be pleased with the time result.
Busa won ZZR1400 in acceleration in a certain review, then Kawa grumbled about it.
All writers, testers use least-contested expressions, and readers of magazines are deceived.
Only in japan?

Pete. · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :

plugger147 · World Chat Champion Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Karma :

Nope I think they do it everywhere, A guy in work buy's the sun and I pinch the motoring section. There's a bird who does the bike tests in there and can't remember her ever saying anything bad about a bike. I haven't bought a bike mag in ages as they all seem to list the positives and never give an account of the downsides unless they have a group test and need to make one bike the winner.
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Tristan the wrote: just whipped off my trousers to find a big bruise on my arse, caused by matt rear ending me...

kawashima · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 May 2005 Karma :

plugger147 · World Chat Champion Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Karma :

Thats the one, it makes a nice change for them to use a woman but ffs a bit of honesty would be nice. I don't understand how one person can be so happy with so many different bikes without any made my wrists,back,arse,calves,feet ache.
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Tristan the wrote: just whipped off my trousers to find a big bruise on my arse, caused by matt rear ending me...

Silver · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 Oct 2004 Karma :

h00dwink · World Chat Champion Joined: 04 May 2006 Karma :

the problem is bike mags can't really say anything that would upset their sponsors. would you want to give people money if they bad mouth your product?

that's why you'll find any review is more positive than negative (unless that is it's a newer model or the model up).
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Kal · World Chat Champion Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Karma :

Why is this a surprise or worth crying over?

Everything is like this.

These magazines cannot afford to buy a new model of each bike they review so they have to rely on being lent bikes by the manufacturers, who arent going to be inclined to lend Bikes to people who will slag them off.

The result is a lot of fluff with the occasional bout of journalisitc integrity. Can you imagine how much Bike magazines would cost if they had to buy all the Bikes they review? I know I couldn't afford it.

However because I know this happens when I read Bike reviews I don't tend to believe every word printed and I tend to be a little more critical of the peice than when I am reading an advance riding piece.

As said in the Italian Job, "Everybody in the World is bent" - once you figure out how someone is bent and what their agenda is then you can accept what they are presenting you with.
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Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
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plugger147 · World Chat Champion Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Karma :

Look at how many used bikes reviewed are loaned to bike mags from dk motorcycles. Shocked

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Tristan the wrote: just whipped off my trousers to find a big bruise on my arse, caused by matt rear ending me...

kawashima · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 May 2005 Karma :

Sorry if there were some members who works for magazines and felt unpleasant for my expressions. I do understand the situation, I'm rather angry at bike makers. And what I still don't get is that there are many more outspoken journalists in automobile genres, and still they are writing articles/ borrowing test cars. Automobile makers seems to be more patient/forgiving to such criticism compared to bike makers. Even there are some freelance automobile writer who write a bunch of honest expressions. I don't get what makes the difference.
And what I really hope toward bike magazines is "at least please don't fabricate data(0-quater acceleration etc)". I want to criticize if some of such fabrication were done under pressure from bike makers. Can anyone imagine any data fabrication case in other genres? (ex. Desktop PC performance compare tests/ Car acceleration test/ food nourishment test etc)?
Writing "poor" as "mild" is admissible as a difference of expression, but I can't permit bike makers who force bike mags to fabricate data(if it's true, and I really hope it's only in japan).

Kal · World Chat Champion Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Karma :

I understand that Computers do this all the time. How many products do you see advertised as new and superior? Does that mean that the product they were selling us last week was old and inferior.

You just have to use your head and filter the information the world presents to you.

I also don't hold with rumors that Bike magazines are faking test results. Unless someone shows me some proof I would take unfounded rumours as just that, unfounded.
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Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S

mrchips · World Chat Champion Joined: 05 Mar 2004 Karma :

The odd time they would come off with a negative remark such as "the brake fluid resovior covers the rev counter slightly" but thats about it. I suppose they need to try and keep in with manufacturers rather than just saying a bike's not worth buying at all. It would be interesting to see a real world riders writing a piece about bikes rather than the supreme racing god that is Niall Mckenzie. Confused

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kawashima · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 May 2005 Karma :

I can't proof it sorry Embarassed

. I just read about it in a thread title"bike magazine editors! let's talk! thread" in anonym site here...

Very redundant post but I found the said magazine number+DVD, so I photographed them.

Magazine : Young Machine Dec-2006
https://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b295/kawashima_/RIMG0001.jpg

0-quarter : ZZR1400(10.631) , Busa(10.600)
This article(detailed in Nov-2006) made kawa angry(it was talked about).
https://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b295/kawashima_/ZZR1400-busa.jpg

Total result of 0-quarter result (summary)
https://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b295/kawashima_/TTL-01.jpg

GSXR vs ZX-10
3rd trial data by GSXR is strange. I can't explain 10.392 sec/246.24km/h(fastest). maybe typo..(?)
https://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b295/kawashima_/GSXR-ZX.jpg

MattEMulsion · World Chat Champion Joined: 29 Aug 2004 Karma :

I think its a case of keeping everyone happy. If the mag upsets the bike manufacturer then they won't get the new bikes given to them to test. If they don't have the new bikes to test then the reader won't buy the magazine as it won't be 'as good' as its rivals. So its a bit of a balancing act.

Personally I don't take too much interest of bike reviews written in the media, I prefer to hear real peoples opinions on bikes that they own. But when I bought my bike (Yamaha R6), it was a choice between all of the supersport 600's available new at that time and to be honest they are so closely matched in terms of performance and reliability, and you know the riding position is going to be 'racy', so it comes down to looks and I don't think you can go really wrong with choosing any of that range at that time.
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iooi · Super Spammer Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Karma :

Pete. · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :

Fast Bikes once published that they couldn't get any test bikes off one of the big four, after slating one of their bikes. Mind you they did used to send the odd one back a bit beaten-up.
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Itchy · Super Spammer Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Karma :

Erm who buys and reads bike magazines anyway? , when you have the BCF and its huge knowledge bank
they are pretty redundant, I think what pre used bike guide was is a fascimilie, what Stinkwheel said:

"I've just done 50,000 miles on this bike and I have an opinion"
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CortezTheKill... · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Karma :

Yes sadly it's a mutually-beneficial relationship between the leading mags and the manufacturers. However, when you look at programs like Top Gear they are only too happy to slag off certain aspects of any car if it needs it. They never have a shortage of people willing to get their cars on the show.
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