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Wade Thiel·
Motorcycle News
··2 Comments·1 min read

Say Goodbye to Hot Bike Magazine

Hot Bike
Image from Hot Bike

Bonnier Couldn’t Keep It Going

The decline of traditional print motorcycle media continues with the announcement that Bonnier will halt publication of Hot Bike magazine. 

Asphalt and Rubber noted that the company will serve the v-twin and cruiser market through Motorcyclist and Cycle World. Those two publications have been the two that Bonnier seems the most focused on. The company revamped both of those publications and has shut down many others.

According to Asphalt and Rubber, the word on the motorcycle publication street is that Bonnier will drop one of those publications soon and focus just on one of them.

Hot Bike seems to have fallen prey to the death of the print magazine. It’s also hurt by the fact that many of its readers are an aging demographic. Whatever your feelings are about Hot Bike going away, it’s clear that the motorcycle journalism industry continues to change. Hopefully, that change will be for the better, albeit with on fewer well-known player.

Hot Bike magazine may cease to be a thing, but the brand will still exist on social media, do a couple special interest publications, and its events like Hot Bike Tour, according to PowerSports Business. So, while the magazine is no more, you can still connect with the brand online if you want.

Big Changes for Bonnier

Asphalt and Rubber also pointed out that Bonnier’s QuickShift Marketing division isn’t operating. It sees this as a good thing because of the editorial and advertising lines blurring with the company’s publications. That’s always a concern with any publication and not something that needs to be watched out for just with the ones owned by Bonnier.

See also

I’m sad to see Hot Bike go, I’m sad to see any motorcycle magazine go, but that’s the way of the world these days. I hope Bonnier keeps both Cycle World and Motorcyclist open but only time will tell. In the meantime, we’ll do our best to keep covering all the motorcycle topics out there.

 

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Wade Thiel
Wade Thiel divides his time between motorcycles, cars, and the outdoors. He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, and tries not to let the cold winter months get him down too much.
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2 Comments

  1. While still currently a subscriber to Rider Magazine, I am a past subscriber to both Cycle World and Motorcyclist magazines. I let both issues run out after they became quarterly “boutique/coffee table” magazines. I also am saddened to see the demise of paper magazines, but also understand it’s a sign of the times.

  2. Bonnier is a serial killer of magazines. They don’t care about readers or staff and would sooner kill a magazine than seek a buyer for it.

    They killed Popular Photography when it was the most circulated photography magazine in the world. It had been continuously published for 80 years and they didn’t even give the staff notice so that they could put together a final issue that looked back, thanked the readers, and said goodbye.

    Among their other victims were American Photo, MotorBoating, Skiing, Ski, Transworld Motocross, and WindSurfing.

    It’s not the print industry — it’s Bonnier’s amoral money grubbing — like someone who has their dog put down at the first sign of illness, without even letting the kids say goodbye.

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