Motorcycle USA is shutting down after twenty years of web-based motojournalism.
Found at www.motorcycle-USA.com, the site was one of the oldest in the biz, offering reviews, features, news, and also video in recent years. Online motorcycle gear retailer Motorcycle Superstore, one of the biggest in the US, was a spin-off of the Motorcycle USA. Its current owners are the Motorcycle Aftermarket Group, the same outfit that also owns Cycle News, as well as aftermarket manufacturers such as Vance & Hines, Renthal, Burly Brand, Kuryakyn, and several others. MAG bought MotoUSA out in 2012.
At that time, MotoUSA had been attracting hundreds of thousands of readers each month. Insiders wondered if the three-way marriage of retailers, aftermarket manufacturers, and media companies was the face of a new form of vertical integration that would either create giants in the world of motojournalism, or perhaps perhaps prostitute the industry beyond repair.
Up to now, it seems neither of those scenarios has played out. But yesterday’s news does leave us with the reminder that the face of motojournalism continues to change, with many print mags losing relevancy, while no online publication remains safe (see also: Hell For Leather’s demise).
There’s no word on where MotoUSA’s writers will end up. Some very respected motojournos scribed for the mag, including Mark Gardiner and Adam Waheed. Surely these guys will see their work somewhere else soon enough.
Canadia motoguide should take it over
What does the future hold? It appears we’re raising a generation that only want their information in brief snippets without any context, whether in text, still photo or video format.