by Davey Coombs
The List: The Magazine Graveyard
Friday, November 25, 2011 | 1:00 PM
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PrintRacer X Illustrated is one of several big motocross-related magazines chugging along on the newsstands and through the mail. We've been around in magazine form since February of 1998, and we've been fortunate to have a large and loyal following and plan on being here for years to come. But other MX-related publications have not been so lucky. Here are 12 magazines that are no longer around (with apologies to a few we missed).
MINICYCLE/BMX ACTION: What a cover! (Yes, that is a small person named Billy Kiefer on a tricked-out CMS Honda MR-50). For a generation of us who grow up riding minicycles in the seventies this magazine was our bible. It was printed by Challenge Publications and it included BMX, but it didn't survive long, even with the legendary Rick “Super Hunky” Sieman at the helm.
MODERN CYCLE: Another Challenge Publications title, Modern Cycle was kind of all over the road map, with everything from choppers to trial riding to motocross coverage. Brad Zimmerman was the managing editor, and he's still a strong presence in the industry. Modern Cycle had a rebirth after Super Hunky came on board after leaving Dirt Bike, but it would not last long.
WIDE OPEN: This Hollywood-based indie magazine tried to catch flight with the explosion of freestyle motocross back in the late nineties. It was a really good publication by Matt Schlingman and friends, but the niche was too small to maintain its momentum.
CYCLE ILLUSTRATED: This one was also a little too small to survive against the likes of Cycle World and Motorcyclist, but also too broad to compete with titles like Dirt Bike. But at least one person on the staff stuck around in the industry for a long time: Terry Pratt, the longtime sales executive for Cycle News and the author of the exceptional coffee table book “Grand Prix Motocross,” which detailed the pivotal 1972 FIM World Championships.
MOTOCROSS JOURNAL: This was a recent title by Hi-Torque Publications and Jimmy Mac that hoped to capture the culture and lifestyle segment rather than the bike testing that Motocross Action and Dirt Bike were known for. It was good stuff for motocross fans.
MX RACER: Same as the title above, only it was a Primedia book. It went through a series of editors (including Donn Maeda before he joined Transworld) and included race coverage, lifestyle stuff and the occasional pretty-girl-in-motocross-boots-and-bikini.
DIRT CYCLE: Countrywide Publications of New York City put this book out, with Russ Darnell as “European Correspondent” even though he was actually racing back then! It featured lots of different genres of motorcycling, including some excellent motocross coverage, including this issue's feature on the 1972 race held on the infield of Ontario Speedway. We think that's Jeff Wecker on the cover, but we don't know for sure because of a late cover switch that left the TOC caption for it describing Gary Scott in a dirt track race!
MOTO CROSS: Another great old motocross magazine from Hi-Torque, Moto Cross was helmed by Dennis “Ketchup” Cox, a Hall of Fame journalist in his own right. This mag was all about motocross, and maybe ahead of its time—check out the headline “New Wave 4-Stroke Attacks MX Track: Trade in your YZ490 for a TT600?” That was in September of 1984! And check out Johnny O'Mara on the cover with an open-face helmet and a mustache!
CYCLE GUIDE: Another broad title with a universal outlook, but this one tended to go even further off the beaten path. Yes, those are Russian and Czech riders on CZ motorcycles, at a race in the old Yugoslavia, which was behind the Iron Curtain and not an easy place to get to!
DIRT RIDER: How about John DeSoto on a CZ, gracing the cover of an earlier version of Dirt Rider, presented by Challenge Publications? This magazine was great back then, just as it is now. The publisher was Dave Ekins, a lifelong enthusiast, winner of the Catalina GP and the brother of Bud Ekins, the man who jumped the fence for Steve McQueen in The Great Escape.
POPULAR CYCLING: What a great old rag this magazine was. Offered by Argus Publishing, the race coverage was edgy, the photography superb, and they had the aforementioned Brad Zimmerman as one of the editors.
INSIDE MOTOCROSS: The best motocross magazine ever. This one was helmed by Fran Kuhn and published by Jim Hale of AXO and Mechanixwear fame. The book was so far ahead of its time that it only lasted one year—1993—before pressure from the existing publishers and a lack of support from competitors in the industry caused Hale to rethink the project. Nonetheless, it still has a cult-like following, and we're in it.
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Check out THE ROADS TAKEN
in our Latest issue of Racer X available now.
One of the most skilled and stylish riders in motocross, Kevin Windham is on the short list of all-time fan favorites. He tells his story here. Page 116.
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Was stoked to see Wide Open magazine on here...you guys forgot MXMachine though which was sort of an incarnation.
Good article..I actually liked MXracer, thought it was a good rag and I had one of the last issues in 2003.
Would love to get my hands on a Inside Motocross and Motocross Journal as well. you guys are like the successors of these two!!
Man there was a LOT of lyin' in between some of those early MX magazine pages . A lot of tests where the bike was phenomenal only to hear two issues later it sucked beyond belief but heres the "expert staffs" proven fixes. We bought em anyway just to look at stuff we could'nt afford because of the hospital bill from the "Elsinore kick starter fiasco" or from trying to make the "razor shart turning Elsinore" actually turn. How the inherently unreliable(untrue) Maico could be made to finish a moto. I actually new some of the "expert staff" that couldn't ride a mini bike let alone build a decent moto-crosser. But I repeat never missed an episode.
This brought back some memories! Also reminded me that by now I must have a stack of magazines 20 feet tall! I have bought and read so many and never threw one away. Started buying them in 1981, lotsa mx action back then. But what will I ever do with them? Anyone else have this problem? Can't believe I'm actually gonna sit down someday and re-read them.
@bucky394
if you have any MXA from the mid 90's or InsideMotocross/MX Journal and want to donate/sell them please e-mail me at stevex26@gmail.com and maybe we can work something out!
Oh yeah, cool, Thanks for showing the old 72? TM400 (orange) I had a 74 (yellow) I won't sleep for a week now due to nightmares, and cold sweats.
LMAO "suzukis potent motocross weapon".....not unless there was a 5 ft deep 30 yard long mudhole, then she'd win ya a race, I did it lmao.
What about Super Motocross in the late 80's. Short lived but not bad at the time
Hey mxpunk, I have some old Motocross Journal issues I'm getting rid off, if you are interested, we can get in contact and I might as well send them to you.
I also have tons of 96 and up MXA's, mostly in top notch condition. I rather donate them than throwing them.
Yes.. Guilty as well. I figured all these magazines would be worth something one day.. I Have boxes of them..Have some Motocross journel's and many more...Including probably every Racer X til they went digital..or thru 06/07 I believe..
Dirt Rider isn't around? I just saw it on the stands. What's up?
I loved MXracer and wide open! All this brings back LOTS or memories!
WIDE OPEN was a rad Mag. I have two complete sets of INSIDE MOTOCROSS.
I had (and still might have) that same MotoCross mag with O'Show on the cover.
i still have every one of the Inside Motocross.
what about "crash and burn"...those were always a hoot when they came out
.
Wide Open captured the glory days of Crusty Demons, Moto XXX, SMP, . . .
Good stuff!
I still have mags from the late 60's I have most of the mags in the above article. Not exacly sure what all I have left but I have many boxes of Moto mags and stuff.
@joemotocross ya only a TM 400 can give you nightmares for the rest of your life.
Racer X needs to figure a way to have interested parties contact each other without giving the info out iln our reply's. Not sure how to do it just thought about it? I will try to remember to e-mail the Racer X staff about that. I did send a question about us being able to search for our comments because it would be good to check on some of our comments weeks after we have posted them and dont remember where we commmented? Yes I have been taking my tard pills as prescibed. Duh...
What about Minicycle Rider/Racer? Used to love that one as a kid.
Cycle was a mostly street rag but also covered Motocross and off road. My school library subscribed to Cycle back in the 70s. A lot of us snot nosed 6th graders got interested in moto by reading it every month. Cycle should have been on the list. "Motocross Journal" was a joke, That was a direct piss poor attempt to copy "Inside Motocross"
My collection goes back to 1974. I do have some of my dad's mags in there too. one is from 1965. I have them neatly organized in a shelf system, but they are not in chronological order! Trying to do that would be a colossal project.
I suppose this is a US based feature, but was a little upset not to see Racer X Canada listed ... (http://www.racerxcanada.com/#Covers). Regardless, thank you Davey, Bryan and the whole RXi gang for allowing a small group of Canucks to adopt your logo, style and content, albeit with a Canadian twist!
Looking to buy a March 1978 issue of Modern Cycle that has 1977 Trans-AMA series report inside or scanned pages of the Trans-AMA article. If by chance any luck, contact me at andymoto@pacbell.net. Had some pics published from the Sears Point race and my copy disappeared yrs ago. Appreciate any help. Thanks.
who's looking? hahaha As I said I got boxes of a few types,and Most RX's. In Norcal 530..Any collectors out there? n2rnr@aol