BikeCraft Magazine Issue No. 1 Has Hit the Newstands

So-Cal Triumph Featured in BikeCraft

 BikeCraft magazine is here at last... bobbers, cafe racers, streettrackers, oh my. I just bought a copy of issue numero uno, Summer 2012, and I love it already... great photography, excellent writing, and lots of bikes... in this issue alone, more than a dozen innovative and novel customs from across a wide spectrum of brands. 

Dave Edwards, editor-in-chief of Cycle World  for many years, is at the helm of this new quarterly from Mark Barnett, publisher of the now-defunct Barnett's Magazine (which I really liked and bought on a regular basis). The design and layout of the mag reminds me very much of Cycle World.

The Triumph streettracker pictured here was one of the very cool featured bikes. It was designed and built by the legendary designers and craftsmen at So-Cal Speed Shop for Champions Moto, the first in a limited production run of ten bikes.

Harleyton 45 Featured in BikeCraft

At the other end of the spectrum, there was a great piece about Englishman Nick Roskelley's Harleyton 45 Cafe Racer, a Harley 45ci flathead in a Norton frame. 

I've been eagerly awaiting the debut after seeing the preview of BikeCraft at the back of the now-defunct  Barnett's Magazine final issue. It's better than I hoped for. Check it out at your favorite newstand now, or get setup with a subscription online for $14.99 per year (four issues) at their website.


Update: Actually the Champions Moto Triumph will be a limited production run of twenty bikes, not ten... my mistake

         

Cycle Source Magazine, Cafe Racers & Bobbers

 Cycle Source magazine is one of our favorite bike mags... real grassroots stuff, featuring daily-rider bikes built the little guy, usually the owner-rider, not just the big-name custom bike builders and the big corporations. We really like the down-to-earth attitude. Also, the design and photography is excellent.

Cycle Source got its start as a free publication in Pittsburgh, PA back in 1997. Eight years later, after expanding somewhat on the East Coast, editor Christopher Callen took it national. 

If you like retro and vintage stuff, you'll like what you see in each issue of Cycle Source... bobbers, cafe racers, board trackers, etc. They've also got a great website and blog where they showcase cool bikes, parts, and cycle news, so you don't have to wait by the mailbox each month to see the cool stuff they feature. They are on Facebook, too.

You can sign-up for a subscription here at their website. You can also pick-up a copy at your local Barnes & Noble bookstore if you want to check it out before subscribing.

Another cycle mag you might like: A few weeks ago we did a post about another favorite of ours, Cafe Racer magazine.

Cafe Racer Magazine

Cafe Racer Mag

Here's one of my favorite motorcycle magazines, Cafe Racer.

I fell in love with cafe racers when I was a kid... still love those old vintage Triumphs, Nortons, Beezers with their clip-ons and solo saddles. I once had the opportunity to ride a borrowed Yamaha RD350-based cafe racer up and down the twisty backroads above Silicon Valley back in the Seventies... that was a hoot, but I still favored the Brit Bikes.

Well, I gotta say, however that this Yamaha Virago-based cafe racer featured on the cover of the latest edition is awesome. It was created by Greg Hageman at his Docs Chops shop in Tampa, FL, though Greg has announced that he's heading back to his native Iowa next year. Take a look at his work, he's got a great talent for making beautiful cafe racers out of the most unlikely bikes, like this Virago here.

Cafe Racer also has Cafe Racer TV on the Discovery Velocity Network. They recently interviewed cafe racer fan Billy Joel.

Update: We just posted about another favorite bike mag you might like, Cycle Source.

        

Cycle World Magazine

I love Cycle World magazine. I just renewed my subscription after negligently letting it lapse for a year. I've picked up a copy off the magazine rack at the supermarket a time or two recently, but got a great subscription offer from them a couple of months ago and got motivated to sign up again.

Cycle World has high editorial standards, great art direction, and the incredibly talented photographer, Brian Blades. The writing is top-notch.

A recent issue featured this awesome Ducati dirttracker custom by Roland Sands:

The Dirty Duc, Coming in Hot

For my money, this is the best bike mag in the world.