Real Classic Mag sold to Mortons

star wrote (see)

Frankie has said he would not risk his own dosh on the costs of getting it into the newsagents but maybe a large co can do it

Mortons already have The Classic Bike Guide, Classic Dirt Bike, Classic Motorcycle Mechanics., Classic Racer, Motorcycle Sport and Leisure and The Classic Motorcycle in the shops so I guess they have the distribution network sorted. 

I liked the independence of Real Classic so I hope it doesn't need to change it's attitude with a change of publisher.

Admin wrote (see)

Looks like Mortons are on a bit of a spending spree at the moment...

stress wrote (see)

yeah, there are a lot of venerable elders who want their print magazines and although they can often do the internet they are happier with something to hold and savour. Nothing wrong with that.

I think there is a big difference between print and on-line that is nothing to do with 'age'.  Maybe the technology will improve and in 10 years time we'll all have whatever Kindles and iPads have morphed into and be used to reading our electronic papers but I doubt it.

They are different in the way that films are different from novels - yet both co-exist.

My point is that the market for old bikes is probably more buoyant and more recession proof than that for the yet-another-nano-second-quicker-than-last-years-forgettable-plastic-POS.

Real Classic positioned itself as a sort of big biking club without any marque bias and got away with some poor writing because its content was so ineteresting to its readers. Fair enough, but now they are part of a large media group they will have to move on from the craft worker ethos to something more viable.

Already, I can read mags like Cycle Wolrd on zinio for about 50p a copy as opposed to paying six or seven times that for the print mag in the UK. As the price difference increases, print mags will become less viable - and enter a vicious circle where less copies sold mean a higher cover price.

 But agreed, fantastic to have so much choice now and the market will ultimately sort out the winners and losers.

marky from poole wrote (see)

Real Classic positioned itself as a sort of big biking club without any marque bias and got away with some poor writing because its content was so ineteresting to its readers. Fair enough, but now they are part of a large media group they will have to move on from the craft worker ethos to something more viable.

marky from poole wrote (see)

Already, I can read mags like Cycle Wolrd on zinio for about 50p a copy as opposed to paying six or seven times that for the print mag in the UK. As the price difference increases, print mags will become less viable - and enter a vicious circle where less copies sold mean a higher cover price.

marky from poole wrote (see)

 But agreed, fantastic to have so much choice now and the market will ultimately sort out the winners and losers.

Well, I phoned Mortons up about a subscription problem with another magazine and the gossip about Real Classic was that they got it at a good price because Frank W was handing over the reigns in all but name to Rowena H and she would not have the time to do the business side of things.

It does seem to have annoyed a few subscribers who were told they were all one big biking club and were now being told to mind their own business but no doubt Morton's mass advertising techniques will pull in a lot more than they drop.

Perhaps old age and ill health have finally caught up with Frankie, who's had a good run for his money and must be in his seventies by now. Nice that he has managed to keep the mag in the family and there won't be much change.

Erm... actually, quite a bit of the reported info above seems to be incorrect. If any RealClassic readers want to talk to Frank or meself about the changes at RC then you're welcome to drop us a line direct (rowena@realclassic.net and frank@realclassic.net).

Happy to clarify that:-

Frank's role on the magazine isn't changing in the slightest

Frank's not reached his 60th brithday yet!

I'm the one who was going mildly insane under the pressure of running a small business. That's the nub of it. The new arrangement will mean that I have more time to ride and write, sure, but I'm not taking over the editorial reins in any sense. I intend to do more skivving, not more work.

We'll be at Shepton, Stafford, Ardingly, Malvern and NEC Classic shows in the next month or so and are very happy to chat to any subscribers about what we've done. I don't think it's fair to say at all that we've told any of our readers to 'mind their own business'. In fact we've been very happy to share all the info with our customers / club members on mails and in person. Just not too keen on rabbiting on public fora.

And speaking of which...

AuRev,

Rowena Hoseason

FRANK W is the most honest journo I have met, consider these facts

FW happily boasts about stealing all the bargains from the free ads of the mags he has edited and picking others for his friemds, long before anyone who buys these mags has a chance.

HE admits to writing less than the truth about the bikes he has tested, worried about annoying his readers.

He admits to being a poor writer and mediorce guiter player.

BTW he has been seriously ill with diabetes and was forced to lose a huge amount of weight or die, so no idea what Ro was going on about and if she is not round to give the mag a final edit then it comes out with lots of errors. Anf Frank then has to face the wrath of Mortons

The funniest thing he has witten, when a young lad came up to him and told him he enjoyed his time with Rowena, he was big enough to quip, I bet you did!

I hope this mag doesn't go the way of so many motorcycle mags. I've noticed that weirdly, the companies who advertise the most in the mags seem to do the best in the product reviews, funny that eh?

What this essentially does is make the reader distrustful, and rightly so. The publications become bland and you see the same handful of big players in every issue. The information becomes watered down and rubbishy.

Come on people, find the integrity and honesty. 

The heavily censored Real Classic message board has got Ro and Frank in such a tizzy they are disowning it and it is being renamed. Trusted members encouraged to sign up for the FarceBook Real Classic page where all is sweetness and light. Some of the message board members like to take the piss out of Mortons which probably does not go down well as they are (or were) paying for the site, having stumped out some loose change for the magazine. Mortons churn out some half decent magazines like Motorcycle SPort and Classic Motorcycle Mechanics, hard to see why they bother with Real Classic.