Editorial, with Jeff Ware: Merry Christmas All Motorcyclists!

G’day, how was your 2020? It’s a question I’ve been asking motorcyclists, friends & family lately and one thing is clear, each and every one of us experienced the weirdness of 2020 in different ways. Few prospered, many suffered, most of us were just OK…

It certainly was a year none of us motorcyclists will ever forget. Sadly, many will want to forget it, those who lost loved ones, were isolated and lonely, lost career opportunities, friendships and suffered financial set backs. Missing family and friends is terrible and I have to say here in NSW we had it easy compared to Victoria. I really felt for my Victorian friends throughout the COVID-19 restrictions.

We were very lucky… It got busier and busier for BikeReview and by the middle of December we had reviewed, filmed and shot 48 motorcycles…

So here we are, just about to hit Christmas, and a breakout starts in the Northern Beaches of NSW. Many in the area will spend Christmas away from loved ones, some more lonely than others, so please spare a thought for everyone affected by COVID-19 over the coming break. Any of us that have our usual freedoms are lucky. Let’s enjoy it and forget all the bad sh&t that happened during the year…

The year started well, with the Island Classic, WorldSBK and ASBK going ahead with great success. We were so lucky to get those events in before COVID-19 hit our shores. I still remember Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressing the Nation on Sunday March 22. The shock of what was happening, that this could happen here in Australia. Events and businesses shut down, eventually schools… It was like nothing we’d seen in our generation. But noting motorcyclists can’t handle, right?

The RG250 HB prior to restoration. This was after a clean up. It was in very good original shape as you can see…

My RM80X is almost finished.

My youngest son had a go at dirt track this year.

I recall telling Heather not to panic, that we would be fine and we have plenty of contracts in place to keep us going… By midday Monday, most of the motorcycle industry had gone into panic mode and I spent the afternoon taking phone calls from Marketing Managers and GM’s, all of whom I have known for the best part of two decades and who are dedicated fellow motorcyclists. Advertising was the first thing to go. We lost the best part of 12-months income in six hours. It was gut wrenching. At least we had healthy friends and family, we could get through it like the rest of Australia…

We put a plan in place to keep BikeReview running at 100 per cent. We had just employed a new Staff Journalist and we were not going to let a business go that puts food on the table for our hard working staff and contributors. We had a good plan but the truth is, we got lucky. Our plan kept us ticking over, still employed and gave you guys something to read and videos to watch! By July all the advertising was back and we were up on 2019. Go figure…

By May we had 16 bikes in our storage, ready to be reviewed. We were inundated with press units as we continued our testing program, being allowed to ride and shoot – as full time media. We were very lucky… It got busier and busier and by the middle of December we had reviewed 48 motorcycles. Each one photographed, filmed and ridden at least 500 to 800km. Heather did most of the shoots with the kids in the car until school went back. It was crazy… I had a smashed left knee and busted up foot the entire time, so it hurt, as my surgery was postponed due to COVID-19. I finally had it in September… Considering we usually average 60 motorcycle tests per year, 48 in a pandemic is pretty damn good!

A smooth throttle and good torque plus a cracking top-end. With traction control as well, the 750 is fast off the turns…

As it turns out, miracles happen, and there is currently a boom in the motorcycle industry. It took a pandemic to get things moving and lots of motorcyclists with access to cash, thanks to the fantastic way our government helped to get Australia through the situation with funding and access to savings. We can all be glad that at least one good thing came out of all of this, for some of us riders, anyway. Of course, it wasn’t all great, we lost the one and only Richard Collins, who was not only a best mate personally but also one of the most engaging and knowledgable motorcycle scribes around…

RIP Richard Collins, a great mate and a brilliant technical, MotoGP, WorldSBK and bike review scribe & photographer.

The next challenge for the bike industry is getting stock. Bike shops are running low, containers are held up and half the industry supply is on back order. Let’s keep our gloves and boots crossed that supply speeds up and all these fantastic new 2021 products we have been waiting for become readily available. Let’s also hope this latest wave of COVID-19 goes away as quickly as it arrived…

We made it and we still have the site going ready for another year, we also have a new site launching in 2021 but more on that another time. Aside from the hectic work schedule and managing the business, I enjoyed motorcycling in 2020. I will admit, however, that this is the first year in memory that I am looking forward to having a break from riding. I’ll stay off my own bikes for a good few weeks, just to give the body a rest more than anything I guess. I doubt I will last though, even if it is a quick run to the bottle shop for supplies!

Last month we had a staggering 86,800 Unique Visitors, 156,441 Visits and 1,136,252 Page Views. We are well and truly established now as the leading motorcycle and product review based motorcycle publication in Australia…

My plan is to rise early and get some articles up, enjoy a long breakfast with Heather and our four kids then go to the beach or hang by the pool. Of an arvo and evening I have a long list of jobs to do on my RM80X, RG250HB and 1985 GSX-R750F. I also plan on spending as much time as possible on my other passion and hobby, restoring vintage Tamiya RC cars. I currently have a 1980 Hilux 4×4 Pickup. We also want to do plenty of bicycle riding and bushwalking around our local area.

A highlight of the year was the MotoGP season and also, but not as much, the WorldSBK championship. The back-to-back MotoGP rounds kept us entertained weekend after weekend and also kept plenty of daily news flowing on the subject. It was a fun and intense, compressed MotoGP season and I for one really enjoyed it.

It must have been a monumental effort for the teams and all staff and contributors from catering to media. Many were separated from their families and friends outside of racing for months and months, so thanks to the hard work of everyone in the racing circus, we appreciate it!

Thank you all for reading BikeReview this year, for watching our Review Videos, and following us on social media. We turned five at the start of December, read about it here. It has been a record year for traffic and we are well and truly established now as the leading motorcycle and product review based motorcycle publication in Australia.

Last month we had a staggering 86,800 Unique Visitors, 156,441 Visits and 1,136,252 Page Views… We also have 4,106,146 YouTube views of our bike reviews and those total an incredible 170,836 Hours of watch time! Amazing. We have a combined 40,000 followers on social media as well, where we love to interact with many of you fellow motorcyclists. And it’s thanks to you, our valuable readers.

So thanks again, Merry Christmas, a safe and Happy New Year and enjoy your riding over the break, just be careful of the double demerit points! See you in 2021… Jeff, Heather & Team…