It is sad that in these days of the digital era and social media, you, the motorcyclist, can be fed bullshit more than ever...

G’day,

It’s been an exciting time lately with loads of new models out and some great products as well. The start of the year was hectic, with both Kris and I testing a bike each per week, plus Pommie and Simon Harris also flat out with various tests and launches and there are lots more bikes to test. It is going to be a busy few months ahead. I can’t wait to be honest, as I’ve been riding my fair share of scooters lately, so I am ready for some real bikes!

I’m looking forward to us bringing you reviews on more new models as they arrive. Of course, we can’t all afford a new bike, so keep an eye out for plenty of great features on the used bike segment, from restoration to purchasing tips and even good investments, we will cover it all. At the moment I’m restoring another 1985 GSX-R750F, I’ve still got my RG500 stripped and my 1995 Fireblade is on the road with a mint OEM system on it to complete its originality.

I turned 43 yesterday (Go Jack Miller!) and this year is my 18th year as a motorcycle journalist. I just can’t believe it. Back when I got my start at Two Wheels, LTR and Streetbike along with Matty Shields and the same month Sam Mac started at AMCN, I knew I was in this for the long haul. I really don’t know exact numbers but I have hundreds of bike reviews in my library plus over 1000 features from custom bikes to riding tips. Sometimes I only ride one or two bikes per month, other times I ride six in two days at a shootout and I’ve been involved in dozens of those. Matt has since stepped away, but Sam is still going strong.

Throw in 20,000km per year on my own bikes plus the approx 400-plus races competed in between 1994 and 2015 and I’ve been doing a hell of a lot of riding on hundreds of different bikes these past few decades. Now, with those numbers comes experience, proper experience. I’m not bragging but numbers are numbers and I like to think I have more than enough behind me to back up my facts and statements in my tests.

‘We have, in the past, lost some motorcycle manufacturers/importers support due to what I can only conclude as being the results of bike reviews not meeting the expectations of said brands…

When I carry out a test I do it with 100 per cent effort and journalistic integrity, as do my staff and contributors. You, our readers, have trusted our reviews in print and now online for almost two decades and our current website traffic shows you still do. We are the real deal… You can trust us to be honest and open and 90 per cent of brands and manufacturers appreciate that, as they too are riders and they also have faith in their products.

We tell the truth as we find it, we are thorough, we always check each other’s opinions if there is doubt, making sure more than one of us rides any particular bike, yet we are fair. We are not here to damage the very industry that supports us, the industry that I have worked in since 1993 when I was a young apprentice mechanic.

However, the way some non professional bike reviews read these days, negative aspects are left out, so being honest and thorough can often bite us on the arse… and for me and my family, that means financially… But we can’t and will not be influenced by any manufacturer or brand… if you see a brand advertising on this site and/or or us testing one of their current models or products, you can be confident that brand respect our testing and have faith in their product and take the good with the bad in review scores.

We have, in the past, lost some motorcycle manufacturers/importers support due to what I can only conclude as being the results of bike reviews not meeting the expectations of the brand. We have also stopped getting press bikes and launch invites from said brands, who perhaps have no confidence in their own products or the preparation of them, or, more likely, have become accustomed to glowing reviews the numerous hobbyist bloggers give.

Honestly, I read some of these and just cannot believe what utter crap they are… half of these people just want the flash trip, the nice branded tee shirt, the byline on the test. Few have the experience to actually review a bike properly, so they just don’t know what they are talking about or feeling or experiencing on two wheels.

We rarely get praise for high scoring or glowing reviews, yet, any middle range ones we get an earful or, in a rare few cases, punished financially through lack of or cancellation of advertising. One major importer pulled the pin on test bikes and advertising last year when we gave their bike preparation, or lack of, a mention in an otherwise good review. It was the second bike in a row that was far from well prepared and should not have been sent to us or any press for that matter.

So it is sad that in these days of the digital era and social media, you, the motorcyclist, can be fed bullshit more than ever and the line between fact and fantasy is becoming blurred and some brands are taking maximum advantage of that while trying to silence the professional moto journalists.

Take my advice and support the publications and websites that have been around a while and read more than one review on a bike. The names you know and trust in Australian moto journalism are the ones to stick with, the ones that tell it how it is.

Anyway, thanks for reading BikeReview.com.au, I hope you enjoy our features, bike tests and product reviews. We are just over two-years young and last month we had 118,000 visits and over 80,000 unique sessions. In short, loads of people jump on and read BikeReview every day and we are proud to be up the pointy end of Aussie sites already.

Our YouTube channel (subscribe here if you haven’t yet) is growing and we do a video review as well as written review for most of the bikes we test, time permitting, so check it out if you have a chance.

See you soon…