The death of print media may have been vastly overstated, but today, multinational media conglomerate Bonnier Corporation announced the closing of popular V-Twin magazine Hot Bike. I remember reading issues of this glossy chopper and custom magazine back in high school during the 1980s, where it provided custom motorcycle fans with a welcome and more intelligently rendered alternative to the often racist, sexist outlaw biker offerings of “Easyriders.” “Hot Bike” always took a more technical approach to the chopper market and the magazine was written with a certain intelligence that was desperately missing in the field. Bonnier bought just about every large-circulation motorcycle magazine in the country a couple of years back and under the guidance of editorial director Andy Leisner, has focused on clearing the newsstands of print media faster than you can say Instagram.
