Greasy Magazines

Why are most car and bike mags so crap? I wouldn't waste my money on any worldwide bike mag except
Classic Bike and Vibes. Even the once-great Horse magazine (formerly Iron Horse) now outweighs its kool bikes with editorial horseshit. BSH should be called BS, and Street Chopper thnks softails are chgoppers!

There are some mags worth buying, however, so here are some I recommend, with my personal view of each. You pays your money, and all that. If you publish a mag and would like to send me some free copies to review, go ahead.

	This magazine shares some of its staff with bike rag 'The Horse', and has presumably been launched to cash in on the car side of the ol' skool chopping scene. It has some good features, but the quality of the editorial and layout is pretty amateurish. If you're into rat rods and traditional customs, you may find it interesting to contrast this mag with competitors like Car Kulture DeLuxe. Is the scene big enough to support a rough & ready mag like this, alongside established titles like Rod & Custom and Custom Rodder? Time will tell.
	I only discovered Juxtapoz recently, and it's a great magazine. Edited by the famous US artist and hot rodder Robert Williams, the magazine features kustom kulture art and artists, as well as pinstripers and tattooists. If you're interested in illustration, painting and tattooing this is a good read.
	American-V is an English mag that is firmly aimed at new Harley buyers and those laughable HOG members. What sets it apart, however, is the knowledge of its editorial staff and the quality of the writing. It's a magazine that's actually readable and informative (unlike comics like 'The Horse') and to be fair, it does also feature older bikes too. It even did a piece on my shovel chopper recently!
	This mag used to be called Hot Rod Deluxe and after a weird change of editor/owner which I don't know the background to, it became Car Kulture Deluxe. The layout of the mag is great (as is the standard of photography), and it's even starting to feature a few bikes. Not sure that the content has improved since 'HRD' days, and the grammar and spelling has definitely got worse (check out the cover headline opposite)! It's a good read though, so seek it out at a Kustom outlet near you, or try the link here for a subscription.
	Barracuda describes itself as a 'Stag' magazine, and features a pretty varied collection of interesting, in-depth and sometimes a bit pseudo-intellectual articles on kustom kulture. These are mixed with a smattering of pretty innocent 50s-style pin-up chicks. The stock it's printed on is pretty bad, which doesn't help the photography. The design – once you get beyond the cool cover – is pretty rough and ready. The girls are fit, though.
	'Vibes' is the best chopper magazine on the planet at present: but just try finding a copy! Luckily, I fly reasonably frequently through Tokyo and pick up copies in the airport! The Japanese chopper scene is extraordinary (check out some examples here), with many highly skilled fabrication shops offering customers the chance to buy some of the funkiest choppers on earth. Even the bikes for sale and worth perving over. Just wish I could read Japanese. Printed on really nice thick stock.
	'HD Burning' (huh?) ain't as good as 'Vibes', but still features a wild array of kool kustom Harleys and mad gooseneck-framed choppers. It's all in Japanese. Worth buying if you ever see a copy (you won't!).
	Similar in feel to 'Barracuda', but seemingly more West Coast/music orientated, 'Varla' offers eye candy of the 50s variety, as well as some hot rod features. On slightly crappy stock. The 'Varla Girls' attend many of the custom car shows in California, so even if you don't buy the mag you can still meet the featured birds. If you live in America, that is. Hot girls, but a bit 'so what'.
	This here's a homegrown Aussie magazine (also available in the USA, apparently) and it features the best rods and kustoms in Australia – some of which are pretty kool. The kustom kulture thing isn't really established here like in the UK, Scandinavia and the States, so some of the creeper-wearing, 70s-style-T-Bucket-driving dudes may look a bit strange – but the mag's heart is definitely in the right place. Lots of home-grown Aussie rods featured (Holdens, Falcons etc). Get a sub here.
	Gearhead is one of my favourite mags, with a real indie/punk music bent and a love for muscle cars and hot rods. It has a lot of pages, groovy layout, and will keep you amused for hours. Get a sub through my links page here.
	Greaser is more of a fanzine than a polished magazine, and I think it's now defunct. But if you come across any back issues, I would grab 'em as the features are great, covering cars, bikes and kustom kulture. It's rough as guts, but doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. All B&W.