Issue 218 · Established 2007
Since 2007, 1.8 million monthly readers and 218,000 community members have trusted Motobikers for reviews, routes and gear advice that survives the road.
Read the founding storyOrigin Story
In the spring of 2007, Marcus "Mac" Holloway cleared out the back half of a converted auto-repair garage on Pearl Street and plugged a second-hand desktop into a DSL line. A thirteen-year veteran of Cycle World and a lifelong rider — first on a Yamaha XT250 in the Montana high desert, most recently on a 1991 BMW R100GS that he still owns — Mac had spent four years watching the magazines he wrote for consolidate into marketing vehicles for their parent advertisers.
The first issue of Motobikers ran on October 14, 2007. It contained four reviews, one route guide through the Rockies and an editorial manifesto that closed with a sentence the masthead still keeps pinned above the newsroom door: If a brand's marketing team signs off on the copy, it does not run under our name.
Eighteen years later, that rule still defines the publication. The Boulder headquarters now houses 47 staff and a contributor network of 180 riders across 34 countries. Every review is logged on a service sheet. Every route is GPX-traced. Every affiliate relationship is published on the same page as the link it funds. The publication has never been owned by an OEM, has never traded editorial access for advertising spend, and has never published a piece a rider could not verify against a real machine on a real road.
That independence is the only reason Motobikers still exists.
By the Numbers
1.8M
Monthly unique visitors across web, iOS and Android
218K
Registered community members across 142 countries
4,200+
Motorcycles, helmets, jackets and tires tested hands-on since launch
11,000+
Rider-verified routes across 87 countries, with GPX downloads
9,400+
Long-form reviews published, each based on 2,400+ miles of real testing
6,200+
Route guides authored by riders who have actually ridden them
47+180
Headquarters staff plus a global contributor network of 180 riders
2023
Motorcycle Industry Council Excellence Award — Best Digital Publication
A note from the founder
"Independence is not a marketing line for us. It is the only reason a rider trusts a stranger's opinion on whether a tire will hold a wet switchback at 8,000 feet. The day we soften a verdict because a brand asked nicely is the day we become irrelevant. I would rather lose an advertiser than lose a reader."
Marcus "Mac" Holloway Founder & Editor-in-Chief · 47-year rider · BMW R100GS, 1991
The Editorial Team
Thirty-one certified riders on staff, including six IAM/MSSG-certified instructors and two former World Superbike journalists. Every byline belongs to a named human who has physically ridden the machine.
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
Forty-seven years on two wheels. Former Cycle World senior editor. Holds an MSSG instructor certification. Still rides the same 1991 BMW R100GS he bought used in 1994. Has logged more than 600,000 editorial miles for the publication since Issue No. 1.
47 years riding · MSSG · 600K editorial miles
Deputy Editor
Eleven years on the adventure-bike beat. Former WSBK correspondent. IAM instructor. Based in Lisbon.
11 yrs · IAM · Adventure & Touring
Gear Editor
Former Arai R&D engineer. Tests every helmet, jacket and tire the publication reviews. MSSG instructor.
14 yrs · MSSG · Helmets & Tires
Routes Editor
Traces every route herself before publishing. Authored 1,400+ GPX-verified routes. Speaks four languages.
9 yrs · IAM · Routes & GPX
Plus 27 additional staff editors and a 180-rider contributor network across 34 countries — every byline is a real person with a logged mileage sheet.
Editorial Standards
Motobikers Media Group LLC is independently owned. We are not affiliated with, owned by, or invested in by any motorcycle manufacturer, distributor or OEM group. Our 38 OEM partnerships — with Harley-Davidson, Ducati, KTM, Yamaha, Triumph and others — are press-loan and advertising relationships only. They do not see copy before publication. They do not approve reviews. They do not edit routes. A marketing contact asking for a quote change is referred to legal.
Every review is written by a named, certified rider who has physically tested the machine. Every verdict — including the negative ones — runs unedited. If a brand declines to loan a unit, we buy one retail and disclose that on the first page of the review. We have done this eleven times since 2007.
Some links in our reviews and gear guides are affiliate links. When you click one and make a purchase, Motobikers may earn a small commission at no cost to you. Affiliate revenue funds roughly 38% of our editorial operation and is the largest single line on our annual budget. Every affiliate link is tagged in-page with a disclosure label, and every gear review lists its commercial relationships in a footer block. We do not run undisclosed sponsored content, and we do not accept payment for review placement.
Our OEM partner list — currently 38 brands — operates under a written agreement that forbids four things: advance review access, copy approval, embargoed positive coverage, and payment for editorial placement. Brands that violate the agreement are removed from the partner list. Two were removed in 2024; both removals were reported on.
Press-loan bikes are returned. We do not retain manufacturer-owned machines beyond the agreed loan period. When we keep a long-term test unit, it is purchased at retail and the receipt is on file.
Errors are corrected in-line with a dated correction note. Substantive corrections that change a verdict trigger a re-review and a published erratum. We have issued 312 corrections since launch. Every one is archived on each article page and in our public corrections log.
Editorial staff are available for press, OEM partnership and licensing inquiries. Direct lines are listed below; media requests receive a same-week response.
