The magazine business sure is a lot different today than during my time as Motorcyclist’s publisher in the 1970s.
The magazine business sure is a lot different today than during my time as Motorcyclist’s publisher in the 1970s. I started my “literary career†in ’68, when Joe and Betty Jean Parkhurst hired me away from BSA Motorcycles West to work at Cycle World. I had very little writing experience, but Joe said, “You just ride the bikes and do some slides and wheelies for the photographer; we’ll fix the copy.†At that time, they didn’t have anyone on staff that was very good at riding. I was replaced by Jody Nicholas at Cycle World in ’69, and went to Cycle magazine under Cook Neilson. Two years later, Kawasaki was opening a “skunk works†R&D facility to develop motorcycles for the U.S. market. I was hired as a development rider, and helped bring the Z1 to market. I also worked in the racing department, bringing Brad Lackey aboard to win the first U.S. 500cc Motocross Championship for a Japanese manufacturer in ’72. Then, in ’75, I left for Motorcyclist.
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