cchagros
New Hampshire
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Update....this thread is two weeks old, and not a peep from you-know-who. I think Dirt Wheels should post an ad here. If 02-Sportsman400 or I don't delete it, who knows how much free advertising they could get.....LOL.
Just kidding. 02Sportsman400 wouldn't stand for that for one second. He's studying to be the long arm of the lawm ya know.
The man...the myth...the legend.
2010 Honda Rincon, Red, Bone Stock
2005 Suzuki King Quad, Yellow, also bone stock.
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cchagros
New Hampshire
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Credit for the photo goes to Warrior~Kid.
Just sayin............
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princevaliant1975
Them big hills west of Denver
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LOL
The Junk Man's video channel
ATV Magazine Blog
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02-Sportsman 400
Wisconsin/Minnesota
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Thanks guys. That mug's about 4 years old. Sorry Chris, I don't look like Brett Favre anymore.
2005 TLD Predator
CFM Aluminum Airbox
Dual K&N Filters w/ outerwears
Outerwears Airbox lid
HMF Ballance Slip on
ITP Holeshot GNCC's
Black ITP T9 Baja's
Rath scoops
DG nerfs
DG 6 pack
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trkaiser
Minneapolis, MN
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Way to call us out guys, as that was an embarrassing typo in our Maximum Bore 4x4 Roundup. We’ve received several letters (including from Yamaha) about mislabeling the Grizzly 700 as a 750 in the header on page 38. Good thing it was listed correctly throughout the rest of the story, so I won’t have to cry myself to sleep tonight. It was an editing mistake, we apologize for it and we’ll be issuing a correction. We just shipped our May/June issue out the door, so it will be in a later issue.
With the Rincon starting in gear... That was, indeed, a factual error. Thanks for catching us on it – and nice YouTube video. Even with a group of eight testers mistakes like this will occasionally happen. Not cool, and we work very hard to be thorough and accurate evaluators. That minor detail wouldn’t change the story in any significant way, but it’s important for us to to be entirely accurate.
As for some of the other stuff: we have been very consistent in our thoughts of the Brute Force and its sporty/aggressive ride. Go back to past issues and see what we’ve said. Sure, it’s ranking has changed slightly over the years as the competition has been updated, and different testers and terrain types can have an impact, but we’ve been very consistent in our thoughts on every machine in that comparison throughout the life of the models.
Several of you mentioned bias related to who advertises with us. Between our site and the mag, you’ll see that every major ATV manufacturer advertises with us – as we’re the largest ATV mag out there. There is no bias of any kind among any of our testers. What fun would there be in a job like this if we weren’t being honest? We have the best, most thorough ATV test team in the market and no other publication goes through the lengths we do at our annual ATV Trials events, as one example.
As for not getting back to you sooner, I’ve been out riding in various locales over the last several weeks (Maine, Wisconsin, California, Montana, Yellowstone), and just got back in the office to get our latest issue out the door. Some fun stuff in there... Travel’s got me a bit behind the curve right now, but I always enjoy seeing what you all are up to on here.
I appreciate our loyal forum posters, and always want to know if mistakes have been made, good story ideas, etc... John Prusak and myself are personally responsible for every word of the magazine, and we were both very angry with ourselves when we saw this. It’s unfortunate, but I still completely stand behind our thorough, unbiased testing.
You’re all certainly entitled to your opinions, so say what you will. If you’d ever like to contact me directly, my e-mail address is tkaiser@affinitygroup.com.
Cchagros – I’ll get back to your PM on the moderator change early next week. I’m heading to an aftermarket shop today to finish up a build project, and will be out taking photos on the (quickly-melting) ice tomorrow.
Thank you for keeping us on our toes – and I am sincerely sorry for the mistakes.
Tom Kaiser
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cchagros
New Hampshire
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Just want to see things get better on the Forum, and if this is to happen, the parent magazine needs to be top notch. We wouldn't call you out if we thought it couldn't be done.
Is ther any way the existence of the forum could be better advertised in the mag? Maybe a little more page space??
Also, when you pick a forum quote to put in the mag, do you think it would be wiser to choose a post from a forum member who has actually posted more than once? If you go to some of the threads you quote, you will find that some of them are by new members who post once, then never come back. This usually results in the thread in question dying a quick death. theprincevaliant pointed this out to me last week.
By giving the forum more page space, maybe you could incorporate more forum member's photos as well. Vanity, like it or not, is a driving force when it comes to member participation. I'm not speaking for myself so much, as I've had a pic in the mag before, and prince got me and Warrior~Kid some blog exposure in recent months, but others might post more if they think they will get some recognition.
When you go on these trips, such as your one to Maine, why not announce it in the prior issue, or better, here on the forum? We have active forum member in New England, California,, Wisconsin/Minnesota, and even Montana who might have enjoyed riding with you, and contributing to your cause (the article). There were a few of us that would have met you in Maine, and ridden with your group. Surely chronicling forum member participation in these rides can only result in even more participation on the forum and support for the magazine. The forum could become more of a "club", rather than just a bunch of guys who randomly post. If the magazine could promote more organized rides, while reporting on riding areas, surely that would be more interesting for all of us. As an active member of this forum, I have probably organized more group rides and met more people in person than any other here. When I tell you that is the most rewarding aspect of being a forum member, I mean it. The tightest knit bunch on this site are the ones who have actually met each other in person. We should be promoting that.
This November, I am hitting up Matewan, WV, staying at the Bed n Breakfast there, and riding Hatfield-McCoy for five days. Why not promote this gathering in the mag during the summer months? Not only might you get non-forum-members to attend, but after meeting one another in person, we are sure to gain some new forum members out of the new found familiarity from meeting. It could make a great article for December's issue! I think the mag would benefit greatly from the direct involvement of its readers/forum members.
In closing, whats up with the blog? I still haven't heard anything about getting access as a blogger.
Regards,
-Chris
* This post was
edited 03/11/10 10:31am by cchagros *
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WoodsRuner
Ashille, Ohio
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I for one do not believe the no bias towards the manufacturer who is shelling out the most for ads comment. Have seen it too many times. Even had one editor, to whom I wrote a letter on same, comment that the manufacturer in question decided to place their full page ads AFTER the mag editors informed them of the highest ranking in a shootout that was scheduled to be published. Now why would an editor inform them if he wasn't looking for some green to come his way?
An editor has the responsibility to see that his mag makes money, and the "you scratch my back I'll scratch yours" is too firmly embedded in American culture for it not to find it's way into the mag business.
As for the other mistakes, I will let them slide, since we are all human. However, even my Rincon, the earliest model at 7 seven years old, can be started in gear, and it shows a very intense unfamiliarity with the product to nationally state that it cannot. I
guess the testers did not both to read an owners manual over 7 years.
03 Rincon 650FA w/mods
03 Rancher 350TM w/mods
Calling a illegal immigrant an "undocumented worker" is like calling a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmicist". Both are criminals!
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trkaiser
Minneapolis, MN
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The ATV mag business is an honest place that's not ruled by corruption. Let's not let the facts get in the way of a good story, though.
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WoodsRuner
Ashille, Ohio
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Right!!!!
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ATV News moderator
Maple Grove, MN
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Hey guys this is Jerrod Kelley, freelance writer and former editor of ATVSport. I know Tom has addressed this topic, but I want to thank you for digging so deep into the editorial content of a magazine I contribute to. I just read this post thanks to Mr. Rhodig's link on ATVMagblog.
I helped with the shootout testing. We rode everything for these comparo stories (often with the Manufacturers) and contrary to what some have said, advertising has nothing to do with it - never has. You want further proof, see John Pellan's interview with former ATV Mag/ATV Sport managing editor Chris Vogtman, who's now with KTM. He shoots down your conspiracy theory as do I.
Chris Vogtman - "I don’t miss people constantly saying the shootouts I took part in at ATV Sport and ATV Magazine were brand slanted and advertising biased. I can’t speak for the other magazines, but the editorial staff at Affinity Group always put out and continues to put out unbiased articles with sound data backing their results. Testing machines and anointing a shootout winner was always a difficult task. No matter what, a reader with heavy brand loyalties would get offended. And, now that I’m on the other side, I can’t say I blame them (Laughing). But, I felt we always did it the right way at Affinity Group, and I have seen firsthand that they continue on that tradition when KTM is invited to their shootouts." -Source- ATVscene
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