I Don't Get It

"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
12/01/2016 at 10:13 • Filed to: two wheels good, lanesplitter

Barely relevant pic of me on the track with my PC800 for your time

Many among us have lamented the demise of Lanesplitter since Sean left. After a good run of quality articles, it’s reverted to videos of crashes and stupid riders that make the rest of us look bad.

The other day, they posted a great article about the MSF course by our own Andrew Fails. It got a lot of great comments, many of which said that more content like this is exactly what Lanesplitter needs. This was followed by more videos of stupid riders.

I checked the numbers on the last three posts (including Fails’ article), and am dismayed.

Seemingly Good Citizen Ruins Moment By Being An Asshole
Views: 68.1k
Comments: 256
Stars: 15

Rock Throwing Road Raging Motorcyclist Records Their Own Crimes
Views: 34.2k
Comments: 255
Stars: 11

The MSF Course Is A Great Way To Start Riding But It’s Only The Start
Views: 14.5k
Comments: 254
Stars: 30

Apparently the road raging crap is far more popular than good writing and useful information. People who actually read the MSF piece are far more enthusiastic about it - twice as many stars from nearly 1/5 as many readers of the Good Citizen Ruins Moment piece. Curiously, all three posts have almost exactly the same number of comments, so that factor cancels itself out.

Unfortunately, the other numbers tell a sad story. The more article views, the more ad views, and the more money in Jalopnik ’s pockets. Also, they don’t need to pay an extra writer/editor to focus on motorcycle articles if they just have their existing staff repost road rage crap they find elsewhere on the internet. Despite Fails’ good article, my hopes aren’t high that Lanesplitter will become great again.

This is just my personal opinion, based on some hard numbers that are current at the time I’m writing this.

DISCUSSION (37)

adamftw > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 10:17

It sucks, because there are some AWESOME bikes out for 2016/17 I’d love to see reviewed. Getting onto two wheels is something I’ve always thought about but never committed too, and the review sites and mags currently online all suck.

RedlineZ bought an SV (And is getting rid of the z) > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 10:17

It’s because of all the cross posting and casual jalopnik readers are more interested in a quick video than an actual well written article. They’ll get better serious reader engagement if they can prove that content like Andrew’s is going to be the new regular. They have to show the lanesplitter readers that there will be consistent content like that before I would expect to see the numbers go back up. Keep in mind a lot of lanesplitter readers completely jumped ship when Sean got shitcanned.

Justin Hughes > adamftw
12/01/2016 at 10:19

Another issue with reviews is that the press fleets are all out in LA, as I understand it. It makes sense, since you can ride year round out there. But that doesn’t do me, a writer in the Boston area, much good.

Berang > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 10:19

You have to remember, it’s the not the quality or utility of the article that counts, it’s how many people ignore the ads while reading it that counts.

Justin Hughes > RedlineZ bought an SV (And is getting rid of the z)
12/01/2016 at 10:23

Excellent point, and I agree. One could argue, from their point of view, that they already tried that by putting Sean in charge. It would be interesting to compare the most viewed posts during Sean’s time with the most viewed posts ever. LS had a loyal following in its own right under Sean, but it might have been too expensive to run and more profitable with what we have now, especially during Gawker’s demise when there was no money.

Justin Hughes > Berang
12/01/2016 at 10:23

This.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 10:28

Every time I see a Lanesplitter article pop up, it reminds me to head over to Cycle World to check out what Sean is up to.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 10:29

...too expensive to run and more profitable with what we have now...

I’m putting my money on this.

LongbowMkII > RedlineZ bought an SV (And is getting rid of the z)
12/01/2016 at 10:31

Yeah, it takes work to build a community, work that PGeorge and the powers that be decided would be better spent elsewhere.

jimz > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 10:31

they should have wound up Lanesplitter when they shitcanned Sean. They’ve posted almost nothing of value since then.

RedlineZ bought an SV (And is getting rid of the z) > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 10:31

He posted an article 2-3 times per day on average. Some were clickbaity to get page views while others were awesome in depth reviews. He literally flooded LS with content daily and it was awesome. Best of luck to Andrew though. Make lanesplitter great again.

Kinja'd!!!

RedlineZ bought an SV (And is getting rid of the z) > adamftw
12/01/2016 at 10:47

Buy a beater like a 300 or a 600 twin and do it. Take the msg course first though. I have the same bike Fails has (sv650) and they are awesome. Those bikes normally run 2-3.5k in decent to very good shape plus gear budget for about another grand. Getting on 2 wheels has been one of the best decisions I’ve made.

Justin Hughes > RedlineZ bought an SV (And is getting rid of the z)
12/01/2016 at 10:48

Good numbers - exactly the sort of thing I haven’t had time to look up. :)

I think Andrew is the only active rider on the current staff. PG has expressed interest in learning to ride, but hasn’t yet that I know of. He’s certainly bike friendly, but it’s also his job to bring traffic to the site, so if clickbait works better than good quality content, he may not have much choice.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 10:49

I think another portion of the problem is that Motorcycle riders, enthusiasts, and even those just legitimately interested in Motorcycles is a much, much smaller audience than the audience for “jackass on motorcycle”. I feel they don’t need to post the “jackass on motorcycle” to the motorcycle specific blog though, I think it would do fine under the normal Jalopnik heading and actual motorcycle stuff being under Lanesplitter because in reality these posts are more “road rage” topic than “motorcycle” topic. And the same audience that watches one of these, wants to watch the one where a maniac is in a truck.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 10:52

Was the MSF course one cross posted to Jalopnik? They have a much larger viewer base than Lanesplitter. The rage videos are also something which can be interesting to everyone while the MSF article applies most to people interested in bikes.

Rico > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 10:58

I just hate the fake outrage by the author and commentors about what the guy did to the douchebag’s phone. It’s like nobody can be taught any life lessons anymore if doesn’t involve very nice, pleasant sounding words. I’m not saying beat the crap out of the guy but tossing his phone to ground doesn’t rank very high on the scale.

If it were me and I flipped the guy off and he was trying to help me/do me a favor and ended up tossing my phone and leaving I would be annoyed but also upset with myself for being a dickhead.

It’s like if someone asks me to hold the elevator for them and I choose not too and just be a selfish jerk then somehow coincidentally I am walking to the elevator and the same guy let’s it shut right in my face, I can only be mad at myself.

Justin Hughes > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
12/01/2016 at 11:00

Another great point. I agree completely.

Justin Hughes > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
12/01/2016 at 11:02

Yes, that’s the one. It was posted on LS and shared to the FP, so it got both audiences. Like MontegoMan said, it would make sense to share the rage videos on the FP for views and restrict LS to true motorcycle enthusiast content.

Justin Hughes > Rico
12/01/2016 at 11:05

As a rider, I’d use it as a teaching moment without the rage. “Here’s your stuff, by the way you changed lanes into me back there, be more careful.” A positive experience with the rider they didn’t see, including the warning, will make them much more likely to watch out for bikes in the future.

adamftw > RedlineZ bought an SV (And is getting rid of the z)
12/01/2016 at 11:06

If I had to buy something new right now, it would be a Suzuki TU250X. Small, I know but I don’t want more. I’ve ridden late 90s 600 Ninja with work done to it and it’s just way too fast for me. I like putting around on dirt bikes. I’ve been playing with getting something cheap and just doing the MSF course. Maybe this summer.

shop-teacher > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 11:14

The MSF article was the first Lane Splitter article I’ve read since they canned Sean. I refuse to click on the road rage BS.

Rico > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 11:16

Maybe for a different situation I could agree. But in this situation, the reason the guy flipped him off instantly was that he KNEW he cut the motorcycle off and assumed that the motorcycle was coming up along side him to give him shit about it. If he didn’t know that he cut the guy off he would’ve tried to listen to what the rider wanted. This wasn’t a case of being unaware it was a classic case of being a fuckin prick.

I’ve been in a situation like this but with 2 cars. I was driving at night and was behind a black car with no lights on. I tried to flash my brights twice while behind them to give them a heads up, nothing. When I got the opportunity I pulled along side them (not aggressively) to say hey your lights are off and instantly was met with a middle finger, I yelled out your lights are off stupid ass and kept driving, lights came on though. Does me calling him a stupid ass make me an asshole? Maybe in some alternate reality but in this one I think it’s perfectly justifiable.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 11:18

It’s all about return on investment. Which is cheaper: paying a guy to ride, review, and go on awesome camping adventures (all of which include expenses) then write up a plethora of fantastic articles; or paying a guy to sit at a computer, find and post clickbaity videos? Which generates more clicks for the investment?

I’m not saying it’s right. I’m saying it’s happening because of simple economics. The fans are the ones who get screwed in the end.

Andrew Fails > jimz
12/01/2016 at 11:20

I’m going to try and change that.

Justin Hughes > TheRealBicycleBuck
12/01/2016 at 11:21

Yup. This.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 11:25

At the same time, maybe posting that to Lanesplitter gets them the traffic volume they need to be able to write the GOOD pieces. May have to dig through the crap to get to the good stuff but if it keeps Lanesplitter in the black to be able to do good work, you may have to take the bad with the good.

Nonster > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 11:26

Unfortunately you pretty much hit the nail on the head. The shitty video posts are cheap and easy to run, appeal to a wider audience, and generate more money. I can’t fault them too much for posting the videos, money is a helluva drug, but when thats the only content it makes motorcyclists look bad.

Andrew Fails > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 11:33

Thanks for this, Justin.

Hire Fails! Make Lanesplitter Great Again!

Andrew Fails > Justin Hughes
12/01/2016 at 11:35

Hire Fails, Make Lanesplitter Great Again!

jimz > Andrew Fails
12/01/2016 at 11:52

you’re off to a good start. hopefully with the new ownership you won’t need to keep watching over your shoulder.