I fell in love with bikes when my dad first threw on Top Gun and I watched Tom Cruise pace alongside a taxiing F-14 Tomcat because the solar set behind them each. It stirred one thing within me that’s by no means left. But it left such a mark on my psyche that once I introduced dwelling my first bike—whereas my mother and father have been on trip simply as I turned 17—it needed to be a Kawasaki. Now, it was a 1987 Ninja 600, not the GPZ 900 Maverick rode, nevertheless it was shut sufficient for me. 

I let you know this story to indicate the love I’ve for motorcycling and since what I’m about to say might sound considerably disconcerting to RideApart’s common readers, however the website goes to start out altering. 

Now the love for all issues two-wheeled isn’t going to go away and even take a again seat. No, RideApart has been a vacation spot for motorbike fans for over a decade, a repository for all the pieces myself and the remainder of the staff treasure, together with speaking about MotoGP, the world of journey bikes, builds we’d like to do, or these we’ve accomplished ourselves, bringing newcomers into the fold, and by no means as soon as gatekeeping. And I’m going to vow you that none of it will change. I wouldn’t let it. 

What RideApart will turn into is much bigger in scope, encompassing the entire of powersports. 

The website is, actually, due for a rebirth and reinvention, and now’s the right time to do exactly that. The shift comes at a time when the powersports trade has grown exponentially. Not solely have motorbike gross sales loved one of the best years ever beginning in 2020 and persevering with into 2024—no clue what occurred in these years—however so too have snowmobiles, jet skis, side-by-sides, and ATVs. Each noticed their reputation skyrocket with most people, a lot in order that even I, a motorcyclist by way of and thru, purchased a caged Can-Am Maverick X3 Maxx. There’s extra curiosity within the powersports trade now than there has ever been earlier than, and that’s why RideApart goes to start out masking these segments going ahead. 

What you’ll see within the coming weeks, months, and years is a plan I’ve been engaged on for months now. Adventure tales, far-flung and close-to-home journeys, gear and machine critiques, superstar and trade interviews, head-to-heads, engineering deep dives, wild information, challenge introductions, updates, add-ons, and a lot extra. We’ll discuss Indonesian drag bike tradition, the madness of compound-charged snowmobiles, Can-Am’s wild new A-arms on the Maverick R, MotoGP’s depraved launch management, why I like my Garmin InAttain Mini 2, the best way to get into off-road using, the way forward for powersport EVs within the looking house, numerous cool histories about machines and tattoo cultures inside the motorcycling world, extraordinary mysteries like what occurred to that unique Kawasaki GPZ from Top Gun, how enjoyable fishing off the facet of a jet ski is, and even why the Isle of Man remains to be an essential factor to do, regardless of the risks. That final one is a narrative I’ve been aching to put in writing for years. 

But what’s going to separate us from everybody else is that every one of those tales, each article we publish on these pages, may have a single guiding ethos that I hope comes by way of each single time you open a hyperlink: that powersports are inherently cool. 

Honestly, I feel our little part of the media trade has forgotten that. They’ve succumbed to the almighty Google, pumping out bland, boring regurgitations of press releases and specs to feed the web optimization machine behind the scenes. They’ll let you know all about how a lot horsepower the brand new Ducati Panigale makes, however not the way it makes you’re feeling to get behind the bars. Detailed descriptions shall be accomplished on Seadoo’s new supercharged jet ski, however nothing shall be stated because it tries to tear your face off. 

I’m not terrified of shedding bots, as I do know “Build it and they will come,” truly works. Actual human powersport lovers are those that’ll assist make RideApart the vacation spot web site I do know it may be. A spot the place pretense doesn’t matter, and specs take a again seat to expertise. Where the enjoyment of hopping onto, or into, a machine that’s already method cooler than we’ll ever be is the focus. 

I intention to make RideApart the shining beacon inside the trade by telling tales and having enjoyable. The website that each different media model needs they have been and our readers devour. To make of us like Janaki, Earl, Enrico, and newcomer Robbie, stars in your eyes, whereas highlighting stellar freelance expertise that makes everybody studying our pages say, “Fuck, I wish I had their job.” I need you to eagerly await our weekly e-newsletter, salivating in anticipation to learn what adventures we’ve gone on, the lunacy we’ve dreamt up, and to belief our opinions on machines and equipment greater than you belief your individual mom’s phrases. 

Sorry, moms of the world, you’re out. 

Again, RideApart’s bones aren’t altering. I’ll discuss how snowmobiles, UTVs, ATVs, and jet skis will come into the combination. Motorcycles are nonetheless core to not simply the location, however my very own existence. I’ve obtained large plans to take our motorbike protection to staggering heights, together with some significantly in-depth reporting on MotoGP know-how and racing, tales about how instructing my 5-year-old daughter the best way to trip goes (she doesn’t have a lot love for Razor’s MX350 in comparison with Kawasaki’s Elektrode), and possibly, simply possibly, a pit-bike championship race with the editors. I’ll or might not have already constructed the observe in my yard…

And there’s a lot extra I wish to let you know proper now, however all of these tales are to come back. Right now, I wish to convey that, sure, RideApart is evolving, however nobody is being left behind. I used to be just lately listening to an episode of Randy Newberg’s Hunt Talk Radio the place he stated one thing that I feel is related right here. Paraphrasing, there are two forms of of us on this planet: those that assume in shortage and people in abundance. Rather than pondering of this variation as taking a chunk of the pie away, think about this an enlargement of that pie in order that extra of us get to take pleasure in RideApart. 

All the writers are nonetheless lunatic motorcyclists, however their love for all issues powersports should not be quelled. And neither ought to yours or anybody else’s.

I’ve been dwelling and respiration powersports since that Kawasaki all these years in the past. I’ve hauled or towed all method of bikes and UTVs, and at the moment dwell within the wilds of Utah the place UTVs are street-legal and gravel roads are plentiful. I’ve ridden sport bikes, journey bikes, dust bikes, baggers, and even piloted a scooter by way of a monsoon down a mountain in Oahu. A very long time in the past, my dad and brother tried to comply with my lead and soar a jet ski off a big wave just for them to fly off. And looking has turn into a giant a part of my life just lately, the place UTVs, ATVs, bikes, and snowmobiles are crucial equipment to entry the furthest elements of the backcountry. 

Powersports are fairly actually intertwined into all the pieces I like, in addition to the passions of the extraordinarily proficient writers already inside, coming quickly, and those who I hope to domesticate over the approaching years. I want to ask you for some endurance and latitude as we ramp up all of the really superior content material now we have deliberate over the subsequent few weeks and months. I promise that when you stick to us as we discover our footing, you gained’t be upset.  

In the meantime, I’d love to listen to all of your concepts of what you’d kill to see on RideApart with this new mission. So hold forth within the feedback beneath or e-mail me straight, my line is all the time open: jonathon.klein@rideapart.com.