8 Nov 2010

Goodbye Hell For Leather

Hell For Leather is dead
pity because I really enjoyed reading the site.
never paid for on-line content, never will.

So what's next? Now where do we get our free on-line motorcycle news with big high res pictures?

A nice Dutch site is Oliepeil.nl
Faster and Faster is sort of ok but it looks like shit with all those ads and that crappy layout.
tell me where you get your daily motorcycle news update


---Update---
Inspired Ross at the office
he made this piece of art, ha!

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Yeah, I agree completely.

Sorry Wes, it was fun but no: content on the net has to be free. Ads are ok, I understand the costs, but I'm not paying for a blog...

RocketGarage Magazine said...

Right move? ... I have my doubts, however the web is great we will find other sources

stevemcqueen said...

You can try motoblog.it...
see you soon

Emmet said...

I'm sorry, but why should HFL become another website about the sponsors? I am more than happy to pay a (cheap) premium to keep quality alive in motorcycle news.

Anonymous said...

Goddamit! Totally agree. Some was used to complain that he is writing good only to who paid them. And he proved it to the end. If I pay him, he would write for me. Screwya!

Looking for suggestions. twowheelsblog.com is an English version of reduced motoblog. Visordown, thekneeslider .. dunno..

Piréx said...

Another two content sources that I use to read:
http://www.fasterandfaster.net/
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/

Anonymous said...

I get it here !

Seriously, I am more looking for excerpt and cool visuals, the attitude.

Long live Bubble Visor, Le Container is another of my favorites, apart from that I visit sites of cool people like WrenchMonkees and Deus etc ...

And of course our own production in the true spirit of bikers [stay true]

theimposter said...

too bad i really like HFL, i hope my favorite free porn sites dont start charging me as well.

qinzki said...

Thanks Wes.
But same - NO, thanks.

that's my daily fix:

www.bikeexif.com
http://thevintagent.blogspot.com
http://corpsesfromhell.blogspot.com/

pretty straight forward, vintage bike blogs.

and that's a blog from a friend of mine:

www.derestricted.com

he does cover bikes a lot, but it's not only a bike blog. and if you keep wondering about the strong ktm focus there: he's the talented chap who does most of the ktm bike graphics :)

and of course - bubble visor is top of my list as well!

Travis said...

I feel this too. Just discovered this today. Almost thought for a second that I'd pay $1.99 just to tell them about it, but then I realized they'd have won.

I'm glad I found this site! I visit alot of blogs not in english as well, and thoroughly enjoy them.

Unknown said...

Come on...

HFL provide in-depth, informed and (uniquely) opinionated analysis and reviews on a range of topics/products/bikes where no-one else does. That sort of output can't come for free and if it is, its not sustainable.

HFL is one of the only sites that doesn't entirely consist of re-posts, or pictures of shows a blogger went to on the weekend, or random trawling.

All the suggestions of alternatives are great sites, but none with anywhere near as good a content as HFL.

(I don't work for them and I am happy to pay)

Bubble Visor said...

thanks everyone!
@joshua

there are other ways to make money with your site.
most big news websites don't charge money.

and the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that HFL gave all their readers a big "fuck you" by forcing them to subscribe to be able to react to this new system.

they could at least have waited one more post so the people that didn't want to subscribe could say goodbye, thank you for your time, it was fun reading your opinions and your news but paying for news just ain't my cup of tea.

but you are right. at this point I haven't found a site with anywhere near as good a content as HFL.

but this is the perfect time for someone to start that new site/blog..

derestricted.com said...

yea, that was rather sudden. I always enjoyed hell for leather, but paying for a blog is just not the right way to go.

It is a lot of work to create original content and keep a website constantly updated and fresh, but there are other more successful ways to go about generating some revenue.

He may well get some people signing up this month for his content, but these people will eventually start to drop off and he wont get any new people as they wont know what they are missing anyway. I have seen it happen before a few times.

On my blog I sell T-shirts which is far from original, but it pays the hosting fees and other costs. To be honest though I would make the site anyway without any revenue as it generates work, acts as a portfolio, notebook and is pretty much a hobby too.

I wish him the best of luck, but chances are within 6 months he will either be undoing the subscription thing or fading away as he loses visitors and the community he has worked so hard to build up.

derestricted.com

visordown said...

Piers (derestricted) I agree with you. But to be honest guys, Visordown has great content, you just have to dig for it and take into account they're British. Check out the Features section..

Trent Reker said...

might i humbly offer my mad little bikerMetric.com?

it's mostly whatever i feel like (crazy poetry and punk rock) interspersed with metric bobbers, choppers and cafe racers, brit and euro bikes, and vintage history. a bunch of interviews (working on two top secret ones now), humor, art, and every once in a while, a nipple or two.

love bubble visor. thanks!

T