Based on the winner (see below), I thought I would post this here:

ATV Magazines ShootOut April 2005

We take all of the available ATV Magazines (except for ATV Sport) and compare them in our 2005 ShootOut! Actually, the we is just myself, but it sounds better when I say we. In our shootout we were looking for a sport utility centric magazine with the most non-sport coverage. We only wanted information on 4x4/4x2 trail, mud, and leisure machines. We were not looking for information on racing or on racing machines. We also were not interested in side-by-sides or any other types of utility quads or machines.

We obtained the April issues of 4-Wheel ATV Action, All-Terrain Vehicle, ATV Illustrated, ATV Magazine, ATV Rider, and Dirt Wheels. Technically the copy of ATV Magazine was Spring 2005 since it is only published 6 times a year.

First, lets look at the numbers. We recorded the price without tax that we paid for each magazine. Next we recorded the number of pages and calculated the cost per page of each magazine. We then counted the number of pages of advertising in each magazine. Based on the total number of pages, we calculated the total percentage of ad pages and the total percentage of non-ad pages. Finally, we counted the number of utility specific pages in each magazine. We did not count trip reports or destination guides as they are not specific to utility quads. We calculated the percentage of utility pages in comparison to the entire number of pages. We then were able to calculate the percentage of non-utility content that was also not advertising. We then calculated the cost per utility page based on the total price of the magazine divided by the total number of pages multiplied times the number of utility pages. Actually we didn't do any of these calculations because we let the spreadsheet do them for us. Finally, we created a formula to determine the overall
value of each magazine based on the utility content.

For those interested in the boring details of this, we took the price and multiplied it by the percentage of non-ads and then subtracted the cost of the non-utility pages which
leaves us with a figure that we feel to be the best "value" of the utility coverage in each magazine.

Here is the chart we created:

http://www.chicagohouserabbits.com/images/ATV.GIF


As you can see, All-Terrain Vehicle is the value winner followed by ATV Magazine. 4-Wheel ATV Action, ATV llustrated, and ATV Rider sat in the middle while Dirt Wheels proved to be the worst value for utility coverage.

Next, we judged the content and depth of the coverage of the articles in each magazine. We only paid attention to utility content in this comparision. We realize that this is subjective, but we try to be fair as possible. We give higher ratings to actual original content versus the
publishing of specifications and information that can be found at manufacturers web sites or other easily accessible sources. We also give higher ratings to areas where we feel the information appears to be credible and uninfluenced.

Content and Depth:

4-Wheel ATV Action 4 out of 5
All-Terrain Vehicle 3 out of 5
ATV Illustrated 4 out of 5
ATV Magazine 4 out of 5
ATV Rider 5 out of 5
Dirt Wheels 2 out of 5


Finally, we judge each magazine on overall presentation and our impressions. This is purely subjective. We look at whether we actually like the magazine, how much we enjoyed it, and the focus of coverage. We then give a brief synopsis of our opinions and views.

4-Wheel ATV Action - We had to get 76 pages into the 114 pages before we got the first 4x4 utility coverage. It was a shootout on sub-$7000 machines. While we like the Q&A type format of the reviews, the depth was only slightly below the surface. We also correctly guessed that they were going to pick the Brute Force 650 over the 500cc machines which is why we didn't like a shootout based on price
alone. Outside of this article, utility info was pretty much non-exist.


All-Terrain Vehicle - We didn't see direct proof but this appears to be a Canadian publication. It seemed to give more coverage to Artic Cat, Bombardier, and Polaris than other manufacturers. Depth was pretty limited. Even the 1 year long term follow up article on the 2004 Artic Cat 650 focused more on features than on evaluation. The magazine definitely has a utility focus and their is virtually no
sport quad coverage which was good for us. It was also the thinnest of all of the magazines and could
benefit from another 40 pages or so.


ATV Illustrated - This is magazine is neatly separated into 4 main sections: 4x4 Sport Utility, Sport, Dune, and Utility (farm, work, and other non-quad machines). Unfortunately, the 4x4 Sport Utility section ends on page 30. While we liked the dept of the articles, we wish there were more articles. It is this organization vs. mixing the utility content throughout that makes us feel like the
value is limited. We wished that the last 3 sections weren't there, but see why they are.


ATV Magazine - Coming in as the 2nd thinnest magazine it also has the 2nd most sport utility coverage. We don't like the fact that this isn't a monthly magazine. However we found some unique coverage that we haven't seen elsewhere. In their big bore 4x4 shootout, they actually list the weights of each machine filled with gas and oil. Furthermore, they tell you the weight under each tire which was pretty neat. However, we're not sure we agree with their conclusion as the Brute Force 750 as the winner. They tended to focus too much on power and speed. We were especially baffled when the cover shows a picture of a KingQuad with the title "2005 ATV of the Year - Suzuki King Quad 700" and another article in the magazine kings the Kinq Quad with awards. This takes credibility away from
the shootout which gives the Kawi the win.


ATV Rider - While we're not crazy about the amount of pure utility coverage, the non-utility coverage tends to be more general ATV and less pure sport. We also felt that their big bore shootout provided the most depth of any of the magazines. It has multiple rider views of every machine
tested and was explained in depth. We also liked the how-to articles with step-by-step pictures and instructions. We didn't like the 5 pages they dedicated to pictures of the new special edition Yamahas as these were more ad-like in nature. In fact they could have mistaken for paid ads. We only wish this magazine was bigger had less racing information.


Dirt Wheels - When we first picked up Dirt Wheels at the newstand, we thought we were going to be in for a treat based on the size of the magazine. Surely this was enough space to satsify everyone. Boy we were we wrong. Coming in last place in utility content, the utility coverage was almost non-existent. As little as there was, it wasn't enough to justify the cost. The depth of the coverage
was very poor. If we were looking for a magazine with hundreds of ads for nerf bars and sport quad performance add-ons, this would have been perfect. It's safe to say that we didn't care for this magazine at all.



So now it's time to combine all three categories together and name our winners.


BEST ATV MAGAZINE WITH SPORT UTILITY FOCUS (1st):

ATV Rider

Although it comes in 4th in value and 3rd in utility percentage it was 1st in content and depth. We also just really enjoyed ATV Rider and we were most impressed with it. We will definitely be checking out future issues.



RUNNER UP (2nd):

ATV Magazine

2nd in utility coverage percentage, 2nd in value, and in a 3-way tie for 2nd in content and depth, we have high hopes for this magazine. We would like to see it get bigger as well as move to a monthly publication. We will be picking up additional issues of this magazine in the future.


HONORABLE MENTION (3rd):

All-Terrain Vehicle

Although 1st in value and 1st in utility percentage it ranks 5th in content and depth. This magazine definitely has potential but needs more depth and needs to grow. We would consider buying future issues after browsing them at the news stand to see if specific articles appeal to us.


THE REST

We wouldn't definitely wouldn't purchase Dirt Wheels again and give it the #6 spot. We also won't be buying the sport quad heavy 4-Wheel ATV Action and give it the #5 spot. Rounding out the #4 spot is ATV Illustrated which we possibly would purchase on an occasional basis if we seen
something in it that we just had to read or if they started dropping the dune and sport coverage.


So there you have it. The opinions are all our own and we welcome feedback.

Carl

I dont remember dirt wheels claiming to be utility oriented. It has always been a sport mag.  

My firsy thought is my you have some serious freetime. But this is pretty thorough, however it raises a few questions. Did you just sample one issue of the magazines or collect a year's worth? Choosing just one issue means you might have picked up an issue focused on sport ATV's or a heavy utility issue.

The ad:edit ratios seem fairly accurate (edit= non-ads), ours are usually around 60:40 - that's a "healthy" magazine and has that nice heavy feel you like.

And finally as the ATVR editor , what are you looking for in utility coverage? I'm not saying we'll have bundles of Utes, but with their market share, you are correct to note they should have some edit share as well. So hop-ups, reviews and race tests? What else do you want?

Bryan

After reading all the magazines, it took me about 5 hours to do the data and write the review. This was for only one month.

I am planning a follow up with another month of issues. 1 of the mags only comes out quarterly and another is bi-monthly.

First, a little about my demographic. I'm a 37 year old married male living in the Chicago area. We own 2005 Honda ATVs. (Rincon & Rubicon) We bought them for the purpose of trail riding and recreation only.

Now, on to what I think would make a good "Sport Ute Only" magazine.

First, the list of things not to have:

1. No Sport Quads

2. No Racing or Race coverage

3. No kid's Quads (80-90cc stuff)

4. No pure utility (i.e. Rhinos, side-by-sides, etc.)

So, how do you fill a magazine with only Sport Ute coverage? Here are my list of ideas based on my wants and what I have read in the various forums around the net.

1. Letters to the Editor - Everyone likes these

2. Manufacturer's news (and recalls) as it pertains to Sport Utes / Legislative News

3. Trail Reviews / Places to ride / Ride Reports

4. The Mud Hole - Although this isn't my cup of tea, the entire highlifter.com forums seemed to be packed with these mud junkies.

5. Technical Riding - Rock Crawling and Hill Climbing

6. Tires and Wheels - This is one of the most popular mods - There is always something new going on with this

7. Tech Corner  - Step by Step how tos - How to fix a flat? How to adjust your brakes? etc.

8. Accessory and Add-Ons - Full tests and reviews  - What is really the best winch and why? How do Warn bumpers match up against Moose bumpers? Rack Trunks? etc.

9. Quad Reviews - Shoot outs that are not based on top speed drag races and horsepower. Tests that are based on multiple outings in different types of environements with riders of different skill levels.

10. Trailering and Hauling your ATVs - not trucks, but trailers and accessories, mods, etc. - How to properly tie down your quads

11. Safety Corner - Riding Tips, Suggestions from the experts

12. Limited Utility (non-Farm) - Snow Plows, etc.

Just some ideas.

Thanks for reading

Carl

Carl,

Thanks for the info and ideas. We'll still include all aspects of the ATV world (kids, sports and utiilities), since the focus of ATVR is pretty broad. However, I'm sure we can satisfy some of your needs as we will continue our testing of quads and the aftermarket accessories for them.

Bryan