by Buzz Kanter - Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
Long ago I gave up trying to predict how people would react when they found out I publish motorcycle magazines for a living.
I get a lot of “You don’t look like a biker,” and “Do you know those guys from the TV show?” But every once in awhile, I’m surprised to discover a shared passion for motorcycles with someone I never would have guessed was a rider.
Some time back, I was consulting with a nurse named Ginger about a family member’s medical condition. We spoke for about a half hour; she was very professional and obviously cared a great deal about her patients and her work. As she was leaving, someone mentioned motorcycles, and I saw her stop and turn around to respond. Her disposition changed, and I expected to hear a sermon on how dangerous motorcycle riding is, or yet another medical professional’s horror story. Instead, she told me she’d been riding motorcycles for years. It turned out that everyone in her family rode Harleys. In fact, she and her brothers recently had to convince their grandfather that, at 92 years old, he was not safe riding his Harley any more. And she told me how heartbroken he was when he finally handed over the keys to his beloved motorcycle.
Ginger admitted that she would never have guessed that I’m an active motorcycle rider. I gave her a copy of
American Iron Magazine and explained that I was the publisher. She flipped through the issue and told me it was her brothers’ favorite magazine, and that she’d read it a few times herself. Think you know what a biker looks or acts like? Sometimes ya just never know.
Win Some Great Gifts — Free!
Next month’s issue marks the start of
American Iron Magazine’s 20th year of publication. But we want this to be a very different kind of birthday party, where we give YOU the gifts. Starting with the April 2009 issue and every month through the March 2010 issue, we’re going to randomly draw the names of five people to win free gifts. Every subscriber to
American Iron Magazine is automatically entered in the monthly drawing. If you aren’t currently a subscriber, but want to be in the free monthly drawing, you can subscribe at
www.AIMag.com, or by calling toll free 877/693-3572 with a credit card, or by sending in the subscription form in this issue. Don’t want to subscribe, but do want to enter the drawing? Send in your name and address to
American Iron Magazine’s 20th Anniversary Giveaway, 1010 Summer St., Stamford, CT 06905. Please do not send in more than one entry per household address or you will be disqualified.
Some of the best companies in the industry are supplying terrific prizes for our 20th anniversary giveaway, and more are coming in. I have to thank each of our growing list of supporting companies. As we go to press, we’re planning to give away an S&S engine as the grand prize at the end of the
celebration. In addition to the S&S engine, we’ll also be giving away an American MicroFuel tuner box, Andrews gears, HHI brakes, Michelin tires, Mustang seats, Progressive Suspension shocks, Renegade custom wheels, Samson exhausts, Wicked Image custom mirrors, Zena disc locks, and more.
Our New Expanded Letters Section
As you leaf through the magazine, you might note that we’ve expanded our letters section to include more photos of our readers’ bikes, which we used to run in the old Snaps section. We did this in response to your many requests for more real-world bikes that are ridden, and because we thought it would be a popular change. Want to see a photo of your bike in American Iron Magazine? Send it to us at
Letters@AmericanIronMag.com, load it online at
www.AIMag.com, or stick it in the mail to us at
American Iron Magazine, Letters, 1010 Summer St., Stamford, CT 06905.
Ride safe, ride smart, have fun.
March 2009-Shifting Gears-What’s A Biker? 
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