This issue of American Rider will be the last as a standalone magazine. We’ll continue delivering the V‑Twin content you’ve come to rely on wherever you choose to consume it: on the AmericanRider.com website, via our biweekly email newsletter, and on our social media channels. And starting in 2026, American Rider will be a quarterly supplement in our sibling publication, Rider.
Since the Great Recession of 2008‑09, the motorcycle media landscape has changed. When the rising tide of motorcycle sales, which peaked at 1.2 million units in 2006, rolled back, it took a lot of businesses with it. The rise of the internet and social media created additional headwinds for traditional media.
The situation was very different in the early ’90s, when Harley‑Davidson was going strong. In 1992, Reg Kittrelle left a cushy job in the corporate world to launch Thunder Press, a broadsheet publication that covered the V‑Twin world and was distributed free at Harley‑Davidson dealerships. The following year, TL Enterprises, the RV conglomerate that published Rider, launched American Rider, a quarterly Harley‑focused, enthusiast‑oriented magazine that included road tests, travel features, product reviews, news, and more.
As the Harley‑Davidson juggernaut soared throughout the ’90s and into the 2000s, Thunder Press and American Rider flourished. In 2001, Ehlert Publishing, which owned the Rider Group publications at the time, bought Thunder Press from Kittrelle.
After the Great Recession, American Rider began to struggle, and its final issue was published in 2011. Thunder Press soldiered on, and it thrived under the leadership of Terry Roorda, who was the editor from 2000‑2017. Longtime contributor Marjorie “Shadow” Kleinman and then industry vet Mitch Boehm occupied the editor’s chair for the next few years, and during this time TP was transformed from a broadsheet paper with regional editions into a national subscription‑based magazine.
When veteran motorcycle journalist Kevin Duke took the reins in early 2021, he improved the quality of the magazine’s content and spearheaded the smart decision to rebrand Thunder Press as American Rider. Nonetheless, the lingering economic impact of the Covid‑19 pandemic saw advertising support diminish. As we’ve witnessed with the leadership upheaval at H‑D and Polaris selling Indian (read the full story on page 7), the entire American V‑Twin market is undergoing a transformation.
Since joining the editorial staff of Rider in 2008, it has been my honor to know and work with Buzz Buzzelli (editor of the first iteration of AR), Reg Kittrelle, Terry Roorda, Shadow, Mitch Boehm, and Kevin Duke, as well as many others who work behind the scenes. And it has been an honor to serve as editor of American Rider for the past few issues.
Starting in 2026, I’ll still oversee American Rider as it becomes a quarterly supplement in Rider, which I’ve served as editor of since 2021. AR subscribers will receive monthly issues of Rider, which will feature American V‑Twin content regularly, not just in the four issues with AR supplements. Thanks for supporting us. Everyone on our team looks forward to continuing the ride.