Who's this motorcycle Journalist?

[kml]

Hal Licino

"When I was editor of several national monthly motorcycle print magazines"

http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-the-VMX17--Hayabusa-And-Similar-Bikes-Should-Be-Off-The-Streets


cheers
ken

[bikeymikey748]

Well,aparently he's a knob of Biblical poportion.Among other things...

These neophyte speed-infatuated riders act just as stupidly as promising National Hockey League star Luc Bourdon who a couple of months ago slammed the Suzuki GSX-R1000 he had purchased just days previously into a transport truck. The RCMP stated that Bourdon's inexperience with motorcycles was a factor in the crash.

Getting kinda fed up whenever this chestnut is dragged out again. Because, yes Mr. Bourbon's inexperience may have been a factor but more importantly (and a fact that is couriously overlooked by most of the pundits) the fact that he was drunker than a SKUNK probably (!!!!) played no small part in his totally avoidable and senseless escapade. I get so tired of people doing irresponsible things on bikes, having their inevitable mishap, and then blaming the bike.:mad:

[Kootenanny]

I don't have a clue who he his--never heard of him--but I have some sympathy for his point of view.

[Uwe W.]

Hal Linico "When I was editor of several national monthly motorcycle print magazines" Why-the-VMX17--Hayabusa-And-Similar-Bikes-Should-Be-Off-The-Streets

Thanks for posting that Ken. Unfortunately I followed the link, read the article, and now am really wishing I hadn't. Hopefully he will volunteer where he worked as an editor because it might give us some insight to the simplicity of his statements.

I would also question his experience. He states that a 125 cc motorcycle is a perfect starter bike (OK, no argument there), and that it's "fast enough to keep up with freeway traffic". What? I'd would love to personally deliver a CBR125 to his door and get him to take it on a 400 series highway in Ontario. The terror from that experience might stop him from saying things he apparently knows nothing about.

Another visit to that page produced a bio on this character, and a massive list of subjects that he appears to be an expert on.

"Hal has more than three decades of executive experience in media and publishing industries. He managed all aspects of marketing / advertising and editorial / design production for major NYC and LA-based publishing corporations, producing 26 monthly magazine and journal titles for a total of more than 100 million published copies. Hal has pennamed an international bestselling non-fiction book translated into 14 languages. His IT expertise exceeds MCDST. He lives for cats, pasta and motorcycles."

I think that says it all.

[Costa Mouzouris]

Never heard of this guy either. Highly unlikely he ever held an actual editorial position as he claims, at least not for a mainstream magazine. His tactic is working though, his post made its way onto this forum, and is spreading onto others as well. Nothing on Amazon.com from this author of an international bestseller, either. His bio says he's from Toronto. Perpetual blogger in my estimation.

Costa.

[metalredneck]

That's the joy of search engines; if you flood the net with your own crappy links, you start getting hits. This guy is probably a Nigerian prince, too.:D

[kml]

The comments asking for his editorial history have been removed from his blog. :D:D:D

cheers
ken

[KZDon]

I googled him. The hits all lead back to his "hub" or things referring to it. Nothing leads back to other publications, mastheads, tavern bathroom walls...

[Uwe W.]

The comments asking for his editorial history have been removed from his blog.

Nice work Ken. Don, keep checking those bathroom stalls for info would you?

I just tried to re-post my deleted comments on his site and noticed he's now screening new posts before allowing it to appear on the page. :p

[Costa Mouzouris]

I just tried to re-post my deleted comments on his site and noticed he's now screening new posts before allowing it to appear on the page. :p

Busted!

[metalredneck]

I wonder if I could boost my music career with this method... Beats actually touring.:D

[ScottB12]

I wonder if I could boost my music career with this method... Beats actually touring.:D

I say go for it MRN. As far as we know, you will be every bit as great as you tell us you are.

[Uwe W.]

This guy has really triggered me. I don't know why, but somehow he's managed to crawl under my skin like a metal splinter, and I keep picking away at it in the hope I'll find some relief.

I should have just walked away from it, but instead I've started reading other blogs of his. What bugs me the most is that this guy is spreading misinformation under the guise of being some type of authority on the subject. How often in history have we seen the effect of a little brain being given a widespread voice?

While he has deleted most of the questions I've posted on his pages, he finally answered one, yet that one answer really shines a light on what we're dealing with here.

He states in a blog about the world's ugliest motorcycles, "Hayabusa riders, most of whom are rabid lunatics with a death wish".

So I asked, "Can you furnish stats to back up this outlandish claim? Hayabusa owners are no different than other sport bike owners. This blog is nothing more than a subjective opinionfest; I've read nothing here that resembles any form of responsible or informed journalism."

To which he replied, "Here is the only stat required: 200 horsepower. Anyone who needs that much power on two wheels on a public highway deserves to have their license terminated for life."

These are not the comments of an educated motorcyclist, but a reactionary simpleton. It's this type of person that comes up with Bills to protect us from ourselves, to protect our children from ourselves, and to protect the general public from the hordes of rabid lunatics on motorcycles.

[sportbikecalgary]

>>I'd love to take the VMX17 out on a track and shred every single corner.

It's a great line from one of his blogs. I've left a few comments, but we'll see if they get posted. I'd like to say he's not worth the effort of confrontation, but with a little coordination, 'we' can reduce his rating to zero or take all his timeup moderating and responding to blog comments that he can't write more. As he can edit his responses, he'll filter out the really bad that he can't rebutt and leave himself looking informed.

[Rocking Couple]

Must be related to Fantino.

And I agree, this guy can do the industry harm.

Life isn't fair.

[Ancient Priest]

[QUOTE=Uwe W.;4186] How often in history have we seen the effect of a little brain being given a widespread voice?QUOTE]

if not a profound point.

A lot in this discussion is said, impicitly, about the powers of perception (their twiddling antenae) and the low tolerance for bullshit of participants in it. But I wonder, as Sportbike has wondered, 'can you spare the time and energy to root out and confront every bullshitter on the net?'

But this is about motorcycles, right? And every malicious or ill-informed bit of nonsense written and spoken about motorcycles affects us all negatively. So perhaps it is worthwhile to go after this guy's arse.

Okay. I have a huge regard for the Calgarian's organisational mind. Give us an outline, Sport, of what kind of a collective effort could be mounted to this end. I mean (dare I say it?) a campaign. Manpower is available. There is another month - even in Alberta - of nothing weather. Say what you're thinking, Neil.

(Uwe, a metal splinter does not crawl. The pestilential fockin thing jabs. And you don't pick away at it: you get a sterilised needle and a pair of needle-nosed pliers, a magnifying glass, a glass of grog, and you make a morning's work out of it... Jaysus, jaysus, I am worried for you. Either you'll end up with septicemia, or, worse, a toxicity of the metaphor.)

Ciao...

[sportbikecalgary]

Okay.... Say what you're thinking, Neil.


Well,

This guy believes he has given himself credibility by having his blogs posted on his site that actually rates the post. If ‘we’ (being the motorcycling community at large) can simply go to his blogs and rate them downward, his credibility goes down with each click. How do you think his future publisher will look at his writing is his blogs have a 50% rating rather than the 95%+ rating he enjoys now.

However, it’s a double edged sword. By telling friends and forum users to go to his site and downgrade him, we’re actually increasing the volume of hits on his site. I believe that there’s enough passion in the web forum contributors to override the potential plus side of more hits with the constant downgrading of his blogs.

So, to start the campaign (as AP suggested) I have to assume that each of us contributes to more than just the Cycle Canada web forum. Those on here that want to participate in this sort of thing can cut (and modify if they want) the note below and paste it into an appropriate section of their favorite web forums. I also suggest doing a quick search yourself to see if Mr. Licino’s name is already on the web site. I checked sport touring dot net and they had been commenting on it already... 6 months ago!

Much like turning up the heat on a pot of popcorn, we may initially only be able to get a few hits, but the word will spread and others will become incensed as we are and continue the spread. If all goes well, the influx of pissed-off motorcyclists overwhelms his blogs and he has to shut down the option to respond. Fortunately, I don’t think you can shut down the rating system

I know that there’s going to be a few that might actually agree with the sentiments put forward by Mr. Licino, but if I know the boards I frequent, I can reasonably predict an influx of bad reviews and terse comments about his ability to report accurately.

Will this make a huge change? Probably not. But what the hell, it's February and the stirred pot is fun to watch while it comes to a boil. I feel better downgrading him :)

Feel free to suggest additions, edits or deletions.

note: the URL length modifications that the website puts on posting makes it so you can't cut and paste the URL's with any success. I'll work on that.

SBC

------8<-------------cut and paste below) ------------->8----------------

/rant on

Hi all,

Well, it’s mid-February and the web forums could use a little focus for the pent up “I can’t ride now” frustrations. Here’s something to keep the keyboards clicking for a while.

I’m doing a bit of soapbox standing on at the moment. There’s a Canadian web-blogger by the name of Hal Licino that is doing us, as motorcyclists, disservice. He’s posing as an informed motorcyclist that writes a blog that puts forward some pretty ignorant assumptions and narrow-minded opinions under the guise of 'being an expert'.

The issue I have with this guy is that some folks are taking him at his word and re-printing his comments as if they were well researched rather than personal opinion. He claims he’s written for 26 different motorcycle mags, but refuses to list any. He claims to have a international best selling book, but doesn't name it. Some conversations with actual motorcycle magazine contributing writers come back with “who is this guy?” So, he seems to be the Spinal Tap of motorcycle journalists… inventing a background so others will take him seriously.

I’ve included a list of links from his site below with a quote taken from his blog. If you’ve got the time to get a little angry, I suggest clicking on a couple and doing some reading. It only takes a minute of so to read each blog. The anger will take longer to dissipate

So, I invite you to visit his webspace and vote as to what you think of his articles. The vote button is at the bottom of the text. Personally, I would like to see his rating drop a bunch so people take him for the value he is bringing to the sport. At the moment he is not helping ‘us’ at all and if we can convince the people that read his comments that they aren’t worth the time to read, his credibility goes out the window and ‘we’ do the general public some good. By voting him downward, we have the power to reduce his potential of getting republished. If you were a future researcher/publisher and you came across his articles and they had a 95% rating you might tend to believe him. If they have a 45% rating he would be discounted for the crap that it is.

/rant off

Here’s a few of his links with a quote from each attached:

http://hubpages.com/hub/2009-Yamaha-V-Max-VMX17-The-wrong-bike-at-the-wrong-time
Yamaha should be profoundly ashamed of itself and show a sincere commitment to developing motorcycle models that are appropriate to the times, not hulking murdercycles designed only to shred asphalt on public roadways

or…

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-100-Ugliest-Motorcycles---10-Sportsbikes

insipid vents around the bizarre turn signals; a cannon ram rod as an exhaust; and a molded "Big Jugs" breast where the pillion seat should go. I wonder if that Japanese character on the fairing means SUCKER!

or…


http://hubpages.com/hub/Is-it-time-to-retire-superbikes

“Unfortunately he is in the minority of Hayabusa riders, most of whom are rabid lunatics with a death wish. I don't really mind if they kill themselves by running their Hayas at 180 mph…

or…

http://hubpages.com/hub/Hypermile-your-motorcycle-up-to-179-MPG-No-snake-oil--no-scams

(he does preface this with the comment that is it dangerous)

4) Use the kill switch. Unlike automobile drivers, we motorcyclists have an easily accessible kill switch. You can hit that kill switch when coasting and especially downhills, then while holding the clutch in and in an appropriate gear, turn the kill switch back on, release the clutch and restart the engine without using the starter. It is a procedure that when well rehearsed can be smooth and safe, and when it is done without due care and skill can cause you to flip your bike. Also note that in some motorcycles, you will lose braking power if your engine is off.

or…

http://hubpages.com/hub/_Nothing_Exceeds_Like_Excess_Boss_Hoss

First gear is perfectly good up until 75 or 80 mph, so you can just imagine what second gear will do...
….the Boss comes equipped with dual rotors and four-piston calipers up front and a single rotor with a four-piston caliper on the back, all 12.6 inches in diameter. Although it's difficult to gauge how the stop matches the go on this rocketship.

------------8<--------------------------->8-----------------------------

[Uwe W.]

The use of excessive and unauthorized force against this individual does not meet with the general code of ethics promoted by this forum. Participants in this exercise do so of their own free will, and do not reflect the views of...

The Spinal Tap comparison was priceless!

His profile page states the he has a fan club. 383 people adore this sage. I'm speechless.

[sportbikecalgary]

The use of excessive and unauthorized force against this individual does not meet with the general code of ethics promoted by this forum.

I will take no offense if you feel you must remove the posting I made above. It is inviting ill-will upon someones handywork and it's understandable that behaviour of that sort is not permissable within a code of good conduct.

But it's fun to think up this stuff. :D

[captain]

Well the busa fanatics have arrived men..... As the owner and leader of Hayabusa.org I hafta tell ya that this editor is hiding for a reason. The editors views go right in line with the folks that want to ban guns, fast cars or anything that could ever possibly kill someone. I witnessed a man in a cafe choke on a piece of steak, with the running concept we better hurry and pass some legislation to stop the eating of meat, someone could die...

Our group goes all over the USA each year and we see young inexperienced riders or riders with no common sense riding well above their level. Banning motorcycles is not the way to lower risk, those same folks will go get a car and drive it in the same reckless manner as the bike.

I expect that there will be more busa folks looking for this editor, I heard a rumor that he has a blog... I can't wait till we find out what the URL is.....

We will do our best to keep the rubberside down and to make sure we don't get mixed up with the Buell guys.....

Captain

[bikeymikey748]

Speaking hypothetically for a moment, and assuming that one might follow SBC's suggestion and visit Mr.Licino's links and possibly rate them.Because we,as civilised individuals recognise our obligation to conduct ourselves as gentlemen. But assuming that we had rated each and every one of those provided links and Mr. L's rating was at 96 when (er...if) we started, well didn't that fall one whole point when we were done (er...if we were done).:rolleyes:

[Smiley]

Hunt the prick down, send a gang of Vespa riding mods to beat the crap out of him with pink feather dusters.

[metalredneck]

I think we need some serious hackers to spam the crap outta this ass-hat. I'll see if I can enlist some teen-agers.

[kml]

Jellyrug from hayabusa.org has started a new blog to reply to Hal Licino Blog.
What a good idea!
http://hubpages.com/hub/Hal-Licino-hates-superbikes

He won't be able to edit comments about his "history" as an editor.

cheers
ken

[metalredneck]

sayeth the Geeks. Thanks, Ken. I knew I could trust my fellow Terrorists.

[TimP]

This guy is simply wrong. An opinionated buffoon, perhaps, but definitely wrong. I just read a sampling of his pages, and didn't find much of value at all. His bike mileage stats are incorrect, or at least bear no relation to what I've experienced (my mileage may vary, but not THAT much!). I should point out that the lists are also incomplete, so it's hard to give it any credibility at all. His design criticism (see copious pages on "ugliest bikes" seems based in subjective preference rather than on the reasoned evaluation of a trained eye, and his anti-sportbike bias is plain as the cat's nose on his masked face...

I rated a mere three pages thumbs down, and his stats dropped a whole percent. I'm not sure hows these figures are tabulated, but it doesn't look as though a dropped approval rating would take much effort. I suspect most readers don't even bother to rate the page. If they did, he'd probably be gone by now.

[Ancient Priest]

Where is KZDon when you need him? I mean, this is not a legal issue but often in the past Don has come in to advise. I mean, where is Don for this last two weeks? It’s like there’s a window shut which badly needs opening. Is Don snowed-under with courtroom work? Or is he, like the rest of you Eastern sinners, just snowed-under?

I don’t care if he squirms. For those of you who didn’t know, here is my take on KZDon. He is, first off, a poster here from about Day One. (That’s at least five years ago.) He got into the law profession consciously and deliberately after some travel abroad, notably in England, where worked and still has distant family. He is (somehow he worked it in) an accomplished and neato photographer. He did, and could still, make his living at the shadow magic.

Don’s vital priorities are - in more or less this order - his family of four bright kids and their exceptionally bright mother; his professional work; bikes and church (about even-steven); and then probably unaffordable scotch and soft porn. He will probably be a QC before he quits working, and he’s the guy who you might have to face when you’re trying to worm your way out of a traffic offence. Stay friends. He has mixed feelings about Harleys. A salt-of-the-Earth Canadian. We should have more of them.

Where, also, is Sidecar Bob? (I have to tread more carefully here.) Did someone hurt Bob’s feelings and make him mad when they referred to him as ‘that sidecar nut’? When in fact he should have been described as ‘that completely distinct and non-conformist bike enthusiast, with his own way of doing things and his own way of seeing them. Who will build a side-hack outfit out of the best bits available, and for very little money; then ride it to work and back, all year ‘round, until he wears it out and then builds another. And is generous enough to instruct others on how to do the same’. Bob has been another shut window here for a while. Bob, Bob, please don’t make us have to phone you at home…

I know where Uwe Wachtendorf is. He is sweating away right now at his keyboard, with a deadline on Monday. The most-remarkably-improved scribe of the last two or three years now works under pressure. Pressssure. He splits his time between seeing to the sanity - and the sanitation - of this forum, plus, he writes a pretty respectable and regular column for the print mag. Plus, he plays hockey. Plus, he has his beautiful new wife wondering what the hell she got into.

My prediction, and I may not be here to see it, is that Uwe will become one of the lights in the sky of motojournalism. Bright and right up there. How long? Ten years, max. (Which isn’t a hell of a long time. I can remember what I had for breakfast on February 7th, 1999. Peanabutter-an‘-banana-on-half-a-baguette, same as always…) Back to Uwe: he has the drive, and the bike-savvy, and a nice personality (I hate nice) and the smarts to listen to Neil Graham, the guy with the teachable formula.. And he will go far. They both will.

So this is just to make some introductions. We have a number of new posters , and they are very welcome. We need - in my unwanted opinion - more. A mix of old and new is very good. What else is new and wonderful?

Italian hot sausage and perogies is the fare for today. My wife is still away hugging on dogs.

[Uwe W.]

While I have to thank Peter for his kind words, I can't help but be suspicious of his timing. Don't think for one moment I've forgotten Valentines is only a week away, and even though he deserves a heart-shaped box of bon-bons for those sweet murmurings, the onus for such a gesture falls upon Neil to fulfil. Since he has already professed his love for Peter, I would be a cad to come between such a promising merger of lust and sincerity. Viejo amigo, muchas gracias!

For everyone else, there are barth bags to be found in the lobby on your way out.

[Rocking Couple]

Had a couple of comments here, but decided to drag and delete..
My diplomacy skills have been sorely lacking lately.

But if i could just say....the absence of female presence on this forum is just sooooo friggin' overdue.
Lest I state the obvious..

[KZDon]

All the law societies in Canada decided there would be no new QCs a few years ago, and I bristle every time someone puts "Esq." after my name.

February is the month of little people's birthday parties (our kids' and our kids' friends) and a number of other notable dates. It's also the month all the senior lawyers here go where it's warm. My desk is the default landing pad for their clients. Therein lie the reasons for my incommunicado-ness. Note that I'm tapping this out from my office at 1:21am. Bleahhhh. I did look longlingly at the new (to me) top case for my bike today.

Good day at church today, by the way Peter. The sermon spoke a lot about the superbowl for some odd reason. Considering I wouldn't be caught dead watching three or four hours of televised sports that doesn't involve two-wheels with motors, I think the message may have missed me. Oh well.