Readers of
BikeExif and other custom bike blogs are already familiar with the name 'Matt Machine'; his
Moto Guzzi LeMans Mk1 was voted a 'Top 5 Moto Guzzi Custom' by that blog, and the work from his shop 3 hours south of Sydney earned him a spot in the
global custom bike survery 'The Ride', which I co-authored with
Chris Hunter,
Gary Inman, and
David Edwards. In his former life, Matt was a popular architect in Sydney, but the lure of working with his hands was strong, so he set up shop on motorcycles, earning a worldwide reputation quickly, and lots of attention to his blog,
Machine Shed.
Clearly a man with a restless mind, Matt contacted me late last year to explain his next project; a magazine which focussed on only one motorcycle per issue. To be called
The Machine Files, Matt's concept is to counter our developing iCulture of constant image-skimming, and dive deep in one spot, using excellent photography and writing, clear technical talk, and a straightforward format. I was honored that he chose me to write the editorial text for Issue #1 of
The Machine Files, which has just gone live, and
can be accessed here. It's not free, because Matt reached into his pocket to put the magazine together, and there are no advertisements. It's not expensive though - $9/year for a very high quality quarterly publication. At the moment,
The Machine Files are only online, but that will change if he finds 'proof of concept' - that real motorcycle enthusiasts will appreciate this unique effort, and go deep with the experts on exceptional machines.
