I’m sure many Rider Files readers will remember Motorcycle Road Racer Illustrated. Popularly known as Road Racer Illustrated (Motorcycle was in super-small type on the masthead), the magazine, launched in 1988, was a bimonthly put out by the same publishing company the produced Cycle News. It was edited by Paul Carruthers. The magazine was a great read with in-depth interviews and inside looks at championship race bikes. It also featured book-quality photography from GP, WSBK, AMA and other road racing championships. If I recall Motorcycle Road Racer Illustrated only lasted a few years before becoming an annual (shown) and eventually ceasing publication in the mid-1990s. One of the lasting legacies of Motorcycle Road Racer Illustrated was it was the magazine that brought Brian Catterson into the industry. Today Catterson is Editor in chief at Motorcyclist.  

Motorcycle Road Racer Illustrated was a great read with in-depth interviews and inside looks at championship race bikes. It also featured book-quality photography from GP, WSBK, AMA and other road racing championships. It launched in 1988 and published until 1996.