Know what’s awesome? Motorcycles. Know what’s not awesome? Trying to research or shop for one online. RideApart wants to fix that. We want to have a conversation about bikes with today’s consumer in the same way we talk about gadgets or clothes or cars. So here you go. Welcome to RideApart.

What’s all that mean? The ability to compare motorcycles side-by-side based on the specs that matter to you. Objective reviews that put you, the consumer, first. Real, substantial data and information that you can actually use to make legitimately smarter decisions. Content that doesn’t just speak to the inner circle, but involves, informs and entertains everyone else, too. Bikes will change your life for the better; RideApart tells that story.

This first iteration of our product brings the ability to research comprehensive data around new motorcycles, 2009 to present, organizing and prioritizing them by which sets of data are most important to you. You’ll find that functionality in our buyer’s guide, but we’ll also push it through most of our content.

That content is going to focus around informing you too. How do you keep your bike running? How do you fix it if it’s broken? Which new bikes do what they say they’re going to do, are best for getting around on and represent the best value? What riding gear will keep you safe, keep you dry and keep you looking good, at the right price?

A lot of you are going to be coming across from Hell For Leather too. That’s RideApart’s new lifestyle property, responsible for telling the story of what makes motorcycle awesome. Adventure, experience, risk taking. You’ll find that content on RideApart’s front page.

For the first time, we also want to involve the riding public in a conversation around cars. More than just the proverbial “cages,” the reality is we use them every day to haul our bikes, take us to the track, the dealer, the campsite or the trailhead. Which vehicles do that best? Which can get you there with the most gear, for the least cash? Which aren’t going to bore you to death in the process? DriveApart will answer those questions.

So who’s bringing you RideApart? We’ve assembled a ragtag team, largely from outside the motorcycling mainstream. Jon Alain Guzik brings years of experience from consumer automotive and the world of Big Data and technology. You all know Wes, largely because he created Hell For Leather and writes about bikes for magazines like Playboy. Sean used to be a special needs teacher and now makes sure we don’t break ourselves doing dumb things. Tim spent years behind the curtains of the auto industry, harboring a secret desire to cruise off into the sunset on a Harley. You can read more about everyone on our About page; we’ve all been drawn together here by a shared desire to push motorcycles into the mainstream.

And, the best part? This is just the beginning. More functionality, more products, the next season of the show and much more are all in the pipeline, you’ll be seeing them roll out over the next weeks and months. Welcome to RideApart, let’s ride.