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Complaints and from a NOOB, might be off base, dunno.

Omega Man said:
While it seems a lid was $5.00 back in the day :jose

That lidpicker site looks like a great idea. :thumb

OM
Click to expand...

Yeah, I remember those times as well. :D LidPicker is a part of MotorcycleGear.com and they have the only database I know of of hundreds of different helmets with length & width and sizing data.
 
GREGFEELER said:
Ed,
As one of the Rally Co-Chairs it's good to hear that you had a good time. I will claim credit for the appearance of MotorcycleGear.com this year as a new vendor. I have traded with them since they started years ago as NewEnough.com, and they have always been great to work with. Their Lid Picker service was essential for me to figure out why I've always had trouble finding a good helmet fit and in finding a modular helmet light enough to not cause neck pain like my old helmet did. I called them this past spring to say I thought they would do well at an MOA rally. I was able to talk with the two owners during the rally and they were very happy with their sales and said they would be back in 2023.

For those of you looking for a new helmet I highly recommend you check our LidPicker.com: https://www.lidpicker.com/.
Click to expand...

Arron who was doing the LidPicker work was awesome and he is like a helmet encyclopedia. He spent at least 30 minutes with me not only answering my questions but going over the many helmet brands and options. I assured him my next helmet purchase would be from Motorcycle Gear even if cost is a few bucks higher. That service is well worth any added cost. In addition the guys at Cycle Gear were great and gave my Canadian buddies a military discount even though they were Canadian veterans and not active military. The addition of vendors like these 2 really sets the MOA Rally apart from others. It was also nice to see Wunderlich back at the Rally. Having quality vendors really makes the event special and I urge folks to support the vendors who support us. It's just me but while we all ask vendors to do better for us I think it incumbent on us a buyers to return the favor to these folks. Buying habits and using the internet to save a few $$ is why we have seen the demise of the IMS Show. In addition I attended Americade in Lake George on my way to Springfield (yeah took the long route) and the biggest complaint was how the Americade Tour Expo quality has declined with fewer vendors selling quality stuff and more vendors selling stickers, patches, leather vests, etc. Hey ... the MOA Rally is never perfect but it remains one of the best motorcycle events around these days and I can't thank the folks that make it happen enough. I am sure the work involved is immense !
 
GREGFEELER said:
Yeah, I remember those times as well. :D LidPicker is a part of MotorcycleGear.com and they have the only database I know of of hundreds of different helmets with length & width and sizing data.
Click to expand...

Aaron was explaining to me the work involved in getting that data into the system. It was totally all manually done and THEY actually measured each helmet !!
 
gsinnc said:
Aaron was explaining to me the work involved in getting that data into the system. It was totally all manually done and THEY actually measured each helmet !!
Click to expand...

Correct. I always knew that I had trouble finding a helmet that wasn't either too tight on the sides or too loose front and back. They LidPicker system determined that I have a round head, which is really rare in the North American continent - like only 2%. In Asia, the majority of heads are round, but not here so there are very few truly round helmet shapes. Instead, we have the Long Oval, Modified Oval, and Round Oval - but all ovals. With that information, I was able to find a good fitting helmet.
 
GREGFEELER said:
Correct. I always knew that I had trouble finding a helmet that wasn't either too tight on the sides or too loose front and back. They LidPicker system determined that I have a round head, which is really rare in the North American continent - like only 2%. In Asia, the majority of heads are round, but not here so there are very few truly round helmet shapes. Instead, we have the Long Oval, Modified Oval, and Round Oval - but all ovals. With that information, I was able to find a good fitting helmet.
Click to expand...

I always knew I had a large head but as Aaron put it "Boy you have one big noggin" :D
 
gsinnc said:
I get it and appreciate it. I would like to think the same ... my wife on the other hand may disagree :D
Click to expand...

From my experience with wives (mine - serially) they always think that. A prophet get's no respect in his own land, or something like that. :D
 
A couple things worth mentioning IMHO:

Disappointed that Cycle Gear and MotoGear didn't bring Women's riding apparel to Springfield.

How about we skip the plastic cups and instead handout 8 oz or 16oz stainless steel tumblers with the rally logo.
 
ladybmer said:
A couple things worth mentioning IMHO:

Disappointed that Cycle Gear and MotoGear didn't bring Women's riding apparel to Springfield.

How about we skip the plastic cups and instead handout 8 oz or 16oz stainless steel tumblers with the rally logo.
Click to expand...

I doubt you will ever see your stainless steel tumbler idea implemented as the cost would be totally prohibitive. The change was made several years ago to only supply the rally mugs to those who wanted them, rather then including them in every rally packet as not everyone wanted one. That has reduced the number needed, and the number found in the garbage cans at the end of the rally.

If you would like a given vendor to bring different merchandise to the next rally, the best plan is to contact them well in advance and express what merchandise you would like to see from them.
 
My last BMW MOA rally, too.

Being in MOA for 12-years, my first rally was Des Moines. I'm not much for crowds and generally ride alone. Since Springfield was close I thought I'd try again. It was a great chance to ride Rt66 through IL. with stops in Pontiac for some pix at the
museum. Submitted two of them to MOA ON. So far there haven't been any pix from the rally as of the August edition. Maybe it wasn't that impressive of an event. I did hear the trike horns as I volunteered as stage crew for 6-slots over three nights.
Nice to meet Lee, Mary and Mike as one of the good parts of volunteering. Music wasn't in my interests as I'm a R-n-R drummer (Group Therapy), but met some of the musicians who were all happy to be there.
I was so disappointed to find out that Metzler, big rally sponsor, did not have tires for sale. HUH??? I ride LTs and my '99 will only take tires from 3-manufacturers. Other than Metz, the others were no shows. Thinking that you can get a tire change at a
rally, I passed up two dealers. Next thing I'm doing in the morning is riding 600-miles to Cape Girardeau Grass Roots BMW for a front tire. I wasn't sure the tire had another 300-mile left on it. Jason was awesome as he had it done in an hour. I bought a
NEOTEC helmet from them at a higher price then I could have gotten at the rally, just because. I find that there's so little information about what to expect at a rally that I just don't want to be put in that position again.
The silver lining was a guy named Mark from North Dakota that hadn't ridden in MO and wanted to come along for the ride! What a great guy!!! Someone to have lunch with and chat a bit at gas stops.
Rallies are just not why I ride.

Have fun,
Jer
IMG_2535.jpg
 
jers99lt said:
Being in MOA for 12-years, my first rally was Des Moines. I'm not much for crowds and generally ride alone. Since Springfield was close I thought I'd try again. It was a great chance to ride Rt66 through IL. with stops in Pontiac for some pix at the
museum. Submitted two of them to MOA ON. So far there haven't been any pix from the rally as of the August edition. Maybe it wasn't that impressive of an event. I did hear the trike horns as I volunteered as stage crew for 6-slots over three nights.
Nice to meet Lee, Mary and Mike as one of the good parts of volunteering. Music wasn't in my interests as I'm a R-n-R drummer (Group Therapy), but met some of the musicians who were all happy to be there.
I was so disappointed to find out that Metzler, big rally sponsor, did not have tires for sale. HUH??? I ride LTs and my '99 will only take tires from 3-manufacturers. Other than Metz, the others were no shows. Thinking that you can get a tire change at a
rally, I passed up two dealers. Next thing I'm doing in the morning is riding 600-miles to Cape Girardeau Grass Roots BMW for a front tire. I wasn't sure the tire had another 300-mile left on it. Jason was awesome as he had it done in an hour. I bought a
NEOTEC helmet from them at a higher price then I could have gotten at the rally, just because. I find that there's so little information about what to expect at a rally that I just don't want to be put in that position again.
The silver lining was a guy named Mark from North Dakota that hadn't ridden in MO and wanted to come along for the ride! What a great guy!!! Someone to have lunch with and chat a bit at gas stops.
Rallies are just not why I ride.

Have fun,
Jer
View attachment 88851
Click to expand...

Glad you enjoyed your 2nd Rally Jer. I always suggest folks not count on tires at a rally for multiple reasons ..1) you never know if they have your size 2) if they are there the wait times can me long 3) you have no idea who is installing and they are on a production schedule so rushing to get more tires mounted and ripe for mistakes ( I have seen too many) and 4) if you really need tires and are that close to getting them just get them before you leave home, the amount of tread you might be wasting is not worth the risk. The guys at Grass Roots are good guys and Josh in parts has helped me out before. Cape Girardeau is usually one of my stops if ever I am close by. And cool you made a new riding buddy as that is what is nice about Rallies .... the folks you meet.

I am not a crowds guy either but truly enjoy the BMW Nationals. !!
 
jers99lt said:
Being in MOA for 12-years, my first rally was Des Moines. I'm not much for crowds and generally ride alone. Since Springfield was close I thought I'd try again. It was a great chance to ride Rt66 through IL. with stops in Pontiac for some pix at the
museum. Submitted two of them to MOA ON. So far there haven't been any pix from the rally as of the August edition. Maybe it wasn't that impressive of an event. I did hear the trike horns as I volunteered as stage crew for 6-slots over three nights.
Nice to meet Lee, Mary and Mike as one of the good parts of volunteering. Music wasn't in my interests as I'm a R-n-R drummer (Group Therapy), but met some of the musicians who were all happy to be there.
I was so disappointed to find out that Metzler, big rally sponsor, did not have tires for sale. HUH??? I ride LTs and my '99 will only take tires from 3-manufacturers. Other than Metz, the others were no shows. Thinking that you can get a tire change at a
rally, I passed up two dealers. Next thing I'm doing in the morning is riding 600-miles to Cape Girardeau Grass Roots BMW for a front tire. I wasn't sure the tire had another 300-mile left on it. Jason was awesome as he had it done in an hour. I bought a
NEOTEC helmet from them at a higher price then I could have gotten at the rally, just because. I find that there's so little information about what to expect at a rally that I just don't want to be put in that position again.
The silver lining was a guy named Mark from North Dakota that hadn't ridden in MO and wanted to come along for the ride! What a great guy!!! Someone to have lunch with and chat a bit at gas stops.
Rallies are just not why I ride.

Have fun,
Jer
View attachment 88851
Click to expand...

As one of the Rally Co-Chairs I have to say I'm sorry to hear that you were so disappointed in your rally experience, but perhaps you'll consider giving both yourself and the MOA a another chance at another rally?

I do have to echo Ed's advice to not count on tire availability at a rally, especially if your bike has special requirements and limited acceptable tires. The MOA has no control over what tires a vendor chooses to bring to the rally, or even if there will be a tire vendor. That is why you didn't see any pre-rally information to the effect of "buy new tires at the Rally!". The same is true of any other vendor. Some people seem to have the idea that we can somehow "require" vendors to attend, but naturally that's not true. Attending a rally is a major financial cost to a vendor and many factors affect their decision to attend a given rally.

You didn't see any rally photos in the August issue because it was already "put to bed" before the rally started. The Owners News has a 45-day lead time for content. The September issue is more likely to be the "rally" issue. I hope at least one of your photos is published, but the ON does receive far more photos than can be printed.

Grass Roots is a good dealer. Glad to hear they took care of your and you got a new hat.
 
I have been at every BMW MOA National rally since 1984, except Moodus, CT (new job, no vacation) and Freat Falls ( blown engine on the way to the rally). They are all different and still all the same. Some vendors. Not all vendors. Some tires. Not all tires. Big crowds. Many friends, some cliches, and many opportunities for new friends. By now it is truly a family reunion. Every member should give it a chance.
 
Thank you both for your encouragement. But you see things from a different perspective. You will connect when you arrive.
As Ed pointed out, I basically did enjoy both rallies I've attended. Have some stories for friends that don't ride. I do understand nothing in life is guaranteed. You roll with what you get. Detours have come to be opportunities.
But, there are some things you experience in life that you wish you hadn't. Knowing no one at all in a group of 4600. Sleeping in a tent when it's unbearably hot and someone snoring loudly in the adjacent tent. Leaving a shower
that's not very close by and feeling less clean than when you entered. It was VERY interesting that a couple decided it was a coed shower. Just can't get rid of the visual when she told him he has a "nice butt", and other comments
left to the readers imaginations... All fun as I see it, for them. Food choices being the least objectionable. I realize there were great alternatives in-town, but putting on ATGATT in 100+ temps to spark up the LT for a 3-mile ride
just didn't make much sense, to me.
As I mentioned previously, being part of the Stage Crew volunteers was worth doing, but outside of that, I'm more likely to ride to a destination, have a beer in walking distance from the motel and also meet interesting people.
Here's a shout out to Waterloo, IL. Great little town. The Sunset motel is walking distance to two breweries and a handful of good restaurants.
If a rally happens in the WI, IA, MN driftless area, I may be tempted, but paying $400+ for 3-nights in a tent on a fairgrounds won't happen again.

Have fun,
Jer
 
jers99lt said:
Thank you both for your encouragement. But you see things from a different perspective. You will connect when you arrive.
As Ed pointed out, I basically did enjoy both rallies I've attended. Have some stories for friends that don't ride. I do understand nothing in life is guaranteed. You roll with what you get. Detours have come to be opportunities.
But, there are some things you experience in life that you wish you hadn't. Knowing no one at all in a group of 4600. Sleeping in a tent when it's unbearably hot and someone snoring loudly in the adjacent tent. Leaving a shower
that's not very close by and feeling less clean than when you entered. It was VERY interesting that a couple decided it was a coed shower. Just can't get rid of the visual when she told him he has a "nice butt", and other comments
left to the readers imaginations... All fun as I see it, for them. Food choices being the least objectionable. I realize there were great alternatives in-town, but putting on ATGATT in 100+ temps to spark up the LT for a 3-mile ride
just didn't make much sense, to me.
As I mentioned previously, being part of the Stage Crew volunteers was worth doing, but outside of that, I'm more likely to ride to a destination, have a beer in walking distance from the motel and also meet interesting people.
Here's a shout out to Waterloo, IL. Great little town. The Sunset motel is walking distance to two breweries and a handful of good restaurants.
If a rally happens in the WI, IA, MN driftless area, I may be tempted, but paying $400+ for 3-nights in a tent on a fairgrounds won't happen again.

Have fun,
Jer
Click to expand...

Thanks for the follow-up Jer ! Funny ... but the situations you describe related to "camping" are exactly why I do not camp. Yep ... too hot, inconsistent showers, noisy neighbors ... just to name a few. But for me that is what I would expect when camping. We usually have a nice hotel a few miles from the Rally site and many times make friends in the hotel parking lot or at the hotel fire pit with a few adult beverages. And when we need to get around from the hotel in evenings we usually Uber, Lyft or cab it. You may have had a better time had been in a motel ... who knows. I have never felt along attending an event like the MOA National or Americade alone. I have always met folks and some remained friends for life. Ironically our motel was less than $70 a night.

Thanks for the tip n Waterloo IL ... I am taking a cross country road trip next month and may use the Sunset Motel as a layover!
 
jers99lt said:
Thank you both for your encouragement. But you see things from a different perspective. You will connect when you arrive.
As Ed pointed out, I basically did enjoy both rallies I've attended. Have some stories for friends that don't ride. I do understand nothing in life is guaranteed. You roll with what you get. Detours have come to be opportunities.
But, there are some things you experience in life that you wish you hadn't. Knowing no one at all in a group of 4600. Sleeping in a tent when it's unbearably hot and someone snoring loudly in the adjacent tent. Leaving a shower
that's not very close by and feeling less clean than when you entered. It was VERY interesting that a couple decided it was a coed shower. Just can't get rid of the visual when she told him he has a "nice butt", and other comments
left to the readers imaginations... All fun as I see it, for them. Food choices being the least objectionable. I realize there were great alternatives in-town, but putting on ATGATT in 100+ temps to spark up the LT for a 3-mile ride
just didn't make much sense, to me.
As I mentioned previously, being part of the Stage Crew volunteers was worth doing, but outside of that, I'm more likely to ride to a destination, have a beer in walking distance from the motel and also meet interesting people.
Here's a shout out to Waterloo, IL. Great little town. The Sunset motel is walking distance to two breweries and a handful of good restaurants.
If a rally happens in the WI, IA, MN driftless area, I may be tempted, but paying $400+ for 3-nights in a tent on a fairgrounds won't happen again.

Have fun,
Jer
Click to expand...

How did it cost your $400 for admission to the rally?
 
GREGFEELER said:
How did it cost your $400 for admission to the rally?
Click to expand...

That's probably the total cost for riding to/from rally.

jers99lt said:
You will connect when you arrive.

.....

Knowing no one at all in a group of 4600.
Click to expand...

Two very important member experience data points buried in there, wanted to focus on that.

Showing up at a rally knowing no one is a very uncomfortable experience for many, and fortunately the MOA is fairly good at making people feel welcome. Finally we have a first-timer event, and maybe someday we will develop a strategy for attracting new people and making them members... iow, to make our rally a new-member-making machine. We expend so much effort putting on a party and then pretty much only invite ourselves.

This was the original thought in the GS Giants, a rally event that was promoted well outside of existing MOA circles, started with a smaller pre-rally ride & party so that new people could meet each other ahead of the big show. Having a few familiar faces in a sea of 5,000 makes people feel more comfortable, more a part of the family.

Ian

ps... the scene up in the Big Horns, prior to the Billings rally.

 
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