pglaves
#13338
Indeed, I mispoke. They were not at the rally in Trenton, Ontario, Canada. And neither was BMW Canada.
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What would you like to see at the 2020 Great Falls Rally?
- Thread starter 220768
- Start date
Indeed, I mispoke. They were not at the rally in Trenton, Ontario, Canada. And neither was BMW Canada.
spcschwartzy
New member
Vendor hours
I would like to see the vendors have evening hours. Even one evening of later hours, perhaps vendors open later in the morning, I think it would give attendees a chance to get out and ride/explore the local scene without missing an opportunity to contact vendors.
I would like to see the vendors have evening hours. Even one evening of later hours, perhaps vendors open later in the morning, I think it would give attendees a chance to get out and ride/explore the local scene without missing an opportunity to contact vendors.
gsinnc
Well-known member
Another good idea! They did this at Americade one or 2 years and it seemed to be a big hit. (not sure the vendors liked it
krazyhank
Member
Good point ! At Lebanon we were caught between hanging at the site and checking out the vendors or doing a local ride. Maybe a “Siesta “ for vendors between 11-3.
I think it would be great if the BMW TFT display and the Garmin Nav VI folks could get together and put on a seminar showing us the proper way to pair and operate these units. I'm always wondering if I'm using the phone, Cardo Packtalk, TFT and Nav VI in the optimal and proper way.
gregfeeler
Dances With Sheep
First, thanks to Tori for starting this thread, as feedback from the membership is irreplaceable in improving the club, and specifically the rally. Having been the Rally Chair for the 2017 Salt Lake rally, and a Board member (in various positions) for close to 15 years, I will share my insights and experiences in response to some of the comments and questions.
NEW ATTENDEE EXPERIENCE
RALLY FOOD
VENDOR HOURS
"YOUNG" PEOPLE
CLOSING CEREMONIES DOOR PRIZES
VOLUNTEERING
NEW ATTENDEE EXPERIENCE
Thank you, huckleberry, for your excellent post about your first time rally experience. Overall, I think we do a very poor job of introducing new attendees to our club and the rally experience. That's not for the lack of wanting (it has been discussed for years), but we don't have the right execution, yet. The discussion following your post hit on many aspects of the problem and possible solutions. Where I would start is to add a new rally committee responsible for welcoming first time attendees. They would create specific activities to both introduce new people to each other, and with other attendees at large. There should be better information presented on the MOA web page (and FB) prior to the rally about what to see and do, register for, etc. That same information would be emailed to every on-line registrant, and included in the rally packet received at registration. Possibly walking orientation tours of the site to include introductions of various committee chairs who's work really makes the rally happen.
"Silly" riding events used to be very popular, but they died out in part because people stopped volunteering to run them, and there were also some liability concerns. I wanted to revive these at Salt Lake, but just didn't get to it. There is a LOT in this area to be looked at again. The point of the rally should be for people to have FUN! We can do better, even with limited budgets.
RALLY FOOD
Every rally I've been involved with has *always* had the problem of a) convincing local restaurants of the need to increase capacity, and b) finding "quality" on-site food vendors. There are several reasons for the latter problem. First, the vast majority of mobile food vendors are geared to provide "fair food" - stuff people eat at a day event. Most have no need to serve a proper breakfast or dinner. Sometimes, it's a struggle just to get enough of any kind of food vendor, much less have choices for the type and quality of food. Secondly, some sites have captive food vendors - vendors who have paid to have the right to vend at any activity they want to (but they don't have to). Any time you see food booths with some vendors name permanently displayed, that's the arrangement. In such cases, the MOA can only bring in outside vendors if the dedicated food vendor chooses not to vend. But, I'll say *everyone* who works the rally is keenly aware of the problem as they often never leave the site most of the week and have no other food choices.
VENDOR HOURS
There are several issues with extended or evening vendor hours. For indoor vendors, everyone has to be manning their booths at all times, primarily for product security. So, if 55% of the indoor vendors wanted to stay open until 8:00pm - ALL of them would have to participate. We actually contacted a number of our traditional indoor vendors before Salt Lake about this idea and almost all of them rejected the idea. Almost all vendors come with as small a staff as they can to keep down travel and hotel costs. They are on their feet all day, and by 6:00pm they are beat, and would like a beer, a sit down dinner, and some rest. It's your vacation, but their job, to be at the rally. Outdoor vendors can be open all they want, but I've seen very few ever do that, which I expect is for the same reasons. So, this is a vendor-based decision, not one by the MOA.
"YOUNG" PEOPLE
This has many sides. There are some good ideas mentioned on this thread. From my view there is more to it. First, the largest motorcycle interest area among Millennial's is the the Custom Bike segment. You can see them and their bikes at places like the Hand Built Show in Austin, TX or the One Moto Show in Portland, OR. (the two big ones) and at numerous smaller regional or local shows, or even bike nights in many urban areas. We developed a Custom Bike show event for Salt Lake, but there just wasn't the time or money to do it.
This will come hard for some, and I have my flame suit on, but in my opinion, and that of a number of other members I've talked with, the BMW (Bitch, Moan, and Whine) element of our membership - often expressed here on the Forum and on FB - drives potential members away. Perhaps you've noticed the nasty or condescending or holy-than-thou posts criticizing other's ideas or questions or choice of riding gear or suggested changes to the club or the choice of ON cover photos or taking water at a rally, and so on. All that creates a *really* negative vibe. If all this is supposed to be about fun, then who would want to join a group of people who have nothing nice to say?
If the MOA wants to increase membership of people under 55, it will have to develop specific plans and projects to reach out. Certainly events at the rally would be an excellent move. But, despite all our efforts to market outside of our membership, the vast majority of rally attendees are current or former members - people who already know about the MOA and the rally. If we want more "fish" at the rally we need to stock the "pond" of the MOA. The rally can't cure the demographics problem for the MOA, but the MOA can do things to build a healthy base for the rally to take it from there. As of June, 2015 only 6.19% of our membership were under 44, and 25.79% were 45 to 54. 74.14% were 55 or older. We have a serious ageing out problem.
This will come hard for some, and I have my flame suit on, but in my opinion, and that of a number of other members I've talked with, the BMW (Bitch, Moan, and Whine) element of our membership - often expressed here on the Forum and on FB - drives potential members away. Perhaps you've noticed the nasty or condescending or holy-than-thou posts criticizing other's ideas or questions or choice of riding gear or suggested changes to the club or the choice of ON cover photos or taking water at a rally, and so on. All that creates a *really* negative vibe. If all this is supposed to be about fun, then who would want to join a group of people who have nothing nice to say?
If the MOA wants to increase membership of people under 55, it will have to develop specific plans and projects to reach out. Certainly events at the rally would be an excellent move. But, despite all our efforts to market outside of our membership, the vast majority of rally attendees are current or former members - people who already know about the MOA and the rally. If we want more "fish" at the rally we need to stock the "pond" of the MOA. The rally can't cure the demographics problem for the MOA, but the MOA can do things to build a healthy base for the rally to take it from there. As of June, 2015 only 6.19% of our membership were under 44, and 25.79% were 45 to 54. 74.14% were 55 or older. We have a serious ageing out problem.
CLOSING CEREMONIES DOOR PRIZES
Yes, an hour or less and more engaging and fun. I agree that the discounted world tours somehow fail the "door prize" mark and overly extend the closing ceremonies. We have almost stopped thanking the volunteers at the closing ceremonies (due to time constraints to hit the hour mark) and not surprisingly we have more trouble every year attracting enough of them.
VOLUNTEERING
This is the answer to many of our problems, in my opinion. This discussion is one great manifestation of volunteering to help the club improve. All these great ideas are golden. But it also takes people to implant them. Our staff is small and works very hard. The Board can approve, encourage, or fund, but doesn't have the bandwidth to implement. Anytime someone has a rewarding experience volunteering for the MOA their whole relationship with the club changes significantly for the better. In my experience they go from being a customer to a member. They have ownership. That is especially true for new or newer members. However, it takes two for this dance: the Board needs to foster such opportunities and the individual members need to raise their hands. And, I'm not just talking about volunteering at the rally, but also coming up with new ideas to make the MOA more fun. The entire point for any motorcycle club is to make owning and riding you bike more fun.
For you long time members, when do you last remember the club being fun? More to the point, when was the last time you intentionally stepped outside of your posse of friends and sought out someone you didn't know? What would your experience be like if you intentionally did *not* hang with your friends and instead pretended it was your first event and knew no one? It's occurred to me that our concept of the MOA being a family has stopped with the "family" many of us already have, and we can't see those outside of our circle. Ride a mile in their boots. I know that many on this thread have done (and are still doing) many years of service to the club, but we need to reach out more for all levels for participation and friendship. THAT is being inclusive and will solve so many of our problems.
For you long time members, when do you last remember the club being fun? More to the point, when was the last time you intentionally stepped outside of your posse of friends and sought out someone you didn't know? What would your experience be like if you intentionally did *not* hang with your friends and instead pretended it was your first event and knew no one? It's occurred to me that our concept of the MOA being a family has stopped with the "family" many of us already have, and we can't see those outside of our circle. Ride a mile in their boots. I know that many on this thread have done (and are still doing) many years of service to the club, but we need to reach out more for all levels for participation and friendship. THAT is being inclusive and will solve so many of our problems.
flyhi2cfar
#102452 Sometimes Hangared... But Always Aimed Out
This idea...
AND a big dose of GS GIANTS activity/participation... would address quite a few of the concerns our members have, and that Greg illustrates in his post above.
"travel'n" John
AND a big dose of GS GIANTS activity/participation... would address quite a few of the concerns our members have, and that Greg illustrates in his post above.
"travel'n" John
jandhumphreyme
Member
I haven't seen the GS GIANTS at the last few rallys, what happened there? They were a fun bunch.
glenfiddich
TravelsWithBarley.com
I love the outreach ideas for first time rally attendees. We could have some fun with it! How about an Introvert Treatment Booth in the Beer Garden? Any first timer in the booth gets "adopted," pulled to a table with a group of new friends and welcomed into the family.
riderr1150gsadv
Well-known member
Someone will know more details but from what I gathered, I guess they were too much fun for the grumpy old clique? ....
lee
Debbie's Servant
What do GS Giants do, some form of field events?
Guess I've been living under a rock since I joined MOA in 1983
gregfeeler
Dances With Sheep
The GS Giants are a very vibrant organization, and a good partnership between them and the MOA would benefit both, but they are only one part of a much larger picture. Not everyone is a dual sport rider, and we have to appeal to more of the diverse BMW riding interests, and be more fun doing it.
What do GS Giants do, some form of field events?
Guess I've been living under a rock since I joined MOA in 1983
From a non-GS owner's perspective: The GS Giants activities simply show motorcycle riders how to thoroughly trash a wonderful motorcycle. I have watched a few competitions and always leave shaking my head and wondering why??? I don't get it (obviously) but those who do seem to be having fun.
flyhi2cfar
#102452 Sometimes Hangared... But Always Aimed Out
But another point of view... From this GS owner's perspective:
I leave the competition shaking my head in disbelief of the motorcycles toughness, and in admiration of the riders skills who are testing their capability.
...but I'm a rider of a "mostly" sport oriented GS, polished to award winning condition and a scaredy-cat of mud-puddles!
"travel'n" John
...owner of the 2019 MOA Bike Show's "Red Ribbon" R1200GS
AND: a previous captor of other color honors from 2015 through 2018!
glenfiddich
TravelsWithBarley.com
I really enjoyed the skill and determination of the GS Giants, and often wondered why there wasn't something similar (paved) for street riders
36654
New member
gsinnc
Well-known member
I'm with you! I love my GS and it puts a smile on my face every time I ride it but it is one of THEE cleanest GS's and I have no desire to get it scratched and dented but I DO love watching the GS giants. I was not at the MOA Rally last year but have enjoyed them at prior Rallies. I am amazed at what those guys can do with a 500+ pound bike !! So my vote would be to try and get them back !
gsinnc
Well-known member
Great points on the young folks .... maybe we should ask THEM what would interest them Maybe that has already been done but if not finding a way to get their feedback. Recently I was at a Ducati event at my BMW dealer who sells BMW, Ducati and Triumph and have to day the Ducati attendees were truly a younger group and it was kind of nice seeing the younger folks excited about motorcycles. But we really need to understand what excited THEM and maybe not what we "think" excites them. Just a thought.
