State of the Site Address

[Freebird]

I just want to update everybody on the state of our club at this time.

 

Membership continues to fall. We are down to about 1,000 supporting members. That is not doom and gloom but does represent a fairly significant decrease over the past couple of years.

 

I don't think it is unusual to have such a decline for bike models that are no longer being produced. It is always difficult when there are no new models to discuss. No new discussions on the best accessories, performance modifications, etc. When the latest model sold was basically a design from 1999, most things have been talked about over and over again.

 

So we reach the point where most of what keeps us together are the friendships, meets, etc. Is that enough? I hope it is but the declining numbers may not support my hope.

 

So do we need to do something here to make it more attractive to old members and help draw new members? If so, what would that be? I honestly don't know.

 

I will say that, and this is just my opinion, changing over to an "all bike" format would likely be a mistake. I base my opinion on a couple of things.

 

The Venture Touring Society was once the largest owners group in the world for the Yamaha Venture motorcycle. There was a time when they had several thousand paid members and some huge rallies. They even had a relationship with Yamaha where they gave away a new Yamaha Venture at the International Rallies. When Yamaha discontinued the Venture in 1993, I guess there was a lot of discussion on what that would do to the club. At some point, not sure what year, they made the decision to drop the VTS name and change it to the Motorcycle Touring Association. That seemed to be the beginning of the end. A lot of the Venture riders felt that the club had turned their backs on them and the club never really picked up a significant number of Goldwing, Harley or other riders. Now there is a possibility that the transition was just handled wrong. There was leadership change in the club and other factors involved but still, I think that they just lost their identity.

 

The second thing is that I just don't know that you can be all things to all riders and brands. I was asked a few years ago to add a GoldWing area to the forum and I did so. The truth is though, it has seen very little use. There are a number of old and well established Goldwing sites out there that are full of great information. People can go to one of those sites and do a search and find their answers in the amount of time that it even takes to post their question here. It has been suggested that I add areas for other bikes like Harley, Victory, etc. It's not that I'm against doing that but for the reasons listed above, I'm hesitant to do so.

 

The fact is, this is a Yamaha site. Venture, Royal Star, etc. I'm not sure that we could successfully change that even if we wanted to and I'm not at all sure that we want to.

 

So what are your opinions? Are there things that we can do that would help us retain our members and possibly attract new members? Do we just leave things as the are and hope that the membership numbers just level out and we stay viable?

 

I don't have the answers. I don't even know if we even have a problem. Maybe it's just the nature of such things. Maybe we just maintain what we are doing and if it eventually just fades away, we accept that as the inevitable and go on with our lives.

[djadam]

I have not been a member as long as most of the people on here, but in my opinion, the site should be left as it is for now. I have owned my 06 RSV since March 2015 and I am always on here. People are still buying lots of these bikes. I refer people to this sight all the time on the Facebook page when they say they are looking for information. If a new bike does get released in 2016, that might bring in new members, and rekindle the fire with some of the old members. I also think a lot of people don't want to pay the fee. With all of the info out there on the web, most people probably feel it's a rip off to pay. I know it's only $12 a year, and I will pay that until I'm dead, but some won't.

Again, that's just my opinion.

[Freebird]

40 views and 1 reply? Come on folks, did you miss the part where I asked for your input?

[Flyinfool]

It will not be long and those outdated, obsolete, discontinued, 2nd gens will be having age related issues coming up. I think there will always be activity with keeping them alive. Just like there is a strong following of 1st gens being kept alive by this site.

 

As far as a format change to "bikes only", It is my opinion that that would kill this site faster than anything short of pulling the plug.

Where else can you talk about your favorite toy, get correct information on your issue, Usually in a timely fashion, and still be able to get picked on and do some picking back and everyone walk away with a smile, AND come back for more.

 

I belong to many other special interest web sites for my varied interests, I have never found any that come even close to the very special group of unique individuals we have here.

 

Sure there is the occasional ruffled feathers, but with very few exceptions, it gets smoothed out and everyone gets back to being friends.

 

Keep doing what you are doing Don, You have something special here. We all really do appreciate what you do for us even if many have no idea just how much time and effort you put in to this site.

[Flyinfool]

40 views and 1 reply? Come on folks, did you miss the part where I asked for your input?

 

Hey, Some of us still type with 1 finger.........

[Patmac6075]

I for one will only speak for myself and the way I use the site.....

This site has been a Godsend for the resurrection of my '84 VR, without the collective knowledge and advise I've received by fellow members there would have been no way I could have made my bike road-ready, safe, or reliable.

It would be a mistake, and I believe it would create a knowledge vacuum if this site were to convert to and "All Bikes" forum....In my opinion this should remain a Yamaha Venture site...if it's a matter of resources, I'd rather see the site consolidated into "Tech & Talk" for each generation of bike....and lose some of the less visited section.

My $0.02+

[frankd]

Don,

 

I agree with Jeff.....Do NOT change to an all motorcycle format. Those other subjects keep VentureRiders much more interesting.

 

Frank D.

[mirider]

Having been a member here a little over a year, I have gained much information and entertainment from the site as it is. Would hate to see it go to bikes only format but I do cringe now and then at some of the content posted here. My solution, I don't read it if it doesn't interest me. While the cost is low to be a full member, I do think there are probably those that wont join because of that....as stated there are many ways to get "free" info and you can read the content without paying.

Besides, how would I be able to follow the adventures of my good buddy @cowpuc and others I have met through this site ???

[Freebird]

Now we are getting some input. Thanks and keep it coming.

[gez]

I joined this group shortly after buying my '08 RSV (6/13) and have found the information and assistance I've utilized invaluable, worth much more than the $12 a year membership. I've had the opportunity to personally meet a few others here on the site and always felt welcomed and had a great experience.

 

My opinion, leave things the way they are, ride this wave as long as possible. I'll be here till the end. Either mine or the forum's.

[garyw]

I for one would sure hate to see this club dissolve. I was a "lurker" here for a few years before actually joining. I was of the opinion that I would never join a club that would have someone like me as a member but after meeting so many that are as defective as I am I can honestly say that I have never been blessed with the opportunity to meet (both on line and in person) a finer group of people that I truly consider "family"! Sure, the technical aspect of this site is amazing as we all know, but the social aspect cannot be replaced. I can only hope that this club will continue even after we are one day gone. Thankful to be a member, Gary

[Carbon_One]

I think its fine as is for now. Maybe a bit of site tweaking later on if you see its needed. I think this site is much more about the people & the interactions who are members now as the bikes are. Its only natural for folks to fad away from the site after switching to other branded bikes, even those who have given up riding altogether.

I for one have really enjoyed this site over the years, since 05, and the members I've gotten to know, both in person and just thru this site. We try to attend as many get togethers, Meet & Eats, and rallies as they come along . Doing that we've gained many people we call friends throughout the country that we would never have met otherwise.

And for that I'm thankful for this site.

Larry

[Larry1963]

40 views and 1 reply? Come on folks, did you miss the part where I asked for your input?

 

Watch what you ask for you do know there are a lot of crazy people that can type....

When I bought an older Victory I found their site like this and it was well worth the money for all the free info I received. So when I was looking for a touring bike I went looking for a Yamaha site, and I found you guys. I did a lot of research here on known problems with a 07 Venture and there wasn't any. Since then I have become a member of the site and like the other post here I have enjoyed it and it has already paid for itself in knowledge and friendship.

 

One thing we have to recognize is the younger people like things like FB, and so do I, it is easy to post to, ready on your smart phone whereever you go. My only thing with sites like this they are clumsy to go through and find information. Not sure what can be changed about that.

 

there is so much free information out there. Most of us here remember the days before the internet, and personally there are days I could get rid of it, but how did we ever live without You Tube. With that said, there are a lot of people that do now want to pay for anything, and in our society today nobody wants to commit or be loyal to anything.

 

I am also a ham (amateur) radio operator, a local repeater cost money to setup, rent a space, and to maintain. Yet nobody wanted to help support with monthly dues, but when we exhausted all the funds and shut it down, there was an outcry of people thinking we were the mean ones. It will be no different here.

 

Bottom line here, people are just not as loyal as they use to be. My wife and I do a lot of community work, I pastor two small churches, we are involved and volunteer in the school system and our local community. To get people to help, commit to something is like pulling teeth, and do not say anything that could possibly offend them or you are the worse person in the neighborhood.

 

I was joking yesterday with and posted what is wrong with our site, we have great bikes is the answer. Again I am new to the Yamaha Venture and have gone to look for bling and things I can do to it. But to be honest, what little is out there, I like my bike better the way it is. With Yamaha you do not see a lot of unique paint jobs, with HD, Victory it seems everyone is paying big money for accessories. So with little accessories/upgrades needed there isn't a lot to talk about. It is sad that Yamaha discounted this line of bike but there are others similar Yamaha bikes.

 

Not that my opinion is worth anything but here are some suggestions. 1. Included more Yamaha in the group other models and styles. 2. not sure if you have this or not, but have a member only section, i.e. where we are not just giving everything away for free, and that includes the trial period. 3. Some crazy person in here came up with the Word Association game, great idea, lets keep things like that going. I encouraged people to send pics, and tell stories, and future rides. Back to the Victory site, many times I would check to find out someone was coming close to where I am, if this is the case and I had the time and money, I would contact and meet them somewhere for lunch, where I would buy them lunch. Met some really great people this way. 4. Start a picture of the month, everyone who wants to submits a picture of their bike. It can be in a unique location, or anything of interest and let the members vote on their favorite bike picture. If you do this for a year (12 months) you could print them take them to Staples and sell a Yamaha calendar.

 

Even though commitment is hard to come by these days, most people still want to feel as if they belong to something bigger than them and that their input makes a difference. What are we doing to make the riding experience better, gathers (church language fellowship) and things like that. What missions do we support if you want to go there. But if we did Wounded Warrior, St. Jude's, I would stay away from religious ones but one that help the community as a whole.

 

When you are a pastor of a small country church you become creative on finding ways to get people to connect and stay connected.

 

I tried to join the FB page that goes along with this, but I was told because I was not a paid member of this site I could not join, I am ok with that, but then I went back and messaged the person who sent me the message and let them know I was now a full paid member, and I have not heard back from them. So for my part I am not a member of the FB side of this.

 

Final thought, for now, (in preacher language we are coming in for a landing, may need to make three or four attempts). You that go to church know what I am talking about, the preacher say finally or in conclusion three or four times, all the time why the other churches let out and are filling up the restaurants.

 

Ok back on track, for now, is there anyway to link FB with this site, where someone post on FB it can flow here automatically, I wouldn't go the other way, just thinking crazy ideas.

 

High cross winds had to go around another attempt at landing this thing. Keep looking for upgrades to this format, ways to make the format easier to follow. I am not sure what is out there but I figured this was a canned format because I have seen it on several special interest sites. Something that makes it easier, something where there is an app included. Reason I do not get on often I do not use a computer that often I use my phone or tablet and sites like this are slow.

 

Ok I see the runway I think we are going to make it wheels down................... YES landed

[Eck]

Don,

I agree with you that maybe we should do away with the Goldwing section since this is a site geared towards Yamaha's and I also agree with you that there are other sites folks can visit and get all the technical information they want on Goldwing's or any other bike out there. If anyone has a question on a Goldwing I would jump at the chance to help them out only because I have learned quite a bit about them as you have Yamaha's.

 

The site has dwindled in visits from the "old timers" yet I see new posts some times daily and sometimes weekly where a new member joins. The VR "family" atmosphere is what the new members feel and they see how easily they are welcomed by all those VR active members. The willingness for one to jump in and offer assistance and guidance has never failed whether that particular subject / issue was previously discussed here.

The site has slowly become a family oriented place to post our daily family activities, things purchased (bikes, vehicles, accessories) including jokes, weather, job and embarrassing moments, and yet there are still new posted threads related to technical issues. It is a large mix of just about any subject out there excluding religion and politics (which is a good thing).

The Forum page reminds me of a LARGE restaurant menu with so many things listed to choose from. It has grown to accommodate requests for features that in my opinion should be re-evaluated and see if we can't remove some of them and turn the site back towards motorcycle talk. I am Soooo guilty of posting stuff here that was not motorcycle related only in an effort to bring a smile to someone's face or post on how my day was going.

 

I will stop here and leave that to be digested for now.

 

Eck

[SapperMedic]

Don, I think it should be left as it is, I know of a few who have left and only show up on Facebook now instead of this site. I know it is not cheap for you to keep this site open but I will continue to pay and visit often

[dogman]

Declining numbers is unfortunate, as others have said, the information and friendships gained on this site have been invaluable. Trying to gain a larger membership by branching out to all bikes may bring about more members but ones with different views desires and agendas. More people can be a good thing, but the other side it could also be problematic with scams, viruses and other computer related information and identification stealing.

Hopefully for those in the market for a cheaper used bike, this site may see a raise in membership in a few years as the bikes get recycled to newer younger riders.

Good luck Don in your decision and thought process.

[SilvrT]

I'm with Larry1963 on a number of points but specifically, to include all Yamaha "touring" bikes. While they no longer produce a "Venture", they do have at least a couple other models that fall into that category. I wouldn't suggest a name change for the site but something to promote it to those who ride those other bikes would be in order.

 

I've been here since 2006 and up until I sold my '06 RSMV, this site has been a wealth of technical information that has assisted me in fixing various problems as well as adding "bling" to 3 different "Ventures". On top of that, it has put me in contact with many great and new friends whom I would never have met otherwise.

 

Now that I've moved on (away from the Yamaha product), my only purpose for being here is to stay in contact with the great people here and keep up with what's going on with them.

 

Recently though, I did buy a Yamaha Road Star with the intent on selling the Victory but now I'm having second thoughts about that so to some degree, I'm still a Yamaha rider. I did notice a thread about an issue with a Road Star and I was on that right away although it wasn't pertinent to me so, adding more Road Star riders to the forum would generate more interaction about those bikes. I believe there are others here who also have Roadies so more interaction would generate more involvement from them also.

 

Being a Canadian, that is my 5 cents!

Edited December 2, 2015 by SilvrT

[Sailor]

I don't join many clubs or sites. This is the only site I am on. I don't like facebook and refuse to use it. I don't even have a cell phone and don't want one. What I do want is to see this site kept the way it is. In all clubs the membership will fluctuate. Probably some of the dropouts are due to attrition. I like that people are free to post whatever comes up here, except politics or religion, those should remain private. I keep recommending this site to others and tell them it does not matter what you ride they will be welcome and meet a great bunch of people. There is a lot of information here and not just on bikes and all of it is welcome.

[videoarizona]

Thoughts:

 

1: Leave site the way it is. I like the ability to read about the various changes in our bikes.

2: Like the ability to search older posts and learn.

3: Like to be able to sell or buy Yamaha and other bikes and parts from members here.

4: Don't want other bikes here unless the members here also ride them, then yes. But let's not add Indians and VStars (even though I own one) to the mix.

5: We are family...and I'm pleased to have found this forum for that reason alone! The rest of what this forum offers is a tremendous side benefit!

6: $12/year? I'd pay twice that for the information available here. We also get phone numbers to call when help is needed, parts to buy or trade or pay it forward, items of interest to me as a rider like clothing opinions or "look what I found" adventures. Yeppers, worth every minute of my time I spend here and well worth the bux.

 

Don't change...lets just keep on...moving on...riding on...

fwiw,

david

[CaptainJoe]

Ditto on not changing anything.

There is some talk about creating chapters on the Venturers site in an attempt to reach out to new riders. I believe it would create a chance for a lot more rides and if it was open to all riders in the area, I'm sure more than a few would join.

Actually, the non motorcycle related talk is what transforms people from being acquaintances to friends IMHO.

Facebook has become the new norm for communication and I believe this is what gives the appearance of non interest.

[chabicheka]

I don't qualify to give you any advice...don't really have any ideas, but i would just like to say it has been a pleasure belonging to this club for quite a few years, having owned Yamaha Venture bikes. I ride a Kawasaki currently, but i would never abandon this club, where i have met some wonderful fellow motor cycle riders and their families, and have become real good friends with some, whose friendship i will always cherish.

Would like the opportunity to thank you, Don, for putting up with us and running this site, the way, you have. Not an easy task for sure. May give up riding next year, cause of age, but you can count on my membership as long as i am around.

[Yammer Dan]

Been staying in my corner and keeping fingers shut! (Mostly) It has gotten a little different over the time but still a great place for info on these beasts and a few ol timers that know them. I think the Flying Fool about nailed it. I mean he has to get something right don't he?? Then several others followed...scary I tell ya. This is my feeling....( yeah I got some) "we" haven't been pushing it as much as we were. I in the past and I'll admit it told everyone I spoke to relating Bikes of any kind what a great place this was. I been slacking. I Need cards to start carrying again. How many "keepers" do we get out of those that look? Do we answer questions with the same Zest that we did?? Maybe we get sidetracked too easy?? My thoughts??? Ya did ask!!! Leave it as is for now but think of internal problems?? We have lost a few to "bashing" but most of us smile when we read it. You only have to ride once with a bunch of these outlaws to know its not about what you ride. But it is a VENTURE site. Hoping it stays that way. And this site has almost made me a Human Being!! Scary I tell Ya!!!

[Guest divey]

I don't have the answers. I don't even know if we even have a problem. Maybe it's just the nature of such things. Maybe we just maintain what we are doing and if it eventually just fades away, we accept that as the inevitable and go on with our lives.

Don I'm hoping that your decision to start this thread and question the viability of this Site wasn't precipitated by recent firestorm threads posted by a couple of members who had their knickers in a knot. This Site is my daily reading entertainment both from a knowledge standpoint and pure enjoyment. While it's primarily geared towards the Yamaha line, it's great to be able to read information on other brands, member experiences, new equipment on the market such as helmets and gear, etc etc. There are so many other positives such as the camaraderie at various gatherings around the country and even just seeing pics of areas that members have ridden through; it's all great. I say don't change anything. Besides, where else would we learn about motorcycling in Australia, Iceland, Britain, Russia and Muskegon to name a few! Doug

[SilvrT]

Having read all the posts so far, it seems many are content to leave the site as is. I have to say that I don't wholly agree with that because: Unless Yamaha comes out with a new "Venture" model, owners of these bikes will eventually go to other models or brands and that is evident already as several here are doing it or have done it. That means either a drop in membership and/or less discussion about the "one" bike this forum is currently about. The primary concern expressed is the declining membership. How can anyone increase the membership if you don't cater to what folks ride? You want to increase membership?... include more variety.

 

I guess that's now my 10 cents.

[vzuden]

The primary concern expressed is the declining membership. How can anyone increase the membership if you don't cater to what folks ride? You want to increase membership?... include more variety.

 

If a change is needed, and only if it is needed - gear it towards more Yamaha models.