bongobobny Posted June 27, 2009 Share #1 Posted June 27, 2009 I'm just curious if it is worth the $48 a year membership to join. What are the benefits, activities, etc from a member's perspective as opposed to the published info on the home page. What are your opinions? There are a couple of chapters semi locally here. Should I join?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snarley Bill Posted June 27, 2009 Share #2 Posted June 27, 2009 i was a member at one time. i got a couple of free memberships. than i found this group and the rest is history. could'nt see where the membership was worth 10 bucks. went to stardays and had a good time several years ago, once was enough. 48 bucks?,just could'nt see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brake Pad Posted June 27, 2009 Share #3 Posted June 27, 2009 I to was a member of star, 48 bucks for NOTHING!!!!!! We went to Star Days In Chattanoogia Tennesseein in 2007. At the awards dinner, they didn't even thank the club(s) for raising the monies, to help the charity "Feed the Children" its was all about the board members only. It was the Biggest bunch of Bull S*** I ever saw. and our chapter should up with the most riders (33 from Ft. lauderdale) and 24 bucks to ride with a group that will not leave home. they would not do anything with other clubs, no poker runs NOTHING...... 2 years was enough:doh: I saw this chapter being dragged down. I just stepped out. We will ride alone for now on.... only thing my wife got out of it were a few nice new friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted June 27, 2009 Share #4 Posted June 27, 2009 I'm a member. I consider the international membership worthless. Belonging to STAR international is a requirement to belong to a local STAR chapter. Whether a local STAR chapter is worthwhile depends a lot on the individual chapter. I'd suggest you attend some local chapter meetings. Find out if their activities are worth $58/year ($48 international dues plus $10 local dues) to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted June 27, 2009 OK I'm getting the impression I shouldn't waste my money. I do enough of that on fleabay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1BigDog Posted June 28, 2009 Share #6 Posted June 28, 2009 Save your money Bob. Really..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideoftheroad Posted June 28, 2009 Share #7 Posted June 28, 2009 This is going to be one of those questions like which tire or oil is best. I am also a member of a chapter and have been in STAR Touring since '04 (I think). I love it. Met alot of great people and willing to do anything I can for them. Yes you can argue most anything that STAR (or any other group for that matter) offers, can be done w/out the membership dues. No local dues for us BTW. That is voted on by the chapter You can argue the same things for car clubs, chess clubs, card playing clubs....I paid for a 2 yr membership for a local classic car club. I went to 1 meeting and one car gathering. Didn't do anything with it after that. Sure I felt it was a waste of money after the fact, but then again I didn't put any effort to get involved. I didn't put anything into it and I didn't get anything out of it. STAR is not for everyone, just like other groups HOG, Southern Cruisers, etc...I am sure that there are some people that were on this forum at one time that left because there were things they didn't like. I used to be on the delphi Venture forum. I didn't like it. Haven't been on it I am sure for at least a year at this point. Also there isn't any perfect chapter either. I am sure you can go to one and feel like an outsider. You can go to another and feel like a bunch of people you grew up with. There is one guy that became a member at the same time as a couple. Now they hang out together all the time. They most likely would not made this connection w/out STAR. There are some that do get involved in a chapter and still don't like it. Well that's fine too. I also was at STAR Days in Chattanooga (my 1st STAR Days). Had a blast (thought tail of the dragon was dissapointing though). I could meet up with any # of people from anywhere and hook up with them for a ride. That is pretty much all I did there. Got up in the morning, rode all day (with a different group of people each day), got home when it was getting dark and then all hang out for dinner and a camp fire. Saw some awesome TN back roads too. W/out STAR none of that would have happened. I can't confirm Brake Pads info. I left the morning of the awards banquet (the last day of STAR Days). Also going back to no perfect chapter and brake pads info. on the chapter he was involved with. All I can say is I started with the Indy chapter and the Westfield chapter formed a couple years ago which I am a member of as it is alot closer to my home than the Indy group. Westfield and Indy chapters do, do things together. They have what's called state picnics (just a weekend event). Both groups went up to the most recent one in Joliet IL (got my pic in front of the prison). We hung out together, ate dinner together. Some just went up for the day so members of both groups left together. The Indy President and I rode home together the day after the event. There are local charities (ride for Rupert's charity-yes Rupert from Survivor, Miracle Ride-raises money for a local children's hospital, and other events (they can't call them Poker runs anymore for some reason) where members of both chapters tend to go on. There is an OH state picnic coming up in Sept. that I am sure both groups will attend. I know that there are members of both groups going to STAR Days in Billings Montana in July. I really don't know the STAR Days history, but there are some people that have been to every single STAR Days since the very 1st one (10 yrs ago from 2007 I believe). Brake Pad, can you chime in whether they got recognized at the awards banquet because I believe that was the STAR Days 10th year anniversary. Could be wrong. STAR also has regionalized weekend events called STARBQ's which the Indy chapter is hosting in Aug. They have asked the Westfield chapter to help run some of the events. STAR does have a rule (not sure really if the chapters stick to it though), that you can check out the group for 3 sanctioned events. Events are meetings, rides and such. After the 3rd event you need to decide if it is for you or not. If so, send in the $48. Also if you bought a brand new 1300 cc or higher street bike you get a free year membership. If it is w/in the past year (unlikely but maybe 2 yrs), then worth a shot to call the home office to check it out. The info. gets sent from STAR motorcycles to STAR Touring. S.T. will send you a postcard or something telling you to call the home office as they want to make sure they have your info. correctly. From there they will send you your membership packet. I haven't checked it out but I have started to hear that if you buy any street STAR motorcycle you get a free 1 year membership. If you recently bought a bike (say w/in the past year) and paid for your membership. Call the home office to verify whether they gave you another year on top of what you already paid for. Overall like MiCarl said, check out a local chapter and decide for yourself whether you like it or not. Some do and some don't. Some go into it loving it and quit after several years of being a member for whatever reason. Some people have been in it since the very beginning. If you don't know the web-site address already google for STAR Touring. You will find a link on the left about the chapter listings. You check out the link for your state to get a listing of local chapters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecb Posted June 28, 2009 Share #8 Posted June 28, 2009 I am a member, but the local chapter here does absolutely nothing. Once a month I get an e-mail saying the meeting is on thursday night. I've talked to the chapter prez about this due to the fact I work 2nd shift. I asked about having them on a saturday morning. Got no answer. The chapter here is basically 4 or 5 guys that ride together. The only good thing I have seen about ST+R is that they sell folding flag poles for $25.00 each..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideoftheroad Posted June 28, 2009 Share #9 Posted June 28, 2009 Dave, Point proven on the individual chapter differences. We try to be as flexible as possible, but we can't meet everyone's needs. 1st year we did dinner on Tuesdays once a month at a local restaurant. We moved to another restaurant at one point because that is what the membership wanted. 2nd year, membership didn't want to do Tuesday dinners. Wanted to do weekend meetings. So now we meet once a month on a Saturday. Afterwords we go out for lunch for those that want to go. Our VP rotates every other weekend with his work. Well when you have 3 weekends in a month then that flips him on whether he will be able to attend the Saturday meetings or not until the next time there are 3 weekends in a month. We have it setup currently as a standard to do Sunday rides once a month. Some people said I go to church on Sunday's or work on Sunday's (but not Saturdays) and I want to go on chapter rides too. The members voted and came up with, tell us when and we will do a Saturday ride for that month. For those that can't do either a Saturday meeting and/or ride, they are available on Sunday and vice versa. The membership also voted that they wanted to do a dinner ride every Friday. Well I work during the week so I can't go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideoftheroad Posted June 28, 2009 Share #10 Posted June 28, 2009 (edited) And to add into this w/out posting another book about my STAR experiences. I too have had issues on the national forum. Got slapped on the wrist a couple times for really silly things by their moderators like posting a link on an ended e-bay item for a Venture trunk. So yes the organization is not perfect and people (including myself at times) have issues with it. Edited June 28, 2009 by Sideoftheroad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecb Posted June 28, 2009 Share #11 Posted June 28, 2009 (edited) I would really like to know why the say " Formerly recognized by Yamaha"....Anyone know what happened ??????? Edited June 28, 2009 by davecb can't type Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigatcsi Posted June 28, 2009 Share #12 Posted June 28, 2009 We were given membership info today and I was interested. Though after reading this topic, I don't know. The problem with these 'brand' clubs is if you change brands. I belong to a Kawasaki Vulcan riding club, because I had a Vulcan. Now that I have a Venture, I usually don't mention that I belong to a Vulcan club. I always joke with the club that I have become 'the red-headed stepchild' & that I will ride in the back of the pack. I'm not going to wear a vest with a Vulcan patch on it, will on my Venture. Our club has quite a few people that have switched brands, but remained with the club. Some members have even talked about dropping the 'Vulcan' thing and changing it to a non-brand specific club. I know I would prefer that, and could even get a few more members, if it wasn't a 'Vulcan' club. We have looked at a few non-brand specific clubs, but most of them go from bar to bar, we are not big Bar people & prefer to ride. We are not much for alot of organization & rules, so I think I will skip the 'Star' club for now. craigr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted June 28, 2009 Share #13 Posted June 28, 2009 The problem with these 'brand' clubs is if you change brands. In our chapter we've got people that ride Goldwings, Harleys, a Ural. Some of them have never owned a Yamaha. You do have to own a Yamaha to be Vice President of the chapter or any higher office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brake Pad Posted June 28, 2009 Share #14 Posted June 28, 2009 Yes, you must own a Yamaha to be the president Chimeing in. Only 1 person went to the last Star days. & he did'nt go to the 2007 chattanooga rally it was voted on, that the national didn't really do anything for the local clubs. they started out wih a bang, when they spoke about National, but dropped the ball, on all the chapters that made it happen. they basically prased them selfs, for doing a great job, of putting the event together. and never said Thank You, to the people for supporting the cause. they mad a big show, with the parade of motorcycle riding down the road behind the food truck. (Which, they unloaded, and gave everyone a box to strap to the bikes, for show and tell. at the end of the parade, I expected to help out hundreds of cars, loading food into there trunks..... THREE car showed up..... what a F******G waist of time:doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share #15 Posted June 28, 2009 OK, Lyle, you are saying that because I just bought my RSV this month that I already have a free membership, or do I have to apply for it?? If it's for free then I'll give it a chance. The real reason I wanted to join was for more gatherings and yet more people to meet. BTW I should finally get Sexi back Monday or Tuesday... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted June 28, 2009 Share #16 Posted June 28, 2009 OK, Lyle, you are saying that because I just bought my RSV this month that I already have a free membership, or do I have to apply for it?? If it's for free then I'll give it a chance. The real reason I wanted to join was for more gatherings and yet more people to meet. BTW I should finally get Sexi back Monday or Tuesday... You should have a 1 yr membership free. They are a little slow at processing stuff but it should show up. I have been involved with 2 chapters locally. One is a great bunch of folks and the group is very active. At least 2 rides every month. Active with local charities. Just like family. The other group ain't worth a damn. Your mileage may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadKill Posted June 28, 2009 Share #17 Posted June 28, 2009 I agree with alot said. No use for national. Local groups think a 25 mile ride to lunch and back is a day of riding:confused24: Way too many rules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Eagle Posted June 28, 2009 Share #18 Posted June 28, 2009 As President of our local chapter, I agree with - and disagree with - some of the things mentioned. Chapters/associations like this STAR, HOG, GWRRA, CMA, whatever, are not for everyone, In Northern California, we have approximately (16) chapters - most are very active. Ours is extremely active - with two rides and a meeting each month. I have (40) members - and approximately (30) member bikes per ride. We also participate in many of the other chapter / regional activities - thus (if people wanted) a network of couple of hundred friends to ride with on any given weekend. I have (6) Harleys, (2) BMW's, couple of Suzuki's / Honda's/Kawi's in my group. I might agree that "more" could be made available through the International Association - but I and my officer team try and bring the value of belonging to such an association back home for our members. We experience growth - and loss - as any organization may - but at the end of the day - I believe this association is a great place - maybe initially - to meet new friends and riding partners. As others have said - if you are fortunate enough to have couple of chapters within your area, check them out before "joining" a group. As a member of the National Association, you are welcomed to ride with any chapter - you don't have to belong to a chapter. And yes, if you have purchased a 1300 or larger bike, your first year is free - and it does take a while for that info to be processed - especially at this time of the year when the International Rally is going to be taking place in three weeks up in Billings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Saddletramp Posted June 28, 2009 Share #19 Posted June 28, 2009 I belong to the St. Lawrence and Adirondack chapters in northern NY. I have met a lot of nice people on ALL levels of the Star membership. If you utilize the members benefit packages that Star makes available you can certainly recover you membership fees in discounts if money is that high of a priority to you. Star is about meeting people nationwide and knowing you have someone to call no matter what region of the country you are in either with problems or just for riding connections. Yes you can do that here as well. As with any organization whether it is Star, Venture Riders, Retreads, HOG, Hells Angels, or the dopes on the corner, you get out of it what you put into it. Our chapter is very active with rides, veterans home visits, sponsorship of battalions deployed, feed the children activities, fund raisers for local animal shelters and several other activities even during the winter months. The national rallies rotate from east, central,and western locations as well as each region having their regional Star BQ which is a 3 day weekend event. This is a riding association with a leadership type chain of command set up only for the organizational neccesities of a group this size. Is the group worth the $48 annual dues---absoulutely in my opinion!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eusa1 Posted June 28, 2009 Share #20 Posted June 28, 2009 You get in contact with president alan cease of star and if he can give you a "good" answer, as to "what happend to chapter 307?" then i will buy your membership to his worthless club. I met some great folks that are members of the club, and wish them all well, however mr. Cease is a thief!! And the last venture i purchased came with the free membership, and i told mother yamaha that if they sent a dime to the crooked bass turd, that i wouldn't buy another one. He took the money for 20 new members, cashed the checks and removed the chapter from existance and refused to refund anything to any of the members..period . Chapter 307:225:save your money!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbug Posted June 28, 2009 Share #21 Posted June 28, 2009 SORRY O HEAR ABOUT SOME BAD CHAPTERS BUT i AM SURE THERE ARE SOME IN EVERYTHING. i BELONG TO ONE HERE AND THEY ARE JUST STARTING UP WITH A GREAT GROUP OF PEOPLE JUST FOR ME I SEEM TO HAVE MY KIDSON THE WEEKENDS THT THEY DO RIDES AND FOR ME THEY COME FIRST TILL THEY DONT WANT TO BE AROUND ME. TRY A COUPLE OF THEM OUT BEFORE YOU JUDGE THERE ARE SOME GREAT PEOPLE OUT THERE. GOOD LUCK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwortham Posted June 28, 2009 Share #22 Posted June 28, 2009 I also belong to Houston Chapter 221 with Owen. ! Saturday and 1 Sunday Ride every month. It is very much like a family I"m just sorry there not all like this one. And thanks to Owen I now know about Venture Riders. I am a new member here but have already learned a lot on the forums and hope to get out and ride with some of you soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snarley Bill Posted June 28, 2009 Share #23 Posted June 28, 2009 i don't think the chapters are bad, they are just folks like us that want to have a good time riding and meeting together. was going to bring the president of the usa into this as a similie but i better quit here. just read between the lines. bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideoftheroad Posted June 29, 2009 Share #24 Posted June 29, 2009 (edited) bongobobnyYes the 1st year membership is free. Call the international office 1st if you don't want to wait for the post card. 800-422-1041. Like I said they want to make sure you mailing info. is correct before they send the membership packet out. So if you don't call, they won't send it. I think it will take like 4-6 weeks unless there is some delay in getting your packet to you. Just like anyplace they have to rely on some other place to send them out so at times they are at their mercy. Once you check out a chapter and start getting involved, if there is something you don't like then work with the chain of command on making things better for yourself and for the rest of the group. If it doesn't happen for you, then move on to another chapter or as some have done leave altogether. Your experience will vary by chapter it sounds like. I happen to have good experiences in 2 chapters now. You don't have to own a STAR motorcycle, own a motorcyle period and you don't have to belong to a chapter either to be a STAR member. Since our group (Westfield) is new all we have are STAR motorcycles at this time. The Indy group has STAR motorcycles, a BMW, Harleys, Hondas, and a Kawasaki. Yes there are rules as there are with any group and Life for that matter. Some groups will have more rules, some will have less. some are strict, some aren't. No matter what activity it is finding a group (if any) that fits best for you. I think enough has been said already. The only way you are going to know is if you try it for yourself. No matter what you do in anything regarding group activities there are going to be people that either love it or hate it as you have read already. But I think it would be a mistake for anyone that has read and/or posted about having second thoughts about STAR to not at least try it out (it's free anyway for the 1st year if you recently bought a 1300cc or higher bike) because of the bad and good experiences posted on this thread I wouldn't worry about brand switching either. I used to have a Honda, now I have a STAR motorcycle. I would get some ribbing about it, but no bid deal. The long time Indy member I bought the Venture from (through the dealer) bought a new H-D in June last year. There are 2 others in the group that owned Ventures, V-Stars and Road Stars that also now have switched to H-D's. Yes they get the usual ribbing about leaking oil and parts falling off due to the shaking. Heck the BMW guy gets it too. They all say his bike sounds like a sewing machine. But it isn't done to hurt anyone's feelings or make them upset. With any group you are going to get ribbing of some sort. Also that is really the answer to the question on formerly endorsed by Yamaha. There isn't Yamaha motorcyles anymore. It was renamed STAR motorcycles. Good luck. If you decide to go for it keep us posted on how it goes. Edited June 29, 2009 by Sideoftheroad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Rider Posted June 29, 2009 Share #25 Posted June 29, 2009 I paid the 48 bucks for a membership, then found out that I'd have to BUY a back patch for 38 bucks. No way will I pay for one of those. They should give you one! I've not joined a chapter yet and don't think I will. Save your cash for other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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