Freebird

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

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.

Click on "settings" in the upper right corner of the forum. Then scroll down to "edit avatar" in the left menu.

I see one of those "hold my beer and watch this" moments in the future.

Bill, you are just wrong. Simple as that. He said yesterday that he deleted your ad in the Watering Hole. You said, correctly, that it was never in the Watering Hole so obviously it was NOT your ad that he deleted. The emails were sent. No doubt about that. Why you didn't get them I have no idea. All Eck did was step up and admit to deleting an ad that he thought was yours. It wasn't. He took blame for something that he didn't even do and you are still giving him crap about it. You are out of line. Either get over it or move on. This is not the first time you've gotten mad over something that you shouldn't have. You are usually a nice enough guy and helpful to others but every once in a while you go off on a tangent like this. It's OK until you start attacking people who were not the cause of your issue. So that's it. Either create your ad again or don't. It's up to you. Nobody deleted it.

As for the original thread. I can only offer my opinion on the Road Glide Ultra. I've had mine a little over 2 years now. I've had absolutely no problems of any kind with it. I like the looks, the low RPM torque, the sound, the comfort. There is a lot to like about it. One MAJOR issue though is the heat. If you are at all sensitive to engine heat, I don't recommend it. From what I've read on the Indian forums, it is just as bad on those bikes. It also depends upon what kind of riding you do and where. I know that it can get very hot and humid where you are. If you do most of your riding on the open road then it's not that big of a deal. If you do any stop and go riding in traffic on hot days though, it will be miserable. I only mention the heat because over the years I've seen people here post complaints about the heat from the RSV. I can promise you that the heat from the RSV doesn't even compare to the Harley or, from what I've read, the Indian. If that heat is not an issue for you then I can recommend the Road Glide with no reservations at all. If it is an issue though, then you need to be looking for a water cooled bike. Don't be fooled when they tell you that the new Harley is water cooled. The only thing water cooled is the area around the exhaust ports. One of the best mechanics at my dealership told me that the new "water cooled" bikes do not run any cooler than my 2013. He said that the water cooled exhaust ports helped them to get a bit more performance out of them without running even hotter than they already were but they still run about as hot as they did before. There are a few things you can do to help with the heat but none of them are all that effective. I've removed the catalytic convertor, installed the high flow (stage one) air filter. Free flowing exhausts. Tuner. Etc. It is STILL hot. There are a number of fans on the market that are supposed to help but all the reports that I've read are pretty negative regarding how much good they do. Now all that being said, I do like my Road Glide. I have no real regrets about my purchase. I am not over sensitive to the heat though but still there have been at least a couple of times when I've been stuck in slow moving traffic and wondered why the heck I was riding that thing. If you can deal with the heat, you'll probably love the bike. Just go into it with your eyes open though and don't let them tell you that it can be reduced by any significant amount.

Calm down Bill. He did NOT delete your ad from the classifieds. I explained above what probably happened. NOBODY deleted it from the classifieds. It very likely expired. And please refrain from calling a fellow member an idiot or other names. Misunderstandings can be worked out without going there.

Bill, I can promise you that nobody deleted your ad. They do expire though. Emails are sent out automatically before they expire. Is your email address correct here on the site? Also, some providers like Yahoo and some others will send such notices to your trash or spam folder. You might see if the notice is there. Too late now but at least you'll know what might have happened. Sorry about that but I can tell you that nobody deleted it. Don

This issue should be resolved. I'm not sure why it just now started being a problem. Moderators have the option of getting every new post via email and that option was selected for Russell. Several years ago, I gave the moderators the option of having it set that way and Owls has been that way every since. No changes had been made but apparently he just started getting them for some reason. At any rate, I turned it off so he shouldn't get them now.

Maybe I was thinking wrong. I assumed that you meant you were getting emails from VentureRider.org about items on Ebay. Please clarify.

Nice try Puc but that is only for notifications about "Post Thanks". Russell, you have apparently changed something in the admin panel. I would have to login as you to figure it out if you don't. If you want me to do that, you need to send me a PM with your password.

You missed the Raider. They still show it for 2016. 1854cc I think. Still, not a touring bike.

OK....I agree with you on most of what you posted. I am unsure about Lincoln vs. Miller. I've done little welding but when I was an electrician at a power plant for 12 years, I had to maintain dozens of welders and we seemed to get the best service out of Lincoln. As for scopes, I've always been a Leopold fan. Have only owned one sled and it was a Polaris because I got a great deal on it. I base my opinion on the personal watercraft though and I love my Yamahas. Owned Cobra CBs back when and think they were the best.

You are I came close to agreeing. OK...I agree with you on five things. I am unsure on two things. I disagree with you on one thing. Can you figure them out? )

Well, you people in the south have it made in regards to winter riding. That being said though, it is 58 F here in North East Ohio today and I do plan to get out for a ride today. There won't be many days like this but I'll take advantage of them until they salt the roads for the first time.

Most of that "as seen on TV" stuff....I automatically assume doesn't work.

LOL...now that's just MEAN. Somebody has to pick up my chrome.

Check out some guitar forums. Martin or Taylor. WOW.

I don't know. It IS a Harley.....are they really welcome here?

Hate to hear that Eck. I know how well you take care of your vehicles only to have something like this happen. Hope the repairs turn out well.

I hope that your Thanksgiving holiday is full of great food, many blessings and most of all, the love of family and friends. I have much to be thankful for this holiday season. First and foremost, my lovely wife who continues to put up with me. I know that probably NONE of you will believe it but I'm probably not all that easy to live with. For just over 20 years though, Eileen has accepted that burden and that makes me a very blessed man. Next are our children, grand kids and then of course, our many friends that we have come to love over the years. I am also very thankful for the many friendships that have come about solely because of VentureRider.org You folks are a much bigger part of my life than you know. You are my second family and so very important to us. I can't begin the list all the ways that you have enriched our lives and we hope to continue this site, club, extended family for many years to come. Yes, it has shrunk a bit over the past couple of years due to no new Yamaha Ventures and people moving on to other bikes or giving up riding all together but just remember. Whatever you ride, whatever you drive, wherever the twisty roads of life take you, you are one of us and are always welcome here. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Thanks for being a part of the VentureRider family.

Sounds like something that would happen to me. Every time I'm working on something outside and then come back into the house, Eileen asks "so, where are you bleeding". I seem to scratch, bruise and bleed much easier than I once did.

Sorry you feel that way.

LOL....Puc comes through again. It's all good my friends. The main thing is to RIDE RIDE RIDE...well....after that snow machine gets shut down.