Stuart’s GoldWing Blog

If the cap fits?

There has been a debate – or rather an attempt at debate – on the GWOCGB Forum, in the context of the Club’s declining membership.  It was about what constitutes “politics”, often cited by Wingers as something they really don’t like.

“Politics” seems to be a pretty important membership factor – especially in membership retention, which has been a serious problem for GWOCGB for some years.  The Club has suffered steadily declining membership and took a particularly big hit last year. Generally speaking the new independent clubs are thriving and the older ones are also doing very nicely too; it’s really only GWOCGB that’s in serious membership decline.

So if “politics” is what turns Wingers say causes them to leave the Club, what exactly do they mean by it and what can be done to improve things?

This was potentially a very useful question for GWOCGB to pose to itself and in the privacy of the Members-Only Area of the Club’s Forum it could have led to constructive discussion and maybe thereby to ideas for turning the Club’s fortunes.

Unfortunately it rapidly degenerated into challenging personal criticism and argument and it got quite continues………

VIP police motorcyclists get personal bodyguards so they can concentrate on looking cool

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE FOR AN ENLARGED VIEW

Rise Safe Back Safe has been holding an annual free event for bikers for five years and it’s built up to be quite a show and well worth going to.  This year it was in Blackpool again but had moved away from the Promenade to the resort’s huge Central Car Park.  This turned out to be a much better venue, with plenty of space, nicely sheltered from any wind and very easy to get to.

There were lots of biking organisations present and some dealers and traders together with an impressive stunt riding display and Honda’s Your First Licence arena for children which was as popular as always.  Since Ride Safe Back Safe is a Safety Partnership scheme run by the Police there were also lots and lots and lots of motorcycle policemen around, most of whom looked relaxed and smiling, with not a single wagging finger being displayed anywhere.

But from a Wingers viewpoint it was notable this year for the bringing together, for the first time at any Event, of GWOCGB’s Lancs & Lakes Region and GoldWings North West, both of which were displaying continues………

Shall we turn right next then chaps?

The Central Florida Motorcycle Drill Team, who came to Blackpool for the GoldWing Light Parade in 2008 to display for us, are alive and kicking and they are still World Champions too partly, as i recall, because no one has been brave enough to challenge them for a while.

We became friends with the four Team Members who came over to UK in 2008 and have stayed in contact ever since.   My wife and I (and other members of the Light Parade Organising Team) have met up with them whenever we’ve been in Florida on holiday ever since and their Captain, Randy Rodriguez, will be coming back to UK again for this year’s Parade in  September and bringing his wife, Cat, too.  So we look forward to seeing at least two of them in Blackpool again.

Not as a Display Team this time unfortunately and not to give a Display, but at least Randy will be here and continues………

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Holding a non-camping social weekend for GoldWings at the darker ends of the biking season, to allow Wingers to show off their display lights, is catching on.

Norfolk Wings are holding one in their part of the Country for the first time this year and would welcome plenty of support.

The Parade itself is on the evening of Saturday March 27th in Hunstanton, Norfolk, a small holiday town on the North Norfolk Coast.

Proceeds are to be donated to the local Air Ambulance so it’s all in a good cause – and the Town Mayor is joining the Parade as a passenger on a trike.

The social weekend is based on Manor Holiday Park, where the accommodation is in chalets but they will also allow caravans and motorhomes on site but no tents.  Day visitors are welcome to join in the Parade too and they can also enter the Holiday Park on payment of a visitors fee.

Inscription (i.e. event registration, payable to the Organisers) costs only £2.  The Event is being run continues………

It’s that time of year – when the renewal form for your GWOCGB Membership accompanies Wingspan.  Do you or don’t you?

Lots of Wingers who are still very active in their own Region are no longer bothering with the Club at national level.

For example Yorkshire Wings Region counted heads recently and discovered they had 76 (yes, 76) active Regional Members who were no longer members of GWOCGB.

Even though Yorkshire Wings has been a troubled Region in recent times and is currently facing further challenges (even committed GWOCGB loyalists are planning to break away as a separate group) this must be quite a big proportion.  And this pattern of disaffection with the national Club is likely to be reflected fairly widely across other Regions and it therefore presents quite a challenge to the Club’s National Committee.

Can they risk trying to force people to pay up or be thrown out altogether, as they would have done more or less automatically in years gone by? Or has the penny dropped at last that continues………

The Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs has announced a renewed and expanded sponsorship arrangement with Knutsford Honda, complementing their generous sponsorship of the 2009 Blackpool Light Parade.

The amount of money involved is not being released but it’s apparently enough to allow the Federation to cover the whole of its annual administration and IT costs and therefore underpins the services which it is developing for the UK GoldWing Community.

Instead of sucking money out of GoldWing clubs in the form of subscriptions, the Federation will be providing its services to GoldWing Clubs free of charge.  Even PLI cover is virtually free for a Club’s first year of affiliation.  The Federation also plans to make grants to clubs, especially new and newly affiliated clubs, to help them get going.  For further information about the Federation visit its Website.  (GWOCGB subscriptions are again being increased by about 10% for next year.)

For further information about Knutsford Honda (which incidentally has four GL1800s on special offer at present) please ring 01925 752600 or visit their Website.

The Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs, which is developing as a service organisation for all UK Wingers as well as a “Club of Clubs”  has released the Minutes of its latest Management Team Meeting promptly as part of its policy of openness in its aims and dealings.  You can view them here.

The accounts for the 2009 Blackpool Light Parade have been finalised and although a detailed breakdown has not been published (because it contains some commercially sensitive information)  a breakdown of how the surplus is to be distributed is given.  No personal expenses of any kind were paid out.

The lion’s share of the surplus goes to charity (North West Air Ambulance and Blackpool’s Children’s Hospice) with modest grants going to GoldWings North West and GoldWings North Wales, the two Clubs which helped with the work of running the Event.  Both Clubs are relatively new and this money will help them to kit themselves out with things like banners for use in future fund raising displays.

In accordance with the Federation’s policy of not accumulating financial reserves only a small amount has been retained by the Federation and that will not be held on to for long.  The Federation has made it clear that any surplus funds will be used for the benefit of the UK GoldWing Community as soon as practicable, for example by making grants to help newly formed clubs get established.

The Federation’s Website, although relatively new, is already getting plenty of hits each week, similar to the hit rates of this Blog, the BLP website and the Federation’s Club websites, all of which are doing well.  The Federation Website will continue to be developed as a source of useful reference information for Wingers as well as helping them to find out what’s happening topically.

As part of what seems to have been a failed attempt to orchestrate spoiling action, a handful of GWOCGB Regions recently asked (in the odd case they demanded) that links to their own websites be removed from the Federation’s List of UK GoldWing Clubs.  This has been done.  If any club or Region wants to shun the free publicity which Listing could help with their recruitment the Federation is not going to force it upon them.

It has also been made as clear as practicable on the List that some Regions are keen to be seen as Regions of GWOCGB rather than as Local Clubs in their own right.  These Regions can of course highlight that sort of thing as clearly as they wish on their own websites.  The Federation’s List does not currently distinguish between individual clubs, they are all given equal prominence on the List.

One or two Regions wanted all mention of their existence removed from the List but this has not been done.  The List uses only information which is in the public domain so it will be maintained as complete a list of UK Clubs as possible as a service to UK Wingers and would-be Wingers.

For example Middlesex Wings, which has been written off by GWOCGB because its Rep (leader) is a non-member of GWOCGB, is still listed because it may be (hopefully is) still operating as a local GoldWing Club and even though no website or contact information is currently available.  (As it says on the List, additional contact information for any club can be incorporated on request.)

If the List is developed in future to allow, for example, popup information about individual Clubs to be added, it might be possible to make useful distinctions between Listed Clubs.  Flagging up those clubs which want to be obscure or those which have belligerent tendencies might be inappropriate but it would perhaps be helpful to give some indication of how active a club is and what sort of activities it favours – a bit like  Michelin Guide!

It’s all about Freedom of Choice.

Stuart's Mosel Tour 2009

The Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs, the UK’s GoldWing Community’s national service organisation, is planning its own set of GoldWing Tours for 2010 and it’s also offering to support and promote any other GoldWing tours being run by individuals or clubs.

You may remembers that Stuart’s Mosel Tour of 2009, promoted and reported on this Blog, was described as a prototype.  This was a one-centre, hotel-based tour but the Federations plans for 2010 are by no means restricted to a particular type of tour – any Tour can be included in the Programme as long as it’s available for GoldWings , so camping tours are also welcome, as are multi-centre and roaming tours, as are Tours planned by commercial organisers.

The aim of the Programme is to broaden and promote choice for Wingers.  As the Federation’s catch phrase puts it – “It’s all about Freedom of Choice!”

A modest number of Tours (UK and abroad) will be organised by the Federation itself, using its own pool of Tour Leaders.  It is hoped that over time the number of in-house Tours will be expanded, as more Wingers gain experience and acquire the confidence to lead a Tour.

Another feature of the Programme is that the Federation’s experience of planning and leading Tours will be offered to support Wingers (or Clubs) with planning, administration and troubleshooting their own Tours.

The Federation’s aim is to provide services for the UK GoldWing Community as a whole and all of its own Tours will be open to all Wingers.

This is an innovative way for a GoldWing organisation to be trying to do things for UK Wingers and if it takes off the Programme could prove to be very popular.  It may take a few years to build in scale but the basic resources are there for a successful Programme so let’s hope the idea does get taken up.  The Honda GoldWing is the best touring motorcycle in the world so giving UK Wingers a broader opportunity to enjoy touring with their bikes has got to be a good idea.

For further information and to express your own interest, as an individual or a club, in this Programme please visit the Federation’s Website.

Better than sipping champagne and talking bollocks!

I have been asking myself this question of late, mostly I suppose because I am pleased with (and proud of) the way things have gone in our new Club, GoldWings North West, this year.

We have a great bunch of people and we are really enjoying what we are doing, so as we come towards the end of our first biking season and look forward to the Birthday Party we’re organising for ourselves (and guests, all Winger welcome) it’s been a time to count our blessings.

So what are the essentials of a friendly motorcycle club?  And how do you capture this essence and then hang on to it, so your club doesn’t encounter unnecessary difficulties, become prone to arguments, suffer declining membership or even start falling apart? continues………

Something of a watershed event has just taken place on the GoldWing scene and it’s nothing less than the start of a new era for UK Wingers.

Click on the image for an enlargement

The Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs began quietly earlier this year with the joining of forces of two newly formed independent GoldWing Clubs to develop a new national structure.  It is now ready to offer the opportunity of involvement to all UK GoldWing Clubs and Wingers, whether they are also linked to other organisations or not.

The revolutionary thing about the Federation is that it is not going to try to become a ruling body, so no attempt to control or tell GoldWing Clubs or Wingers what they can and cannot do, instead it’s going to do things and make things available which will help Clubs and individual Wingers do their own thing – and to publicise them, if they wish, as a way of inviting other Wingers to join in.

So, no rules or restrictions, no costly subscriptions, just useful, reliable services and facilities, either free or at minimal cost.

The Federation’s Website has been designed to present, in simple and clear terms, what’s on offer.  It will help Wingers to find a GoldWing Club to suit their needs and it will also help a Winger to start forming a new Club if that’s what he or she wants to do.  No-one owns any territory or any rights to demand that other Wingers steer clear or should seek permission or pay for the privilege of being a recognised GoldWing Club or to run a recognised event – the Federation recognises everyone’s freedom to do their own thing, whenever and wherever they wish.

So there is a List of UK GoldWing Clubs on the Website, as many as can be found.

And an All Clubs Events Calendar to provide as comprehensive a list of GoldWing Events and Activities as possible.

Any Club or Winger can have an activity or event listed, whether they are affiliated to the Federation or not.  There are no restrictions, no password protection of information – it’s a freely available service for the whole UK GoldWing Community.

There is also an opportunities for Clubs to Affiliate to the Federation to receive additional benefits, like robust and reliable PLI insurance and a free off-the-shelf Club Website of their own.

And there’s an opportunity for individuals to become Associates of the Federation, with help to form a new Club themselves if they wish, or simply to take a more active part in this new national GoldWing umbrella organisation.

No rules, no compulsion, no exclusiveness, not even gentle coercion,  just opportunity and choice.

It’s all about freedom of choice!

The Federation of United Kindom GoldWing Clubs is sponsored by Knutsford Honda, the North West’s new full service GoldWing Specialist Dealer