GWRRA - restructuring

GoldWingrGreg · Jul 17, 2017

I just heard that GWRRA is restructuring. Apparently they are doing away with regions and region staff (example Region A = MS, AL, GA, SC and FL). The emphasis will be on riding and fun, and less on paperwork and reports. Membership has dropped from 80k to 60k. A chapter directer is no longer suppose to stand up in front of a chapter meeting and run it like a business. I think I heard no more district educators too.

Sidecarbill · Jul 17, 2017

They lost me years ago. Guy said, I know the new ones are expensive, but if you keep savin you'll eventually be able to get a shiney new one like everyone else has. This was the head guy at the time. I guess it never occurred to him that I actually liked my old unworthy bike.

05goldwing · Jul 17, 2017

I think this is a good move ,been a member since 2003 .Always said ride more talk less.:clapping:

mhgoldwing · Jul 17, 2017

I'm surprised they still have 60K. Quit them years ago; too many rules and regulations followed by paperwork, and too few quality rides. Our chapter was extremely cliquish and made it hard for newcomers to feel welcome. GWRRA is a for profit business. I hope these changes help them improve.

FRR · Jul 17, 2017

mhgoldwing said:
I'm surprised they still have 60K. Quit them years ago; too many rules and regulations followed by paperwork, and too few quality rides. Our chapter was extremely cliquish and made it hard for newcomers to feel welcome. GWRRA is a for profit business. I hope these changes help them improve.

I agree with you 100%. Same thing up here. I dropped out many years ago because of the small groups and cliques and the infighting within the group. It was the same thing with HOG here, only worse. It always has been a profit organization to make the owners money and I too am surprised they still have 60K. I've got a close friend who has stayed active for many years and I'll get his take of the changes. Thanks for the info.

paws · Jul 17, 2017

FRR said:
I agree with you 100%. Same thing up here. I dropped out many years ago because of the small groups and cliques and the infighting within the group. It was the same thing with HOG here, only worse. It always has been a profit organization to make the owners money and I too am surprised they still have 60K. I've got a close friend who has stayed active for many years and I'll get his take of the changes. Thanks for the info.

Experienced the same clique mess with our local GWRRA....plus they did not have a high opinion of trikes. We never actually joined as we were very put off with the 3 meetings we attended.

GoldWingrGreg · Jul 18, 2017

For me I am still a member, but I too rarely ride with them. I've known other who have tried joining the chapter and leave because of the clicks and not feeling welcome. I have problems with all the politics and favoritism and am waiting for the leadership to change.

bikerbillone · Jul 18, 2017

Sounds like they recognize the problem and are trying to correct it. I didn't renew this year, but may rejoin, the only advantage as I see it is reading the magazine once a month, at $45, that's an expensive magazine. Living in Lakeland, I hear there's a very good GWRRA Chapter, the Fireballs, and will probably join up and make some riding friends. Having recently move here, it takes time to get settled.

Hot Rod 1 · Jul 18, 2017

I'm a GWRRA Life Member. We participated in a another local chapter 20 years ago but found due to my job as a local truck driver we were unable to attend many of their events. We enjoyed riding by ourselves. Since retiring 8 years ago we started participating with another local chapter where we have made many friends. This past weekend we attended The Utica, NY "Ride For Kids". We had 19 members (9 trikes & 1 bike. But like many other chapters member participation is down . The majority of our members are retired and have or are making the change to a trike. The 1 bike in our group Sunday currently has a Motor Trike Razor Kit on order. We are having trouble recruiting younger members and having some our current members step up for officer positions.

05goldwing · Jul 18, 2017

Younger crowd is into the Harley craze and think GWRRA is for older people,I was 45 when I joined GWRRA.Have rode motorcycles most of my life and enjoy the Goldwing ,great machine.Hard to get younger people in GWRRA.They laugh at the animals on the back of goldwings and say all we do is ride to DQ for ice cream.

Bronson512 · Jul 18, 2017

The GWRRA isn't for everyone no club, or organization is. I have belonged since 1994. I have been on a few dinner rides but have never been on a weekend ride. Do I like every member in my chapter??? I certainly don't dislike them but there are some I get along with better than others. Why haven't I been more of an active part of the chapter? My career and the meeting date clashed and the rides were scheduled on the weekend and I worked every weekend plus Holidays.

BUT I stayed strong and loyal with the GWRRA as I enjoy the magazine and I know they have had some input in the Gold Wing. Most Gold Wing gathering and organized events are a part of the GWRRA which benefits us all.

If you stretch it the GWRRA is somewhat liking to the NRA. Do you believe in everything they do and every direction they take.........Probably not but but our destination is the same. Thus I guess I'm in both of them for the long haul.

Proud Life member of GWRRA and the NRA.

Tointon · Jul 18, 2017

tointon

05goldwing said:
Younger crowd is into the Harley craze and think GWRRA is for older people,I was 45 when I joined GWRRA.Have rode motorcycles most of my life and enjoy the Goldwing ,great machine.Hard to get younger people in GWRRA.They laugh at the animals on the back of goldwings and say all we do is ride to DQ for ice cream.

That's better then riding from bar to bar then getting on the bike. DUMB!

Dockem · Jul 18, 2017

There is definitely a different crowd found in some rides:

Annual Poker Run (honoring cancer victims) yesterday. I hadn't ridden in it for a coupla years. Wanted to see some of the guys that I rode with when my friend Bob was alive. About 100 bikes showed up.

At the start at the local Eagles hall, coupla guys drinking beer. Next stop at another Eagles about 30 miles away, more beer and lunch. 3rd stop/another 30 miles, more beer. (Guy I knew was on his 5th beer). Riding to the 4th stop, I noticed the road speed of the group had increased considerably.

At that point, I had had enough sun and fun and turned off before the bar stop and headed for home. The group was going to make a 5th stop at another bar.

Got a good sun burn, good to see some friends, but I worry about that large a group and all the beer consumption. The speed increase was an indication the beer was having effect.

About 8 years back, they had had back to back years of fatalities after the event ended. Guys getting plastered and trying to ride home. Not worth it.

To each his own, but I'd rather ride for Ice cream. Save the beer for home or the hotel after the ride. When I rode my Valkyrie I/S to rallies, nobody was drinking before or during a ride. But there was plenty of "spirit" after the bikes were parked for the night.

PS: Had to laugh one time when they held a Poker Run that was a whopping 150 miles total and the bandana crowd was belly-aching about how long it was. The local GWRRA chapter routinely does 3-400 mile rides in one day and overnighters that are much longer.

paid4c4 · Jul 18, 2017

I joined the local Chapter last year and enjoy the ice cream rides and have just completed an over nighter with a group of 22. The meetings could be cut in half with fewer reports on stuff no one wants to hear. Perhaps the new changes will work for the orginazations benefit.

Bill

Burnerboy · Jul 20, 2017

I also went on one of those "thunder noise" rides,, the ride started out at a bar, (at 10:00 these guys were pounding down beers) and at every stop, all they had was keg's of beer, and these fools were pounding down more and more drinks... At these stops, burn outs were very common (seen more tip over's) then the insults about me and wife riding a Goldwing trike coming on, then another accident happened, two bikes collided into each other.... I WAS DONE: Screw that meal at the end of the ride, we just turned and headed, out on a nice realizing ride... You can keep your loud, obnoxious, POS Harley , it was over 80deg's that day, and they all were wearing leather jackets, chaps, bandannas, all looked like Bozo's in costumes.. The noise was unbelievable, can't Harley make a quiet bike??

"sorry to insult anyone here" But you know who you are, so if I did insult you, your bike is way too loud!! Nope! No more clown rides, for me....

By the way: I love my beer! I love to get high, been riding all kinds of motorcycles, for over 51 years old, so I'm far from being a prude here...ENJOY!

Ronnie

Sidecarbill · Jul 20, 2017

POS ? I guess you mean previously owned shovelhead? Yes I have one, previously owned by a friend of mine. Love it so yes I'll keep it. I think a few people feel like you. Of course you'll find assholes on every type of bike.

Ozarkryder · Jul 20, 2017

Note manufactures' groups like HOG, GWRRA, Spyder Ryder of America, etc. Check out motorcycle clubs, riding clubs, motorcycle ministries and such. Attend a rally (especially smaller local rallies), dinner ride, poker run or charity ride. Look around at the AMA, MRF, ABATE and other rights groups. You'll notice that there is a lot gray hair and wrinkles in the membership - a common factor in all of these seems to be age.

Younger folks, and of course there are exceptions, don't seem to get into organized groups. They don't want to attend meetings, long planning sessions, regimented events. If they want to set up a ride, they text, tweet or whatever, "meet at this place at this time and we ride".

Post- baby boomers don't like structured, hierarchical organizations and ordered, standardized events. With social media, instant communication by voice or data and that most everybody has a phone/computer/camera/data device they are used to having a more fluid, less structured lifestyle.

A riding friend is in his late 20's. To him meetings and over-organization are old people. Young people get on their devices, make contact and go.

Hot Rod 1 · Jul 20, 2017

Burnerboy said:
I also went on one of those "thunder noise" rides,, the ride started out at a bar, (at 10:00 these guys were pounding down beers) and at every stop, all they had was keg's of beer, and these fools were pounding down more and more drinks... At these stops, burn outs were very common (seen more tip over's) then the insults about me and wife riding a Goldwing trike coming on, then another accident happened, two bikes collided into each other.... I WAS DONE: Screw that meal at the end of the ride, we just turned and headed, out on a nice realizing ride... You can keep your loud, obnoxious, POS Harley , it was over 80deg's that day, and they all were wearing leather jackets, chaps, bandannas, all looked like Bozo's in costumes.. The noise was unbelievable, can't Harley make a quiet bike??

"sorry to insult anyone here" But you know who you are, so if I did insult you, your bike is way too loud!! Nope! No more clown rides, for me....

By the way: I love my beer! I love to get high, been riding all kinds of motorcycles, for over 51 years old, so I'm far from being a prude here...ENJOY!

Ronnie

:OffTopic:

I think that the direction this thread is going is not what the original poster had in mind . It had to do with the restructuring of GWRRA . So brand bashing of our fellow members of this forum should not be allowed. I for one I have friends that ride all different brands of motorcycles. I've never had trouble striking up a converstion with a rider of a different brand other than my own at a rest stop, rally or any bike event I attend. If you chose to attend a charity ride that began and ended at a bar, what did you expect?

Sidecarbill · Jul 20, 2017

Yes agreed. My apologies for derailing the thread.

Tricycleman · Jul 20, 2017

Make your own group

I used to be a past member of GWRRA years ago but gave it up for a lot of reasons stated here . I found out that get four or five couples that you get along with great that have bike and or trike plan your own trips several during the season some can come some can't don't need no club or organization to enjoy a great ride with friends.

Been riding for 43 plus years and I can say that you'll never meet a friendlier person than a biker. Never really been hassled by a Harley owner that I'm riding a Goldwing trike but trust me I have plenty of ammunition to come back with when it does occur. One of my best comebacks is why rides coach when you can ride first class.