BMW Owners Register vs BMW Motorcycle Club

[Anonymous]

#4544

quote author=Aslan link=topic=3257.msg17064#msg17064 date=1421115796Rightly or wrongly I do have a concern about sustainability of the Register (frankly I think the name is a turn off) and ability to attract younger 'blood' for the future.A thought that has crossed my mind from time to time as well. If you look at the top of the page you will see both, which I suspect is a requirement of BMW Clubs.For all that I am thought of in some quarters as an arch-revolutionary, I don't think it would be appropriate to ditch the "Register" in the name. It is a nod to the Club's history, and a major point of difference between BMWOR and other motorcycle clubs.I'm sure we are not the only club with diminishing membership, or ageing membership. I can see major social drivers making active participation in clubs like ours less attractive to young people. Expense, sense that the world owes them, actually doing something real takes them away from the virtual world that is their reality and on and on. For us old buzzards there is the business of trying to stretch out our savings for the balance of our time on the planet. The dollars you and I have saved won't be worth much in twenty years time, I fear.We probably need some novel thinking: get all the druggy gang members on Beemers instead of Harleys, make the marque urban cool by becoming gangsters? I have no realistic ideas. Lots of (various) sports clubs have gone to the wall in our brave new world already.

[Anonymous]

#18557

I'll uh… cautiously put my hand up (and be very prepared to put it down in case someone tries to chop it off)… I haven't joined the register :-[I kinda sorta meant to get a roundtoit (plus the likes of the President, Treasurer see me yearly  :-[ and remind me to boot ) but in the 4 years I've now owned the BMW I've managed to make 2 rides I think. Usually it's because there is something else that clashes (hell, sometimes 3 things clash with it) but I look on the forum to see if any are happening when I'm free (so if something is mentioned in the mag then naturally I'd miss it).So why haven't I joined? Well, first, what's in it for me? Most typical question I guess, seems obvious, I belong to other things. As far as I can see, only the discount on the Interislander would be much interest. The politics of the register (or simply a collection of individuals) doesn't interest me, although I do belong to IAM, attend the AGM etc, but I definitely put more time in that. Riding purely with BMWs? Nah, I don't mind what people ride. Knowledge of bike? There are too few Adventures in NZ, sites like AdvRider would be more go-to for me, and I've even contributed with some how tos.For me, I have an order of priority. Event Riding, IAM NZ, then AMCC and BMWOR sort of together (AMCC usually takes priority, depends on the BMW ride). That fills up my calendar pretty good...

[peter.trub]

#18558

I think Gremlin may have hit it on the head! Why join the register? What is our point of difference that makes us more attractive to join than other groups? It would be easy to take the moral high ground and state “What you put in is more important than what you take out”Translates vaguely to why only join something for what we can get? The answer is of course "choice"Do we have an ageing group of members or do only old people buy BMW's? If young riders are buying BMW's then what type and where are they riding them and who with?During my stint as Area Rep for Taranaki I endeavoured to provide regular and entertaining rides catering to all levels of skill and interest. Turnout was extremely low sadly. So perhaps organised rides and events are not the focus of our current members?Club vs Register? Will it make all the difference? I don't think so, Facebook? maybe.I think we need more positive and inspiring ride reports. Both in our newsletter and in this forum. I think we need a better deal as far as services and backup for all of NZ not just small pockets. Bums on bikes, that's what we need, for us to succeed we need BMW NZ to succeed!  (but I could be wrong  😉 ).

[Dave Morris]

#18559

Register is like keeping a list of bikes as clearly when the club sorry register was set up they were something a little sought after and unique. Now Thanks to BMW's marketing strategy they are about as common as a McDonald's wrapper lying on the edge of SH1. I'm 51 years old.  Been riding since I was 17 and first bike was a 1000cc Suzuki. My first BMW I bought 28 years ago while doing my O/E and did a lap of Europe.  Bough t a brand new one home and have had a ever since.  I only ride with 2 or 3 people.  I don't do groups.  To Many igit they don't have a clue.  I also only have a Airhead.  Had a Oil head but due to my style of back road exploring a Airhead is the best option for me.  Ask Richard K who has several bikes why he likes his PD so much.  It's like a magic carpet. A oil head  would get me in trouble.  Times are a changing. I still laugh at a guy who I saw with a GS with the full Monty,  gps, go pro,  BMW riding gear and it was cleaner than a Harley.  He don't know what he's missing on those gravel roads we have an abundance of. 

[Anonymous]

#18560

If you look at the top of this page, surprise, surprise, you see both terms in the title (I believe it is a requirement of BMW's that the word”Club” is there.)In practise, nowadays, it is a club.Back in the day it was necessarily a Register, so they knew what bits were required to keep them rolling: there was no dealer network. As a consequence of that level of cooperation and companionship needed to make the Register work, some very tight friendships were formed. In a club, you don't need to be reliant on other people to keep your bike running, you just drop it into the dealership, then take lots of dollars to get it back when it comes out of the recovery ward.

[Anonymous]

#18561

In a club, you don't need to be reliant on other people to keep your bike running, you just drop it into the dealership, then take lots of dollars to get it back when it comes out of the recovery ward.

And get told it has to come back for something else  ;D

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