| Author | Message | ||
     Cataract2 |
Well, my dealer just got a new marketing director who seems very energetic and willing to help out in starting a BRAG group. She has told me both her and the owner wish to start one, but they are both in the black about what the group would need. She asked me to write out a paper on what the club could offer as in rides, events, meetings, etc. I know that you can't run a BRAG group like the HOG group. I was wondering from those who are in charge of a BRAG club. How exactly do you run yours? How do you setup the rides? What do you offer that brings people to you? | ||
| Daves |
Keep it low key. Invite all brands to ride with you(some will convert,trust me) Do a couple rides per month Track days are good for those that want to take their riding to the next level. Keep the rides organized and the pace comfortable for everyone, it's not a race. Have a no alcohol on rides rule Encourage full gear Have fun Keep meetings informal and short | ||
| Twowheeldream |
Cataract2.... what dealership? Ive been tossing up joining a brag club. lemme know. Going out for the Lakeland breakfast ride in the morning... will be my first group ride, looking forward to it. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Sounds like great advice Dave, I am trying to find out if there is enough interest in a BRAG club here in mid-Missouri. I would be willing to get the ball rolling and approach Mid-America H/D-Buell about sponsorship IF I can get people interested. Sorry, not trying to hi-jack the thread. | ||
| Cataract2 |
TWD, Space Coast HD. | ||
| Twowheeldream |
cool... forgot that you were out on the coast. anyone know if there is an Orlando chapter? | ||
| Tramp |
don't act like HOG members. | ||
| Jon |
Tramp, Boy you ain't kidding with that remark. I wouldn't bring my wife around a HOG meeting, but I have no reservations about Buellers. Everyone I have met in the Buell community has been great company. | ||
| Bomber |
some distant family members are HOG members as well -- when presnet at b'day celebrations and the like, they all stand off to the side, refuse to even speak to anyone without a pin-studded vest (they may grunt at ya while turning their backs and walking away), and generally act like, er, folks you would't want at a family gathering -- they wanted to know who rode the "Jap Crap," pointing at my M2 and wife's Bonnie -- while arm-chair Chuck Yeagers may be an annoyance, arm-chair Sonny Bargers are just silly -- sad, really I figure they were all members of the AV club in high school, got beat up by the greasers during gym class, and are now in a position to belong to a club whose main purpose is to keep others out which points out Daves sterling advice -- the more inclusive and welcoming an organization, the more fun | ||
| Tramp |
bomber, thanks. thanks a lot. i've wet me-se'f and me computer chair. 'armchair sonny bargers'.... oh, my. "..av club...beat up by greasers.." double 'oh my'. you gotta love these roger corman buffs.... ..at bike shows, when i'd sell t-shirts w/the local 81,, these hogs would swagger around like a bad "william smith impersonators' convention", until they passed the booth, then they gave this wide berth in eerie franciscan silence, as if there were public disembowelment being carried out right on the t-shirt table. what would be so heinous about stopping over to talk about the bikes in the show, or the broad...er...the "females" enthusiastically displaying wholesome mammi whilst trying shirts on? strange bunch, those hoggers. hey- even ned beatty was a hog for few minutes.... (career-killing roles for 200, alex) | ||
| Bomber |
Tramp -- I'm told that club soda will get the stains outa the chair -- soak the jeans in used 50wt (dino-based, natch) and none will be the wiser | ||
| Outrider |
What is the movie "Deliverance." | ||
| Tramp |
i'd add to all of this, however, i feel a little wrong for disparaging any motorcycle-based organization.... ...even those that traffic viagra | ||
| Bomber |
yeah, me too, but then I'm not altogether sure its a mc org -- | ||
| Road_thing |
...wheeze, snort, sniffle... ...just catchin' my breath here...you guys are killing me... Just for the record, I HAD a pair of jeans soaked in used 50wt. When I wore 'em in the house, it certainly made a difference to Madame Thing... ...and the Viagra? Well, remind me to tell you... rt | ||
| Gomo |
Have been involved with both HOG and BRAG, I can tell you that there is a big difference. HOG groups like to make an event out of their rides. "Where are we eating for lunch" seems to dictate the route and on the way home, nothing makes a group of chromers do a u-turn like a neon ice cream cone in the store front. A 200-250 mile day on state roads is hard core. They do little to improve their riding skills and feel that if they ride 30-45mph for the past couple of years without an incident, they are "safe" riders - better to say they're lucky. BRAG members have to be told to eat something, they are so involved with their ride they forget about food. Fine dining for a brag member on a ride is a clean hotdog truck. 200-250 miles on state roads is a morning run and they look for more roads to hit in the afternoon. Buell riders take pride their riding skills and always seem to want to improve them - whether track or street. HOG is a social club of Harley owners. Not a bad thing, it works for them. BRAG is a club of Buell RIDERS - now that's a cool thing. Ryan do as Daves suggested, the same basic format work for our club. Just know that you may be starting with small numbers (members) and it may take a while to grow. As for me, I enjoy the small groups; we ride better, safer, and cover more distance. | ||
| Tramp |
well...gomo arigato, mr. roboto..... but seriosuly- isn't there more dignity and independence in having a charter of a non-factory-run club to ride with, as opposed to limitring youself to a factory owners' group? there are some inauspicious Buell clubs out there, trying to grow, whom might have more to offer... | ||
| Gomo |
The advantage of the factory base club, at least with Buells, is it gives a point of contact for those of us that are not on boards to meet. Although my schedule has not permitted me so far to meet those that have written here, but I know that there are a few of us around the area. If you have a Buell rider that doesn't, or can't, go on Buell based message boards, his/her only way of meeting other Buell riders would be by chance - either on the road or at a dealership. There are one or two things I do not like about the corporate approach, but that would be more towards the HOG side than BRAG. Yes I know that they work with more or less the same "rules", but at least with the BRAG clubs you get folks you can deal with and know that they are there for the same reason you are - and the dessert menu isn't one of them. I have been spending less and less time with the HOG chapter I was very involved with (I have only done two rides with them in the past 1 1/2yrs). At one point I was Director as well as various other position, but I have found being involved with a BRAG club more to my liking as far as personalities, riding styles, conversations, etc. So, while some may not care for a organization that has some guiding rules, I consider BRAG clubs as a great way to meet more folks that are riding Buells for the same reason as I do. Besides, most of the clubs I have read about or have had contact with (phone, email, etc) are very casual with their approach to a club and welcome other brand riders just the same. Almost like a informal group with a corporate name. | ||
| Tramp |
i'm sure they're great, but, of course, people who ride buells who don't have access to boards have to be an extremely rare breed. i tend to think that clubs operating independently of the factory might afford members more freedoms. i'm sure the factory isn't terribly restrictive, but factory-owners' groups just seem so pedestrian and open-membership. some selectivity on the part of an independent club could make for safer rides and fewer rules... | ||
| Gomo |
i'm sure the factory isn't terribly restrictive, but factory-owners' groups just seem so pedestrian and open-membership. True, but if there was a group of people that were all like me - due to selection...... that could be scary. | ||
| Tramp |
or me.... nice point! |
