| Author | Message | ||
     Rustyx1w |
Oh yeah, my 2 cents on the Brag chapter thing, I do not personally like dealing with Gail's, too expensive and way too far from my house, nice dealership, but not really my cup of tea. Some of the people there come across a little too self absorbed and have no interest in anything Buell for my taste. I have spent some money there since we were trying to make the Buell thing work, but I was never impressed with the attitude of most of the people I dealt with. I can internet order parts much cheaper than they sell them for and not burn a half a tank of gas driving down there from home to pick them up. | ||
| S1lightning |
Uh just a note, I 35 will be shut down tommorrow, just in case you are heading north. @ 87th street. | ||
| S2scott |
Lets just have our own meeting like we used to and have fun and lets forget about all of this stuff!! We can get away from all of the business stuff and get to riding and having fun. | ||
| Hanses25 |
I'm with Scott, Thursday nights at the Other place. | ||
| Zhdman |
Beer's, burger's, buddy's, & burnout's, just the way GOD wanted it. (If you would like to sub wheelie's for burnout's fine, I was on a "B" roll.)     (Message edited by Zhdman on May 01, 2005) | ||
| Dustyjacket |
"B"alancing ? | ||
| Dustyjacket |
'twould be a bad idea for folks to abandon the local BRAG at Gail's IMHO. We need everyone's opinions and help at this time, even if it is frustrating to you. [EDITED] Oh heck! I'm just the new guy. I don't know what all the issues are, so I guess I am just typing foolishness. Never mind..... ignore me. (Message edited by dustyjacket on May 01, 2005) | ||
| Thansesxb9rs |
I think that having the club just be the KC MOB again would be a great idea, I just want to ride and hangout with my new friends, who cares if a dealer backs us, I vote that we just go back to a non dealer affilated club, then we might get two of our old members back. FRANK and ZEUS | ||
| Kccyclone |
 I would love to just hang out B.S. and ride. I'm in for that. | ||
| Thansesxb9rs |
Paul, did you get your tires mounted, what do you think? | ||
| S1lightning |
Well I must say, we are a quick bunch to jump at a bark!! I will also tell you it's REAL HARD to get a good bunch like you all. Just remember, getting your parts and stuff on-line don't cut it when it comes to getting a new model when it is presented later this year. I mean in the past we always had Central to buy new, now they bailed as a Buell Rep., then all you have left (locally that is) is Gails. If we all do jump ship you will ALWAYS have to pay Retail +. On the other hand if you all show once in a while and represent Buell as a bike company you want to, then it leaves a road to shape to make your own. In other words: You cant fuch em if you leave em!!! Also I know a few riders who worked hard and strived to get this club where it is. Hey! its a free world! Do what you have to, just remember why you left. That one really good reason? what was it again?? Don't bother to reply to my post for I am pulling the plug on this bullshiit site where you all cry! I won't be reading it! Have a nice day all! | ||
| Richieg150 |
How many of you were part of the original handful that started the KCMOB,I think there were about 5 committed riders back then.Kinda like now,many said they were part of it but seldom if ever showed up.?Bill had an idea to get a BRAG Chapter going,we all were for it.Just like in boating,sometimes the seas are calm sometimes they are rough.If your out in the boat,you cant jump,you have to struggle thru it.You guys can get together and ride,thats cool,but its not the KCMOB,the KCMOB has tried to get a BUELL CHAPTER going,and I for 1 am not going to jump ship just because of things said,feelings hurt,appologizies not given,bad attitudes or whatever reason there is.We know the HOG guys don't like us being around because we are stealing their thunder,so dont expect ANYTHING from them positive in anyway,that way you wont be disappointed,and if they do ANYTHING positive it will be a surprise.I knew it was going to be a hard road when we started this thing,and I'm in it for the long haul,as I hope most of you are too.If you go back in the archives,you may find those jumping ship were full of negativity from day 1,so its really no surprise anything going wrong would cause them to give up.Im not the only person who feels this way,just like I'm not the only person wanting to quit,but I'm the one posting.Hey,if most of you guys quit the Brag Group,it will survive.What we need are people COMMITTED to making this thing work.It reminds me of the Caribue as they head north,the first ones to die are the weak and sickly.You guys who quit,I will miss you,but each has to make their own decesion. | ||
| Richieg150 |
Is there anyone else out there thats COMMITTED to trying to make this Brag Club work,it would be nice to read somebody else thats wanting to see this thru other than people wanting to quit or quitting. | ||
| Keef |
I know I'm not the one you wanna' hear from Richie but I'm still here....  | ||
| Dustyjacket |
I'm not one of the old bunch, but I've made my position clear in earlier posts. Since I don't have the "baggage" the rest of you have, it is easy for me to continue going forward with this club. I'll assume no one wants to try the quick ride to Fort Osage that I suggested earlier. (The post has been archived now.) So, where do y'all ride to? And do what when you get there, and back? | ||
| Richieg150 |
Dusty I will ride with you to the fort.But I'm working on installing plumbing on this HUGE house for the next couple of weekends.I have never been the the fort myself. | ||
| Dustyjacket |
Great, That will give me time to get the bike beyond it 500 mile break in, so I can go over 55. I was nearby there a year ago finding a geocache, and always wanted to return when it was open. | ||
| Tripper |
Hey Digger, I was just in Miami on my way to BRAZIL!!!     | ||
| Dasbuell |
I had intended to step back and stay totally away from all this... BUT I can't! Forgive me for this... "Hey! its a free world! Do what you have to, just remember why you left. That one really good reason? what was it again??" It is about the following for me... 1. Not being treated and talked with respect, it being a two way street, to get it they must give it... I got SOOOOOOOO tired of being talked down to like a child... or a HOG member! 2. It is about being good for your word. If you are not good for your word, then is your word of any value? Not Worth sh itt! (no pun intended) Basically saying whatever it took during a request, issue, or complaint conversation to appease... and later seeing it was only lip service! 3. It is about manipulation... of situations and of those that are stand up people and are wanting to do the right thing. There are a pile of hats and then of sling bags... and rather then give them out as Buell intended, a statement is made... "Wouldn't you rather someone who comes for a test ride who is not a club member have a chance at getting a hat/sling bag... wouldn't you give up your hat/bag for that?" The response is predictable with one thinking "Hey I wanna do good, I will give up my hat/bag for another." MANIPULATION... plain and simple! 4. "Would it be possible for me to get a bag too?" (Since I helped at the demo ride). "No, your dad will give you his!" (In a less than pleasant tone of voice. He should be glad I did not hear that instead of Sharon!) 5. It's about "We are working on that." and at the end of FOUR months... nothing has been accomplished! Did I say four months??? See number 2 above! 6. It's about being told there would be stuff to have in a drawing at meetings... and after the second meeting nothing was provided. That is why I started donating stuff for the drawings. If you are going to do it... do it! But if you say you are going to do it and you don't stay true to your word. What is your word Worth? Another broken promise! 7. It is about having every concession towards what was agreed to in the negotiations treated like they were doing the club a favor. 8. It is about seeing good people come and give their time to make the demo ride successful... and watching someone berate those people for asking about sling bags and being told not to let anyone see them with a sling bag they should not have ask for... in his point of view. Then seeing the factory demo team perplexed about the dealership not wanting to give out the sling bags, and it being made a big issue with the club volunteers! 9. Having dealings with the dealership where it seemed like the club was to serve the dealership... unpaid employees for dealer events. I am all for this being a two way street... but from my dealings and observations after four months the street did not shift to our direction. I had several emails asking for the BRAG group to come to HOG/dealer events and help... working the food line, etc. 10. They talked the talk... but could never walk the walk! 11. It was about all the internal resistance to the Buell line. No actual commitment to the Buell line by many of the rank and file. After being told how excited the dealership was about being the exclusive Buell dealer in the area. Can you say monopoly? You now HAVE to do your Buell business here! 12. It was about being insulated from Gail... No matter what... I was kept away from Gail. Say anything... do anything to handle a subject without getting Gail involved. It seemed whatever needed was said... to keep Gail out of the equation. During negotiations and when dealing with club issues... not once was Gail involved. Especially when I asked to meet with Gail on a subject. The only time she talked to me was at the one meeting she attended. And "someone" almost got spastic when Gail did not get the royal treatment of getting first words at the meeting. I got pulled aside and told... Dennis, you need to let Gail talk to the club! I had already had Gail address the club, he missed it and he got spastic thinking "her highness" was not given due respect by her subjects! 13. Then when I try to address that the turn out for the demo ride was a missed opportunity due to poor advertising... and not reaching out to the sport bike clubs... I get berated for not maintaining and talking the company line like I am supposed to be loyal to the dealership before any loyalty to the club. I get this rhetoric about Slacker did not have to mention Buell if he did not want to in the radio spots about the demo day... and how they mailed stuff out to the HOG club about the Buell demo! Does anyone really think Buells are marketed to the HOG bunch? What a waste of money and a missed opportunity! 14. AND...basically being told I could not voice/post my personal opinions on the badweb, if they were not positive toward the dealership. Like they owned and controlled me. As my job was to represent the dealership and not the membership! Sorry, But I have problems just narrowing it down to one! I guess I •••• ed up again... I was only supposed to remember one good reason! Ok... be hate full now and tell me how wrong I am! This ain't the half of it over the last four months! I have made my decision... and on more than one really good reason! (Message edited by dasbuell on May 02, 2005) | ||
| Dasbuell |
Put your money where your mouth is... Show up for the next dealer event wearing your Buell shirt while you flip hamburgers and roll hot dogs for the HOG bunch! That's what Buell BRAG membership is all about... serving the dealership!!!!!! | ||
| Gravedigger |
Tripper now I am really confused???? Keith p.s. Did anybody meet up with Racerboy??? | ||
| Dustyjacket |
Das - I wonder if the "her highness" syndrome of the other dealership employees comes from Gail, or was created by the employees themselves. I've never had a conversation with Gail. The most has been "how is it going ?" from her when she came by registration 2 or 3 times during the demos. However, from the fact that she usually sits at a desk on the sales floor, and is always moving about the dealership, I can make some assumptions that I HOPE are true. The reason I mention this, is when I worked at McDonnell Douglas (11 years, less 8 months active duty overseas), I found people treated John McDonnell in the same way - like royalty that you don't want to bother, or even look him directly in the eye. I had breakfast with the man one day. He was nice. He was honest from what I could see. He didn't mislead me - he spoke plainly and truthfully. He was a normal guy, but with an important job that gave him a little attitude. I took him to task about the treatment of employees who were National Guard members in Colorado which was different than those in Missouri. He explained the reasons, and no one flayed the skin off my back or fired me. It turns out that most (not all) of the attitude I was seeing was generated by upper management, not by John. (Of course, it may have been over reaction to earlier incidents. One thing I learned from the man is that you have to be honest, and you have to admit it when you make a mistake. A lot of people, especially execs, cannot be that way.) I found people close to John liked to create that aura or image to make themselves look important. So, I wonder if what you were seeing has trickled down from Gail, or was generated by other employees and maybe she is unaware of it. And maybe some of the other things. ( I know. I may be looking at things through rose colored glasses. I am probably very wrong on all of this. I am probably over compensating from 12 years of not trusting anyone other than the officer you are working with. ) All the more reason for me to have a conversation with Gail some day. | ||
| Hanses25 |
Hey Dennis call DaveS up he will be more than happy to hook your boy up with a sling bag. | ||
| Dtx |
I rode the infamous HWY BB, which is south of Warrensburg, MO this weekend. Pretty cool! It wasn't as long as I thought it would be, though. Only about 5 miles long. Lots of good curves and bugs! | ||
| Dtx |
Dusty, The city X is probably the most comfortable XB you can buy off the show room floor, due to the high bars, lower pegs and higher seat. I rode to Warrensburg and back with no complaints. By the way I have already put 2600 miles on it this year! | ||
| Dustyjacket |
Dtx - sounds good. How was the wind? The more I look at it the better it looks. But, photos can be deceiving. I need to ride the beast at the next demo days. Now, all I have to do is see if Buell comes out with new models next month. I originally thought I wanted to move up to a Harley, and could afford only the basic Sportster ($6,400 at the time) Then, I targeted the XL883R ($6,900). Unfortunately, the H-D salesman told me a few things about power and weight and got me into the 1200 series and then into the Custom, which brings me up to and over my spending limit ($10,000). And it is the "basic" Harley, and looked down on as a "girl's bike." Then he started saying I needed a Dyna, which is something like two times my budget. That got me looking into why I wanted a Harley, and what I could get for what amount of money, and it all boiled down to overspending to buy some sort of "image" or maybe "comfort". Spending $10,000 for some kind of image is a stupid thing for me to do. So, the only argument is comfort. I really like the whole Buell "thing" and would rather find a Buell I can ride for a day most times, or three days at the most. My 2-up requirement might be not necessary now that my wife wants the Blast for her own. I would say the possibility of me getting a Sportster when I "move up" is dwindling. Maybe I am growing up.... or at least shaking off the hype and looking at facts and "real" reasons...... (Message edited by dustyjacket on May 02, 2005) | ||
| Dasbuell |
Dusty... That is EXACTLY my point. In four months I could never find where this came from. I would see her "working the crowd" and always moving, but it appeared that there was little chance of anything other than a "hi" and a few words, by anyone! When I spoke of a meeting between the club, sales, employee relations, and Gail... the conversation was moved all around the reasons for the meeting in what seemed to be a concerted effort to not have Gail included. I am not just talking about this one instance surrounding the demo day. I am talking from day one in the club negotiations to have the dealership sponsor our group. Hanses25... I gave the sling bag I was not supposed to ask for or let anyone see to my son. Please do not think the issue is the sling bag in this case. The issue was the comment, how it was worded and the tone of voice and demeanor of how it was spoken. Those members that have met my son know that Scott is very polite and probably more mature than me! So no one should think the "teenager attitude" should be factored in. Plus... I am not just taking Scott's word on this, Sharon heard the exchange between them. Trust me... had Scott been disrespectful or acted or said anything inappropriate... I would be all over that and he would be the one giving an apology! "Original" Mobber... Once again I have to concede to the knowledge of another... I am not one of the ORIGINAL KC Mob members. So I guess I have no standing in this. Go back and check the archives... you WILL see I was one of the more out spoken. I guess it could be looked at two ways. One... I was "negative" from the beginning... OR I had formed an intelligent opinion that over time proved to be correct! I must add that there were comments that were "negative" from some of the "Original" KC Mob members too. If ANYONE wants to say I did not work hard... that I did not have an open mind... that I went into to this expecting it all to fail... that I wasted my time every Saturday touching base with the dealership... or that I did not put a total effort to try and make this good for the club. SPEAK UP! Am I being told that since I am not an "original" KC Mob member I have no right to speak? How about the others? Do they have no right since they are not "original" members? I thought when someone rode with the Mob... that from the very first ride... you were considered a "Mobber". I guess I never earned that consideration. Let me toss one more wrench into the mix. Assuming the "Original" Mobbers and those late comers want to break ties with the dealership. Who wants to bet the money in the club treasury becomes an issue? That it belongs to "Gail's American Heartland BRAG" and not the KC Mob... no matter who holds the cash. I started to say we, but since I am not an "Original" Mobber I guess I can't say we. The KC Mob arrived at Gail's with a considerable balance in the club treasury. Expect someone to snag the club funds... not just dues collected since January 1st, all the club funds! Since I am not an "Original" Mobber I guess I better get out of their tread here on the badweb! | ||
| Gowindward |
5460 miles since the January meeting. It was raining Thursday morning when we left KC and it was snowing in Wisconsin when we left there yesterday morning. Can anyone say Gerbing!  That stuff is the best!! | ||
| Dustyjacket |
One thing Gail's H-D should do is: Have a link to national BRAG (like they have for National HOG) and have a local BRAG chapter web page (like they have for the local HOG chapter). Some day we might even have a newsletter, or maybe not. If so, It should be on the web site, as well. If the local BRAG chapter is there and is a selling point for Buell Sales, they need to publicize it like their HOG chapter. (I've checked other H-D/Buell dealers, and their web pages ignore their BRAG ties as well.) | ||
| Sweetp411 |
Damn Loren, riding int he SNOW? You are an animal. We'll have to start a polar bear Buell group for people such as yourself  . You wouldn't catch me ridin in the snow. |
