belfastguzzi

Experiment concluded. I've closed the various sub-forums and just left it as a noticeboard function for N.I. meetings and events (which may or may not happen in the future). Thanks for the discussion folks, there were good points made and I have some food for further thought.

Do you know what a tea towel is?

I think that the cost of travel on a continental meeting will become more and more of a difficulty, because of the budget needed for both long road distance and ferries (4 crossings for me). Petrol here is £1.40 / €1.63 for a litre and they say that it could double soon. I suppose that ferries will also become more expensive because of fuel costs. I have already said that I can't think of a continental trip this year, especially not in September, as my daughter is getting married in September and son/daughter-in-law are expecting a baby at the same time, plus other family circumstances. However I am even wondering about the cost of a UK trip. It is not clear what is being considered for a UK V11 meet this year, though Scottish highlands have been mentioned: even the cost of that, including ferry, could be quite scary soon.

Centro Italia – bello!

I didn't expect an academic study angle – excellent! I'll be pleased to have more observations and contributions (lengthy). The question posed, is also interesting. The answer is, I guess, no. If I came back, it would be because of friendships that have been created through the forum – and I do regard a number of people here as friends – but the overall context wouldn't be relevant and I probably wouldn't want to be reminded of it or be diverted by it. The selling of the Guzzi would mean that I had moved to other priorities, so I wouldn't want to come back to the forum, as such. KB- The problem is that there is opportunity to meet – but not ample structure or even motivation to make it happen. My quest is, can the creation of some simple structure be effective in making something of the local opportunity and in creating/encouraging motivation? I agree that Facebook could be the best means of having a local noticeboard and contact point. It would have been my first choice, definitely. However the guys here aren't on Facebook and don't even use email much! A local web-board seems to me to be the best tool for communication: it is not as scary for people (old people, LOL) as having to join Facebook and while web forums still require 'membership'/sign-on in order to contribute, it is quite easy and accessible – and the forum can be set to be visible to everyone even if they don't sign-in. The only effort that they need to make is to type in or click on the web address. Well it was going to be uphill from the start and although it's only been a short experiment, outside of the main riding season when people are more active, I conclude that it's fighting a losing battle. I'll keep a cut-down board as a noticeboard for info when people start riding again – and go back to just emailing people in the hope of some small immediate response. I can't help feeling that all this is also a reflection of Guzzi not having the product to gain a new and growing customer base. The guys who are on local forums and Facebook, who are meeting-up and riding: they're not out on Guzzis.

Or take a bike?

qUesTioNs, QuEstIoNs, questIOns!.....?

We made something. We're feeding the hamsters up on Belfast Baps and sausage sodas (not American meaning of soda). Road trials next week.

The 2 Hamster Power Eco Car is coming along rightly. Will get it out for road trials next week

While I agree that Baldini's statement is true and well made, it is referring to a different thing than my query. Kind of a chalk forum and a cheese forum. This V11 forum, by intention, is an international forum with an international core community, so indeed, 'Membership here [is not] limited to, or by, a single attitude, or geographical location: its scope is [wide-ranging]'. Yes: the primary base for this forum is the WW Guzzi Web. What I'm commenting on & asking about is the difficulty of creating a focus that is VERY limited by constraints of geographical location and a very small range of potential community members: a forum, a means of communication, that is intentionally about the actual geographical base and has the intention of enabling actual meeting together of people, rather than primarily being a virtual community. And my question is, will a local forum be a useful tool to provide this focus? Or would it serve better to just have an online notice-board and leave it at that? I'm saying that it's worth trying something, because I don't know the answer (yet) but I'd be very glad to hear from other people & places about ways and means that have worked in their locality. Yes, we can ride the rest of our days and never meet another Guzzi rider or another motorcyclist of any type and we can enjoy the lone experience, however, number one – we agree that a virtual forum is good not just for getting tech facts to sustain our lone rider-machine hobby, but for providing a means of being connected to a broad ww shared-interest community, with all that it provides in addition to facts and figures and number two – we probably mostly agree that our forum-community experience is greatly enhanced and enriched by actual real-life meeting together on occasion, maybe annually (more or less) and number three) I contend that personal enthusiasm is facilitated and enhanced by meeting to share experience and enthusiasm (particularly when it's a quirky minority marque like MG) – with compatriots. A very, very simple but real example of benefit is that when you are very busy all the time, making plans with other people and getting dates in a diary provides incentive and a mechanism to ensure that you actually get out for a decent run on the bike: instead of that activity getting pushed out by the great multitude of other pressing and competing demands on time. So, how to help make number 3 (above) happen? For me, the 'Ulster' Guzzi meets were a first go – and were successful. Then arranging a monthly meet was a second step – less successful, but still hanging on to life. So now the question is, how to encourage and facilitate that (monthly) meeting? Hence the particular question, 'To Forum (locally) or not To Forum (locally)?' I suspect that the answer will be that there are not enough people here to make the efforts to develop an infrastructure worthwhile – and the best that will be achieved is just a very casual meeting from time to time. Still, it would be great to hear from others about their neck of the woods and how they structure and support meetings, events and ride-outs, or as in this forum title, Meetings, Clubs & Events. (Thanks Jim, for yours, from the frozen northlands.)

Carl Allison's thread: potential problem of broken/shorting wire

I'll put a link to this in the New Models section of the forum. There was a similar sort of issue with the Griso, where the +ve wire from the alternator was set straight up against the fuel tank. When I spotted it, the insulation was completely worn through to the bare live wire.

I think it's not snowing anymmore there in N.I. Go out and get a ride David! Hi Antonio, I can do that ok the issue here is about: is it worth trying to enable a local 'community' to get together, meet-up, organise a few rides... weekends etc? It's certainly easier not to try and to just carry on as 'lone Guzzi'. In that case, might as well be 'lone Aprilia' – and for sure I'm not going to try to galvanise a local Aprilia community spirit/venture. Part of the Guzzi thing is about 'community' and communal enthusiasm, isn't it? And all the better if that can be in real life, as well as here in virtual web world.

I emailed the local people about it and the monthly meeting, which is tonight, so really it will be after tonight that I'll start to see if there is any interest or not. If not – because there is such a small number of people here - I can strip it back to only being a fairly static noticeboard for the local events. Do come and say hello anyway: niguzzi.yuku.com.

It's in North Ireland. It's not a dust bunny! I'm thinking of relocating the base to North America. Seems there's more interest from there than there is from home.

I'm still looking.... Have you looked under the bed?

I think there is a case for special interest niches having a space of their own. There may not be much point in focusing on something particular, within the GB forum that is theoretically open and wide-ranging but is heavily influenced by Dad's Army. Like I say, in relation to the Northern Ireland Branch forum there, no-one uses it. That's why I'm trying a stand-alone local forum to see if it will be more accessible. I'm pessimistic about people using it though.

Guzzirider's comment: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16338&view=findpost&p=177379

Subject carried on in this thread > http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16517 in Meetings sub-forum.

I've created a basic Forum for the Northern Ireland Guzzi meeting and community, but, is there a community out there? I suspect that there just aren't enough local folk to make the web forum viable, never mind keep it lively. It's worth giving it a go: nothing ventured, nothing gained. I do have a Northern Ireland Branch sub-forum on the MG Club GB forum – however no-one else ever posts there! A separate, informal, independent board might be a bit more attractive to the NI folk. Might be. If there's no interest after a few weeks, I could strip it back to just being a noticeboard for the monthly meetings – and take all the other sub-forums away. Or – – – – Guzzirider's comment about a UK Guzzi sports forum is making me think – – – – The NI site could be re-titled and given a different slant altogether. It could be made into a 'sports' focused meeting place - notice board. What do you think Guy? I'm just mulling over ideas. Do you have anything more in mind? It could be that Guzzi ownership in the UK simply isn't big enough to sustain any niche forum at all. Even here, at V11lemans, things have been very slow for a long time – and that's with lots and lots of European and international members signed-up. What thoughts on this subject? (Quiz: can anyone find my little forum that I'm talking about?)

BTW Barbacane TTre

The bike is so good, they must be all out riding all the time, Mikie! No time to stop off and post. Over what period was the Cafe Sport title used? BTW, the C.Sport may be the creme de la creme, but the SCURA is the ESPRESSO of the modern Guzzi era!

Guzzirider made a comment about catering (I don't mean - as in pies) for sporty Guzzi bikes/riders as there isn't a UK forum for that. I don't remember which thread it was in. It's definitely an interesting notion. Are there many meets in mainland GB for Café-classic type bikes? I guess there are. Ace Cafe and all that. I don't know of any over here (that doesn't mean that there aren't any). There are plenty of vintage-classic type of clubs/runs here, but I'd be more interested in something more... erm... sporty.