VJMC show Uttoxeter

[ade woollams]

just thought that new members that may need help with stuff may just shake the vintage dust off some of the older members and get some input from them

[chrisNI]

read the post again - where did I say call ??

Chris I don't think Phil suggested you did say call. He was just pointing out that most people who have been in the club a while or who have been to a show we had a stand at know when shows are on, know what's required, amd also know what they've got. Sometimes people think their bikes are better than they are, sometimes they're not as bad as they think they are, but no-one is criticising anyone for not having show bikes or for not offering bikes they have that they reckon aren't suitable.
At last year's 1000 Bikes we were fairly short of stuff but I left my 1000R about a mile from the stand at the far side of the campsite because it would have looked like a ratbike and embarrasssed the hell out of me next to Paul Scanlon's, Hobbo's, Paul Doran's blingy 1100R etc. But it got me 300 miles there and 300 miles home again. (And when it finally get's rebuilt it'll be seen somewhere holding it's head up...)

There were a number of "users" on the stand at Mallory and they fitted in very well to show the diversity within the club. This VJMC show was a bit different in that respect, but there are plenty of good bikes ("mint or better") out there within reasonable distance of Uttoxeter so it should have been possible to get a good showing. However if people don't want to show them it's entirely up to them and we were unlucky with a couple of people who had unforseen last minute hitches which lost us two good Z1B.

We already have some fantastic bikes promised for the Stafford stand but if people think they have something that might be useful they should let Jerry know. Obviously the flip side of this is that if people offer we need to choose the best mix available and not everyone who offers may be needed, but the whole point is to support the club and it's helping just to offer help, even if the kind offer is eventually not taken up on that particular occassion. It may be again. The big problem is normally the smaller English shows.

Even then we can only do so many anyway.

[steve f]

Steve, I look forward to recieving your article, you lovely, lovely man. I think the mood is tongue in cheek, a bit like "mint or better"!

so do I
will it be an article praising the great Zed instead of the negative post's we usually expect

i am willing to write about my experiance restoring my Z1B getting parts having parts re-furbished dealing with ebay and club members but i dont want it editing

[chrisNI]

i dont want it editing

You can fuck off - if you're the editor you edit. That's the perk.

[paul doran]

yes indeed a rare one owner Moto Martin

[Padders]

[paul doran]

see it at Stafford

[Padders]

Thats a low blow, might fetch the missus so she can explain to me again why I did not want to keep it!!!

[paul doran]

My whole point is basically this
Stafford is only a stone's throw from Uttoxter
we will have plenty of offer's for Stafford
so why not the same for Uttoxeter or other English event's
I unfortunately could not make Uttoxeter this time due to business reason's
but remember this if myself and Chris can travel over from Ireland why can some of you lot not travel twenty mile's
so I guess i can post an arguement or two without risking offending anyone

[Steve Cooke]

Jerry I hope it wasn't any of my comments that have caused you to take such offence here, but regardless of what it was I think some of your response is a little unfair,firstly there is not one iota of any criticism of your goodself in any of the posts in this thread only praise that I can see. and secondly it would be a great shame if members could not respond to the criticism of the like shown in this thread for lack of response without being able to offer up some possible reasons for this, and then to be accused of sitting on their arses and criticizing themselves is not only unfair but wrong.

P.S. Some members who do not know you personally may not presume to interfere in your personal life by telephoning you .

P.P.S. Up the fees a little and open an expense account

[steve f]

(A) is it all worth it? and (B) Just how far does everyone think their measly ?15 goes in a year? Each show we do costs money, and yes, everything on the stand is paid for by the club, but on a personal level, each show costs me 3 days off work, endless evenings beforehand, and a couple of tanks of fuel for my car - which is all out of the goodness of my heart. (not)

TAKE THE PETROL MONEY YOU HAVE SPENT FROM THE CLUB FUNDS AS THATS WHAT THEY ARE THERE FOR RUNNING COSTS OF THE CLUB CANT SEE ANYBODY OBJECTING TO THIS

[chrisNI]

Jerry hasn't taken offence (he's got broad shoulder that's why he's there....) he's just been underwhelmed at the local support we get for some of the events, seen especially in the context of the support that we get for some others. I think that it's fair enough to point that out. We got 13 bikes for the VJMC Northern Counties show in Northern Ireland last year (there are only about seven members in the North) and Fer got as many as he wanted to use for the Ingliston show - about 12 I think and he could have had more. Donington last year we had 3 although this year we had a couple more.

Jerry requested offers of bikes in the Spring NewZletter and said that standard bikes were preferred but that a couple of modified ones might be useful, and at that time he said we had space for 12. It was clear what was required and why, and that's the way that bikes for display have always been sought. The Newzletter is still the main conduit this kind of request as all club members receive it - the website is really only a back-up as more than half the club don't use it regularly, and it's also open to non members. His number is also in the magazine so that people can ring him on club business if he had a personal life he'd have packed this in long ago.

Several people seem to have got their knickers in a twist over this thread taking the thrust of it as a personal criticism. Nobody is criticising anyone in particular, and no-one is under any obligation to do anything at all, all that's being said is the numbers don't add up as there are more members in the midlands and south than anywhere else but that's usually where we have problems getting bikes. When the club is invited to such an event it's been the view that the opportunity to show bikes as a club should be extended to the membership, as those that do usually get a good deal of satisfaction out of it.

Probably the obvious answer is just to stop trying to support these "smaller" events on a club-wide level and just do the October Stafford as a national event, leaving the area rep (if there is one) to gauge support and make a decision on what to do about events that fall within their domain, and the club will assist if assistance is requested. If the interest isn't there, or there's no rep for that area and people do want to show heir pride and joy, they can always go along as individual entries.

[Jerry]

OK, thanks for all your comments, I think we've come to the end of the road with this one, with one last reply to the subject of expenses. It's a long and litigious story, but some of the longer-standing members will know of things that went on in the club years ago that nearly killed it. For those reasons I very rarely draw any expenses from the club, but that's my personal hang-up. I can't help it, and I'll keep doing it. Goodnight!

[steve f]

OK, thanks for all your comments, I think we've come to the end of the road with this one, with one last reply to the subject of expenses. It's a long and litigious story, but some of the longer-standing members will know of things that went on in the club years ago that nearly killed it. For those reasons I very rarely draw any expenses from the club, but that's my personal hang-up. I can't help it, and I'll keep doing it. Goodnight!

jerry you give up plenty of your own time cant see why it should also cost you money aswell

[malc87]

agree with steve.expenses should be paid