Engagement With Motorcyclists

[rastuscat]

If I wanted to engage with motorcyclists, where would I start?

On here? Motorcycle shops? Clubs? Facebook?

The subject would be our safety on the road. Not a sexy subject, and one which isn't sold easily.

Nobody thinks it'll happen to them. The crash. So nobody sees the need to change to prevent it.

Where would someone start?

[Blackbird]

There are lots of groups, commercial entities and government-supported organisations involved with motorcycle safety. Would you want to engage with motorcyclists through them or is this a personal thing? What's driving your question?

[Scubbo]

I'll engage if you can:

get the AA to feck off,
the councils to acknowledge motorcycles as a valid if not necessary form of transport in cities,
ACC cover tax only applying to single Class6 license rather than per bike

[Mike.Gayner]

I think you're going to have a hard time getting engagement with motorcyclists on this matter. Motorcyclists already feel besieged by unwanted advice and preaching. Everyone who rides a motorcycle already knows, understands and accepts the risks - why do we need a constant brigade of hi-viz-wearing nanny-staters constantly evangelising at us?

To answer your question though, I'd be engaging motorcyclists in person rather than online - bike shops, events, group runs etc.

[jellywrestler]

If I wanted to engage with motorcyclists, where would I start?

On here? Motorcycle shops? Clubs? Facebook?

The subject would be our safety on the road. Not a sexy subject, and one which isn't sold easily.

Nobody thinks it'll happen to them. The crash. So nobody sees the need to change to prevent it.

Where would someone start?

market a range of hi viz mongrel mob and hells onions patches, put discount vouchers in the pockets for get togethers that they'll find when they buy them....

[caspernz]

If I wanted to engage with motorcyclists, where would I start?

On here? Motorcycle shops? Clubs? Facebook?

The subject would be our safety on the road. Not a sexy subject, and one which isn't sold easily.

Nobody thinks it'll happen to them. The crash. So nobody sees the need to change to prevent it.

Where would someone start?

For me it can be as simple as Googling 'motorcycle safety nz' and seeing what pops up. MSAC, Rideforever and a number of training providers, so if anyone wants to improve their own safety, plenty of choices. If someone doesn't see a need or want to improve their own safety on the road, can't force them. The Bike Show format run by MSAC & Rideforever this summer attracted reasonable numbers, how would one measure engagement from that?
The license regime for new riders has taken a few steps in the right direction, but I suspect it stops short of what you'd consider ideal.
For existing riders, if they don't come along to a Rideforever course? Do we go down a path of offering an ACC discount on the rego for those who've partaken in post license training in past x number of years? Call it a bribe or incentive, it gets the message across. Wouldn't be proper engagement though.
Enforcement could go down the path of instead of a fine, attend remedial training (traffic school?).
A social media campaign showing how properly trained riders can still have fun, without risking life and limb?

There are lots of groups, commercial entities and government-supported organisations involved with motorcycle safety. Would you want to engage with motorcyclists through them or is this a personal thing? What's driving your question?

My suspicion is Pete's new job is behind the question there Geoff. It's a valid one of course, and we'd love to know the answer ourselves...

[Paul in NZ]

If I wanted to engage with motorcyclists, where would I start?

On here? Motorcycle shops? Clubs? Facebook?

The subject would be our safety on the road. Not a sexy subject, and one which isn't sold easily.

Nobody thinks it'll happen to them. The crash. So nobody sees the need to change to prevent it.

Where would someone start?

Too funny – we were having almost the exact same conversation yesterday in the car. A visiting relative was asking if we still rode as much as we used to (we don’t) and about the higher than normal rate of fatalities this year. To be honest I don’t know what’s happened but some days it feels as if the joy has been sucked out of motorcycling and it’s been squeezed into a hole by people with a vested interest in making $$. It’s getting to a point where I just don’t care to participate anymore – you are just a means to an end to an industry that couldn’t care less…

Of course your life would be a lot simpler if there was a single sort of motorcyclist but alas we are a series of rigidly structured substrata of styles with very little cross cover. And it appears that while the powers that be predictably hate motorcycles, pretty well all motorcyclists hate other motorcyclists except their immediate friends and occasionally other people at a specific rally.

Sadly – you will need to shape your approach differently to the different tribes and even then you will struggle to connect. I’ve become very wary of anything like this as its always going to cost me money and time and designed to leave me feeling hopelessly inadequate unless I sign up for 10 self-improvement courses today. We all have wallets swelling with loyalty schemes and special offers that offer neither loyalty nor anything special. Whatever you are offering needs to be very good to get any attention these days…

[jasonu]

If I wanted to engage with motorcyclists, where would I start?


Nobody thinks it'll happen to them. The crash. So nobody sees the need to change to prevent it.

Where would someone start?

Ask cassina. Apparently she knows fucking everything.

[Scuba_Steve]

If I wanted to engage with motorcyclists, where would I start?

On here? Motorcycle shops? Clubs? Facebook?

The subject would be our safety on the road. Not a sexy subject, and one which isn't sold easily.

Nobody thinks it'll happen to them. The crash. So nobody sees the need to change to prevent it.

Where would someone start?

I'd say this place is a good place to start; there's trollop to filter possibly, but as far as a good congregation of bikers this place is somewhat of a powerhouse. Hell it's apparently one of NZ's favorite sites so sayeth the NZ rankings
Other places would be the biker groups like BRONZ etc I suppose followed by maybee harassing people at events (depending on the means/goal)

[tigertim20]

I think you're going to have a hard time getting engagement with motorcyclists on this matter. Motorcyclists already feel besieged by unwanted advice and preaching. Everyone who rides a motorcycle already knows, understands and accepts the risks - why do we need a constant brigade of hi-viz-wearing nanny-staters constantly evangelising at us?

.

I agree with this^
one thing to create a new place for people to come to you - but I don't see any difference between the proselytizing performed by unsolicited door knockers wanting to wank on about a fucking bible, or those wanting to cold call and sell insurance / girl guide cookies / motorcycle safety.
If I didn't ask for it, I don't want it.

Ive got my own thoughts, based on my own research, and own experiences. If I want more education or information, I know where I can go to get information or advanced rider training, but having someone coming at me without invitation is a fast way to get told to fuck off.

[Woodman]

Too funny – we were having almost the exact same conversation yesterday in the car. A visiting relative was asking if we still rode as much as we used to (we don’t) and about the higher than normal rate of fatalities this year. To be honest I don’t know what’s happened but some days it feels as if the joy has been sucked out of motorcycling and it’s been squeezed into a hole by people with a vested interest in making $$. It’s getting to a point where I just don’t care to participate anymore – you are just a means to an end to an industry that couldn’t care less…

Of course your life would be a lot simpler if there was a single sort of motorcyclist but alas we are a series of rigidly structured substrata of styles with very little cross cover. And it appears that while the powers that be predictably hate motorcycles, pretty well all motorcyclists hate other motorcyclists except their immediate friends and occasionally other people at a specific rally.

Sadly – you will need to shape your approach differently to the different tribes and even then you will struggle to connect. I’ve become very wary of anything like this as its always going to cost me money and time and designed to leave me feeling hopelessly inadequate unless I sign up for 10 self-improvement courses today. We all have wallets swelling with loyalty schemes and special offers that offer neither loyalty nor anything special. Whatever you are offering needs to be very good to get any attention these days…

Very intelligent and accurate post.

If you want to engage with "motorcyclists" you need to define what a "motorcyclist" is and where they hang out. For instance you will probarbly find more actual riders at an All Blacks test than a street race, maybe not the hard core, and there won't be many bikes parked outside the stadium, but there will be a lot of riders there. Food for thought.

[rastuscat]

These responses have helped, thanks.

It looks like there are those who can't be reached. But that doesn't mean I won't try.

[Oakie]

Very intelligent and accurate post.

That behaviour is totally inappropriate on KB!

[Oakie]

If I wanted to engage with motorcyclists, where would I start?

You'd need to start in a variety of places because there are so many different subsets of bikers and we don't tend to overlap. Unfortunately I can't suggest one particular group where you'd get most bang for buck ... although I suspect it would be a younger group because us oldies generally think we know it all. (I did my advanced course a few years back and was not at all surprised to find I didn't know it all). I wonder if it would be a good strategy to get beside a group with some profile (eg Ulysees) and get them to push with you. May get less resistance that way.

[Graystone]

With something shiny.

Make a day of it, tag on some safety shit with a dyno day, hillclimb event, spannering evening, poker run, club night, orgy, etc...

Those who are easy to reach by traditional means are often not the ones that need it.