To Robert Taylor and other MNZ bashers

[Mark Pav]

Mark ,
loyalty of any kind is a precious commodity and you have shown your support well for your brother, the simple fact is i dont agree with you but i value the effort you made My main problem with your posting is that once again if a member shows disagreement or criticises The Ceo ,Office or Board we are accused of Bashing ,and at the same time have to put up with some stinging attacksthreats of code of conduct violations and suspensions.

The mission statement of Mnz states it aims to make Motorcycling Fun ,safe and Fair, well its failed miserably , the office is dysfunctional and we have a CEO who takes everything personally .
I dont know exactly what the Ceo is supposed to do and in the interests of better communication and god knows we need it ,the time has come to move away from the secret society practices and give every member a copy of the job descriptions of not only the Ceo but of every one in the office .

The time has come for the Ceo to admit there have been major cock ups and present the members with a plan to implement more efficent and professional practices, at this point you and others are probably baying for my blood.

However im trying to save our sport before it implodes, the simple fact is its time for the Ceo to admit he made a mistake, dont attack Robert Taylor mark ,it demeans you ,Robert Taylor is one of the most professional people in the buisness, he along with other Industry members have been trying to get MNZ into the real world.

This continuing attack on him because he has dared to offer an opinion contrary to your brothers is one of the major things wrong with our sport , step outside the square and every attempt will be made to discredit you,

The membership is un happy and will vote for change! despite some pretty unhealthy practices being carried out to prevent that.
The Marlborough Club whose members given their experiences with the Ceo and Board are likely to seriously vote against current incumbents and 150 votes are not to be sneezed at,discovered this week that unless they dump their duly elected President ,the same man who has done the job for the last 2 years without mnz jumping up and down now find in an election year he is no longer suitable and either he goes or they are suspended.
Major public relations nightmare here!

With the best will in the world Mark ,this is no way to run an office or the board, you would wonder why with the Presidents job up for grabs and 2 of the Board members not standing it couldnt wait till new Board comes in

Im not saying the Ceo doesnt have a great love of the sport ,i for one have had really good discussions about the 125s but to often we see the existence of bullying tactics.
In the industry im in we take responsibility for our mistakes ,look not to repeat them and minimise the effect on our Industry.

The opportunity exists for our sport through the excellent relationship Jim Tuckerman has with the Industry to rebuild fences,and yet we have the office constantly undermining one of the most experienced and capable people mnz has ,those of lessor ability always feel threatened by those with the greater ability.

I admire you for your efforts Mark but i continue to disagree , the Ceos people skills are appalling, instead of bringing the sport together he has fractionated it,
However with a strong President and an adherence to the constitution i beleive the situation would improve

Suzuki Mama, are you aware that the business with the Marlborough club relates to a member who is under exclusion for assaulting a steward i and is actually banned by regulation from attending the MNZ meeting. That is the rules. It is not a discretionary matter for the CEO or anyone else.

[The Chow]

Sounds to me like all involved in this and the other threads are all on the same page, ie want whats best for Motorcycle racing in New Zealand, but typically Ego's as well as private agendas get in the way of it so the inevitable shit fight emerges within the masses.

In my view such things should be lead from the top based on research into the problems, cant see it happening though.

Yes it is time that things changed in the top position.We now need a strong person and yes I think Jim is the guy (as Previously stated).

But it is also time now to stop attacking each other and focus on the issues. The dirty laundry has been aired and I am proud to say I helped get some of the concerns and tell the people out there of some of the issues that have happened

And before anyone says any differently , I would have never said anything in a public forum if I hadn't been sure of what has gone on and been party to some of the issues first hand.

For my part I apologise for any attacks that may have been taken personally by people , but unfortunately some times these things happen to help change happen.

To Paul Pav and the office staff , It will not be the end of the world , should there be a change at the top. I have known Jim for all his faults (and by god don't we all have those) and also for all his abilities.

I got into motorcycles some 37 years ago , for fun first and fame(ha ha) second. Over the years I have made many friends and also met many good people , but my overwhelming desire has always been to see this incredible sport of motorcycling prosper.

The change in the old style of governance of MNZ at the beginning of this decade was needed , but unfortunately I feel it has been a failure. Time to re-look at this once the elections are over perhaps?

Anyway at least things are now more out in open.

Oh and by the way MY NAME IS IAN DAWSON

[roadracingoldfart]

Ohhh fuck .... another , "the all blacks lost the world cup thread"
Sack the coach and manager , we can start again aye !!!





.

[Robert Taylor]

Mark I do feel I need to reply to a couple of things you said and this doesnt mean I took what you said personally.
Yes I have always as you say been a ''bench racer''. I never ever had the motivation to race but always had the motivation to be involved with the technology. Thats probably also because I realised I would be slow! I think everyone is important in racing, not only the riders. Without their mechanics, benefactors, marshals, Mom making the tea etc etc there would be no racing.
And yes I do derive an income from it but I do not have a holiday home in the Bahamas from the proceeds nor do I have collection of desirable cars in the garage. Take note that in first world European and North American countries you have to pay a suspension tuner a not insubstanial sum of cash just to merely check your sag ratios and clickers at a meeting. Here we do it for free for anyone that comes and asks. As one well known road racer has intimated to me many times over the years ''I dont believe how much set up info etc you give away for free''. My point, we are all doing a lot out of goodwill to try and foster the sport we collectively enjoy.

[Brian d marge]

You now have made motorcycling as limited a sport as boxing.
90% arguing, 5% prep, 5% actual riding.

No longer can jo-blo role up to a track, pay his fee, hit the grid and actual look like he is having a good time.

If you didn't like that way - go to Qatar......race all year.

I'm sorry, but i feel NZ should be grass-roots racing. Training ground of the young who want WSB / MotoGP futures. If we can't have that here - whats the point. We are a speck off the arse of the world, yet i can't recall when was the last season i saw a kiwi flag at a WSB or GP (pre-moto) event.

Play nice - before someone bigger and better than me wants to put a bullet into this lame horse.

MNZ needs to do some homework, everyone else needs to back off a bit a be flexible for them.
fullstop

yup agreed here, while I wouldn't quite agree with the impact NZ has made at even the top level ...there a a few top flight kiwis on the the gp circuit and in positions of influence , ( I think one was reciently sacked from a F1 team?? ), they have got there buy there own smarts I doubt the teams came to NZ looking !

I have been playing around with bikes here in Japan for about 10 years now. I have met a few very interesting people. So from the outside looking into NZ this is what I think ,,,( and it does need to change , dead in the water is a term that comes to mind when I thinks of the NZ superbike series,,,,) so Just a few notes on what is going on IMHO;

I'm not interested in who said what to whom and I don't know these people from a bar of soap, neither do the people who hold the purse strings in other countries . ( N Z is popular because the tv talent on the box here , the one who was pissed as a chook and went dancing in the fountain ....had a program all about NZ , I think paid for by Zespri ! )

What I do know is 15 bikes isn't much cop. Let's face it, when you look at it in black and white, it's a lot of blokes going around in circles on motorcycles. Having just spent the other day at Motegi ( having been both sides of the sport , from the pits and as a spectator ) .

To see Elias hanging on to the evil handling Honda was great , my sons were playing with a KTM flag and wife fell asleep in the sun after unsuccessfully looking for some sweets in her handbag as in they couldn't careless about the bikes. My oldest supports the oranji bike ....

After the racing we spent some time in the mobility land where oldest son ( 4 ) beat daddy and youngest son on the bumper cars ( anyone reading between the lines yet..)

So here I am a young lad of seventeen ( I wish ) and I want to be the next Valentino Rossi , where do I start? Join my local club , saw the poster in the bike shop when dreaming over the unaffordable bikes, then when home and used the Internet.

Let's say I am super dedicated and get a part time job and I am very lucky , my dad helps me, a lot of riders at the top had tremendous help from family. About now you can see where I am going with this, I have had the choice of a second hand dirt bike and hooning around on the local waste land and if the bug bites entering a few LOCAL events ( cost $50 including gas) and if I get serious then I start trading up to a newer bike ( even then I can go to the local bike shop and get a newish competitive bike on the never never and still pay only a few dollars a week even if you add three and chains and crash damage it's still cheap.

If I get my act together train hard and apply my skills then feasibly on that same bike I could give one of the king brothers a run for their money , or place in the Fink rally of Australia.

So what's all this to do with road racing , well yes I can do the very same as the above with a road bike ( well you could ). But when I was seventeen I could only afford a ratty old XL 250 motorsport for $850 and that was on the never never.

So who and what is Road Racing here for ?

The few who can afford or are lucky with support.???( yes it's possible to do by working hard etc but for the majority of people it's a sport. A sport , something to be enjoyed a the weekends with a few mates. A few of those take it to a higher level. OR the spectators??? as in now its a entertainment system. ( or even as some companies use it , as a development system, FCC??( clutches ) MUI??( sports drink )

So let's start with a clean sheet, we need a sport where EVERYBODY can get something out of it , Mum: free from kids for a day. Dad : insert Tim the tool-man Taylor here. Riders: entertainment within the disposable income. The local economy; gasoline , subway, pies coffee sales etc. The bike industry, cheap universal fairings, bungs , these need to be universal to be mass produced to be cheap. Other industry , there are thing on bikes that have a wider use , for example suspension is a hydrualic system that can suffer from cavitation ,, Pumps have the same problem, Vibration kills electrics bikes have electrics ,,, etc data logging Racers NEED info .... so do procces controlled industries.

Finally the bikes, let's imagine as a rider I want to be the next Vale, well it doesn't matter what you think. You have to be in the right place at the right time to impress the people that matter, ie you have more chance in Japan, Australia or greater still Europe.
So what are teams looking for, well the teams (I know and these arnt very big , such as NITRON Shocks ) are in business and require the rider to be the same , to provide accurate reliable feedback and to provide consistent lap times that are within a certain percentage ( I think it's even written into some contracts ).

This goes for engineers as well, you just can't rock up and waive a bit of paper around, if you do a good job you will be noticed.

So we need a cheap framework to provide the above, so I think with ONE small change and some time given by some experienced people this framework is in place already.
Mini Moto , kids no changes
Buckets , start introducing proffesionalism here
Post classics ( here is the change ) call it naked bikes and introduce bracket racing is classes within a class as long as they are with in a percentage of the leaders time to make it safe. Any aged bikes such as Zephers and Z1000 and honda CB750s
Motards ( because some like a bit of sideways ! )
Finally supersport 600 with allowances for triples and twins ( datalogging and suspension etc allowed, THIS becomes the premier class and would allow, or give the rider, engineer the skills needed when moving overseas. ( the logic being that anyone investing this sort of money must be either rich, mad or serious ). an early 90s CBR 600 are down on power but you can pick up ST600 race bikes over here for less than 200 000 yen 2003 ish.

Why no larger bikes, cost. lighter less powerful bikes are not so hard on consumables.

You can see if most of the sport remains affordable then the grids and in time ( with correct advertising , none of this heavy metal thunder bikes all for the tough man , try aiming it at the women,, eg have a relaxing time while the kids play .. Even the biggest kid )
Once people realize there is money to be made by supporting ... The race has been won, the aim is to generate atmosphere and I can get something out of this !!!


Stephen

PS , Paeroa , the IOM of Australatia ( Macau, I know but Paeroa is better ! )

[suzuki mama]

Suzuki Mama, are you aware that the business with the Marlborough club relates to a member who is under exclusion for assaulting a steward i and is actually banned by regulation from attending the MNZ meeting. That is the rules. It is not a discretionary matter for the CEO or anyone else.

I am aware that there is discussion as to its validity as at the time of one of the alleged offences the member concerned was not actually a member. i dont believe he renewed his membership since and legally if he wasnt actually a member you cant ban him. one of those gray areas in no way do i condone his actions but the rule of law must prevail .He continued on as club president for a further two years,you
dont have to be a member of mnz to hold office in a club .again this appears to be and this is my point something that was allowed to slide till with AGM coming up became important .
This is bad practice you cant condone something for two years then state its unacceptable .
At the first instance 2 years ago it should have been put to bed,
Hope this explains my point

[scott411]

I am aware that there is discussion as to its validity as at the time of one of the alleged offences the member concerned was not actually a member. i dont believe he renewed his membership since and legally if he wasnt actually a member you cant ban him. one of those gray areas in no way do i condone his actions but the rule of law must prevail .He continued on as club president for a further two years,you
dont have to be a member of mnz to hold office in a club .again this appears to be and this is my point something that was allowed to slide till with AGM coming up became important .
This is bad practice you cant condone something for two years then state its unacceptable .
At the first instance 2 years ago it should have been put to bed,
Hope this explains my point

if you look up the sports tribunal result on this, they rejected it on a techincality, (he filed the appeal to late)

[Dodgy]

There is probably a lot to be said for the 'oh fuck it' attitude?

As in 'oh fuck it', I will just pay my fees, levies, entry fees and just go racing? Seems that there is no magic bullet to please everyone?

I guess that if a riders federation was formed (just a syndicate of like minded racers), purchased public liability insurance, hired a track and had race meetings - riders could then vote with their feet and no longer attend MNZ meetings? I remember we raced at a 'black' meeting like this down south a few years back and had a great old time...

[Robert Taylor]

Robert himself was introduced to this site by a friend (Sensi) who informed him that someone on here was saying derogatory things about him. I have also seen Robert stick up for others who aren't members of this site when they have come under attack. eg Andrew Stroud.

Since he knows himself whats its like and condems it when others do I find it a little odd that he would condone or be a part of such a thing himself concerning the CEO.

Some don't seem to grasp the concept of racing bikes with less than perfect suspension and site many sound technical reasons why they can't be allowed. I can give many sound technical reasons why bikes should be fitted with ABS and traction control. Checking out of the debate.

Well if nothing else the respective threads were started by very concerned people and despite all the bitching its certainly raised peoples awareness big time. Thats a good thing. I knew Paul Pavletich would be aware of the threads ( as do others ) and he has had people defending him. He probably chooses not to engage in forums and I can well understand such reasoning. I spoke to him today ( as I have done so on many occassions in the past ) and quite openly.
Anyway, if people want to fit ABS and traction control, if they want to run aftermarket shocks, if they want to run oem shocks let them go for it. In the end event its deciding about what is a bridge too far.
Do you still have that GSXR shock that you ran in your SV at some stage?
If so, AND THIS IS A GENUINE OFFER, consider sending it to me, completely free of charge I will modify the shim stacks so that it will work better in that bike. If it can be better again then we will incrementally go further. I would like you to see what is possible at reasonable projected cost and then unbiasedly report on it.......................?????

[Kiwi Graham:Me]

Wow! cards are being put on the table here.
Who am I? an ex pomy racer who moved to NZ in 2001.
I've not raced here but have been a close follower of the racing here and supported many bikers that race or use the track day experience to get their buzz.
I've worked with Paul P on track days and stood in his garage with eyes wide open at his collection of all things two wheels, I've read with awe the knowledge that Rob T has about making thing go up and down and would/will be the only person I will trust to supply my bouncy bits, so know both are without doubt passionate about the sport.

With this amount of passion and commitment together with the many others out there such as Jim T etc shouldnt we be working together and form a way forward for MNZ.

To shoot the the lot and start again has to be a waste of resourses and immense tallent. I belive Paul to be an excellent well known voice for motorcyle sport and should be involved. I belive he is focused on doing what is belived to be the right thing. Bashing people who have spent the majority of their life in the 'buisness' and since giving up the nuts and bolts are willing to continue to work for us has to be appreciated.

Its clear things could be better, lets work together to improve things. Dialog, communication and debate is what is required. Everyone wants to see the best we can achieve and should be able to voice there opinion in a safe way and not fear being slated. Only when everyone has had a say can a way forward be sought. I dont know which is the best forum for this but KB may be as good as any, anonymous or not! But lets keep it clean and non personal.

[The Chow]

Wow! cards are being put on the table here.
Who am I? an ex pomy racer who moved to NZ in 2001.
I've not raced here but have been a close follower of the racing here and supported many bikers that race or use the track day experience to get their buzz.
I've worked with Paul P on track days and stood in his garage with eyes wide open at his collection of all things two wheels, I've read with awe the knowledge that Rob T has about making thing go up and down and would/will be the only person I will trust to supply my bouncy bits, so know both are without doubt passionate about the sport.

With this amount of passion and commitment together with the many others out there such as Jim T etc shouldnt we be working together and form a way forward for MNZ.

To shoot the the lot and start again has to be a waste of resourses and immense tallent. I belive Paul to be an excellent well known voice for motorcyle sport and should be involved. I belive he is focused on doing what is belived to be the right thing. Bashing people who have spent the majority of their life in the 'buisness' and since giving up the nuts and bolts are willing to continue to work for us has to be appreciated.

Its clear things could be better, lets work together to improve things. Dialog, communication and debate is what is required. Everyone wants to see the best we can achieve and should be able to voice there opinion in a safe way and not fear being slated. Only when everyone has had a say can a way forward be sought. I dont know which is the best forum for this but KB may be as good as any, anonymous or not! But lets keep it clean and non personal.

Agreed

[cowpoos]

Do you still have that GSXR shock that you ran in your SV at some stage?
If so, AND THIS IS A GENUINE OFFER, consider sending it to me, completely free of charge I will modify the shim stacks so that it will work better in that bike. If it can be better again then we will incrementally go further. I would like you to see what is possible at reasonable projected cost and then unbiasedly report on it.......................?????

Sorry off subject.....BUT!!

I can't believe what you have just offered!! especially the way this member has acted toward you of late...infact I'm speechless!

[budda]

at the risk of coming across as the wanker some are SURE I am, a lot of the posts re MNZ were, I'm sure, never MEANT to be a personal attack, thats the PERCEPTION of a few who arent/werent aware of all relevant facts

I've been saying for YEARS that MNZ should have a "forum" on its own site, accessed by using your race licence number as user name or password. This would ensure that only those involved and were ENTITLED to an opinion could publicly state it

But now that so many have entered these details on another thread here , some dodgy bugger could potentially hijack it and lead discussion off on a tangent - now where have I heard that before ........

[scrivy]

some dodgy bugger could potentially hijack it and lead discussion off on a tangent - now where have I heard that before ........

I understand some on here do that............

[SixPackBack]

Bitchy!....fook me its like a womens knitting club AGM.