Idea for a motorcycling TV progamme

[1 Free Man]

I'm another "knocker" I'm afraid.

To appeal to a sizeable audience it would have to have "something for everybody" just like most of the bike mags do....which is exactly why I don't buy 'em. I won't waste my hard earned cash or time watching/reading something that is 80% boring. I couldn't care less about the latest scooter low emissions breakthrough or how a full dressed tourer handles two-up, or what the roads are like some place I'm never gonna go.

Basically I am a niche market within a niche market so unless something targets my specific motorcycling interests then I'm not interested.

On the upside they somehow manage to get "Poker" on TV and anything has gotta be a step up from that.....

I think Pedrostt500 is talking about TELEVISION NOT TUNNEL VISION.
NZ is a nation of KNOCKERS why don't you offer the guy some positive vibes. You never know you might get to like the show when it goes to air. you to may one day find yourself in the market for a nice cruiser and the information may be valuable.

[Number One]

I think Pedrostt500 is talking about TELEVISION NOT TUNNEL VISION.
NZ is a nation of KNOCKERS why don't you offer the guy some positive vibes. You never know you might get to like the show when it goes to air. you to may one day find yourself in the market for a nice cruiser and the information may be valuable.

He Pedro.

Dirty Biarch says go for it! I think there would be enough interested parties. Include 'learners, road rules, safety, drills etc etc'

Triangle tele has a couple of free to air sections I think.

Would LTSA be interested in promoting motorcyclist education?

Could it be a dvd instead of a Teleshow?

Who could and would volunteer their service and involvement in such a project and how much credibility/credentials should they have?

Anyway, I'd watch it and I'd assist if I was able also

[Big Dave]

Didn't Bentman feature on one a few years back?

Yeah - I was on it too.
Bentman ad libbing to a handy cam taint 'Top Gear' huh.

Point remains: 'show me the money'.

[Big Dave]

I'm sure Graham Sinclair went throught the same thing when he started his fishing show and now it is well watched in NZ and off shore to I believe.

Fishing is the world's most popular 'sport'.

[hellkat]

I would like to put my neck out and say that there is quite a few of us bikers in NZ who have no real interest in the latest and greatest in bikes.

I think many of us are of a similar bent, we all have our specific interests. I like riding trail bikes (on the road) but I'd be terrified of riding off road, wouldn't mean I'd not be interested in watching other people doing it

Neither would I be terribly interested in track or racing very much, or in high performance bikes, but I'd still watch it with one eye open. I've recently taken to watching old re-runs of Top Gear on cable again, despite the fact that its highly unlikely I'd ever be in a position to buy, for example, a Bugatti Veyron - or driving to the North Pole in any form of vehicle ... but it is still eminently watchable.

But anything after the Showel makes me go to sleep.

Are you sure thats not just cos you are old?

So even if you started to calculate the bikers in NZ that could watch the programme, you would soon find that it might only appeal to a small % of us??

It would be a better thing to consider making it to appeal to the wider biker market, rather than just one small country. Possibly you'd have a wider range of sponsors or advertisers as well.

And who knows, with a low budget and some knowledge in doing film to keep the costs down you might succeed??

Although this is dissed further down by another poster, about some bloke using a handicam, these days some decent programming can be made on reasonably low budget machinery.

Try to appeal to all sectors:
Weekend bikers
HOG types
Females
Racers
Dirt ones
Classic
and so on.

Have a "Biker of the week and his ride" piece where a interesting charachter with a odd bike would be allowed to be him/her self.

Have some interesting new gear
A NZ custom bike
Euro/American bike
Jap bike
Maybe even a Chinese one??

And then try to get feedback what ppl like and change the format to increase the numbers..

See what U done, now I am starting to warm to this...

Difficult not to, when you get passionate about something, innit.

A good start is to find a frontman with that passion, a character who will appeal to a broad range of viewers, but who might be mainstream enough to become a recognisable face not only within the industry, but with the general public. Who knew of Jeremy Clarkson before he got on Top Gear? He was a nobody, now he's just a famous overopinionated nobody. But everybody knows who he is, because of his personality and his passion for his subject. But sometimes its his personality that drives the programme.

[slowpoke]

I think Pedrostt500 is talking about TELEVISION NOT TUNNEL VISION.
NZ is a nation of KNOCKERS why don't you offer the guy some positive vibes. You never know you might get to like the show when it goes to air. you to may one day find yourself in the market for a nice cruiser and the information may be valuable.

Does he want a fair and representative survey of who would watch it or does he want a distorted view? Bad information is worse than no information. If I was looking at starting something like this then I'd make damn sure I had accurate information, hence I'm telling it like it is.

I don't buy Kiwirider, Bike Trader, AMCN, Two Wheels, Road Rider etc 'cos I'm only interested in about 10pages (or less) therein...the same applies to a TV show where I'm not gonna hang about for an hour to watch the 10 minutes I'm into.

Motorcyclists aren't a general demographic like say Rugby supporters. A Hurricanes supporter will probably be (mildly) interested in most Super14 games whereas an adventure rider probably won't be interested in the latest Goldwing or Burgman and a BMW boxer owner isn't necessarily interested in motocross etc etc.

As for a "nice cruiser", that's an oxymoron if ever there was one.....

[Big Dave]

at least you got the order right.

[rocketman1]

A Motorcycling show would be great.. I for one would watch it whatever bikes were on it.
I dont think it is going to solely survive, on showing bikes & talking about the technical aspects of bikes, much as it would interest me.
The way of doing it in my opinion is to get a "Marcus Lush" Im not sure I have the name correct here but I mean the guy who did the thing on travelling around NZ on trains, and then did the Antartic thing, he has a great way of putting together an interesting show.
Who the hell is interested in trains not me but, I watched his show every week because he travelled to different places and talked about history, talked to interesting people, and about trains, and had a good personality, bloody interesting
Now this is the way to do it in my opinion.
Travel around NZ on motorbikes with a film crew filming things that interest people, and include the bikes as well. Good Luck

[Big Dave]

I see the future in these sorts of endeavours is in the new media and web.

[Renegade]

id love to see a show like this, i watch anything i can that is related to motorvehicles, discovery channel has a few, i enjoy british biker build off the most though followed by petrol heads.

[skidMark]

Problem is the potential viewing audience isn't big enough to attract the advertising revenues that Top Gear style production values demand.

Wot 'e said.

[Conquiztador]

Are you sure thats not just cos you are old?

Watch it gal, you are not making friends here with that attitude...

[kevfromcoro]

Fishing is the world's most popular 'sport'.

Fishing is the worlds 2nd most popular sport......

[hellkat]

Watch it gal, you are not making friends here with that attitude...

I look forward to clashing zimmer frames with you, my dear

A bloke who can't think beyond Shovels can't be so bad, after all in all honesty, I can't remember what came after Evo meself *doinks self on head wiv rubber mallet*

[Conquiztador]

I look forward to clashing zimmer frames with you, my dear

A bloke who can't think beyond Shovels can't be so bad, after all in all honesty, I can't remember what came after Evo meself *doinks self on head wiv rubber mallet*

Sorry, there will be no zimmer frames. Have already told my oldest that if I ever get to that stage I will ride a bike over the cliff. (Have my whole life had this re-occuring dream re me riding off the road and flying with a bike and then falling...)

But back to the topic: Someone already mentioned re a niche in a niche market. And even inside that niche you will find a niche or two. I have also long ago stopped buying bike magazines that are available in NZ on the shelf. I might read one article and skip the rest. Today there is only 2 I get: MCM from Sweden and Greasy Kulture. And even in them there are articles I skip.

So to make a bike TV programme that pulls the crowd will be tricky. Probably why it has not been done.

Yep, I recon bikers are a complicated bunch (well, no bunch actually, heaps of individuals voicing their opinion by choosing to do what they love in their own way not really caring what others think)