The International CBX Owners Association

Here are some general comments and observations. I have been a Vintage Days regular since 1995, the year the AMA had the event at Mid Ohio for the first time and as such, I think I can comment on some of the things that have been different as of late.
- The "Infield" was great disappointment. Except for the Bridgestone owners, the VJMC and the café racers, there were no clubs present. The huge number of owners' clubs that had reserved spots are a thing of the past.
- Vendors were non-existent. Hannigan was there to show their sidecar rigs, and a few small accessory places, but vendors like "Competition Accessories" or "Iron Pony", for example are no longer there.
- The main attraction seemed to be the "Wall Of Death" which drew mostly the HD crowd
- Vintage racing is becoming more and more dismal. Half the garages were closed and you could ride your bile through the paddock without a problem or having to watch for traffic.
- The swap meet again showed an increasing number of bikes instead of parts for sale. But prices are just plain ridiculous. A totally worn out and rusty H2 stood there with a $2,000 asking price. there weren't even $2,000 worth of parts on
the thing. And on the other end, with bikes in nice condition, the field was dominated by British makes, all asking 5 figures. The only deals were little nicknacks, new tools and parts - fuel lines, fuel filters, tie-down straps and T-bar allen
wrenches. I bought 6 feet of fuel line and a solid Emgo Viper fairing for $25.- and sold it to a friend for his café project for the same amount of money.
It seems like all the sellers base their asking price on what things go for an ebay and put tags on their stuff that makes tour head spin.
- Finally, the amount of golf carts and kids on dirt bikes that want to run over you as you walk the grounds are getting out of hand. I am not a grump, but I wish they would enforce the rules that you need a bike with proper registration and a license plate to run around there.

I give the event two or three more years and then Rob Dingman and his Kodak crew will end this and move it somewhere else.
The only positive thing, once again, was that the thread of bad weather (which we did not have ) kept the riff-raff away.

Thanks for the pics and report, Mike.
What do you think is the cause of all the "differences".
Is E-Bay one of the culprits? The AMA? or has it just run its course at that site?

Perhaps, some of what you mentioned, Steve. Although, it is most interesting that VERY coincidentally, when AHRMA was thrown out, the event went into a tail-spin the following year. And, gets worse every year. Summarizing what Mike said, the only thing worthwhile this year was meeting with fellow ICOA members who attended. Otherwise, in my opinion, it was a complete 'bust'. By 11:00 Sunday morning, you could have shot a cannon through there without hitting anyone -- both swap meet vendors and attendees. Saturday attendance wasn't much better. And, the weather was great Saturday.

I agree with Larry. I really like the event and I am concerned about the future of it. The internet/ebay sure has an effect on what is going on in the swap meet. Besides the fact that the AMA jerked Will Stoner around. And this is a typical problem with the AMA that is visible in other areas. I don't even want to talk about the racing issue, which is definitely because of the AHRMA pull-out, but anybody who has to deal with the AMA for anything official, has to deal with an administrative staff that has little or no motorcycle background. I remember having to work with someone on the infield exhibition we used to have and that person didn't know the difference between a CBX and a CB750. And you may say that this is not important for an administrative function within the AMA, but it leads to frustration with those who have to deal with the AMA. It's a similar problem we have with car companies who are no longer run by "car people". The AMA changed with the new leadership that came in several years ago and thought they had to make changes. And while a lot of things were not good before - talk about a "good old boy network" - it has changed to the worse.

Yes, the AMA advertises that they are helping us deal with the 'greatest threats to motorcyclists' Well, I contend that the AMA is one of the greatest threats to motorcyclists.

Dave

daves79x wrote:Yes, the AMA advertises that they are helping us deal with the 'greatest threats to motorcyclists' Well, I contend that the AMA is one of the greatest threats to motorcyclists.

Dave

Respectfully I disagree with you Dave. Yes there are problems within the AMA. Motorcyclists tend to be independent thinkers so you have a lot of folks going in their own direction. And, without question the AMA has managed to upset some other organizations such as AHRMA.

But if your thoughts are not conveyed to Dingman or Maggie McNally-Bradshaw nothing can change. I urge all who have thoughts or ideas about this event or about the AMA to convey them to Dingman or Maggie. Especially any thought about Vintage Days. I know I have seen the comment about folks riding through the swap meet appear on two very different forums by very different folks. Neither liked them!

Yes I agree that the change in leadership has led to many changes throughout the organization some which I don't like but the reality is they need to be tried to improve the product. Would the ICOA survive such a total change, well aren't we in the process of watching, waiting, and experiencing the effects of such a change? And I have to be honest, I do see a lot of changes I don't like as our new leadership is trying to get things rolling. An example is the magazine, while I understand the why's for fewer each year, I don't really like it. After all the annual dues have not gone down.

And that is one thing the AMA did improve is the roadside Assistance--MoTow--is now part of your basic membership if you pay with credit card. This is a really good deal unless you had a lifetime membership and then you/me got the short end.

I belong to a number of motorcycle organizations, some dedicated to a particular type/style of riding, some dedicated to a particular type bike and I can say with no reservations that each one has things I like and things I don't like. But I have learned to get along to enjoy riding.

harvey wrote: And that is one thing the AMA did improve is the roadside Assistance--MoTow--is now part of your basic membership if you pay with credit card. This is a really good deal unless you had a lifetime membership and then you/me got the short end.

.

Sorry, but I consider this just another marketing gimmick as you also sign up for automatic renewals when you do this.

Mike,

You stated:
Sorry, but I consider this just another marketing gimmick as you also sign up for automatic renewals when you do this.

Yes there is the marketing part of this that has to be considered as well as the fact they with auto renewals the AMA is hoping they have you for 3 years and lets face the simple fact that they are also hoping you will not call for roadside assistance. Since AAA, MTS, and insurance companies, and companies set up to do this sort of towing and assistance seem to make money, I think it is very logical to assume that only a small percentage of folks ever use the service so therein lies the profit for the provider.

However, if you compare pricing for roadside assistance the deal offered by AMA is still one of the cheapest available for the price. Is it the best plan---not really but for the price it is better than nothing and being honest not everyone can afford a luxury top of the line 200/300 dollar plan. Heck the AMA is cheaper than GWRRA's Rescue Plus and offers almost as much.

All I am trying to say is the roadside assistance plan from AMA is available at a relatively cheap price as part of membership. You get the peace of mind of have a tow service for the price of membership which is not a bad deal.

Harvey:

I am not arguing about the cost and value of the roadside assistance program. I am pointing out that you have to go into a long-term commitment and/or automatic renewal
I don't want to get into a big AMA-bashing frenzy. After all, the real argument will be membership renewals. I have made that decision for myself.