Triumphrat

drharveys

I believe HOG officially stands for "Harley Owner's Guild", or maybe "Group".
In reality, it stands for Hog, which is what Harleys are nicknamed. If you want to learn more about why Harleys are called hogs, do your own Google or Yahoo search.

Triumph has followed HOG's model in establishing RAT. RAT is corporate sponsored and dominated, with individual chapters being "captive" to a specific dealership.

BMW motorcycles in the US has two owner's clubs. The MOA, which has no relation to the similarly named birds of New Zealand, and the RA, which is likewise unrelated to the ancient Egyptian deity. (BMW Motorcycle Owners Association and BMW Riders Association.) There was originally just one, but the two split up over some organizational squabbles. Both are independent of BMW corporate, and local clubs are free to affiliate with either or both national organizations. As a result, local BMW clubs are not directly tied to an individual dealer, though most have a good relationship with the closest dealer or dealers.

Most local BMW clubs sponsor an annual weekend rally. There are also the two national rallies. These rallies provide a great destination for riders. Most riders camp at the site, but some prefer nearby motels. There are tech sessions, barbeques, coffee pots, beer tents and sometimes even a band or DJ. Some rallies are associated with a motorcycle race or event, others are just an excuse for a weekend getaway. Most of the time there are field events and self-guided tours of the rally area or a poker run.

What would I like to see for RAT? Probably an attempt to split the difference between the two models. Let the chapters be independent member-run organizations tied to a region rather than a dealer. Here in the St. Louis area where we have two Triumph dealerships, pooling resources would be more productive to overall brand loyalty than duplication of effort. All the Triumph riders in the bi-state area know that there's RPM Triumph in Belleville Illinois and Donelson's on the Missouri side of the river. Combining membership and alternating meeting sites will produce a larger, stronger organization with a larger membership pool to dip into for officers and committees. A full schedule of local events will keep traffic in both dealerships better than two competing patchy ones.

As for the Harley model, I do admire their "Fly and Ride" program. HOG members can rent bikes from out of town Harley dealers at reasonable rates. Given the international depth of Triumph, that would be a big asset to the marque and RAT membership.