Triumphrat

Tozser1 · 02-13-2008

Andy it is as you say if your not ridding the current years models it was as if they thought less of you and that was what I was basicly told at one Raid .

I was asking questions about Rat at the time and the responce I got was that I was not supporting them directly because I had an older Trump and did not buy new but used .Hmm fishy eh!
I was taken back by this but let it go because of the young age this rep was and being new to Triumph at the time .
When you say the same goes to BMW and Wings im quite surprised.I dont see other companys looking down on their older models or the riders that are loyal to the brand and do more advertising by telling people what a great bike thay have and great support we had from HQ .Something the other makes seemed to lack .. Once again NO SENCE!
We have a great group here in Ontario Canada check us out
www.ontariorats.com
or my place
www.the141cafe.com
We have basicly gone our own way and have a blast but we do sometimes get into this conversation and its just like drinking from a bad keg now ,not a warm fuzzy feeling anymore .
Its amazing even with all this our group are still die hard Trump fans just cheesed off at the Corp level.
Ride safe ,I still have 7 foot snowbanks outside my door till spring though .!
All the best Toz
----- Original Message -----
From: Andy Metcalfe
To: triumphclassics@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 4:17 AM
Subject: [Triumph Classics] Re: Tozsers RAT rant

Interesting. From the other side of the water, I'd have a rather
different view. The RAT here (Leeds UK) was marketing tool for the
people in Hinckley. No interest in helping with your 8 year old bike
unless you wanted to trade it for a Rocket 3 and certainly no interest
if your new Rocket 3 wouldn't go and the dealer couldn't fix it! This
was an interesting take on the single marque club. My experience with
the BMW club was similar, you needed a new RT and an interest in
Goldwings and bowling to fit in. To use this to drive sales was a
clever idea but not really the point of a bike club IMHO and I think it
might have backfired because RAT members got sales guff not support.
The UK RAT mag was just advertising to me. Perhaps this UK/European
take influenced thinking in North America which was inappropriate?

I'm sticking to riders clubs. The Thumper club doesn't care what you
ride so long as you do. The only requirement is to have a stated
interest in single cylinder 4-strokes and a sense of humour.

It is of course a shame when clubs break up and I hope your's doesn't
even if you have to rename it. My only advice on this (which you should
feel totally free to ignore) is to structure it as an enlightened
dictatorship (positions filled as required and jobs kept until people
resign). Tell the politico's and comittee wallahs where to go, you want
to ride how you ride and anyone with a similar take should be welcome
to join in as it works out.

Andy

TigerBonnieRich · 02-13-2008

I'm in agreement that the local RAT groups can put on an event equal to or better as having factory support. This year the Kootenay Raid in Nelson, Canada will be organized independent of factory support (at least at the present). We have had alot of input from local RAT groups and I believe that through the collective ideas of members and dealershhips, this Raid may be the best to come.

It's going to be great. So come on up....

Hey Matt, there's still time to come and walk on our side of the fence in July. But thanks for everything you have done in the past...

whoa · 02-13-2008

Several good points made. I'm also confused by Triumph changing mid stream. I'm not sure if they don't want to dedicate headcount to RAT, or if they prefer to use marketing $$ elsewhere. Dumping Torque was a clear indication they put magazine $$ into a brochure.

Triumph wasn't much of a participant in the 2007 Texas RAID other than to coordinate the hotel arrangements and hand out swag.

I'd like someone from Triumph along to hear them talk about the company, tease us with some gossip, and hand out free stuff. I think a dealer could handle this. And a decent dealer wouldn't turn it into a sales promo. We'll check with our Texas dealers to see if they have an interest in playing this role.

I've sent another notice to Triumph asking to bring back Torque and use articles and photos from RATs. If this doesn't work, maybe we'll need to see about producing Torque on our own.

yonder · 02-13-2008

So my humble suggestion would be (in the US market, anyway):

1) Spin off the RAT organization into a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization.
2) Appoint an initial board of directors, comprised of Triumph employees and customers, which will be tasked with the transition from the privately managed RAT organization to the public organization. Eventually I'd expect to see elections held to keep the BoD serving the RAT members.
3) Triumph and/or dealers should be paying into the RAT to permit it to publish a magazine, hold regional and national events, etc.

Not a perfect idea, but it's a start of a discussion anyway.

drharveys · 02-13-2008

Or just charter the local clubs into the BMW MOA!

Hey, it's not a factory sponsored club, there's an annual national rally, the local clubs hold weekend rallies, lots of the members have multiple bikes, not all of which are BMWs. I'm still in the Gateway Riders BMW club and I'm not the only active member who is "between BMW's"!

And did I mention that they publish a great magazine!

Tozser1 · 02-14-2008

Why was this post moved on the index page when its still here ???
Wondering in Canada !

Toz

Tozser1 · 02-14-2008

TLCS3 · 04-12-2008

Garry, did you receive any reply from Tia from your email?
My thoughts are spoken in Tozser post on this subject. It pains me that there is silence out of Newnan. The last RAID I attended the word was that RAT had the money and they would down size to 4 to 6 RIADs. Looks like 1 (mid-Ohio) is what we will get.
Much thanks to the local groups for organizing smaller gatherings! I am looking to attend a few of them this year and as always look forward to meeting new folks and hopefully seeing a few old ones.

TLCole