the "Tire Nazi"

[Stuff2c]

The website will be the demise of the MOA. I used to enjoy waiting for the ON to show up every month(20+years). Now I log on and read all the grumpy old f'ers piss and moan about spending $3 to much for a tire $1 to much for water at a rally. They bust on some guy for lying his bike on its side, just because he wants to enjoy himself. At 47 this club is making me feel old.

Real time old f'n internet whiners, will run off anyone (especially young ones) interested in a long term fun with an interesting club.

We're going backwards folks.

I have 3 years left (prepaid) that should just about do it for me. MOA#38033

[EDDIE]

The website will be the demise of the MOA. I used to enjoy waiting for the ON to show up every month(20+years). Now I log on and read all the grumpy old f'ers piss and moan about spending $3 to much for a tire $1 to much for water at a rally. They bust on some guy for lying his bike on its side, just because he wants to enjoy himself. At 47 this club is making me feel old.

Real time old f'n internet whiners, will run off anyone (especially young ones) interested in a long term fun with an interesting club.

We're going backwards folks.

I have 3 years left (prepaid) that should just about do it for me. MOA#38033

Stuff2C,Great post,I haven't been around as long as you but I have talked about all the whinning many times with my wife. I frequent a couple other BMW sites and I don't read all this whinning and BMW bashing you find here.This place would discourage any one from buying a BMW or joining the MOA.I think your post would have made a good new thread.

[cjack]

Stuff2C,Great post,I haven't been around as long as you but I have talked about all the whinning many times with my wife. I frequent a couple other BMW sites and I don't read all this whinning and BMW bashing you find here.This place would discourage any one from buying a BMW or joining the MOA.I think your post would have made a good new thread.

I'm about 35 years with MOA and have been on the other sites...I like this forum. It was pretty non-whiney until the National Rally...well maybe a little whiney about dealers...and BMWNA...and tire costs at dealers...hmmm...
Now that I think about it...it's pretty whiney, but it's BMW riders at their usual best...whiny. They couldn't even start a national club without splitting into two clubs in the early seventies. So they come from it honestly, from birth.
Oh. I forgot to say, I still like this forum. And the folks on it.

[hetkind]

I am going to chime in here...I have never bought a tire at a rally and never have bought one on the road, either. It is easy to see which tires, stacked on the pump house roof, are MY take-offs, and the ones I change for friends...mine have tread LEFT on them.

Common sense says that you should have a plan for keeping your bike in tires while on a road trip and in my book, counting on a mechanic or tire guy at a rally isn't one of them. Those guys are great for an emergency repair, when there are no other options. Now one year, I set off from Dallas going to the Finger Lakes rally in New York for the sole task of running the Dunlop K491s out of tread on my R80ST. They were approaching three years old and 25k miles, and needed to come off, just due to time. I pulled them off when I got home, 4k later and they still had good tread. but flat spotted. A worn, old K491 is NOT good in the rain in Dallas traffic...

At the Lima rally, I had advised many, both on the internet forums and in person, that the premier tire vendor in Western Ohio is Tires Unlimited in Dayton. You can pull up to the shop, pull your wheels one at a time and they will mount and balance at $15 over the internet cost. I would stop there, while living in Dayton, on a regular basis, for tires to go...then talked to a very nice couple from Dallas who bought tires at the rally site, for about the same price the dealer in Plano (Dallas) would charge.

So, using the tire guy at the rally for an emergency is great, as part of a maintenance plan, no effing way.

Oh, one last thing, I tend to run tires with decent life, Avon Azarios, Roadrunners and Distanzia for now, Jill has the conti road attacks on the K1200R, a Roadrunner back and ME33 (lazertech) front on her K75S.

Howard
Canton, Texas

[BRADFORDBENN]

The crankiness comes and goes, I chalk it up to the fact that there were 9,000+ people at a rally and not everyone is going to be happy. Also most people don't say anything when things go well but will pipe up when something goes wrong.

A marketing statistic from 2000 indicated that someone will tell 9 people unsolicited about a bad restaurant, but only 5% of people will unsolicited recommend a restaurant, and also only to one person. Same thing is happening here.

Remember it is OUR club, so it is up to all of us to also post the good things

[Voni]

Remember it is OUR club, so it is up to all of us to also post the good things

And to recognize a negative post and quit trying to convince negative people to change.

Just step away.

I'm gone from this thread.

Voni
sMiling

[jmerlino]

I had a specific goal to get new tires at the rally.

Hey, I don't mean to be argumentative, here, but why would you do that? It seems to me that a place with 9000 of your closest friends all on bikes would be the worst possible place to get something as routine as tires done. I can understand people who had flats needing help, but I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would plan to get tires done at a rally.

[dancogan]

And to recognize a negative post and quit trying to convince negative people to change.

Just step away.

I'm gone from this thread.

Voni
sMiling

That about says it all. Thanks, Voni.

[ROADHOUND]

...had the experience you did. It is a bitch when things don't go as planned and more so when you are on the road with little alternative.

I have had excellent service form Rob and learned a lot about my 1150GS and about tires by listening to him. I have used him at Daytona Beach 2005, Laconia 2005, Lima 2005 and seen him elsewhere. I have never seen him overwelhmed as is was in VT. He is a one man band that tried to help too many people. Shame on Metzger for not making sure the BMW crowd was taken care of. They are a large coroporation. Net net I think what you saw was one guy that tried to help too many people and couldn't deliver. Remember It was DAM hot there and I know I couldn't have gotten as much done in the heat as I could otherwise.

Hopefully lessons were learned by all parties, Metzger, MOA, the patrons and Rob.

Lastly I agree , I wouldn't want anyone other than Rob or his employee touching my bike, when I leave the bike with him.

Ride Safe

[quagmire]

There once was a tire nazi from Arizona
who's rhetoric gave customers a bona
but his tires were fair
he installed them with care
so all the ill-natured complainaz got homa.

[testinglogin]

...had the experience you did. It is a bitch when things don't go as planned and more so when you are on the road with little alternative.

I have had excellent service form Rob and learned a lot about my 1150GS and about tires by listening to him. I have used him at Daytona Beach 2005, Laconia 2005, Lima 2005 and seen him elsewhere. I have never seen him overwelhmed as is was in VT. He is a one man band that tried to help too many people. Shame on Metzger for not making sure the BMW crowd was taken care of. They are a large coroporation. Net net I think what you saw was one guy that tried to help too many people and couldn't deliver. Remember It was DAM hot there and I know I couldn't have gotten as much done in the heat as I could otherwise.

Hopefully lessons were learned by all parties, Metzger, MOA, the patrons and Rob.

Lastly I agree , I wouldn't want anyone other than Rob or his employee touching my bike, when I leave the bike with him.

Ride Safe

Shame on ME???

I'm not quite sure how you're dragging me into all of this. I didn't have any tire troubles, or need for tires on my bike. I DID help a friend remove/re-install his wheels, and I did minor things for a few other people stuck with the same issues, because I believe in helping other people if I'm able. Same reason I stopped on the 401 in Canada to give some gas to a couple on a Harley who had run out.

What did I learn? Several things. First, you can have fun doing anything with the right company; even removing wheels at 9:30 at night. That doesn't excuse having to do it. Second, the "tire nazi" created his own problems. If you get a bike at 8am, promise tires installed by noon, and end up not touching it by 9:30pm, there is a problem. A pen and a notepad to write down license plate numbers (in order received) costs a few dollars TOPS, and would have fixed this WHOLE thing. Third, it was a good reminder to take some time this winter and practice removing tires/tubes, patching tubes, and re-installing/balancing tires. It's probably a good skill to have, even if I DO have roadside assistance, a cell phone, and a credit card.

I haven't posted in here for a bit, and I was content to let the thread die. Not sure why people are bringing it back. There is one other important thing to remember here: He was getting paid to run his business. This wasn't some thankless volunteer activity.

[GSTOM]

Stuff2C,Great post,I haven't been around as long as you but I have talked about all the whinning many times with my wife. I frequent a couple other BMW sites and I don't read all this whinning and BMW bashing you find here.This place would discourage any one from buying a BMW or joining the MOA.I think your post would have made a good new thread.

Maybe the admins could create a new Forum called "Whining" to accomodate all those topics you mention

[EDDIE]

Maybe the admins could create a new Forum called "Whining" to accomodate all those topics you mention

Great idea Tom!!!!!!!!

[STAN]

And to recognize a negative post and quit trying to convince negative people to change.

Just step away.

I'm gone from this thread.

Voni
sMiling

This has gotten so bad that when anyone now comes up with some real constructive criticism; they are jumped on. When someone whines; please do not respond with a reprimand. Then the pissing match begins. If someone whines; just ignore it. Let it die on the vine. Move on with what needs to be discussed. I'd like to make a few suggestions for future rallies, but I wouldn't dare in the current atmosphere. Let the whining with die the whiner. JUst ignore them. Do not respond. I hope you do not consider this whining.

[steviewonder]

It's whining when the poster offers no reasonable solutions.

Nobody, but NOBODY has addressed the fact that the tire "nazi" was being asked to support a huge variety of bikes with a just as huge variety of tire needs with ZERO way of him predicting the needs and the volume of those needs.

What I hear is that rally goers expect this guy to show up with an inventory of tires at his expense that he doesn't know if they will be sold. He's supposed to transport personnel and equipment plus this huge amount of rubber to a remote (non-shop environment) location on the HOPES that he's guessed right and sells the inventory so he won't be stuck with thousands upon thousands of dollars of tires that he may not be able to sell for years, for bikes that he never sees.

Then he's supposed to sell the product and the service for the same or lower price than an internet hound can sniff out and get his rear chewed out for not doing it fast enough nor cheap enough.

Serious question ... would YOU want to be the tire/tire service vendor with expectation levels like that?

How about getting specific with some reasonable expectations that balance likelihood and volume with profitability considering the costs of inventory purchase, transportation, personnel and the costs associated with operating away from home (food, meals, hotel, etc)?

So far most of what I've heard from those with bad feelings are, in fact, whining because they have no realistic recognition of what's involved and what SHOULD be expected and what it costs.

So, YEAH .... it's whining.