Ariel prospectus library

[markus.nikot]

Karol,

I see it the same way as Chris, John and Roger, the club has invested over many years in data collection, knowledge base and parts production. This should not be undermined by free social media. You can already observe it in the lower use of our forum, a lot runs via facebook or whats app groups that don't care about the club. This may be the new time but will destroy a club like the one we have in the long run and that would be a pity.

Markus

[MikeCrook]

Karol,
Most members are users not contibutors to Knowledge base or any of the other info etc sections ( my self included), membership is a small price to pay to ensure this library is maintained and updated. Remember it's volunteers whom do this work , I'm not sure they wouldn't be happy having it freely distributed !

Mike

[Karol Burger]

I totally agree that member fees are very important for keeping the club running and providing the members with materials and parts for their motorcycles.

On the other part catalogues and user manuals are easy to find on many websites for free and many websites sell their copies. For example: http://arielclub.cz/motocykly-ariel/katalogy-ariel/

The other story are the unique materials, blueprints and drawings AOMCC has and these are only available for its members and we completelly agree on that.
Another unique activity of AOMCC that I have to mention and give credits is when the club sends rare and unique parts to production and makes them available for its members. Not many people understand how much effort and money it costs to make these thing run.

To motivate people to become members of AOMCC I decided to write and article about advantages of being a part of the club, including the access to information, materials and parts produced by AOMCC:

https://www.arielklub.sk/magazin-ako-sa ... aomcc.html

[Roger Gwynn]

Karol, I understand what you mean when you say that it will encourage more interest in Ariels if the information is available but we also want people to join our club so many years ago we decided to give people some facilities, like this forum, without having to join. That way, we hope that non-members will see that we are friendly and helpful and so they will join us to obtain the rest of the things that the club has to offer. Some clubs offer nothing to non-members, which is not good but it is also not good to give everything away, otherwise nobody would join us.

[Vincent.vanGinneke]

Perhaps my view on this is a bit on the dark side..
When I joined the Dutch Ariel club in about 1979 or so, I was one of the younger ones.
Now over 40 years on I still am one of the younger ones!
o.k. maybe charging this a bit, but I think you all know what is happening.

Presently information is regarded for free, If something is not for free -on the net- people simply turn away.
If I cannot visit a website because its locked for non members I go away.
Do they think I will become a member? ofcourse not!
The AOMCC is doing a splendid job of having this forum so open.

But...

How long do 'we' actually think this classic bike movement will be around in it's present format?
Legislations to get old machinery off the road is only one stroke of a clerck's pen away.
Amsterdam bans mopeds from before 2010, mopeds older then 30 years can buy (ofcourse!) a permit but only for the weekends.
- this 'pilot' is being watched with interest by other citys...-
Road closures, mainly our famous dikes , more and more.
So, there need to be as many people as possible and have a open source on information, it is the way to go.
Give free information on this wonderfull world of classic motorcycles.
I am not on Insta, FB or whatyouhave but I understood that 'over there' the norm is 'all for free' .
So basically we, the stiff oldtimers, are being undercut at what we thought was our game.
The only way to stay around is to get and keep people aboard.
One of the tactics would be to have it all as attractive as possible, do open up those Alladin caves !
Das letzte Hemd hat leider keine Taschen.

[JohnnyBeckett]

hi in the uk we campaigned to keep classic vehicles over 40 years on the road and the uk government has got a classic car club , so i think we will be here for a long time , and there is a lot of money made in classic vehicles in the uk also the triumph motorcycle clubs do not give anything away if you are not a member and look at how many of them is still around it is at least ten times more than Ariels , so not giving anything away for free has not done the triumph club any harm

[Karol Burger]

I agree with Vincent that we need to be closer to the people. I also always leave websites that require me to be a member in order to read it. But I accept the rules of AOMCC and those interested in some information and parts will be redirected to AOMCC. I also understand that if we want to comment on any of the upcoming laws, we have to declare that many members are behind us. I also think that if the club solved the possibility of selling some spare parts and our members had a club discount of 15% - 20% on a motorcycle registered in the club, it would increase interest in membership.

[Vincent.vanGinneke]

Hello Johnny, others, Triumph, Norton, HD, BMW and all those others are a Brand with a huge following.
No wonder these clubs thrive, lots of folks like to look like Brando or at least like the Fonze while riding their chosen brand .
Ariel ?? huh? whatsthat? a washing powder?? ever seen wide spread merchandising with the Ariel logo? (apart from our own cook ups) .
The modern Ariel that exsist nowadays one can hardly call a 'brand' . It's a small production hand build toy.
As a small club we need to think outside the usual box, hence my point in favour of open source information.
This forum is one of the things that makes the AOMCC a succes, and yes I am fine with the way it works now.
But this cannot imply that others like Karol need to follow this.

[Simon.Gardiner]

Supply of parts? I strongly suspect there are legalities and potentially much much higher overheads involved if the Club sets up as a spares manufacturer selling parts to the general public. You can only get away with so much before the revenue boys come after you....

There's more to 'getting close to the people' than just piling up a stack of literature and letting folks rifle through it and run off with whatever they want to. There's already a load of Ariel stuff available for free on the net (maybe at the cost of joining a FB group or two) - or to buy on ebay (or in bookshops). If the AOMCC website is the portal to a single managed and comprehensive repository of all sorts of Ariel-related docs I don't see why having access to that as a benefit of AOMCC membership stops people from following an interest in 'the brand' .

In fact, I'd say there's already plenty on the 'open' side of the AOMCC website to help people develop an interest in both brands (bike and Club) if they land there. Just because you 'senior member' guys don't look at it any more.....

SG