The Bullet Board

Time for a little soapbox.

I am greatful for my past experiences and I will always remember where I came from but.. The former brass and I have differing opinions about sleeping with the enemy.

When the "transition" started I wanted to strap up and fight. Instead we bowed down and invited the vampires into our home. Everyone knows what came of that.

Now there is a fox in the forum hen house. They are censoring posts, and the former brass is pedaling gift certificates. WTF! Zero competition is never a good thing for the consumer. I wonder what is going to come of this new "transition" ?!?

Well F&%ing said Tim !!! We don't need no stinkin' factory or dictators from across the pond ?! "US" Enfield guys help each other out ! Here to lend anyone a hand and humbly share are knowledge and learn at the same time.

As a RE rookie, I have no idea what's going with the history here. Anybody wanna educate me a bit?

Steve

swamp2 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 2:30 pm As a RE rookie, I have no idea what's going with the history here. Anybody wanna educate me a bit?

Steve

From 1998 to 2015 the U.S. business model for Royal Enfield was very much retail focused. A retail customer could call up the distributor and get the exact same support any franchise dealer would. Technical advice, accessory suggestions, general chit chat, and a GRIPE hotline all at your finger tips directly from the source. It was quite glorious in my opinion. The transparency / accessibility really made owners feel like they were apart of the brand more-so then just owning the bike.

Today the Royal Enfield parent company changed their global business model and did away with regional distributors. They adopted a more traditional model were the impoter in each market is owned and operated by the parent company. There are a lot of benefits that come with the new business model i.e. a heck of a lot more resources, consistency, driving the customer base to the local dealer, and so on. But the days of calling up the guy that design your luggage rack, or asking the guy that developed the dealer training a technical question are gone.

If you want to read more about it there are articles all over the internet.

Thanks Tim, per your suggestion I've been doing a little researching and am piecing together (some of) the history.

But one thing I'm missing - do folks have some issues with "the other" forum? I've been getting a lot of useful info there and recognize some of the members here from there, but again - I have no history.

swamp2 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 7:41 pm Thanks Tim, per your suggestion I've been doing a little researching and am piecing together (some of) the history.

But one thing I'm missing - do folks have some issues with "the other" forum? I've been getting a lot of useful info there and recognize some of the members here from there, but again - I have no history.

The Classic Motorworks forum is a great forum, but it's always a good thing to have more then one option. The Yahoo group is closing, the Classic Motorworks forum has sold to Hitchcock's. A member suggested I open a forum. Since I already had the server space I said what the hay. I hope you're enjoying it.

Tim wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 8:09 pm The Classic Motorworks forum is a great forum, but it's always a good thing to have more then one option. The Yahoo group is closing, the Classic Motorworks forum has sold to Hitchcock's. A member suggested I open a forum. Since I already had the server space I said what the hay. I hope you're enjoying it.

I'm enjoying this. I know what you mean about CMW and that family atmosphere. My first one was a 2010 C5. The engine seized on the Bay Bridge in heavy traffic! The only thing that saved me was the slow commute traffic. A few emails from Kevin and I had a new engine installed under warranty. I just had to promise not to share the pictures of the damage

That level of support is not something I expect from a billion dollar multi-national corporation. My 650 is lightyears ahead of the 500 in terms of design and workmanship but when something is gained, it seems something has to be lost. That's life.

What he said ^^^^ . I miss those early days... for me. Back in 2009-2010. Where I had issue's with the " new" model at the time, and the Tech guy at CMW ,would spend his own time at nights and weekend's with solving it. Never had that excellent experience before. I gained A LOT of knowledge that way. And it led to a very long and very good friendship. The " atmosphere " has changed on that other forum...