To MGNOC, or not to MGNOC, the threadfest

[Lannis]

It's only my opinion, but Chucks experience kind of reduces the whole thing for me.  I know lots of life members and many more feel differently, but my direct exchanges with Frank over the years have been less that satisfying.   Frank chose to treat Chuck poorly, what else do you need to know?

I know that ANYone can have a bad day, including Chuck and/or Frank, I know that I haven't had a bad day at the same time as Frank in the last 15 years or so, and I know that I wouldn't terminate a meaningful relationship over one experience; we ARE human, after all.

Other than that, I'm OK with what I know ....

Lannis

[LowRyter]

I was a member until I changed credit cards and didn't do the automatic renewal.

The state MGNOC is kaput along the neighboring state where I ride.  I know there was one volunteer to get things going again but he was declined since he wasn't a current MGNOC member.  And a couple of others that had done it before and were given the short shrift.  That's hard for me to understand. 

Now we seem to have some NARs and get-togethers that keep it all going.

[Guzzistajohn]

There's a retired guy in ok city that would be a good state rep

[sign216]

I'm at a similar point, but I think having the database of members contact info is worth the price if you run into trouble on the road.

That's the only reason I belonged, but I've heard it didn't work for some people.  They called people on the list for help, and the people were like "why are you calling me?"

[handyandy]

A little history. If it were not for the MGNOC keeping the marque flying back in the 80's there would be no Guzzis in the USA. Andy Thompson Ind st rep

[fotoguzzi]

A little history. If it were not for the MGNOC keeping the marque flying back in the 80's there would be no Guzzis in the USA. Andy Thompson Ind st rep

ah the good ole days when MGNOC was relevant.

[dilligaf]

That's the only reason I belonged, but I've heard it didn't work for some people.  They called people on the list for help, and the people were like "why are you calling me?"

Not my experience with the list has been very positive.  ;-T Don't leave home without it.   :BEER:
Matt

[rocker59]

There's a retired guy in ok city that would be a good state rep

He's not a current MGNOC member, so not eligible.   ;)

[sib]

Since getting my Guzzi in May 2013, I've checked out the MGNOC site several times and have been tempted to join, but I've been turned off by my impression that there's little going on there.  For example, in the "Articles" section, there haven't been any now postings since the first time I looked, nearly 2 years ago.  Also, there are few dates ascertainable from the articles, and none of the newer models are referred to, so the articles could be many years old.  The classifieds seem to be up to date, but offer nothing more than the ones here.  I mostly travel in about a 100-mile radius, so I don't need to contact other members for roadside help, and in any case, I have roadside service as part of my AMA membership (the only reason I joined).  So, unless someone can come up with a persuasive reason to join MGNOC, I'll remain a nonmember.

[blackcat]

They called people on the list for help, and the people were like "why are you calling me?"

That is funny.

I was on the list for quite a few years after I dropped out of the club. Maybe that is why people were wondering why they were being called, as they were no longer involved with MGNOC.

[Joe A.]

That is funny.

I was on the list for quite a few years after I dropped out of the club. Maybe that is why people were wondering why they were being called, as they were no longer involved with MGNOC.

I am a member.

Don't really see the value in it anymore, however I do appreciate the history of what was developed "back in the day" and the role it may have played in keeping the company here, and I am happy to support MGNOC for that reason alone.

But for Chrissakes, at least throw us a bone and update the friggin' list.

[Daniel Kalal]

But for Chrissakes...

Email Tony George (his address is at the front of the directory) and tell him to add (or delete) your name.  It's pretty simple, but it won't happen by magic.  sigh...

My name and phone numbers are on the list; it's accurate. Call me if you're on the road and need help.  Virtually all the user names on Wildguzzi are anonymous (mine is not); the names in the MGNOC directory are all real.

[Dean Rose]

We fought a few wars using propeller aircraft fighters but we don't use them now.


Dean

[dilligaf]

I made good use of it on this trip.
http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=62032.0
Thanks to "the list" I went fishing in Alaska.

and a personal tour guide of

on this ride.
http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=66602.0
Well worth the $$ to me.
But so is my AAA membership.  
 
  :BEER:
Matt

[Lannis]

Email Tony George (his address is at the front of the directory) and tell him to add (or delete) your name.  It's pretty simple, but it won't happen by magic.  sigh...

My name and phone numbers are on the list; it's accurate. Call me if you're on the road and need help.  Virtually all the user names on Wildguzzi are anonymous (mine is not); the names in the MGNOC directory are all real.

Same here.   Accurate as long as the people on it make notes when something changes!

[LowRyter]

He's not a current MGNOC member, so not eligible.   ;)

I know a guy in Fayetteville that has done a ton for the hobby and was denied to be state rep for the same reason.  

 :-\

[bad Chad]

A little history. If it were not for the MGNOC keeping the marque flying back in the 80's there would be no Guzzis in the USA. Andy Thompson Ind st rep

Andy, I'm not disagreeing with you on that statement, I have heard it said before, and for all I know it is true.  On the other hand, it could be just urban legend?  I wouldn't mind someone explaining exactly how MGNOC saved MG in NA?  Or even just summarizing how MGNOC kept the whole thing afloat through more lean times.  It would be good for us all to know from a historical perspective. :)

[dilligaf]

You know Bad Chad has a point.  I was, for a very short time, a Moto Guzzi dealer in the 80ies and didn't know MGNOC existed.  :BEER:
Matt

[Lannis]

We fought a few wars using propeller aircraft fighters but we don't use them now.


Dean

That's true, but when we have a thread showing old warbirds in action, and stories about the guys flying them ....

.... every other post isn't about how sh!tty they are compared to a jet, or how stupid it is to spend money keeping them going, or how we'd have won the war anyway without them because they really never did anything, or how they all ought to be grounded or done away with because I don't like them, or how the guy who owned the hanger was mean to me once so I don't like propeller planes any more ......   ;D

Lannis

[oldbike54]

You know Bad Chad has a point.  I was, for a very short time, a Moto Guzzi dealer in the 80ies and didn't know MGNOC existed.  :BEER:
Matt

[/quote

 Yep . I have been around Guzzis since the '70s , never heard of MGNOC until my buddy Jay joined in '97 or so . Not saying anything bad about the organization , but kind of doubt some of the claims made about its importance .

  Dusty

[dilligaf]

Dusty, that's nothing.  I can almost say I never heard of Moto Guzzi until I became a dealer.  :BEER:
Matt

[oldbike54]

Dusty, that's nothing.  I can almost say I never heard of Moto Guzzi until I became a dealer.  :BEER:
Matt

  :D :D :D :D :D
 There was a guy in my first MC buddie's hood that owned an Ambassador , cool old guy of probably 32 years of age  :D He let us hang around and ask stupid questions  :BEER: MGNOC no doubt was very important to its members , providing a valuable resource . Kind of like belonging to the MOA or the Beatle's fan club , fun , but not absolutely necessary to own and enjoy a beemer , or listen to Revolver and enjoy it .

  Dusty

[Lannis]

  :D :D :D :D :D
 There was a guy in my first MC buddie's hood that owned an Ambassador , cool old guy of probably 32 years of age  :D He let us hang around and ask stupid questions  :BEER: MGNOC no doubt was very important to its members , providing a valuable resource . Kind of like belonging to the MOA or the Beatle's fan club , fun , but not absolutely necessary to own and enjoy a beemer , or listen to Revolver and enjoy it .

  Dusty

I agree entirely with that sentiment.   Now turn on your Betazoid-level empathic powers and explain this please.   ;)

Whenever the MGNOC is mentioned, even tangentially, some people (like me) come on and say that they find it a useful thing to belong to, that it's been useful to us in the past, and that we continue to support it.   Fair enough, I say.

Other people (like you) say that it's not necessary to belong to the MGNOC to enjoy one's Guzzi, and that it is not as relevant as it was, once upon a time, when the Newsletter had the thick "TIPS" column with the kind of things we talk about on this list today and across the Internet. ALSO fair enough, and probably somewhat true.

But a core of people seem genuinely hostile toward the MGNOC, toward Frank Wedge, indeed toward the very IDEA of a MGNOC.   There is almost virtual spit flying out of their mouths as they damn it up street and down alley for a time-wasting, money-wasting, irrelevant scam, and they want it to go away, and they don't want anyone to belong to it.   

I don't understand the third group at all.   I don't belong to HOG, nor the CMA, nor the AAA, but if people want to belong to it and pay dues, that's absolutely no skin of my nose.   Certainly everyone's entitled to have their opinion and express it here, but I can't figure out the "Why?" in this case ....

Lannis

[father guzzi obrian]

iPad or other tablet is good for toilet reading. 

You can wipe with an iPad or other tablet?  I know you can with the paper version....

[oldbike54]

 Lannis , the Eastern OK MGNOC had their meetings in Muskogee for a few years , Shorty was the rep and liked a local restaurant . Anyway , I attended several meetings , listened intently to the discussions , laughed at the humor , and tried not to pay attention when club politics were discussed . Don't remember ever being asked if I was an FW devotee  ;) Kind of like going to a Tolkien appreciation society meeting W/O having any opinion of the author , smile and genuflect when appropriate , otherwise ...  ;D My feelings RE MMGNOC and FW , pro or con, largely remain unknown except to a select few , as they have no bearing on the success or failure of the club .

  Dusty

[Wayne Orwig]

That's the only reason I belonged, but I've heard it didn't work for some people.  They called people on the list for help, and the people were like "why are you calling me?"

I will sort of admit to the 'why are you calling me'.

Years ago, I got a call from a BMW owner (he kept repeating that he was a BMW owner). His fathers Guzzi had broken down about 5 hours from me. He wanted me to go pick him up or help him out. He again restated that he was a BMW owner, and BMWs are awesome. And he lives about 2 hours from where his father was broken down. But since he is a BMW owner, he couldn't be bothered to help out a Guzzi, even if it was his father. And it was his father fault, AND MY FAULT, for his father not getting a BMW. And it was MY fault for not driving 5 hours one way to help out his father, who was just a couple of hours from him. He eventually hung up on me, as I tried to find a good solution to getting his father going again.
Did I mention that he was a superior BMW owner. And his inferior father had purchased an inferior Guzzi.

Nothing new. It just reinforced a generalization about certain people that I already had.

You know what, if it wasn't a work day, I would have tried hard to go meet his father and help him out.  Normally, I offer what help I can all of the time to fellow motorcyclists. Well, maybe not BMW people......  :BEER:

[John Ulrich]

But a core of people seem genuinely hostile toward the MGNOC, toward Frank Wedge, indeed toward the very IDEA of a MGNOC.   There is almost virtual spit flying out of their mouths as they damn it up street and down alley for a time-wasting, money-wasting, irrelevant scam, and they want it to go away, and they don't want anyone to belong to it.   

I don't understand the third group at all.   I don't belong to HOG, nor the CMA, nor the AAA, but if people want to belong to it and pay dues, that's absolutely no skin of my nose.   Certainly everyone's entitled to have their opinion and express it here, but I can't figure out the "Why?" in this case ....

Good points!   ;-T

As for people being turned down for State Reps who do not belong.   "why would a person want to serve if they don't think enough of the club to be a member in the first place?"

[rodekyll]

I agree entirely with that sentiment.   Now turn on your Betazoid-level empathic powers and explain this please.   ;)

Whenever the MGNOC is mentioned, even tangentially, some people (like me) come on and say that they find it a useful thing to belong to, that it's been useful to us in the past, and that we continue to support it.   Fair enough, I say.

Other people (like you) say that it's not necessary to belong to the MGNOC to enjoy one's Guzzi, and that it is not as relevant as it was, once upon a time, when the Newsletter had the thick "TIPS" column with the kind of things we talk about on this list today and across the Internet. ALSO fair enough, and probably somewhat true.

But a core of people seem genuinely hostile toward the MGNOC, toward Frank Wedge, indeed toward the very IDEA of a MGNOC.   There is almost virtual spit flying out of their mouths as they damn it up street and down alley for a time-wasting, money-wasting, irrelevant scam, and they want it to go away, and they don't want anyone to belong to it.   

I don't understand the third group at all.   I don't belong to HOG, nor the CMA, nor the AAA, but if people want to belong to it and pay dues, that's absolutely no skin of my nose.   Certainly everyone's entitled to have their opinion and express it here, but I can't figure out the "Why?" in this case ....

Lannis

I'm not sure anyone belongs to that third group.  I have never heard of it except from you, and it's been debunked whenever it's been mentioned.  I think that's a overstatement wound up to hyperbole that only stands up to the most shallow inspection.  It's a dog I'm not planning to flog here.

There's however a 4th group -- the FW personality cult, who get combative if anything other than glowing eulagies of FW are given, or if folks disagree with what they imagine FW and his 'club' might be.  This group can be identified by their baseless, unverifiable insistence that FW is the yahweh of north american guzzi, and that we should either drink his kool-aid without question or turn in our titles.

And a 5th group -- the group who don't object to an official club, but who feel the MGNOC is misnamed and misrepresented to the point of deceit.  These folks also object to 'club' policies regarding participation, decisionmaking, what official events to NOT include in the calendar, etc.  

So it's not a simple pidgeonholing of people.

[Joe A.]

Email Tony George (his address is at the front of the directory) and tell him to add (or delete) your name.  It's pretty simple, but it won't happen by magic.  sigh...

My name and phone numbers are on the list; it's accurate. Call me if you're on the road and need help.  Virtually all the user names on Wildguzzi are anonymous (mine is not); the names in the MGNOC directory are all real.

Wasn't aware of the process, thanks for the tip. And I can finally stop procrastinating and add my name, more than happy to help any way I can ;-T

[youcanrunnaked]

Hyperbole aside, nobody I know of gives anybody a hard time for being an MGNOC member.

The criticisms of the organization are well-known, and I won't bother cataloging them, here.

For me, an enthusiast's "club" that is a for-profit company owned and controlled by one individual, is problematic.  As a recent example of why I feel this way, I will point out that Tim Hewitt has been unable to get the Central Florida Camp-Out (Sertoma Youth Ranch, Brooksville, April 3, 4 and 5) listed on the MGNOC Rally Calendar, despite asking Frank Wedge to list this in January of this year.  (AFAIK,  Tim and Helena are not only MGNOC Members, but the Central Florida Representatives.)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=858348457560759&set=a.182725448456400.46745.100001568373346&type=1&theater

The fact that this event is not listed on the Rally Calendar, for reasons unknown to everyone except maybe Frank, and likely to remain unknown to everyone except maybe Frank, may or may not trouble you.  It bothers me.  I think it should bother you, but if it doesn't, ignore it and carry on.