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I'm new to GTAM and motorcycling, but I am puzzled to see what appears to be very little organized and official representation of the interests of bikers given some of the issues that affect us. Some of these are:

- Road conditions / signage
- Public awareness (i.e. left turning / distraction)
- Rider safety / awareness / training / licensing
- Parking / HOV lanes
- Insurance
- Theft
- Many more issues that are regularly discussed in these forums

The first three of the above can have life & death consequences for all of us.

Is anyone here on GTAM a member of a national, regional or local motorcycle association?

I see there are a couple that claim to represent at the national level: the Canadian Motorcycle Association (CMA) and the Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada. Neither have much info on their websites about what specific issues they are addressing or what kind of benefits they offer.

I ask partly because I have spent almost the last decade running member-based not-for-profit organizations for the digital media industry in Canada, and I have learned a bit about the power of numbers when tackling an issue or changing policy. I know from experience that though there may be a lot that we may disagree on when it comes to certain issues, there are also a lot of things that are in our common interest as riders.

I would be more than happy to hear from or meet with anyone who has insight and/or would like to discuss further.

thanks.
 
ikelso said:
i'm new to gtam and motorcycling, but i am puzzled to see what appears to be very little organized and official representation of the interests of bikers given some of the issues that affect us. Some of these are:

- road conditions / signage
- public awareness (i.e. Left turning / distraction)
- rider safety / awareness / training / licensing
- parking / hov lanes
- insurance
- theft
- many more issues that are regularly discussed in these forums

the first three of the above can have life & death consequences for all of us.

Is anyone here on gtam a member of a national, regional or local motorcycle association?

I see there are a couple that claim to represent at the national level: The canadian motorcycle association (cma) and the motorcyclists confederation of canada. Neither have much info on their websites about what specific issues they are addressing or what kind of benefits they offer.

I ask partly because i have spent almost the last decade running member-based not-for-profit organizations for the digital media industry in canada, and i have learned a bit about the power of numbers when tackling an issue or changing policy. I know from experience that though there may be a lot that we may disagree on when it comes to certain issues, there are also a lot of things that are in our common interest as riders.

I would be more than happy to hear from or meet with anyone who has insight and/or would like to discuss further.

Thanks.
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caa
 
Truth be told, we're all lazy self obsorbed ding bats. We all bitcch and complain about all the points you brought up but have no drive or leadership to make things happen. If every rider (and riders they know) were to group together things may change.

With member comments like "mind your own business or do whatever you want or stop telling people what to do" I highly doubt things will change. That said, there are a few proactive motorcyclist that actually try to make a difference but too small a percentage compared to the "I don't care" crowd.

What's stopping every rider from showing up at city hall to fight for our right to use the HOV lanes?
....nothing, our own lack of drive or care.

It's the way society in general is moving, me me me me me.
It's a shame, but it's true.
 
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The CMA as far as I know is our Racing organization and not for general riders... And the organization is essentially a skeleton of what it used to be. Other clubs have taken its place such as the CMRC, and smaller local clubs.
 
Redrock said:
Truth be told, we're all lazy self obsorbed ding bats. We all bitcch and complain about all the points you brought up but have no drive or leadership to make things happen.
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This. But also, I think, some of the character traits that are common amongst motorcyclists are traits that don't lend well to the organizing of large groups. Love of the open road, discontent to sit behind other vehicles in traffic, a sense of 'freedom', etc.

Not saying everyone on a bike is James Dean, just that it's probably not the best cross section of society in which to find social organizers.
 
You can't get motorcyclists here to agree on the colour of ****.
 
RetroGrouch said:
You can't get motorcyclists here to agree on the colour of ****.
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Plus there are a a lot of people on this forum that refuse to admit anyone other than the rider can ever be at fault. If an airplane landed on somones head when they were riding people on this forum would blame him for not looking up. Even in that one thread where that rider in Scarborough almost got decapitated by fishing line some people were saying he should have seen it. GTAM is not always a good place to get support for the day to day pressures of riding, let alone for a group with a mission statement and a cause.
 
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We were just havin a discussion on why those good for nothin idiots who participate in funerals should be run out of town. Motorcyclists you would think with all the wavin and ridin for sight or ridin for whatever would be cool people.... naaaw we are just whiners lookin out for ME...not the greater good...forgetaboutit.
My bike is better than yours...is where were at.
 
You shoulda seen the motorcycle insurance "protest"..yikes..I think 5 people showed up..3 were Rob MacLennan cuz he's got the brains of 3 people!! :-D
 
Hey, I'm not disillusioned. Everybody is out for themselves 99.8% of the time. Save for a few that put in the time to voluntarily do work for a group, but there are also generally personal motives for even that (speaking from experience).

But they seem to be managing well with active street riders associations in Europe.

Generally it takes a big threat to self-interest to catalyse an organization, and an early victory helps to cement the idea that groups can wield great power. Of course then you have to create specialized privileges or monetizable benefits to keep interest and engagement.

GTAM does a great job of supporting community, discussion, debate and even some healthy group wanking. Yes, there are far more issues that spur disagreement (filtering, speed limits, etc) than agreement.

But I see definite consensus on certain critical things, generally the ones that have life/death consequences (distracted drivers) or which hit us squarely in the wallet (parking, insurance). Governments love a vacuum as they are already juggling far too many other group interests. So you can be sure that unless you are damn squeaky, you won't be getting any grease.


invictus43 said:
You shoulda seen the motorcycle insurance "protest"..yikes..I think 5 people showed up..3 were Rob MacLennan cuz he's got the brains of 3 people!! :-D
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It's not other motorcyclists I don't like being around, it's other people.

"so, this association, will there be meetings?"
"Yeah."
"No meetings"
 
****ing do gooders...

I think the only people on this board who do anything pro active are the anti-rape chicks WROAR.
 
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/operation-escargot-1.435828

That happened 3 years ago and they had a protest once a year with an endless line of bikers.

Basically a huge hike on plating costs (in Quebec, the higher cost is not reflected on insurance, but on plating as the gov't pays part of everybody's insurance, therefore insurance rates are hella low)
Because of this table

http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/vehicle_registration/registration_cost/moto.php

you can see that any "high risk" motorcycle pays 1000$ for plating and then you add insurance on top of it. aka how to discourage people in buying certain bikes 101

http://www2.publicationsduquebec.go...elecharge.php?type=3&file=/A_25/A25R3_1_A.HTM
(there's a schedule I table that lists all models considered high-risk)



ALL THIS TO SAY
some people are willing to fight for 'their rights' but unfortunately wont always get the ball rolling even after displaying disagreement.

Cause seriously using one lane for 250km out of a 2-lane highway WILL be quite visible lol

 
I read somewhere that there are like 200,000 motorcyclists in Ontario, and that's enough to swing an election. It might be worth it for another group to take on motorcyclists as part of a broader agenda. It's easier for people to unite against things, and there just isn't a "cowboy-up, cupcake" lobby.

It's a hard match. If you are independently minded, value individual liberties, and believe you should be free to make your own decisions, then you are just the sort of person a government exists to protect people from.

If there were such a group, I'd donate to the following campaigns:

- we may never get the speed limits raised, but a repeal of HTA 172 would be a good start.
- it doesn't matter how fast people go if everyone signals, stop fining speeders and go after lane drifters.
- stop sharing HTA fine revenue with municipalities and police forces, it creates perverse incentives.
- Remove speed limits on the 407, or revert it to an un-assumed road, then sell high-speed licenses.
- remove mandatory collision reporting requirements, they don't help anyone, just move the debris asap.

Motorcyclists don't need more protections, or so-called "rights", we just need freedom.
 
Buddhacide said:
Plus there are a a lot of people on this forum that refuse to admit anyone other than the rider can ever be at fault. If an airplane landed on somones head when they were riding people on this forum would blame him for not looking up. Even in that one thread where that rider in Scarborough almost got decapitated by fishing line some people were saying he should have seen it. GTAM is not always a good place to get support for the day to day pressures of riding, let alone for a group with a mission statement and a cause.
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Unfortunately, there is a lot of hyposcrisy on there as well. People have no problem wanting to murder people who steal bikes, but at the same time they're advocating running from the police and hiding their plate. Suppose I hide the plate on my car and kill a biker? If people want to be taken seriously, they have to walk the walk..
 
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