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If I can make a comment or two from New Zealand. The Forum was the reason I joined the AMCA 6 years ago. With retirement imminent I wanted to get my H-D 21F restoration moving again. I am a member of the NZ Vintage Car Club which,in theory caters for motorcycles as well as four-wheeled vehicles, but with only 8000 members, most of whom are automobile drivers,motorcycles are very much the smaller interest in the Club. Some of the 36 branches have a decent motorcycle presence, others have not. Where there is a motorcycle presence, British machines dominate.
In my renewed internet search for information and suppliers to help the restoration I came across the AMCA Forum and, in particular, the J/JD Technical Discussion section. I went back to the first posts in this section and, over a short time, read them all. I copied some especially helpful posts and still have these in a folder in the workshop, I then decided to join the AMCA for two reasons: I wanted to be a Forum member so I could ask questions and engage with people with a shared interest and deep technical knowledge. And I confess I felt uncomfortable about being a 'free rider" and thought that paying the sub was the right thing to do.
In brief:
- My experience of the Forum has been almost universally positive. My questions in the J/JD Technical section have been answered helpfully and courteously.
- If I can't participate in AMCA events due to distance, the Forum helps keep me engaged and interested. Surely their must be many members within the U.S. similarly isolated for whom the Forum is, or could be, another important link to the Club.
- I tend to to be a bit long-winded in my posts, and often post pictures. The reason is that I regard the Forum as a kind of permanent repository of information and I ask myself "what would be helpful to someone, in a similar position to where I was 6 years ago, who might be looking for information in a few years' time?"
- In the same vein, I have decided that it's worth asking a question or offering a view on the Forum as the responses might help someone other than myself.
- The Forum has put me in touch with "Tommo" who has helped me in many ways with my restoration.
- I think it's important to take time to thank those who have taken the time to respond to questions.
- As expressed in some earlier posts, I too am surprised that the Forum hasn't been marketed more through the club magazine.
- Also as expressed previously, I am mildly surprised when a question sits unanswered. For example, I asked a question in the "Judging" section about age-appropriate Bosch magnetos for early Harley-Davidsons, which I thought any judge of J (or F) models could answer, but have received no reply.
- I am now at stage of my build where, increasingly, matters of detail crop up. (Are the fixing screw and nut for the rear chain guard bracket on 1921 H-D J Models plated or parkerized?) Now I could clutter the Forum with a myriad of questions like this but this is where my one, significant disappointment with the AMCA comes in. All that time, effort, research and developing knowledge which has gone into the process of judging "factory finish" motorcycles and,(irrespective of the debates and occasional criticisms), one of the most important "points of difference" between the AMCA and other motorcycle clubs, remains hidden and inaccessible to most members. My plea, is for an electronic file of detailed photos of motorcycles which have achieved "winners' circle" standards in AMCA judging to be accessible to members. I'm sure that this would complement, rather than displace, much Forum discussion.
-Yes, the technology seems a bit clunky and at times counter-intuitive, but I can live with that, The people and the content are what matters,
Thank you to the Forum moderator and all the members who have helped me to date.
Mike
In my renewed internet search for information and suppliers to help the restoration I came across the AMCA Forum and, in particular, the J/JD Technical Discussion section. I went back to the first posts in this section and, over a short time, read them all. I copied some especially helpful posts and still have these in a folder in the workshop, I then decided to join the AMCA for two reasons: I wanted to be a Forum member so I could ask questions and engage with people with a shared interest and deep technical knowledge. And I confess I felt uncomfortable about being a 'free rider" and thought that paying the sub was the right thing to do.
In brief:
- My experience of the Forum has been almost universally positive. My questions in the J/JD Technical section have been answered helpfully and courteously.
- If I can't participate in AMCA events due to distance, the Forum helps keep me engaged and interested. Surely their must be many members within the U.S. similarly isolated for whom the Forum is, or could be, another important link to the Club.
- I tend to to be a bit long-winded in my posts, and often post pictures. The reason is that I regard the Forum as a kind of permanent repository of information and I ask myself "what would be helpful to someone, in a similar position to where I was 6 years ago, who might be looking for information in a few years' time?"
- In the same vein, I have decided that it's worth asking a question or offering a view on the Forum as the responses might help someone other than myself.
- The Forum has put me in touch with "Tommo" who has helped me in many ways with my restoration.
- I think it's important to take time to thank those who have taken the time to respond to questions.
- As expressed in some earlier posts, I too am surprised that the Forum hasn't been marketed more through the club magazine.
- Also as expressed previously, I am mildly surprised when a question sits unanswered. For example, I asked a question in the "Judging" section about age-appropriate Bosch magnetos for early Harley-Davidsons, which I thought any judge of J (or F) models could answer, but have received no reply.
- I am now at stage of my build where, increasingly, matters of detail crop up. (Are the fixing screw and nut for the rear chain guard bracket on 1921 H-D J Models plated or parkerized?) Now I could clutter the Forum with a myriad of questions like this but this is where my one, significant disappointment with the AMCA comes in. All that time, effort, research and developing knowledge which has gone into the process of judging "factory finish" motorcycles and,(irrespective of the debates and occasional criticisms), one of the most important "points of difference" between the AMCA and other motorcycle clubs, remains hidden and inaccessible to most members. My plea, is for an electronic file of detailed photos of motorcycles which have achieved "winners' circle" standards in AMCA judging to be accessible to members. I'm sure that this would complement, rather than displace, much Forum discussion.
-Yes, the technology seems a bit clunky and at times counter-intuitive, but I can live with that, The people and the content are what matters,
Thank you to the Forum moderator and all the members who have helped me to date.
Mike
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