The future of NAFO

[Fred W]

PM sent

 

[Dr. Bones]

The ideal of NAFO is to ride a cross the continent to attend a seemingly overpriced event......to see new country on the way.....to be welcomed with open arms by strangers at a regional event hosting what we know is THE international event for the two years.....to see a new area of the country while sharing a beer with a person I've only corresponded on the Internet......and to come back home knowing they've been to a great event. Designating one international event every two years helps this.

Luvtoride and others that organized NAFO did a Yeoman's job in a tremendously difficult economic time (again that was the biggy) and overcoming crap from a very small number of folks that seemed to want to **** on things. And a couple folks that were on the fence about it came around and finally got it (thank you folks BTW).

It's easy to tear things down FredW...it's far harder to build things. I ask you earnestly (because I see a concerning tone in another thread ), are you going to be a person that aspires to forge NEW relationships and consensus or are are you going to be a person that sows discontent and try to dissolve things down into smaller sub regions parking lot events? I can tell you from personal experience that the ONLY way these events succeed....whether international, regional, or local....is through BROAD support.

And I look forward to the CFR volunteers at NAFO 2012 and the open arms they've already extended.

I hope everybody does aspire to ride our continental sport tourers to go and see some place new in 2011 and 2012.

I am new to the forum and didn't attend from Wisconsin because of family matters that particular weekend, but I wanted to go. As a newer member Ignacio is exactly right that broad open support and encouragement will bring tentative newbies like myself to events. Who would want to spend to attend to find out it's a closed group of self patronizers?

Also, earlier dates help me plan ahead. I found out at the end of August 2010.

The economy is a huge reason right now. Also, not everyone is at a life stage where they can leave the small kids and be gone 1 week.

As I learn more about this forum, I think the events are winners. You are trying to build a heritage around the FJR and create a sense of community, but that takes decades. This forum and regional rides are still new even though they've been around for several years.

The Goldwing was successful from the start in the 70's/80's and has had 20ish years to grow, as has Harley. Both those groups have had alot of manufacturer support. I see none for the FJR from my perch.

If you want the events to be successful, just keep doing them. Over time word slowly leaks out. The down turn in bike sales recently will not help, but regardless, the ridership will continue and increase.

A great way to build support for the events for me, is to see Ride Reports from attendee's (pics!) and I personally like IBR reports, as it gives me an idea of what I can do with my FJR.

Bungies RR :yahoo: about his 3 week trip has me juiced for long trips now! Previously I was only using it for Sunday drives, because I had no idea.

YMMV, $.02, etc, etc,

 

[FJRPierre]

It had been announced at Saturday's banquet that NAFO 2012 would happen in the CFR region of the world.

As mentioned earlier the current plan is for NAFO 2012 to be hosted in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. The normal dates for CFR is usually mid to late June and since NAFO will be replacing CFR in 2012 I would suspect a mid June date would be in the works but that is only speculation on my part...

amazing what info you gather just browsing :huh:

 

[Intech]

All the ideas and opinions here are good and valid. After having been involved with the organizing and planning of NAFO 2010 I sure as hell wouldn't want to even consider working on a week long event. That kind of planning has to come from people who have nothing else to do. With a full time job, family responsibilities, etc. I don't feel I had enough time to commit to this one. I also agree that the date should have been set a lot sooner. I learned a lot dong this one.

I think this is all good discussion. Having met Fred I am confident that there is no devicive nature to his inquiry. I think the ideal stated by Matt is spot on too. Had I owned my FJR in '08 Colorado would have been a destination for sure. Janet and I have already started talking about how we are going to do NAFO 2012. We will not be among strangers, though as I have met most of the canucks at US events! It should be an epic adventure.

People have to understand that there are a lot of things to consider for an event. You have to estimate, first, what the attendance will be. That, alone, narrows down the venue selection if you are anticipating >100. Not every hotel can provide enough rooms or banquet space for those kind of numbers. There are plenty of cheap hotels and banquet halls that would be a lot cheaper, but they would eliminate the ability to park your bike for the night, have a few drinks and dinner. That makes it a safety consideration.

I never engaged in, nor will I, any pissing contests about event planning. There was, as Matt put it, "crap from a very small number of folks that seemed to want to **** on things". that wasn't very helpful, nor very respectful of the honest and earnest efforts of the organizers.

Let's use this opportunity to make sure that everyone is on the same page for future events. Let's make the discussion positive and fruitful for the benifit of everyone.

 

[Panman]

For me distance was a issue, at 2,650 miles direct to Knoxville. That's five days out and five days back without being able to do a lot of sight seeing and then four days there. At least when I went to NAFO in Golden I was able to make it a sight seeing trip both ways with the stay in Golden mostly kicking tire's a side trip to Mount Evans. My trip to Golden was about 2300 there and 2300 home, direct would have been 1,400.

I don't care about all the bling, but it is nice to meet the new folks who do ride to the event from different areas.

So my take would be to make it a more central location.

 

[luvtoride]

All the ideas and opinions here are good and valid. After having been involved with the organizing and planning of NAFO 2010 I sure as hell wouldn't want to even consider working on a week long event. That kind of planning has to come from people who have nothing else to do. With a full time job, family responsibilities, etc. I don't feel I had enough time to commit to this one. I also agree that the date should have been set a lot sooner. I learned a lot dong this one.

I think this is all good discussion. Having met Fred I am confident that there is no devicive nature to his inquiry. I think the ideal stated by Matt is spot on too. Had I owned my FJR in '08 Colorado would have been a destination for sure. Janet and I have already started talking about how we are going to do NAFO 2012. We will not be among strangers, though as I have met most of the canucks at US events! It should be an epic adventure.

People have to understand that there are a lot of things to consider for an event. You have to estimate, first, what the attendance will be. That, alone, narrows down the venue selection if you are anticipating >100. Not every hotel can provide enough rooms or banquet space for those kind of numbers. There are plenty of cheap hotels and banquet halls that would be a lot cheaper, but they would eliminate the ability to park your bike for the night, have a few drinks and dinner. That makes it a safety consideration.

I never engaged in, nor will I, any pissing contests about event planning. There was, as Matt put it, "crap from a very small number of folks that seemed to want to **** on things". that wasn't very helpful, nor very respectful of the honest and earnest efforts of the organizers.

Let's use this opportunity to make sure that everyone is on the same page for future events. Let's make the discussion positive and fruitful for the benifit of everyone.

All agreed from this side of the room.

 

[FJRGuy]

To discuss your original query Fred, NAFO #1 was my first FJR rally and if it hadn't happened, I wouldn't have met the many riders I met from all corners of the continent and everywhere in between. If it had just been a WFO, I likely would not have made the trip. Sure one could travel great distances to attend for a regional rally (in fact many of us Canucks have to cross the continent just to attend our regional Rally, which happens to be a National Rally) but the incentive to attend EOM, SFO, etc... is not nearly the same as to attend a Rally organized/designed and marketed as a Continent wide gathering. My desire to go to NAFO 2010 was there, but things don't always work out. If it had just been EOM, it wouldn't even have been on my radar... this year .

It's not like NAFO is ANOTHER Rally to add to the list of FJR and other rallies to consider attending. It replaces a regional Rally and acts as bi-annual gathering point for the serious tourers amongst us.

There is no question that NAFO had some challenges this year, but despite those challenges, Heidi et al did a bang up job pulling off a successful Rally. We can learn from this year and the previous NAFO to build NAFO into the "Can't miss FJR event" that it should be.

I believe that I heard it erroneously reported that MEM was hosting NAFO '12 in New Brunswick (she had already beat feet North to avoid the weather).

I believe the actual plug that MEM wanted to make was for CFR '11 in New Brunswick.

So, no. There was no announcement or discussion of future NAFOs or what that means.

PS - Thanks for the constructive commentary Jay.

MEM was definitely looking to plug CFR 2011 in New Brunswick.

If my sources are correct, and I believe that they are, the announcement WAS made that NAFO 2012 will be hosted by CFR! Combined the the plug for CFR 2011, this may have confused some. CFR 2012 is scheduled to be in Western Canada and we plan on hosting the best NAFO ever!

 

[FJRGuy]

...But, it seems that once you call it a "National" that then requires a different scale of accomodations, etc....

Ummm... :dribble: Fred, there is no "National"! (well, other than CFR 'cuz our region is our entire country )

NAFO = North American FJR Owners

Yes, it was originally conceived as a National but renamed to include the northern region!

 

[Ignacio]

CFR 2012 is scheduled to be in Western Canada and we plan on hosting the best NAFO ever!

That deserves to be bolded and emphasized.

CFR 2012 is scheduled to be in Western Canada and we plan on hosting the best NAFO ever!

I think that's great news, am an absolute supporter of the third installment of NAFO, am thrilled the good folks in Canada are banding together to show off their venue, and looking over my vacation schedule, finances, and will look forward to details in the next year or so. :clapping: I'm hopeful (and appealing for) united support for this event.

 

[Big-D]

There are lots of things to consider when planning an event, even a smaller event like our recent SW-FOG. We are lucky in the sense many of us (FJR Riders) are either retired with pensions, small business owners or folks that are in good enough shape financially to attend our events. I was surprised we actually had about 54 people attend the SW-FOG this year, whereas last year we hit less than half that amount. With motorcycle manufacturers reducing their models and inventory, shops, dealerships and accessory stores closing their doors, I would consider us lucky to have the attendance we do get at our organized rally's.

It may sound discouraging at times, but if we stop trying to organize our area rides or the NAFO we will in essence be cutting our own throats. WE don't want to cause people to lose interest or get tired or bored putting out the effort to get everything done that is required for a successful event. I know it's not easy and I'm lucky to be retired and have plenty of time on my hands. If I was still working and my kids were young enough to still be living at home, I would be stepping back, letting someone else help organism our rides. My hat goes off to anyone and everyone that has stepped up to the plate and taken on anything having to do with our yearly functions and the individual runs that can easily attract over 50 riders. It's a lot of work and many times goes unnoticed and thankless. But beyond that, they are all equally important to keep all of us Forum members active in the sport. And you have to admit, it's a blast to get together with a bunch of great people and ride, party (responsibly of course) and just shoot the **** for a long weekend. Like most members, I've ridden motorcycles for a long time, yet I cannot count any of those years being as much fun as these times I have now with this Forum and the rides. This years SW-FOG was my first event helping out and I look forward to doing the same next year.

Everyone that partakes in the organizing of our events know how hard they can be and we all have our own way of doing things, but I know for a fact that my personal mileage aboard my FJR would be significantly reduced if it had not been for me becoming involved in the FJR Forum events and living just this side of hell on earth. During the SW-FOG, I had a few people that came up and offered their help for next years events because they too want to get involved and I say great, we can use all the help we can get.

We need to keep this up and not allow ourselves to get discouraged or distracted. It really is worth the effort. How does it go "If we organize it, they will come" or something like that!

 

[FJRGuy]

CFR 2012 is scheduled to be in Western Canada and we plan on hosting the best NAFO ever!

That deserves to be bolded and emphasized.

CFR 2012 is scheduled to be in Western Canada and we plan on hosting the best NAFO ever!

I think that's great news, am an absolute supporter of the third installment of NAFO, am thrilled the good folks in Canada are banding together to show off their venue, and looking over my vacation schedule, finances, and will look forward to details in the next year or so. :clapping: I'm hopeful (and appealing for) united support for this event.

Thanks Matt!

'Official' NAFO 2012 thread coming soon!

 

[HaulinAshe]

Unless somebody figures out a way to get Yamaha involved with, at a minimum, some demo bikes... I don't see any reason to continue the NAFO concept.

Those that can attend regional events outside their home area simply will. Those that can't, simply won't.

IMHO, the concept of aggregating FJR owners from all across the country in these economic conditions is foolish and possibly financially painful for the organizers.

Here's my Litmus test for NAFO...

If Yamaha doesn't feel it warrants their presence, then there's probably no better reason to call it off. When they change their mind, I'll consider changing mine.

 

[Fred W]

Yabbut... Jeff, BC is right along the way to AK!! Oh yeah, baby...

Whether it is a NAFO or a CFR or just a bunch of old dudes getting together to eat back bacon and drink beers, BC in 2012 is a GREAT idea. :yahoo: Penciling it in right now. I wonder how many other folks would be in for the continuation trip to the largest state in the union? Now that is an attractive idea...

 

[Big-D]

I have ATV's that I used to take to Richfield, UT each year to ride the Paiute Trail system. Although I have not been in a few years, there were lots of manufacturers there.

I would haul two ATV's plus my 28" travel trailer to stay for about a week or so.

But as you can see there were many different manufacturers there representing their ATV's and Dirt Bikes, including Yamaha.

However, the manufacturers probably showed up because their were over 5000 ATV's in attendance!

There are over 2500 miles of maintained ATV Trails and probably another 2500 miles of unmaintained 2-track paths and trails to ride on in the area. Greatest place on earth to ride ATV's, dirt bikes or UTV's. You can disappear for weeks if so desired! It covers three entire mountain ranges, reaching elevations of over 13,000 feet.

Although the first NAFO had about 300 in attendance, Yamaha probably didn't feel it was enough to make it worth while for them to be there. I think they made a big mistake. I know they were contacted and made aware of NAFO!!

 

[beemerdons]

There are lots of things to consider when planning an event, even a smaller event like our recent SW-FOG. We are lucky in the sense many of us (FJR Riders) are either retired with pensions, small business owners or folks that are in good enough shape financially to attend our events. I was surprised we actually had about 54 people attend the SW-FOG this year, whereas last year we hit less than half that amount. With motorcycle manufacturers reducing their models and inventory, shops, dealerships and accessory stores closing their doors, I would consider us lucky to have the attendance we do get at our organized rally's.

It may sound discouraging at times, but if we stop trying to organize our area rides or the NAFO we will in essence be cutting our own throats. WE don't want to cause people to lose interest or get tired or bored putting out the effort to get everything done that is required for a successful event. I know it's not easy and I'm lucky to be retired and have plenty of time on my hands. If I was still working and my kids were young enough to still be living at home, I would be stepping back, letting someone else help organism our rides. My hat goes off to anyone and everyone that has stepped up to the plate and taken on anything having to do with our yearly functions and the individual runs that can easily attract over 50 riders. It's a lot of work and many times goes unnoticed and thankless. But beyond that, they are all equally important to keep all of us Forum members active in the sport. And you have to admit, it's a blast to get together with a bunch of great people and ride, party (responsibly of course) and just shoot the **** for a long weekend. Like most members, I've ridden motorcycles for a long time, yet I cannot count any of those years being as much fun as these times I have now with this Forum and the rides. This years SW-FOG was my first event helping out and I look forward to doing the same next year.

Everyone that partakes in the organizing of our events know how hard they can be and we all have our own way of doing things, but I know for a fact that my personal mileage aboard my FJR would be significantly reduced if it had not been for me becoming involved in the FJR Forum events and living just this side of hell on earth. During the SW-FOG, I had a few people that came up and offered their help for next years events because they too want to get involved and I say great, we can use all the help we can get.

We need to keep this up and not allow ourselves to get discouraged or distracted. It really is worth the effort. How does it go "If we organize it, they will come" or something like that!

That's a great positive attitude and approach to both NAFO and Regional FJR Forum Events, Dan. We need to keep trying to hit a homer and "think strong" the economy will finally improve, for everybody's sake! NAFO 2012 in Western Canada sounds great and We Stanley Boys will be there! And SW-FOG will be there every year, too!

 

[NMRoadRunner]

Apparently there is some interest in NAFO by looking at the discussion so far, it whatever shape that may be. This is exactly the reason you start now on plans. I see they have said mid June 2012. Thats a good start, now we , the attendees know when to plan for. How many people attending really determines what the event requires in the way of lodging and entertainment, facility requirements, event location and size. That information will determine what support and sponserships ($$$$$) you will need. So, Whats it going to be? A big ride, or an event? Let the Spirited discussion continue.

 

[Geezer]

Yabbut... Jeff, BC is right along the way to AK!! Oh yeah, baby...

Whether it is a NAFO or a CFR or just a bunch of old dudes getting together to eat back bacon and drink beers, BC in 2012 is a GREAT idea. :yahoo: Penciling it in right now. I wonder how many other folks would be in for the continuation trip to the largest state in the union? Now that is an attractive idea...

I been thinking the same thing. Well, except for the back bacon part, I prefer jowl.

 

[beemerdons]

Yabbut... Jeff, BC is right along the way to AK!! Oh yeah, baby...

Whether it is a NAFO or a CFR or just a bunch of old dudes getting together to eat back bacon and drink beers, BC in 2012 is a GREAT idea. :yahoo: Penciling it in right now. I wonder how many other folks would be in for the continuation trip to the largest state in the union? Now that is an attractive idea...

I been thinking the same thing. Well, except for the back bacon part, I prefer jowl.

Are they going to make us eat poutine? Again!!!

 

[HotRodZilla]

For the record, I really wanted to attend NAFO this year, but as things would have it, I just did not have the time or the money. I really tried to move schedling around, but it just didn't work.

I like that we have regional meets, and kind of don't care about how far they are. I rode 1200 miles to WFO 2009 and 1500 to EOM 2009. Then I rode that 1500 again to the NC camping meet earlier this year.

Like others, I think the economy had a huge impact on the number of people that could go. Most of the complaints were about money, since it seems to be much tigher these days. I wanted to go to NAFO in Golden, but was pretty new to the FJR and with the fees, figured that my wife and I were above $700 before we even left the driveway. IF I had known then what know now, I probably would have gone.

Part of the problem as I see it is so many "regional" meets during the same year as the NAFO event. If NAFO was one of only one or two events held during NAFO years, scheduling dates would be easier, and more people would save up the vacation. However, this year we had, SW-FOG, WFO, CFR, SFO, a large eastern camping event, and I'm sure probably a couple of other FO's that I'm missing. With all those events going on, it's hard to decide on which ones to make and which ones get skipped. During bad ecomonic times, it ends up being the lesser priced ones that get attended and the more expensive trips that get put off.

So...My question is this: During NAFO years, should we reduce the number of regional events, in the hope of luring (bringing) more people to a national event? That may be a ****** idea, as I too like the regional events, but dayum...We get spread thin.

I know some people bitched, but it is impossible to set up an event where everyone is happy. Someone will always have a reason to cry; it's just the way people are. Some were unhappy with the price, the date, the location, the weather, the roads, the city, the hotel, the way their SO looks. Who knows...I just really hope it was not become of some ******** "rift" between the Forums. That would just be ******* stupid! Of course, this would not be the first time I have seen stupid on this forum or the other one. People need to get over **** and stop crying so much. Good God...It's the frigging internet.

Anyway...Since I apparently can't even get my shirt guy to count or spell correctly, I don't think I'm the guy to try to set up an event as sizable as NAFO, but I will say that wherever and whenever it is, I will try to go...Money, family, and time allowing.

 

[winewhisperer]

Concerning NAFO or any other regional event, lets face it, most attendees are going to be regional riders. The facts

are simple. If you are a working stiff with a full-time job, you probably are not going to be able to attend an event

thousands of miles from where you live. I simply can not take that many days off in-a-row. I would love to go to the

next NAFO in BC, but I know that I simply will not have that much time to make a ride of that stature. Someday, when

I retire I will be able to make those kind of trips, but for now-------NO WAY.

Gary Green