Facebook

[Kevin N Bayliss]

Just as an experiment Ive set up a Facebook account and added a few bits and bobs from myself to get it going. I believe you have to have an account of your own to log in but I’m sure someone can tell me different if thats not the case.

Here is the link to save you looking and to all those that can, try it, Kev

https://www.facebook.com/scottownersclub/?view_public_for=1772470396319855

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Hi Kev, there are already a couple of active Scott sites on Facebook. Have you seen them yet ? Get onto Facebook and then type into the search box “Scott Motorcycles (+ later models and derivatives)” Another one is under “Scott Motorcycle Workshops” Loads of stuff on them, so worth being a Facebook member !!
Brian

[Kevin N Bayliss]

That’s great Brian, I’ll have a look later on, this is just an experiment for now to see how it is or is not used, also to see if by using modern technology we can attract new and younger members. As I’ve seen for many meetings being advertised pleading for new members and old ones to attend has to get frustrating. Why are people not wanting to attend these meetings. My local meeting costs me over half a day, approximately 140 miles and I Do not travel the furthest, I leave at 10:40 and get home at approx 17:30. I would have thought most sections would have a high attendance around bigger towns rather than rural as myself.

Also I am looking at getting a page set up in this site and if possible on the Scott forum area to list services that are available to all existing and new or potential owners, at the moment if you do not know who can carry out repairs etc or have limited knowledge of such you may well think it’s more trouble than it’s worth getting a Scott.
I have already asked several people for an introduction to themselves and services they provide. So far response has been good so I will be putting all this information together and once I have been able to contact the webmaster to see if this can be incorporated into the site somewhere I’m hopeful it will continue to grow and show that there are many willing people around to help with your problems and not on a need to know basis.

Look forward to comments or suggestions and if you have a service you can provide please get in touch with me at

Yowleditor@gmail.com

Or indeed any articles you would like to see in Yowl

Kev

[fernyhough]

Hi Kev, you ponder why members don’t attend meetings, I ask myself the same question! I, along with 4 or 5 fellow members, regularly attend our monthly meetings (Midland Section). We would love to welcome any other local members to join us & swell the ranks (according to the membership register there are up 40 (active?) paid up members in our catchment area). I put an appeal in February’s “YOWL” to try & tempt some/anyone to make contact & give us a try. What was the response? yes, you’ve guessed – absolutely none! I can only conclude this is down to simple apathy or just disinterest. A lot has been said regarding an aging membership & meagre interest from younger enthusiasts. I am increasingly coming to accept that our club is dying on it’s feet & that makes me very sad. I will however, keep trying to fan the embers!

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Only a few years ago the Club was thriving, with membership growing every year, but quite what has caused the present stagnation is a difficult thing to decide. my own thoughts tell me that it is a combination of factors, with the main one being an ageing membership. Typically, a one-make club member is someone who wanted the machine when he or she was a teenager, but could never afford it, but they promised themselves that one day they would have one, typically when they were middle aged, with some disposable income. In my teenage years it was machines like Triumph Bonnevilles, Vincent Black Shadows, Norton Dominators, etc., etc.. I certainly never wanted a Scott ! The guys who wanted a Scott, but couldn’t afford one, were typically teenagers in the 1930s. They are now very old or passed on, so their pipe dreams are no longer relevant.

This means that most current SOC members are indeed old, or have come into being interested by some other path, like watching and hearing Scotts in vintage racing, or a family member having one, often their dad !

In my ‘growing up’ years there was a ‘right of passage’ into all things mechanical. It usually started with Meccano, then model aircraft and boats, air guns, then semi-derelict bikes around the farmer’s fields and tracks, and then girls, but not necessarily in that order….

Sadly kids these days are not inclined to get their hands dirty. They want to take something out of the box, switch it on, and then play. We are NOT going to get many new members from this generation ! I am delighted that my son loves engineering, and became a Chief Technician (Airframe) in the RAF. Similarly my grandson, who is just twelve years old, is doing Motocross racing as a junior, so all is not lost.

Quite what we can do, on a proactive basis, to attract more younger members, I don’t really know, but we MUST do it somehow in order to survive.

We must be wary of all the growing trend for all these Facebook pages and websites, particularly putting too much technical help out there, that they can access without being a SOC member. In a way it is cutting our own throats ! Somehow we must push the benefits of being a member…

Please excuse my rambling.

Brian

[Tman]

It seems that club membership is in steep decline right across the board, and sadly I believe it’s pretty much inevitable as for most people below about forty, the concept of getting your hands dirty “just for the fun of it” is incomprehensible.
I don’t believe many (or indeed, any) potential new members are going to be recruited easily, as the mind-set just isn’t there.
Not so many years ago the classic mags would always recommend new owners to join the relevant one-make club, but they no longer do that, possibly because most/all the required info is readily available on the ‘Net, so I can foresee club amalgamations in the near future as a way of boosting numbers etc.
Clubs like the TOMCC, not having any sort of spares holdings, has become nothing more than a social club, will likely fold as the present membership gradually fades away…

[Kevin N Bayliss]

Too much info on the net is not the way to go, a little may temp someone to contact the membership in a bid to find out more, but the biggest turn off I have found is the lack of members that “appear” to want to help, also giving outsiders the impression of a cliquey club.
Just look at the forum, anyone asks for help or information you can pretty much gaurentee who is going to answer and often in order.
Who uses the website, can the webmaster give details of useage, (don’t know) number of members,
Is the website the best way of communication to all members, how many have access to computers or use them ?? ageing population ??
As far as I can gather the Abbotsholme survey given out by Lewis had minimal interest for such a large membership, Cadwell not a lot of response, Shuttleworth has had little response, 25 as at 9/3/16 this is from how many members.
Surely as a club you have to start at home, without the current members participating how can we expect the club to grow, or am I missing something.
At least I am going to do what I can, Ingliston each year without asking members I have normally the pleasure of two or three local bikes plus my own and most section members over the weekend, long may it continue.

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Kev, I do my absolute level best to help and encourage people on the Club website, with nearly 1500 posts so far, nearly 12% of all posts, and I also try and help members and non-members with spare parts when I can. Has it done any good ? I hope so, but I also sometimes wonder why I bother !
Brian

[gammakeith]

I think part of the problem is that many of the newer members (and I count myself in that category) are not “died in the wool” Scott enthusiasts. They may have a Scott because they love 2 strokes and have always wanted one (ie me) or because there was one in the family but they have other bikes/interests that also take time away. I manage to make a fair number of regional meetings so I tick that box 😀 However, I am still working with one child at home so the bigger weekend meets have to be carefully chosen . To be blunt I much prefer a general classic meet/trackday with lots of owner clubs present than a one make event. When I retire I will have more time but that is a little way off yet 😥

Keith

[Shipbuilder]

As a relatively new member of the club I fall into many of the categories described above.
I now have my first Scott, bought from another club member, a type of machine I have long admired. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty and can fettle most mechanical things given the limited tools I have available. Alas I also qualify for the “old” category but this does not mean I cannot use a computer or the internet. My main problem/ benefit is that I live in Cumbria in the north of England and most of the active club members, meetings and suppliers are a very long way from here. In my circumstances it would be good if more use was made of the Club website, for instance the spares page is years out of date and the list of badges and regalia still carries prices from a bygone era.
I know it is simple for me to sit here and suggest that “somebody” should do something but I think we need to embrace Kevin’s suggestions and ideas if the club is to survive. To that end I would encourage members to use his new Facebook page and have just posted a picture of my bike, but it needs so much more than this.
I suspect like many, my knowledge of the quirks and intricacies of Scott motorcycles was and still is very limited but unless the knowledge is spread and kept alive in a manner that people like me can understand it will die. I use the club forum on a daily basis just to see what’s going on and it is startlingly obvious that without a small band of helpful people, they know who they are, who seem to have suggestions and advice on every problem the forum would be next to useless.
Derek

[pshacklock]

Hi members and guests,
First can I suggest to the one or two guests who appear almost every time I am in line to join the Club. That will add a few to the total. There is rarely another member on line during my time.
I am not convinced that Facebook is the answer, as it just becomes another instrument for us to spend time on.
I really enjoy the forums but there is a lack of info. sometimes and I feel that I am being a pest but appreciate the help that is given. Distance is the biggest enemy and if there was a way to improve that it would be a winner.
I have generally been helped so much by members that I feel that I want to reward them for that help!
So I am an advocate of developing the forums etc to a stage that all members can get the help they need and also share their ideas and online fellowship if that is possible.
It’s lonely down here, fellows.
Keep up the good work and the communication, it’s important.
Peter S.

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Hi Peter, “guests” are very often nothing of the kind. The vast majority I suspect, but cannot prove, are members who have not bothered, or are unable, to log on. One of the problems with the present setup of the website which needs addressing in order to clarify what is happening.

Brian

[TedParkin]

😀 😀 😀 Kevin is “SPOTON” Having a presence in the modern media is everything. All vintage motor cycles etc are considered “an old mans pastime” So why would young people join? The fun of vintage bikes will not “Come to you” no matter how hard we try. Potential members of any age group have to want to “GO to them” Now, would you as a keen youngster want to join something which wants your hard earned cash up front before they tell you anything? Well neither would I.That is why the on-line Newsletter is open , free to everyone.The idea of not giving information out re any old bikes is a certain form of suicide. 🙄 🙄 There are interested people out there. Just go to Cadwell in June and try and get near to the Scott Racing crowd. Publicity is everything in a modern world. Who was it who said “If no one knows you are there you might as well be dead” I rest my case. Well done Kevin!!!! Regards to all Ted 😀 😀 😀 😀

P.S. There is a certain wry smile crossing my lips as this post has already made the point.

[richard tann]

This is an interesting post, with some very good points raised. May I add some factual information for your consideration.

I have been mem sec of the SOC since 2004, and during this time the membership has always been steady in the low 700’s. When I took over it was 728. The peak was about 735 in 2008, in 2015 it was 702. So a decline, but not as dramatic as has been suggested, especially if you take into account machines sold and the average age of our membership. The problem for our membership levels is that every year about 50 leave, and 40 fresh members join. It would be useful to find a way to keep at least some of those leavers, sadly the majority go without explanation, but some do come back years later. It’s easier to keep an existing member than to find a new one, so the Club has to provide good reason and unique facilities to make all members sure to renew.

Richard Tann

[Author]

Posts