NGWClub®, Inc.

Man...
This forum went from just very slow to damn near dead.

What happened?
Did we all just get too old?
Did everyone decide that oldwings were no longer cool?

Seriously, where did everyone go?

Optimistically everyone is out enjoying the start of the riding season. That's what I'm doing today. RTE then work on bikes then grandsons ball game.

I think it's called "life". My shop is full of half finished projects. And now spring is here (sorta), and the yard needs attention. If I was single. And a hermit. My shop would be full of completed projects. But that's not life.

I'd love to be taking Mr.H out of storage and getting it ready for the season (& posting about that) right about now but the flooded basement will be taking up all of my time for the foreseeable future, not to mention keeping the garage full (right now with wet books, magazines and cartons bundled up & ready to go to the curb and clean, dry empty cartons for packing (everything has to be out of the basement before remediation). And the new generator that arrived yesterday (I hope I never need it).
Besides, there's still a snowbank about a food high where I'd need to drive Mr.H to get it from the shed to the garage anyway (this in spite of 13c most of yesterday).

About 3 or 4 years ago I counted up all the Gold Wing groups on Facebook. There was over 30 back then. It seems like every other week I get invited to join a new one that has popped up. Competing with that when you have to go through the "hassle" of registering on our forum is a major part of what is killing us.

As the regular long term folks loose interest for one one of a thousand possible reasons we are just not getting new members like we used to.

I do not think NGW is the only Forum in the wold that is experiencing this. It is a paradigm shift in the web activity/ usage. I fear unfortunately that the future is dark

But many of us are still here looking for a post like this to respond to, even if in a immaterial way.

Facebook is OK for some things but try to find a discussion from last week, let alone last year or a decade ago.

Rather then fading away I like to think we are evolving. The wantabe's are dropping off. but the hardcore folks are circling the wagons. I feel like quality is always better the quantity. Perhaps a group discussion at the Sept. gathering could produce some meaningful answers.

Like everyone has posted already there are a variety of reasons. Yet the boss is probably plugged in better than most of us about the forum. I think the younger crowd don't view these bikes as desirable. That cohort have no recollection of the early models and era they represent.

I am a member on a Vintage Honda twins site and many new members arrive quite regularly. The vintage bike of their choice is the much produced Honda CB350/360 twin by far. Most are new American members and that bike was sold in the hundreds of thousands. As new riders it seems to be the their bike of choice from the easily availability. Non seem to be aware of the old Goldwing's in conversations, or even the bigger old vintage bikes. There is no passion about the hobby from 90% who sign up on the forum. They are there for help and then disappear once they are fixed up. Very few get beyond 40-50 posts, unless they have a major issue and need to hang around the forum for more help.

I have stopped restoring myself and I am in the process of selling off my entire collection both last summer and this summer. I sold off all my Wings last summer. I am not able to manage their weight and size anymore, so I stopped before something happened by pushing myself beyond my current capabilities.

Still one of the best forums out there with really decent and knowledgeable members. KUDO"S

I think part of this is an age thing. Just this afternoon I wrote a nice response here and explained how I got into 3D printing during covid and now I spend time on those sorts of forums doing some tech support and blah, blah, blah...

And then I forgot to hit the submit button.

Maybe it's just because of the sidecars but I have people of all ages ask about my bikes, usually when I'm parking to go into a store or getting on to leave. I don't recall anyone voicing the opinion that they aren't interested in them because they are over or under a certain engine size. In fact, they are often surprised when I tell them that Eccles is only a 500.

On the other hand, if you had told me in '85 that I would not only own one of those "rolling sofas" but keep it for multiple decades I would have laughed in your face