Full Throttle's Demise

[syntorz]

3 hours ago, Hosstage said:

I was born in Augsburg, Germany, does that count?

Military brat?

 

My Dad served there, US Army tanker, 1954-1957.

[MikeB60]

59 minutes ago, Paul De said:

Oh, forgot to add that the Ferrari like exhaust note of that 6 cylinder motor was out of this world cool.

You should hear it with a Remus exhaust. 😀

[Hosstage]

6 minutes ago, syntorz said:

Military brat?

 

My Dad served there, US Army tanker, 1954-1957.

Yep. Army Marching Band, 1961-1964.

[Hosstage]

1 hour ago, Paul De said:

A fine mile cruncher to be sure. Different strokes for different folks in so many ways from a big V-twin touring bike.  
 

My last dealer performed service on my wethead RT they let me take one of those K1600 beauties to the office as a loaner.  I took a longish way back to get my RT after work.  I loved the smooth linear power and the lux comfy ride. Laughed when I realized that I needed to shave 40 mph off my on-ramp entry speed to the Interstate. So fast, smooth and a darn good handling machine.  Definitely would pick it over an Ultraglide.  In the end that ride re-confirmed that I’m just not a land-yacht class touring bike guy.  I was so happy getting back on my RT and bending the horizon flicking the lighter shorter bike into the tight turns on the way home. Different strokes.

I also took a K1600 for a nice long test ride. While I liked the power, and the handling was pretty good, it was a bit top heavy. I preferred the RT as well, I like the lighter weight. It really is still on my list. Until then, the HDs are just going to keep piling on the miles. 

[Etienne Lau]

Since I am a newbie on BMWSPORTTOURING here. Please then educate me on the original purpose of FT, since apparently my interaction with Paddler was viewed as "inappropriate".

[Indy Dave]

7 minutes ago, Etienne Lau said:

Since I am a newbie on BMWSPORTTOURING here. Please then educate me on the original purpose of FT, since apparently my interaction with Paddler was viewed as "inappropriate".

Welcome. These kinds of issues are generally discussed privately with the moderator of FT. And now that full throttle is closed, it really seems like a moot point.

[TEWKS]

1 hour ago, Etienne Lau said:

Since I am a newbie on BMWSPORTTOURING here. Please then educate me on the original purpose of FT, since apparently my interaction with Paddler was viewed as "inappropriate".

My thought on FT is this. Whip, like Dennis now, wanted to bring back to the site some of the intellect of the early days. Great thinkers, great storytellers great people. In an effort to draw them back, full throttle was born. The idea was to loosen up the reins on what could be talked about, political conversations would be included.

 

The unforeseen consequences (at least by me) (even know I was on one side of it) somebody wasn’t going to make you think any differently, same as you weren’t going to change minds either. Two freight trains barreling towards each other.  That being said, IMHO, it was pretty darn civil 99% of the time. But, new owner, new rules in hopes of making things even better, we now move forward. 

[Dennis Andress]

FT made our differences more important than our love of motorcycling.

[Brucifer1150]

There are compilations, but in actuality, just as in FT, it was the same train wreck footage over and over again.
 

 

[TEWKS]

^ See, I like you more already! 

[Etienne Lau]

2 hours ago, Indy Dave said:

Welcome. These kinds of issues are generally discussed privately with the moderator of FT. And now that full throttle is closed, it really seems like a moot point.

Ah

 

[Mike]

I’ve been in and around BMWST management for pretty much longer than anyone. Each new owner has brought a different perspective, something that’s allowed us to thrive for a quarter century. Yes, there have been missteps along the way. As the discussion to this point illustrates, not everyone agrees on what has been a misstep.

Personally…and I don’t claim to be smarter than anyone else…I have long advocated for keeping politics, and rancor in general, to a minimum here. BMWST has, for most part, been a place where we have focused on the ties that bind us and not those things that divide us.

We’re now living in an era where hatred is celebrated as a virtue. And it’s directed in every direction—against conservatives, against liberals, against those of a different color, against those of a different religion, against those of a different gender…basically against “anyone who’s not like me.” Personally, as someone who had personal acquaintances who were targeted during the Holocaust, I find it’s terribly discouraging.I thought that the human race might be advancing away from that inclination. But it’s gaining traction.

 

Almost without exception, it’s the result of politicians and their puppetmasters, deliberately inciting hatred and distrust to advance their personal interests. It works and it’s exacerbated by, among other things, social media and news media who have been co-opted. Full Throttle was fully complicit.

 

The answer? Ride motorcycles. Go riding with someone who’s not like you. Stop to help the guy you think is a freak. Share a beer with the gal who thinks you’re probably an idiot. Look for those things that bind, not divide you. 

Motorcycles. That’s the answer.

And Full Throttle, I wish I could say I’m gonna miss you, but that would be a lie. It’s time to saddle up.

[Lone_RT_rider]

Well said Mike.  I'd like to get back to the days where I didn't know or care for anything but how you rode and what seat you had on your bike (and other farkles too).

 

Shawn

[9Mary7]

16 minutes ago, Lone_RT_rider said:

  I'd like to get back to the days where I didn't know or care for anything but how you rode and what seat you had on your bike (and other farkles too).

 

Shawn

And OIL!!!!!     don't forget about the oil

[MichiganBob]

And tires.

[Twisties]

Before FT was RDOT, where this thread is.  The rules varied with the board owners.  When I joined the board it was no politics... but you could discuss current events and social issues so long as you left the politicians and specific proposals out of it and stayed civil.  There was a history of in depth discussion, and the board had some remarkably knowledgeable people.  Whatever issue came up it turned out we had subject matter experts.  I always learned a lot.  discussions were mostly deeper than what you could find elsewhere.  I also felt a deep sense of community in these exchanges.  I looked forward to meeting these members at events, and we went to a lot of BMWST events for that reason.  

 

The reasons for those people leaving and that tradition disappearing are disputed.  Everyone has their own view of it.  For some it was just time to move on, others I think were helped along the way.  Eventually, a prior owner pretty much shut down that sort of discussion in RDOT and on the board.  IDK, it's water under the bridge.  But, I felt that sense of community was eroding.  For me, the board was like a progression.  I started with technical questions, moved into ride tales, which were very active at the time, and finally into the RDOT topics.  It was a big part of my life for a while and I was broken when it was shut down.  

 

When Larry became owner and he wanted to start Full Throttle I agreed to help him.  I was missing that community, and I agreed with Larry that we needed it to build membership.  But, we didn't agree on the rules....  I wanted it more like RDOT had been (no politics), he wanted it "Full Throttle."  Well he was the owner.   Eventually I agreed to support him in it, and he asked me to be on the moderation team with primary emphasis on Full Throttle.  But, frankly there was nothing to moderate.  The rules were pretty much wide open.  After a couple of years it was clear to me that FT was not doing what it was supposed to.  

 

Rather than informed discussion, it was as Dennis put it above, a race to the bottom.  I saw it as chest thumping and a battleground where partisanship was the only thing that mattered (mostly, with a few exceptions).  I never saw an idea or point of view that I wasn't already familiar with, I never learned anything new.  I did find myself, as Larry put it, not wanting to meet certain members or have anything to do with them.  It had become, as someone noted above, the province of twenty or so regulars.  In my view they wanted an echo chamber for their partisan views.  Many members complained.  We discussed it in the moderators group. There were a number of reasons I left the moderating team, but FT remaining was one.  I thought it was doing more harm than good.  I'm glad it's gone.

 

But the question Dennis asks is of the future.  What shall the board be and how to drive membership.  IDK.  For one thing, as I understand it, we are growing members.  I guess a lot join and never post, or they post once or twice over a technical issue, then move on.  The real question ought to be how get more of those to enter into regular participation and a sense of community.  Larry thought an emphasis on events was important.  It can't hurt, but I don't see a whole of new faces in our west coast events.  Rather, they are dwindling.  

 

Dennis, evidently, thinks we should finish Pilgrim's story...  It's a start.  

 

 

 

[EEK]

On 2/4/2024 at 9:57 PM, Dennis Andress said:

Quote

You are sound asleep when you feel ... something ... on the bed. You open your eyes to see the closet where you usually park your vacuum-cleaning trained Little Dog. The door is open - it shouldn't be - and suddenly you realize what is on the bed. Turning your head you find the LD by your shoulder, perceiving you. It lifts a leg and __________ (finish the story.)

 

just in time for you to yell at LD and throw back covers. LD scampers away to door to be let out and at that moment it is realized that the evening ritual of letting dog out to pee did not happen. 

 

It's a cool summer night in the desert and a full moon to boot, why do I need the back porch light right now? The light gets extinguished by the flick of a switch. LD is moving about in back yard, sniffing and inspecting everything before pissing on his usual bush by the gate. He stands there over looking back yard in his rural setting. All the details that come to life with the moon's glow is easy to make out...including a light that was left on in the garage. 

 

"I must of left it on" Shift Lever mutters to himself, reflecting on the previous evenings tinkering with motorcycle project. A short walk on the porch to garage door, he opens it just enough to extend his arm inside to reach light switch and then at last second, opens the door fully to look at clock on opposing wall to see that it's 3:45 am. 

 

Shift lever looks at his bike that he has been fixing up, a 1980 Honda CM400T. He knew it wasn't much of a bike, had gotten for next to nothing from an old friend. At least it's a start in the right direction Shift Lever thought to himself. The divorce of a multiple year marriage had ended badly and this was what starting over looked like. He pondered for a moment and the shut the light off and closed the door.

 

LD was waiting at the back door, all business finished and ready to go in. Shift Lever let fido in and it was in that moment....the moment of the full moon, the cool night of summer, not having to work that day, Shift Lever decided to go for a ride.  He dressed hastily, made sandwiches , grabbed some water, and threw this all in a daypack and headed out the door. Not a bad moment for a ride he thought. Not much activity on the roads at this time. Bike had recently some love in the way of a complete tune up and fresh tires. Everything is good to go he mused as he walked the bike out of garage.

 

Shift lever threw his leg over the seat and put on his helmet. Looking at garage and house, he was at least happy enough to have that as his own now, and this wimpy little bike that seems to put a smile on his face whenever he motored out of his dirt driveway.  He dropped his namesake into first gear and rolled out....

[Paul De]

Nice little story

 

LOL.  I just realized someone at some point may post a finish to Pilgrim’s story opening inspired by ChatGPT.   Maybe we can’t really go back to those days,  and we must embrace the bright future that awaits BMWST.

 

[MikeB60]

4 hours ago, Twisties said:

Larry thought an emphasis on events was important.  It can't hurt, but I don't see a whole of new faces in our west coast events.  Rather, they are dwindling.

Definitely not the case with the two big east coast events. START and FART draw a big crowd not uncommon to sell out the host hotel. Believe there are close to 90 people signed up for this year's START. I would agree that participation in the UN is dwindling might be something to look at. 

[Matts_12GS]

On 2/5/2024 at 5:19 PM, Dennis Andress said:

Here we are, Full Throttle reincarnated in one thread i.e. two or three people beating on something until they get their way. Why don't ya'll put something like "We're righter than everybody so don't disagree with us." in you sig line! You've had a good run, had your fun. Why not let the board move on and become something that is appealing and attractive to other people.

Seeing this will CERTAINLY welcome new members to join and old members to stick around.

 

I took about 4 months of RDOT vacations.  I self censored and instead had pm discussions instead of public ones.  IMO I would lock it all down to members only except for the classifieds, and the motocentric topics like GS or 1200/1250/1300 so visitors can see the informational side without seeing the dirty laundry.

 

Maybe put a fuse for length of membership or number of posts to keep people from recruiting non riders to get on their side in arguments.

[realshelby]

5 hours ago, Twisties said:

Before FT was RDOT, where this thread is.  The rules varied with the board owners.  When I joined the board it was no politics... but you could discuss current events and social issues so long as you left the politicians and specific proposals out of it and stayed civil.  There was a history of in depth discussion, and the board had some remarkably knowledgeable people.  Whatever issue came up it turned out we had subject matter experts.  I always learned a lot.  discussions were mostly deeper than what you could find elsewhere.  I also felt a deep sense of community in these exchanges.  I looked forward to meeting these members at events, and we went to a lot of BMWST events for that reason.  

 

 

 

 

 

I remember that very well. It was and still is amazing that the discussions we had just never seemed to "cross the line". There were those that wanted to and maybe did cross the line. You could tell when someone new spoke up on occasion....they learned the rules fairly quickly. I suspect some moderator behind the scenes influencing on certain posts to herd the cats back into the pen. I can actually remember some posts that admitted they were wrong in their position. 

It just didn't seem we were trying to PROVE anything. Just debating. 

 

And that is why I had hoped FT would still be ok. Allowing open political discussion could just maybe stay civil here on this board. It would be the only place it could ever work. But it simply did not. Debating was fun. Original ideas and opinions were great. But when posts became cut and paste from your favorite source of ( insert whatever you want here) the debate and thinking went away. 

 

[TEWKS]

Fifty new members a month, yeah, obviously they all don’t introduce themselves.
 

Welcoming… 
 

I’ve been doing my best at welcoming in the newbies when they speak for the first time. But, I’ll tell ya this, nobody can even come close to the job @wbw6cos has done over the last few years. He’s always or almost always, the first guy to say hello to the new people. 

Heck, the last administration even gave him a badge to wear!  Someday, I’m gonna get me one of them badges. 
 

 

[TEWKS]

28 minutes ago, realshelby said:

RDOT

I don’t remember what that stood for… I hope it’s not too obvious. 

 

Nevermind…

[Matts_12GS]

1 minute ago, TEWKS said:

I don’t remember what that stood for… I hope it’s not too obvious. 

 

Nevermind…

Other topics 

[TEWKS]

Thanks Matt, yeah as soon as I went click, the lightbulb illuminated. Happens a lot. 

[wbw6cos]

1 hour ago, TEWKS said:

But, I’ll tell ya this, nobody can even come close to the job @wbw6cos has done over the last few years. He’s always or almost always, the first guy to say hello to the new people. 

 

 

 

Maybe it was me scaring them off.  

[TEWKS]

8 minutes ago, wbw6cos said:

 

 

Maybe it was me scaring them off.  

Did you recommend the wrong oil viscosity?   No, you’ve done good work! 

[Twisties]

2 hours ago, MikeB60 said:

Definitely not the case with the two big east coast events. START and FART draw a big crowd not uncommon to sell out the host hotel. Believe there are close to 90 people signed up for this year's START. I would agree that participation in the UN is dwindling might be something to look at. 

The reasons for the noted success of the east coast events vs the heartbreaking decline of the western events ought to be a topic of discussion, IMHO.  Again, I am sure everyone has their own views on the matter, but there is no denying the striking difference.  Probably best in another thread.  I'll leave it to @Dennis Andress discretion if he wants to start such a thread, or leave it to lie.  

[Dennis Andress]

1 hour ago, Twisties said:

The reasons for the noted success of the east coast events vs the heartbreaking decline of the western events ought to be a topic of discussion ….

 

Please. 

 

But....   Lets just talk about the problems for now. Once we think we've got them all out there we can start working on solutions.

[Dennis Andress]

4 hours ago, Matts_12GS said:

Seeing this will CERTAINLY welcome new members to join and old members to stick around.

The peak of my education was likely the USAF NCO Academy. Sometimes stepping out of that box doesn't go well.