What do you like or dislike about Spyder Events ?

[Firefly]

Much good advice already given....

One main thing I've enjoyed is when the events are in SMALLER towns.
Spyderfest was much better (IMO) when it was in the small town of Cuba. It just loses its appeal in a bigger city and no one likes riding in city traffic.
Maggie Valley NC has also been a great place as was Durango.
There's no need to try and be the biggest of the biggest, just have a nice rally in a smaller town with good rides, food and vendors and people will show up!

[Kredab]

Kyle, how far is the dealer from that big Indian Casino? That could be a good host hotel as there are probably multiple restaurant choices and entertainment along with a large parking lot. Having a hotel that can accommodate the majority of the group adds to the fellowship.

Hello, Are you talking the Isle of Capri (not indian). Did you see it on the way to my house?, if yes Dealer is 2 miles from that. There is Mesquaki Casino about 30 miles away also.

My Dealer is investing huge amounts into the state of the art place. He already has Platinum certification and has a Master Spyder tech. He is not the most seller dealer in Iowa but wants to be. He asked me to head up Spyder events and he wants to be big, I was just trying to get some feelers out there.

[cptjam]

Fellowship, fun, food, farkles.
Have those 4, it will be Fantastic!!
carefully choose the date, too. Weather is tricky, as well.
We do need more central locations for rallies. I also think Friday-Monday is better than mid week.

[UtahPete]

My dealer is building a huge new building to house Dr Powersports. The owner wants to turn it into a destination for Spyders.The pictures attached are the new building.
1) what do you like or dislike about Spyder Events ?
2) do you travels to dealers to see what accessories they have?

1) I like to see new products (farkles) and talk to other knowledgeable owners and vendors about tech stuff. Although I don't participate in group rides (don't like them) I like the venue to be in a part of the country that is interesting to visit because of its scenic rides, history, etc.
2) No. Most dealers don't carry enough of a selection to make it worthwhile.

[SpyderAnn01]

Hello, Are you talking the Isle of Capri (not indian). Did you see it on the way to my house?, if yes Dealer is 2 miles from that. There is Mesquaki Casino about 30 miles away also.

My Dealer is investing huge amounts into the state of the art place. He already has Platinum certification and has a Master Spyder tech. He is not the most seller dealer in Iowa but wants to be. He asked me to head up Spyder events and he wants to be big, I was just trying to get some feelers out there.

The casino you told us to stay at.

[Kredab]

The casino you told us to stay at.

That is the isle of Capri , it has 2 restraurants in it and 2 bars , buffet and gambling , open 24 hours a day and lots of parking lot lighting ....2-3 miles from new dealership - perfect

There is rumored to a hotel getting built next to dealership also

[south GA Farm Boy]

My dealer is building a huge new building to house Dr Powersports. The owner wants to turn it into a destination for Spyders.The pictures attached are the new building.
1) what do you like or dislike about Spyder Events ?
2) do you travels to dealers to see what accessories they have?

Thank you you in advance, I want to know your thoughts

We live down south, and all the rallies are too far off! The one we get to go to is the Maggie Valley one! We like it! Down south, we have too few dealers (selling only 8 or 10 spyders per year) and no rallies. Our nearest spyder dealer is over a 100 miles away, and they usually don't have spyder tech's! So service, and warranty work is hard to fine! Maybe Spyder should copy Harley and have rider groups, dealers with assessories, more advertisement, and really push their products!

[Bob Denman]

Fellowship, fun, food, farkles.
Have those 4, it will be Fantastic!!

The Four major "F-Groups"!

[Pirate looks at --]

Fellowship, fun, food, farkles.
Have those 4, it will be Fantastic!!
carefully choose the date, too. Weather is tricky, as well.
We do need more central locations for rallies. I also think Friday-Monday is better than mid week.

Agree Joe about weekends...but the problem is that the hotels usually get a premium price for their rooms on the weekend, if they are in a "resort" type of area. So the weekdays are way more affordable.

[Many brands]

I personally - have found it VERY hard to "break into" the group. (Sacramento, ca.) Nice enough folks -- just felt I and my Wife were outsiders.

[UtahPete]

I personally - have found it VERY hard to "break into" the group. (Sacramento, ca.) Nice enough folks -- just felt I and my Wife were outsiders.

I know what you mean. Some clubs are sincerely welcoming of interested newcomers and others seem more exclusive. Not sure why that is.

OR, are you talking about the Spyders in the Redwoods Rally?

[2dogs]

Originally Posted by Many brands I personally - have found it VERY hard to "break into" the group. (Sacramento, ca.) Nice enough folks -- just felt I and my Wife were outsiders.

I know what you mean. Some clubs are sincerely welcoming of interested newcomers and others seem more exclusive. Not sure why that is.

OR, are you talking about the Spyders in the Redwoods Rally?

We had the same experience at the Redwoods Rally. My wife said not again. The only friendly's seemed to be cptjam and SpyderAnn. Going to try Sonora next month.

[UtahPete]

Originally Posted by Many brands I personally - have found it VERY hard to "break into" the group. (Sacramento, ca.) Nice enough folks -- just felt I and my Wife were outsiders.

We had the same experience at the Redwoods Rally. My wife said not again. The only friendly's seemed to be cptjam and SpyderAnn. Going to try Sonora next month.

That's good to know. I'll bet the organizers don't realize that. Captain Joe and Ann are pretty special people in my estimation; I'm glad you had a good rapport with them.

[Firefly]

So which rallies do you REALLY like going to and why?

Spyderfest-- been to all 8.... I go to see the friends I've met through the years and get some good riding in. Don't care for where it is now, but still go.
Maggie Valley Spyder meet... not sure what they call it anymore. Same as above.. but the riding is amazing up in the Smokies.

Those two are ones I do every year. Smokies was off for a few years as it went downhill and now someone else is running it.

Also been to official BRP events in Durango, Chicago, Maggie Valley, Valcourt.

It's mostly about the people for me.... then the riding....

[Cruzr Joe]

I think that each event ought to have guest hosts at the major hotels to plan get togethers for New and Old members.


Cruzr Joe

[SpyderAnn01]

I'm not sure what you mean, Joe. Could you elaborate a little? Thanks.

At Spyderfest there are several "host hotels" and each one has a person designated as the official host. CruzrJoe is the host at the Best Western and he schedules stuff for the folks st his hotel. It probably isn't a big deal at most rallies since they are usually located at only one hotel.

[Indiana Ken]

Went to Spyderfest this year. Pulled the bike down on our trailer. 15 miles outside of Springfield, our trany bit the dust. Days latter and $3200, we got the vehicle back with new trany.

Good thing we had the bike for transportation. Oh ya, Springfield got one of the worst rains spelling ever. Diehard riders were still out, but please, it's dangerous to ride in pouring rain, and you can't convince me it's fun. Stayed in hotel.

Only good riding day, we got some lights put on by TricLED, and hit the road. Got 10 miles outside Branson and bike went into limp mode. Crawled back to Pitbull who took pity on us and thru it on a computer. Electrical codes, so back to the vendor village to TricLED. They took a look, and rewired what they had added in the morning then off we went for a long ride, with no problems.

Next day rain, rain, rain. Drive home - Rain, Rain and more rain.

So what do I want to see in a Spyder event.....

Less rain, but hey, who can control that. so..

Vendor Village inside to stay dry.
More technical and practical seminars.
Tire dealer with choice of top tires for sale.
In interesting location.
Hotels and camping available.
Sign up board so attendees who come from a same area can network easier with riders near them, that may continue when they get back home.

[UtahPete]

One main thing I've enjoyed is when the events are in SMALLER towns. Spyderfest was much better (IMO) when it was in the small town of Cuba. It just loses its appeal in a bigger city and no one likes riding in city traffic. Maggie Valley NC has also been a great place as was Durango. There's no need to try and be the biggest of the biggest, just have a nice rally in a smaller town with good rides, food and vendors and people will show up!

Good feedback. I didn't realize some of the rallies have been held in high-traffic areas. Thanks.

[UtahPete]

We live down south, and all the rallies are too far off! The one we get to go to is the Maggie Valley one! We like it! Down south, we have too few dealers (selling only 8 or 10 spyders per year) and no rallies.

Would a rally on the Gulf Coast in March or April be good do you think?

[Pirate looks at --]

Originally Posted by Many brands I personally - have found it VERY hard to "break into" the group. (Sacramento, ca.) Nice enough folks -- just felt I and my Wife were outsiders.



We had the same experience at the Redwoods Rally. My wife said not again. The only friendly's seemed to be cptjam and SpyderAnn. Going to try Sonora next month.

Sorry if anyone has felt not a part of the group as we never want anyone to feel that way. My wife and I will be leading rydes to Ebbets Pass and Sonora Pass during the Nor-Cal Spyder Rally. Make sure you introduce yourself as we are always excited to find new people to ryde with.

[UtahPete]

Sorry if anyone has felt not a part of the group as we never want anyone to feel that way. My wife and I will be leading rydes to Ebbets Pass and Sonora Pass during the Nor-Cal Spyder Rally. Make sure you introduce yourself as we are always excited to find new people to ryde with.

You know, I just realized one of the things that is missing for me about the typical rally is the lack of information about who (the team) is organizing and running it. Along with pictures and a bio and maybe a quick friendly blurb about the team philosophy. I think that would go a long way to making people part of the event before they even get there.

Never done Ebbets Pass, but did Sonora Pass on my two-wheeler about 6 years ago. Spectacular.

[Pirate looks at --]

You know, I just realized one of the things that is missing for me about the typical rally is the lack of information about who (the team) is organizing and running it. Along with pictures and a bio and maybe a quick friendly blurb about the team philosophy. I think that would go a long way to making people part of the event before they even get there.

Never done Ebbets Pass, but did Sonora Pass on my two-wheeler about 6 years ago. Spectacular.

This is actually a great suggestion and we will see if we can get it added in time for the Rally in September. Ebbets is an awesome ryde, much longer and the road is stunning!

[UtahPete]

This is actually a great suggestion and we will see if we can get it added in time for the Rally in September. Ebbets is an awesome ryde, much longer and the road is stunning!

I did a google search - is this the website for SITR? It seems out of date ... http://spydersintheredwoods.weebly.com/ Same for the FB page that came up in the search.

BTW, it looks like 2015 rally had Fred Rau there as a special guest; I guess he is an official ambassador for Spyder now. I have been reading his columns for years; really would like to meet him.

[Pirate looks at --]

I did a google search - is this the website for SITR? It seems out of date ... http://spydersintheredwoods.weebly.com/ Same for the FB page that came up in the search.

BTW, it looks like 2015 rally had Fred Rau there as a special guest; I guess he is an official ambassador for Spyder now. I have been reading his columns for years; really would like to meet him.

Spyder in the Redwoods is no more it was relocated to the Redrocks Spyder Rally in St George Utah. We are now holding The Nor-Cal Spyder Rally which this year will be in Toulumne California at the BlackOak Casino. The new site is:https://sites.google.com/site/norcalspyderrally/home.

[UtahPete]

Spyder in the Redwoods is no more it was relocated to the Redrocks Spyder Rally in St George Utah. We are now holding The Nor-Cal Spyder Rally which this year will be in Toulumne California at the BlackOak Casino. The new site is:https://sites.google.com/site/norcalspyderrally/home.

Announcing the
2017 Nor Cal Spyder Rally!

September 12-14, 2017

Boy, that's good to know. Have you asked Katlyn to remove that old website and FB page? It's pretty confusing.

Is this the FB page? https://www.facebook.com/groups/1067880999899285/