> And by the same token, an organization that claims to support all Triumph
>owners
> should not be busy driving a wedge into them.
>
> Randall
Here's my 2 cents worth on the subject...
I'm an on again off again VTR member. The last time we all had this
discussion, I was a member in good standing. Currently, however, I
believe my membership has lapsed. I'll probably renew it at some
point (if I remember to get around to it) - not because I personally
get any real benefit from VTR membership, but because deep down, I
feel that the hobby as a whole benefits from a strong national
organization, and as these cars become more scarce, I believe a strong
national organization will become more crucial.
What I won't do is renew my membership simply to gain access to the
maintenance section of the website. I doubt anyone would or has done
so. If it's the VTR leadership's idea to use this information as a
recruiting tool, I personally believe that they would be much better
served by making it available to *all* Triumph owners, and not just
the dues paying members. I originally joined the VTR after
discovering their website. This was undoubtedly a result of following
a link from another Triumph owner's personal website - perhaps one
directly to a particular article in the maintenance section. I happen
to have such a link on my site regarding the polarity switch I did on
my car a couple of years ago. Now when a fellow Triumph enthusiast
follows those links such as mine, they're greeted with a login name
and password request. Rather uninviting.
As others have pointed out, this information is out there via other
free sources. In time I suspect that a free access point to nearly
all this information will surface, and the VTR website's role as this
great depository of technical information will be diminished. They
will then, in my humble opinion, loose an excellent recruiting tool,
since instead of being directed to the VTR maintenance page each time
a Triumph owner is looking for a particular piece of information,
he/she will be directed somewhere else.
In closing... I agree with those calling for our support of the VTR
(and don't forget this list!). However, I also believe the
restriction of the maintenance information on the VTR website is a bad
idea and will likely do more harm than good to the organization.
But then none of this really helps Jim with his crash pad issue, does it? :)
Kurtis Jones
Russellville, Arkansas
1963 TR4 - CT19389L
1959 AH Bugeye - AN5L23250
www.geocities.com/tr4_1963
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