A thread started by TWB in the Which bike? forum got me thinking.

When a member posts in that section asking for advice on which model to buy a few things can happen:

1. They know what type of bike they want and just want specific pointers
2. They have no idea where to start and leave the floor for any and all to offer ideas
3. They have a route but not a choice of bike.
4. Other, etc

Unless kept on topic these threads can get pretty off topic, ending up about what bikes the other posters have rather than what the thread starter actually wants.

TWB asked "what made you choose your bike". I think this is a far more useful approach for the would-be overlander. We say what we chose and why, and the thread starter can then align themselves with posters whose needs, likes and dislikes are most like their own and see if the bikes mentioned fit the bill...

So, would it not be possible to have a database, in the format of the "air and sea shipping database" where people can describe what their bike was, what they used it for, their own riding strengths and weaknesses and then details of the bike's +'s and -'s in the context of what they experienced with it.

This would allow for first hand experience being detailed in context. It could include pleasant surprises, nasty surprises, accessories you recommend, accessroies that were a waste of time, prices through out, competencies, and areas to be wary of...
It could build into a searchable database so pleople can already narrow it down like bike or car, or 2-up or solo, tarmac, off-road or both, manufacturers etc. you get the idea. If you plan to ride the USA two up, you don't need accounts of which bike is best in Fesh-fesh sand, or which runs best on the Altiplano carrying one rider and a packed lunch....

This would not replace the "which bike" forum as this is a valuable tool, but would allow people to read through, at their leisure, and would perhaps focus the references made to first hand experiences of the rider, rather than word of mouth, second/third hand accounts. That would also reduce some rather lengthy threads whose usefulness to the original poster can sometimes be questionable, IMHO.

It would somewhat help keep facts with facts and opinions with opinions, so members can chose which they get from the HUBB.

So, Grant, what do you think?

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

Then search form for this will not be usual web form but options are presented as/with photos. How else we know what one means with "off road" (there are several photos of different road conditions and user selects which ones he is dreaming of riding) or for luggage capacity then have pictures of different setups and why not use screen shot from Long Way Round to present "overloaded" condition etc.

Sounds brilliant to me! We've had something along these lines in mind for a long time, and this helps us round out the requirements nicely, thanks! Any more comments / thoughts etc will be very useful to help us get the requirements and design right.

You've said you want:

bike or car, manufacturer, model, year
2-up or solo
what they used it for,
their own riding strengths and weaknesses
details of the bike's +'s and -'s in the context of what they experienced with it.

pleasant surprises,
nasty surprises,
accessories you recommend,
accessories that were a waste of time,
prices through out,
competencies,
and areas to be wary of...


It will ALL be searchable.

our list includes off the top of my head:

tires, good and bad, and life
modifications (not just accessories, but things like frame mods etc
and it's late... my brain has stopped... but there's loads more.
would you buy it again?
if not, what would you buy?

=============

What else do we want in?

thanks for the feedback!

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Glad you are in favour!

The only other things I can think of are fuel consumption and tank range, and, finally, a short rider's verdict...

I must admit, for me, even the list we have already would be sufficient: it needs to be easy to complete and not so long that members are put off, nor reviewers are overwhelmed.

Its a fine line between adding all the fields we can think of and isolating what is really relevant to individuals searching...

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

Option for Photo upload?

Not having online photo hosting a size limit of about 100KB would be ideal for me. 3-4 photos max?

The 27KB limit present in the forums is a bit restrictive for me to post photos...

Once its up and running, I'll happily complete it for the bikes I have travelled with.

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

The 27kb limit is an error - not sure why but the number in the settings was wrong - you should now have 1mb of space total to upload files. Thanks for pointing that out!

Contributing members have 10mb, and Gold Members 25mb.

See the FAQ for more details on membership privileges etc.

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Just an update really...

When I first suggested it, you seemed pretty enthusiastic about this database. Is this still something you are considering? If so, do you have a launch date in mind?

Cheers.

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

Absolutely!

er...

launch date is "real soon now"... I wish...

We've been far too busy to get anywhere with this. Much as I want it, it's going to be a while.

NOTE: We desperately need a Drupal developer to do some jobs like this for us. Anyone? We really are DESPERATE so any Drupal wizards out there please talk to us!

Otherwise, it will be sometime this winter.

Grant

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Droop-all, I am familiar with, Drupal, I am not!!

As for the Go-Live date, well, no problem for me: although early onset senility seems to affect me at times, I'm sure any facts and figures for my bikes will still be avaiable come winter 2009!

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

I bought myself some blue pills off the web and now....

Database sounds good. Could we include service interval and time taken/skill level required? (Playing with my dads Guzzi where you seem to need to take the engine out to replace the air filter made me think just how great Triumphs, Enfields, Yamahas, BMW's, Urals..... are better suited to going more than 1500 miles from a dealer)

Andy