I spent ages last night typing a similar sort of thing, at the end of it I thought, why am bothering and deleted it! 😂
But heck yeah you definitely stand a better chance of meeting friends (& more!) if you get along to an event/meet/rideout than on your sofa typing to "The One"
The social side of this site is what keeps me here for sure. 😊👍🏻
For my part Matt, I'm delighted to find that during the main biking season there are a large variety of events and meets to go to which, were it not for the site, I would probably never find out about and on that basis I would gladly renew my membership. The consensus seems to be is that the site is bloated with "Ghost Members" who have either not renewed their membership of who have joined as free members, only to disappear but remain on the site listed as members but having no intention of taking an active part in the site or events so I re-iterate...……...put a time limit on free membership and then delete so we have a better idea of what the actual membership is. Speaking as a single person it is bloody annoying to me to message members who don't exist
Have to agree with Pete..so much nicer meeting folk face to face(as it were)..i always strive to meet up with folk asap,and if they don't actually run off screaming,cool...so get your tents dusted off,doss bags de-loused,airbeds patched and GET OUT THERE..!!
Newbie here... I haven't paid for membership as I'm not in need of a partner and I'm a member of a local bike club. I registered in order to find events on the calendar. Having said that, and reading many of the posts on this thread, I am led to wonder what the site is for. If it's a dating site then I would be prepared to pay a reasonable wedge to find a partner (which is how I met my wife). If I wanted to have a snoop at the talent, I should be expected to pay something - maybe free for the first week and then a fiver a week after that. This would be similar to porn channels on satellite TV where you pay quite a lot for a single night but a lot less for a long term subscription (allegedly!!!). If I just wanted to use the event calendar, it could/should be free. This would allow non-paying members to add events (like rallies, club open nights, bike shows, commemorative rides, etc.) and also check for other events. Anyway, I need to use the site a bit more before my opinion is worth anything..! 😆
Another popular motorcycle forum I belong to runs and pays for itself simply by having a supporters category of membership which people donate minimum £10 per year. They don't pay for Google or facebook ads and rely on the forum's activity etc to maintain/ drive up their rankings. It is a very popular site with its members who many are active daily and its like a community. Other people come and go to get information etc but it is the core regular users that pay to maintain the site. Supporters get a forum area with their own content that isnt publicly available but it is the appreciation and desire to support that drives the regular people to pay. I wonder if Bikermatch would be better off without having to fund the advertising if that is a big expenditure - rely on organic traffic/growth. Lower rates attract more people to use the site. The forums are key to having active contect but IMHO are rather inactive on here as there seems to be a limited number of regulars. To be honest the site comes across as a dating site (even the name) with some regulars who use it as a general social motorcycle forum. What about a simple model where to message you need to be a member - with say £5 per month or £20 per year. Photos etc free to view to get/drive people to message. Forums free.
I have thought about this for a week or so as to if I should post this or not well a lot of you who know me will be changing threads about now so here we go. The biggest problem is 95% of us want something for nothing, They want loads of events to go to and complain that there is nothing in there area but when asked if they want to put on a ride out the reply is fast and hard NOT ME. A few years ago there was a large core of members that were on here all the time, They went to all the events and made a lot of friends but then for what ever reason moved off BM and now just contact those same friends and stay in there little click only to go to events if they are paid for by BM and they just need to turn up have a free night out then bugger off home till next year. Matt and I have banged heads a lot of times in the past but in the end he has given me friends all over the UK and dam good friends at that. So its up to you pay up or lose it Matt can only do so much the mods can only do so much the events teams can only do so much but if you don't support the site it WILL fail so as others have said its not that much to pay, Come along to the meets camps ride outs and meet the other members.
this is what you can get for your money
April, will be Pilly day Late may bank holiday Scotland camp June 12th 14th south wales camp. June 26th 28th Bracan mcc pistons and pints Rally. July 3rd 6th Barge Inn camp Augs Bank hol Barmouth camp Sept Lower Lode chill out camp
This is not a diffinative list as other events will be added through out the year and hopefully some of you members will organise events in the area you live in, just look on the calendar and in the forum's and be inspired
I think there might be more attendance at events if there was a "meet and greet" with a named "host," to welcome newcomers. I'm on my own so have had to make a choice about going to events on my own or simply not going at all. Lots of people would not want to go to an event on their own so promoting this promise of a host so you will have a friendly face to introduce you to others might attract more to join in. I joined to find "the one" but it's not working out. When I was in a relationship and attended BM events to meet friends i had already made it caused massive problems because of the dating site name/connotations. We split up over it in the end as I realised he was being controlling over lots of things.
Im not sure it works having both a dating site and a social site in one. Maybe there should be different memberships- one for access to events/forums for everyone and one for enhanced profiles/more photos aimed at singles who genuinely want to meet the love of their life who is also a biker. I have lots of ideas if you want to hear them- can pm.
Hello Suzy BM started out as a dating site, it was the sister site to Bike Chat. It's the members themselves who made it a social site as well as a dating site. Personally I think it works well that way.
The chat site members who weren't looking for dates, and especially those who were already attached, got annoyed when they were chatted up, I assume that's why Matt created Biker Match.
I like your suggestion of a BM greeter, that would solve the confusion, at biker venues, of who is a member of BM.
It's nothing new, when I joined in 2013 I was thinking about attending my first 'solo rally' up at Squires and was lucky enough to chat to JP about my reservations, he offered me his mobile number and said not to worry just phone him when I arrived and he would meet me and introduce me to other BMers. The rest, as they say is 'history'.👍🏻😊.
I've never really discussed whether this was a new thing to do but I suspect that it was offered to many other new members.
I have, over the years, paid JPs kindness forward by encouraging new members to get themselves along to events, rideouts and rallies. More often than not I have made arrangements to "meet & greet" them or put them in touch with other BMers I have met in their locality to meet & travel with to events etc.
I still continue to do this, as do many others. Is it really necessary to identify a specific person to do this?
I think that if members know in advance who is doing the greeting then it takes the pressure off a first time attending.
Matlock Bath and Squires are typical examples of hundreds of bikers being there but not knowing which ones are BMers. Newbies asking the question "are you a member of Biker Match?" Is just a bit too much of an ask for some.
Thanks to all those who have given me a pillion, over the years, and to Lindsay for offering me a lift from the train station for a Squires gathering. It's much appreciated xx
By the way, Lindsay looks like her pic so just look for her when you're at a BM gathering. Brummie Jackie does too.
![BikerMatch upgrades - discuss please (2) - Forums [Biker Match]](/images/backgrounds/strips/8mobileLQ.jpg)
![BikerMatch upgrades - discuss please (2) - Forums [Biker Match]](/images/backgrounds/strips/8desktopLQ.jpg)
