Riders of Kawasaki - Time for input

[waterman]

As many of you know, ROK has always been generous with donations for raffles. This year is no exception. I recently talked to Brian Gibson with ROK and he would like some input from VBA's members that are ROK and those that aren't ROK members. You can look at ROK membership benefits here: http://www.kawasaki.com/ROK/. There is a discount code that is a sticky above in this thread.

1) What new benefits would you like to see from ROK?
Now keep in mind, radical changes might require rate hikes so give some reasonable ideas as well as some real changes that might be good to have with a membership.


2) What are reasons for not being an ROK member? I know many people are members of AMA but why not ROK. I have memberships in both. Going back to question 1, what would it take to entice you to purchase a ROK membership.

[Jared]

• 24-Hr Roadside Assistance (Truly a good reward)
• Annual subscription to Accelerate™ magazine (Anyone can read Accelerate. It's not exclusive for ROK members, and as a result adds nothing to the membership)
• ROK Hospitality (Not too sure what this even is)
• $50 Kawasaki Gift Certificate for completion of an MSF Skills Class (I've already taken the class and am not interested in retaking it)
• Personalized ROK Membership Card (A card with my name on it? Hardly a reward)
• ROK Road Atlas (95% of the time I'm going to be using a GPS.)
• ROK Patch and Pin (Cool, but little value)
• Sponsor Discounts (Depends on the sponsor, but it seems like everyone is willing to give discount now a days.)

I think ROK has to decide if they're offering a motorcycle club and camaraderie or if they're offering rewards. Of the things listed as "benefits" there's really nothing of value other than the road side assistance. If they're going to offer camaraderie, THEY need to host events that are exclusive to ROK members only.

[Top Cat]

I don't know what they could do to make me join.
I belong to the AMA.
The AMA gives me the free roadside assistance if I let them take my dues automatically from my credit card each year so I already have that benifit.
The AMA fights for my rights as a motorcycle rider, I don't think ROK is big enough to have an impact there.
The freebies at our rallies are fun but I would not miss them if they stopped doing that.
Well, I would miss Teri :D so maybe just having her show up at our rallies is enough to make me join. :yep:
Yeah, I guess I will go sign up now.

[JPB]

I read the "rewards of membership" and agree with Jared. With that said I figured I would be saving $10 on my insurance by dropping roadside assistance so my actual cost of membership would be $19.95. For $19.95 I'll give it a try for a year, if it works for me I'll stay if not I won't renew. Just joined.

[davidjmurphy]

I e- mailed them several times to ask if it is available for Canadian Kawasaki owners and ever got a reply. I think Kawasaki Canada has something available but it is geared when buying a new bike. The cost was $70-90 and the coverage is not as good as ROK offers. Presently looking into the Goldwing one which ever covers your car and truck. $ 90 Canadian per year. It is open to anyone,you just pay more to be an associate member.

[cactusjack]

2) What are reasons for not being an ROK member? I know many people are members of AMA but why not ROK. I have memberships in both. Going back to question 1, what would it take to entice you to purchase a ROK membership.

How about I don't own a Kawasaki? That's a pretty good reason, I think. I belong to HOG and AMA.

[waterman]

I don't know what they could do to make me join.
I belong to the AMA.
The AMA gives me the free roadside assistance if I let them take my dues automatically from my credit card each year so I already have that benifit.
The AMA fights for my rights as a motorcycle rider, I don't think ROK is big enough to have an impact there.
The freebies at our rallies are fun but I would not miss them if they stopped doing that.
Well, I would miss Teri :D so maybe just having her show up at our rallies is enough to make me join. :yep:
Yeah, I guess I will go sign up now.

As for the roadside assistance TC, I have stacked AMA on top of ROK to gain miles when towed. As for fighting for our rights, that is really the only reason I signed up with AMA.

[Top Cat]

Joel, ROK and AMA will both pay on the same towing event?

[Jared]

I read the "rewards of membership" and agree with Jared. With that said I figured I would be saving $10 on my insurance by dropping roadside assistance so my actual cost of membership would be $19.95. For $19.95 I'll give it a try for a year, if it works for me I'll stay if not I won't renew. Just joined.

With the discount code "VBA1216" you already get $10 off.

[schoeney]

As for the roadside assistance TC, I have stacked AMA on top of ROK to gain miles when towed. As for fighting for our rights, that is really the only reason I signed up with AMA.

I did not realize you could add them together. Good to know.

[gssbmm]

I joined this year at daytona, the road side is good, but we really joined for the rok hospitality. they feed us every morning with light breakfast had a covered area to sit near the demo rides that my wife loved as i tested everything in sight. staff was really friendly. they have a ride every yr and did a free dinner (we got in a day after it happend) the breakfast was worth the cost alone. we also got priority sign up for demos.

[cnc]

I talked to Brian a couple of weeks ago on the phone. He asked the same sort of questions of me. Seems they are looking for incentives to improve the membership. He asked if hotel discounts would be of interest and I said of course. I believe Harley has similar with Best Western, Harley rider I think. I suggested dealer discount on parts and service, not a one time thing but x percent off upon presentation of the card. He liked that but pointed out it would not work in Canada. He did point out that the roadside is valid all through Canada though as well as the US.

[puckoach]

I am a ROK member.

Joined, as AAA Southern New England does not cover MC towing.

Joined using the discount code posted here. Then, Won a free year at a Test Ride day, so that covered my second year. Am up for renewal soon.

The joining package includes a water proof box, that perfectly fits the S3 Samsung phone.

Have not seen the demo truck at Laconia. Although all others are there. So, no hospitality benefit. Must say when I saw the demo truck in Mansfield, MA the people were great, and enjoyed the event.

Looked it up, Demo truck is at Americade first week of June. Could make Laconia if they wanted to.

[Dastardly]

I also belong to ROK :tup:

[landman]

I also belong to both ROK and AMA.

[benmo109]

I belong to ROK & AMA. I would like to see a more personalized membership card, like AMAs. Also a discount on parts & service at Kawasaki Dealers. The hotel discount would be great and I am very Thankful for the items they give out at the rallies. Nothing is cheap. Instead of giving the two stickers and patches with each renewal, how about a pin; ROK with year rockers for membership? Happy with ROK and keeping AMA because they fight for our rights.

[Netnorske]

I also belong to both ROK and AMA.

Bob....don't forget AARP.....surely they are beating down your door....:D.

[schoeney]

Bob....don't forget AARP.....surely they are beating down your door....:D.

Oooh...that was a flagrant foul. Don't pick on the elderly.....remember they are wiser.

[Jared]

I belong to ROK & AMA. I would like to see a more personalized membership card, like AMAs. Also a discount on parts & service at Kawasaki Dealers. The hotel discount would be great and I am very Thankful for the items they give out at the rallies. Nothing is cheap. Instead of giving the two stickers and patches with each renewal, how about a pin; ROK with year rockers for membership? Happy with ROK and keeping AMA because they fight for our rights.

Oooh, I like the idea of annual pins or rockers. That would help keep renewals up for sure.

[waterman]

Ok, I have kept out of this but I'll give a couple of ideas that I talked with Brian about.

1) A list of motorcycle friendly hotels. As you plan regional rallies, you try to go some place new but another group may have been there. That would help with finding places that are happy to have groups such as ours. It can also be utilized by people traveling. Sometimes you find places that don't really appreciate motorcycles.

2) Another one is a travel planning site for motorcycles. As we drive roads we find new gems that many people don't know about. If we had something similar to a website http://www.motorcycleroads.com/ where we could input local rides that are great ones to hit.

[waterman]

Joel, ROK and AMA will both pay on the same towing event?

I did not realize you could add them together. Good to know.

We had a tow where the miles were just short of getting us to where we needed to go. I talked with the driver and told him I had ROK as well as the AMA. He said they would "tow" me as far as one would go. I called the other number and told them where we were and they did another dispatch. The driver liked that because he got 2 hookup fees out of it.

I don't know if all tow companies would do this but it did work out on this one.

[Top Cat]

Oooh, I like the idea of annual pins or rockers. That would help keep renewals up for sure.

Sarcasm , correct ?

[waterman]

Sarcasm , correct ?

It's about time to beat some respect into the youngsters.:lmao:

[Top Cat]

It's about time to beat some respect into the youngsters.:lmao:

Yeah you know how it goes Joel, you give some of these "kids" today a little power and it goes right to their head :shrug:

[napom]

I am a ROK member. Main reason - road side assistance/towing.

Never received the atlas for any of my memberships or renewals.

Like the H2O proof box - but don't need a new one with each renewal each year. Change that up a bit. Honda red rider once gave out compact kruz tools - I still carry that on my Kawi. But change it up a bit.


Hotel discounts would be nice.

Dealer discounts would be really nice.

But the best thing they could do is give its members guaranteed front of the line service if they are towed in with the plan or are xxx miles from home and experience a mechanical issue. Seriously, this guarantee offed by HD almost made me think the extra 8 grand for a Harley was worth it. I have been on cross country trips and had issues with non HD bikes and been left at the mercy of a service manager's mood at the time and compared it to the no hassle treatment my HD riding partner received when he had an issue. Being there and seeing the difference (HD's "its the right thing to do and thats how we do it" vs metric dealers "geez I don't know - I may be able to do you a favor, but maybe not") puts it all in focus. As I said it made me strongly consider shelling out a significant amount more cash for the bike that offered this, so I would be willing to spend a bit more for ROK membership for this piece of mind.

Just my thoughts.

[waterman]

I am a ROK member. Main reason - road side assistance/towing.

Never received the atlas for any of my memberships or renewals.

Like the H2O proof box - but don't need a new one with each renewal each year. Change that up a bit. Honda red rider once gave out compact kruz tools - I still carry that on my Kawi. But change it up a bit.


Hotel discounts would be nice.

Dealer discounts would be really nice.

But the best thing they could do is give its members guaranteed front of the line service if they are towed in with the plan or are xxx miles from home and experience a mechanical issue. Seriously, this guarantee offed by HD almost made me think the extra 8 grand for a Harley was worth it. I have been on cross country trips and had issues with non HD bikes and been left at the mercy of a service manager's mood at the time and compared it to the no hassle treatment my HD riding partner received when he had an issue. Being there and seeing the difference (HD's "its the right thing to do and thats how we do it" vs metric dealers "geez I don't know - I may be able to do you a favor, but maybe not") puts it all in focus. As I said it made me strongly consider shelling out a significant amount more cash for the bike that offered this, so I would be willing to spend a bit more for ROK membership for this piece of mind.

Just my thoughts.

They do have hotel discounts.

[landman]

Bob....don't forget AARP.....surely they are beating down your door....:D.

:shrug: ok then,let's add 17 year AARP member,NRA life member and American legion member.if I were you though I would worry more about
how fast I am drawing down the SSI fund so that you never get to draw
your share. :D

[landman]

Oooh...that was a flagrant foul. Don't pick on the elderly.....remember they are wiser.

thanks for calling the foul greg.there just is no excuse for elderly abuse. :yep:

[schoeney]

thanks for calling the foul greg.there just is no excuse for elderly abuse. :yep:

You are very welcome. Anytime.

[Netnorske]

Damn...now I almost feel bad....:hmm::D.

[jandreu]

Well not that my input matters much living on an island but I belong to AMA for the legislation work as well as Street Bikers United, again for the legislation work locally. I don't do rally's or group rides for that matter so individual clubs are of no interest to me.

To the question there's nothing ROK could do to entice me to join, sorry.

[Jared]

Sarcasm , correct ?

Actually I was being sincere. Something that seems somewhat limited, such an annual pin would be a great idea. Go to a VROC event and see how many people have a dozen or so of their annual pins.

[Jared]

Ok, I have kept out of this but I'll give a couple of ideas that I talked with Brian about.

1) A list of motorcycle friendly hotels. As you plan regional rallies, you try to go some place new but another group may have been there. That would help with finding places that are happy to have groups such as ours. It can also be utilized by people traveling. Sometimes you find places that don't really appreciate motorcycles.

2) Another one is a travel planning site for motorcycles. As we drive roads we find new gems that many people don't know about. If we had something similar to a website http://www.motorcycleroads.com/ where we could input local rides that are great ones to hit.

I think ROK is going to have a hard time having success with a site, or anything for that matter, when you say a site similar to this website.

The website you're referring to has more r&d and their site is most likely going to be used and going to be the one people use.

[glwilson]

For what it is worth...

The Harley's Owners Group (HOG) provides the following list of "benefits" for its members in exchange for their annual dues.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/content/h-d/en_US/home/owners/hog.html

Many of these features and benefits can be done by ROK if they care to put the resources together to do it. Kawasaki, being a large organization, should be able to afford the resources -- especially given there would be dues collected to help offset the cost.


HOG MAGAZINE: It is mailed several times a year.
U.S. MAP BOOK: Arrives annually. Highlights dealer locations. ROK could one-up HOG by putting routes suggested by "qualified" members in each state, so that if anyone is traveling through the area they can be sure to ride the routes the locals prefer.
DISCOUNTS: Membership provides discounts to various companies' services; including some at their dealers
LOCAL CHAPTERS: HOG has local chapters that sponsor many things throughout the year. While this may be more difficult for Kawa to pull-off; they could at least try (maybe through the VBA as a start).
REGIONAL RALLIES: HOG puts on these rallies all over at different locations each year.
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE: Which includes hotel, towing, and in some cases a loaner bike.
ANNUAL ROCKER PATCH AND PIN: It is different and specific for each year; making them collectible for some.
AND MORE...


ROK could also put together a support-group of members who can be reached if another member has a question about a route, dealers in the area, and other questions specific to a region. (i.e., a special email address they can access via their smart phone or computer) Better yet... develop a Kawasakit ROK app that gives instant access to all the features. (They need to hire my son to get this together -- seriously.)

Since Kawasaki's largest sales are their sport and dirt bikes; they should include them in the ROK as well.

They could put rallies together where they invite all types of their bike customers. One idea I would do would be to sponsor a rally at one of the many TT races held all over the U.S. Kawasaki could put together a hospitality tent and offer ticket and hotel discounts for those coming to those races. They could offer a t-shirt specific to the race for those who buy their ticket through Kawasaki. A rally based on dirt-racing is basically how "Sturgis" started. http://www.peoriamotorcycleclub.net/what/championship-tt/

To me... for ROK to be successful, they are going to have to step-it-up several notches to be creative; and put-out the money to get it going and support it. I would think their marketing department would be "biting at the bit" to get something going on this. If they are not, then they need to question what they are doing.

[Top Cat]

Actually I was being sincere. Something that seems somewhat limited, such a an annual pin would be a great idea. Go to a VROC even and see how many people of a dozen or so of their annual pins.

Oh, sorry, have you ever seen my hat,it is in the picture I sent to be included on the page for Region and Assistant leader on the new website.
Oh yeah, that is still under construction :shrug:
I have all the annual pins from the AMA and a pin from most of the places Cindy and I ride to.

[Yellow Jacket]

Oh, sorry, have you ever seen my hat,it is in the picture I sent to be included on the page for Region and Assistant leader on the new website.
Oh yeah, that is still under construction :shrug:
I have all the annual pins from the AMA and a pin from most of the places Cindy and I ride to.

Tim, I thought that picture was of you trying to bury something under a big pile of dirt. :D

[Silent Sam]

..I have a pin...showing I attended the 1987 Cow Boy Poetry Gathering, at Elko Nevada.

[Top Cat]

Tim, I thought that picture was of you trying to bury something under a big pile of dirt. :D

No Bob that is Jared trying to find the rest of the guys pics.
He doesn't realize they haven't sent them in yet.
It has only been 3 months since he asked for them.
The other guys must have a life outside this forum :D

[Dave]

To me... for ROK to be successful, they are going to have to step-it-up several notches to be creative; and put-out the money t



Everyone mentions how the Nomad is priced so much lower than a Road King. Would Kawasaki have to increase their margins to offer all the benefits and perks that Harley does?

Also the dealer "brand loyalty" appear so far apart to me. Walk into a Harley and that's all they sell. Walk into a Kawasaki dealer and they sell other brands, also.

In a previous post a member compared emergency road service between the two. Maybe the Kawasaki dealer in Bug Tussle, USA sells more Yamaha or quad runners than Kawasaki products and is more loyal to that side of his business.

I think a lot of it boils down to, "You get what you pay for."

Kawasaki produces some of the best motorcycles for a very reasonable price but the "side" perks are just not there.

[redjay]

The Harley perks and benefits are there, at a price.

[glwilson]

Everyone mentions how the Nomad is priced so much lower than a Road King. Would Kawasaki have to increase their margins to offer all the benefits and perks that Harley does?

Also the dealer "brand loyalty" appear so far apart to me. Walk into a Harley and that's all they sell. Walk into a Kawasaki dealer and they sell other brands, also. In a previous post a member compared emergency road service between the two. Maybe the Kawasaki dealer in Bug Tussle, USA sells more Yamaha or quad runners than Kawasaki products and is more loyal to that side of his business.

I think a lot of it boils down to, "You get what you pay for." Kawasaki produces some of the best motorcycles for a very reasonable price but the "side" perks are just not there.


You hit it on the head. You cannot get something for nothing. It all costs one way or another.

[Silent Sam]

The local Harley Dealer Refused to mount a tire for my 02 Nomad....(and I had the wheel already removed from the bike)

...I went in and checked out a new Harley...then refused to buy it ! ... For some perverse reason..that made me feel good !

[napom]

The local Harley Dealer Refused to mount a tire for my 02 Nomad....(and I had the wheel already removed from the bike)

...I went in and checked out a new Harley...then refused to buy it ! ... For some perverse reason..that made me feel good !

Good on you! That's the side of ridiculous I hate - I bet that dealer had metrics on the floor that had been traded in that he did some work on . . . I had an independent dealer refuse to extract a bolt from my Sabre when I was on a trip, because he "didn't have metric tools" I didn't realize bolt extractors were that specific . . .

[Jared]

Everyone mentions how the Nomad is priced so much lower than a Road King. Would Kawasaki have to increase their margins to offer all the benefits and perks that Harley does?

Also the dealer "brand loyalty" appear so far apart to me. Walk into a Harley and that's all they sell. Walk into a Kawasaki dealer and they sell other brands, also.

In a previous post a member compared emergency road service between the two. Maybe the Kawasaki dealer in Bug Tussle, USA sells more Yamaha or quad runners than Kawasaki products and is more loyal to that side of his business.

I think a lot of it boils down to, "You get what you pay for."

Kawasaki produces some of the best motorcycles for a very reasonable price but the "side" perks are just not there.

I don't know if they'd have to increase their profit margins to offer such benefits. I think of it more as a marketing tactic. Just like any brand, you want to create life long owners. Those who will continue to come back to Kawasaki year after year. That obviously has to do with the product be consistent, both in quality, and price, but also has to do with the camaraderie that people have with other owners of the same brand and that camaraderie has to be cultivated and developed over time.

[napom]

So . . . I'm curious . . . What's the end result of this? What will be sent/told to ROK, and if anything is . . . Will we get a response from them??