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Have you ever thought about exchanging your bike for a tour?

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Noncreative
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PostPosted: 21:28 - 06 Dec 2012    Post subject: Have you ever thought about exchanging your bike for a tour? Reply with quote

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry for being so pragmatic and without any contribution to the community starting to talk about things I'm going to talk below.

Also, sorry for my broken English as it's not my native language and I live in UK only for 4+ years.

So, I'm a biker. I have Fazer 1000. I commute to work on it every day. I'm planning to do some touring around Europe next spring. And riding on the bike is great fun for me. I can’t do not ride for too long.

But I'd like to talk about something different. Have you ever thought about touring in a different continent, like US or Australia? I did. I still really want to do touring in US by route 66. But as you know I'm an immigrant and as a result I'm short of money. I would like to get cost down as much as possible.

I was exploring the web for some useful services and found only some touring packages. Some businesses offering their services. Sounds Boring/Expensive to me. So I stopped to think about it for a while, but then I got an Idea. What if I would find some chap in US who would like to come to UK and ride here while I'm going to ride on his bike in US, say for a couple of weeks. Staying in a hotels or I could borrow my tent with all the gears I have. Sounds like Bike Exchange to me.

With this Idea in my head I started to search the web for this kind of service and haven't found any. Hm? So I decided to build my own, luckily I'm a computer programmer. And I did it. Here we go: https://www.allride.net/.

To Admins, I hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting URL here. Sorry if I did. Please let me know.

I didn’t want to stress the air and ask strange questions or advise from bikers while I was building it, so I built it the way I thought it might be easy to use and helpful. But I know that I have missed something, or maybe I have missed everything.

So, to find out if this Idea has right to live I would like to welcome everyone interested to share your opinions, which will be very useful and valuable to me and those who potentially can start to use this service.

Everyone is welcome, it’s absolutely free.

Unfortunately there are no many bikes at the moment, just mine, so please add yours and let me know if you’ll have any difficulties creating your listing.

Thanks for your time.

Hope to get some feedback from you, chaps.

Andrey
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mad4it028
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PostPosted: 01:40 - 07 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

dont think i could let a stranger abuse my bike fuck i dont even let friends ride my bike!
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Kradmelder
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PostPosted: 09:18 - 07 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

My bikes are like my wife and mistress. I would never let any one use them. Nor do I want to ride another bike I dont know, nor have farkled the way I like it.

I plan on going across russia with my on son on bikes when he is old enough. I would rather ship in the bikes or buy them in europe.
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Alpha-9
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PostPosted: 11:23 - 07 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice site, interesting idea. Like how you had an idea and made it come to life, very entrepreneurial. But I can't see it taking for the reason others have stated. There may be a few people who'd be interested but it all seems kinda...weird to me!
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 13:07 - 07 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

What? cant you lot smell spam?
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Alpha-9
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PostPosted: 13:09 - 07 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

pepperami wrote:
What? cant you lot smell spam?

Nah, smells legit Laughing

I don't mind things like this if it's well presented, relevant and in the right section Cool Thumbs Up
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J4mes
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PostPosted: 13:15 - 07 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Been a member nearly 11 months, so not typical spam no....just a guy with an idea by the looks of it.

Not one I would take up unfortunately, although I think there are other companies that do similar things where you swap houses/cars etc for holidays.

Wouldn't let someone I didn't know ride my bike. Or shag in my bed for that matter!

Not for me I'm afraid - good luck! Thumbs Up
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Noncreative
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PostPosted: 19:52 - 07 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kradmelder wrote:
I plan on going across russia with my on son on bikes when he is old enough. I would rather ship in the bikes or buy them in europe.


Very Happy I'm, actually, Russian. Could give you some personal adivse for your trip. It also quite well described in both: "Long way around" and "Adventure Motorcycling Handbook".

And you don't need to do both of your planned things, really. You can get to Western Russia on your bikes in 48-72 hours, depends on how fast you want to get there. You'll cross France, Belgium, Holland and Germany by motorways with a blink of the eye. And then 800km across Poland will really dissapoint you. There are litteraly no motorways, except toll A2, from west to east. Millions of trucks and Polonez cars.

After Poland, you can go via Belarus or Lithania and Latvia. That where you can have some fun on straight, wide road built in soviet times. But bear in mind wild animals, police and dodgy drivers. With drivers, there might be places where there are not many of them, but they con be drunk. Regarding police, just be polite, show them that they are bosses and you are an idiot abroad and 20 quid bribe will cover most of your little sins.

So, no need to buy or ship really.

Also, with shipping in Russia, just couple of words. First of all postman is not delivering post to your house. They deliver pece of paper letting you know that you need to collect it. Poor russian people, in the post office, asking staff to weight package before it going to be given to them, and make sure that the weight is matching with what it says on the box, so in worse case they will not sign the paper that they have received an item. My friend done this when he was collecting his iPad. But when he is opened it, there was just a little bag with a rice exactly mathing the weight of the iPad.

Also, if you'll travel on the car, sometimes it is even safer to ride withount numberplates then with some foreign, because it means that if you can afford to do so then you have a "roof" which can protect you. Smile

I have more stories to tell but maybe later.

Anyway, thanks a lot for you invaluable input.

Cheers,
Andrey
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Noncreative
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PostPosted: 20:49 - 07 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

-4 then, hm... interesting.

Maybe I'm an old man already, but to me, the best looking thing on the bike is a high mileage. And the bike for me is a nice, but still peace of metal bringing me some taste to my life. It is far-far-far less important to me then my wife or children or collegues or whatever. (Even not camparable). I have bikes for not having sex with them. It cost around 2-2.5K. It's japanese and it was born for a long and very busy life. Smile

To me, when I see honda blackbird, 12 yo. with 14K miles on the clocks (seen 10 on eBay) with 3-4 prev owners, is looks like a strong, full of life horse keept in a cage... Somebody bought it to sort out boredom and never used it properly. What I can say - big toy.

The website is focused for the people who doesn't keep their bikes at the same level as their wifes or girlfriends, but rather for those who likes the fact of hitting the road on the bike or for those who is looking for a different, affordable, accessible experience.

Surely it is quite strange for someone, but extraverts normally gets easyier with that.

Also, if you have added your bike there it doesn't mean that you must swap it with a first contacted with you user. It all takes time, you need to prepare and plan everything well in advance. Maybe 1 or 2 month. Check out everything, including insurance, have seveal telephone calls, etc. I have added some tips there about what worth going through to make sure that nothing missed.

I'm not an idiot, I'll keep it for ~5 years and if there will be just 5 users, I'll tell them: thanks a lot for your interest, chaps - system is going to be taken down in 1 month, please take your belongings with you.

As simple as that Smile
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harscot
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PostPosted: 22:35 - 07 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thumbs Up Have a look at eagleriders.com, they do one way hires for about $50 a day, usually a harley, but they do other bikes as well, you are actually returning there bike to its original hire shop, may not be what your looking for but worth a look anyway Thumbs Up
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Noncreative
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PostPosted: 08:34 - 08 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

harscot wrote:
Thumbs Up Have a look at eagleriders.com, they do one way hires for about $50 a day, usually a harley, but they do other bikes as well, you are actually returning there bike to its original hire shop, may not be what your looking for but worth a look anyway Thumbs Up


Yep, I saw them. Thanks for spotting. It is apconceptually different idea.

Minuses:
US only.
why spend 50 a day, when you can spend it on a motel. 4+ weeks turns in a sensitive money.
You need to buy camping gears.
There is no support of any case, but when you do swap you can agree that family members could help, including money if you are short, etc.
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Enduro Numpty
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PostPosted: 15:17 - 08 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting idea but not for me I think.

Best of luck with it though.
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fatpies
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PostPosted: 15:21 - 08 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Noncreative wrote:



And you don't need to do both of your planned things, really. You can get to Western Russia on your bikes in 48-72 hours, depends on how fast you want to get there. You'll cross France, Belgium, Holland and Germany by motorways with a blink of the eye. And then 800km across Poland will really dissapoint you. There are litteraly no motorways, except toll A2, from west to east. Millions of trucks and Polonez cars.



Laughing what about the 8000 miles from South Africa to Europe? Laughing
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Noncreative
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PostPosted: 17:06 - 08 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

fatpies wrote:

Laughing what about the 8000 miles from South Africa to Europe? Laughing


Laughing oops, that is a dramatic change in conditions. Smile shipping or buying is the only way to go. Or bike exchange with me, I'd like wonder aroun on bike in south africa. Joking Smile

If buying, if secon hand then don't do it in eastern Europe. Second hand market is much smaller, coz most of the boys can't afford big toys, biking season is shorter and generally bikes are not that popular there. If there are some second hand bikes, they will be much more worn out and all of them will be totally with DIY servicing. Normally, price for the bikes is not dropping that much from new. If it's in good condition it will cost almost like new. Because dealers are not dropping prices and turnover is not that big. Sometimes when peps can afford to buy a new bike they take a van and go to Germany, where variety is much larger and dealers are more flexible with prices.

Hope it might help with your plans to visit Easter Europe Wink
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LordShaftesbu...
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PostPosted: 18:14 - 08 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Noncreative wrote:
The website is focused for the people who doesn't keep their bikes at the same level as their wifes or girlfriends, but rather for those who likes the fact of hitting the road on the bike or for those who is looking for a different, affordable, accessible experience.

I'd be more than happy to let anyone ride my ER-6n. I've even offered it to friends who have expressed an interest in learning to ride. That's because it looks like a wreck though. If I were to ride across Russia I'd want to do it on a nice bike.

If I was you I'd start a thread in General Bike Chat - no-one reads these sub-forums and it seems to me if your idea is going to have any legs you need people to sign up.
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Marmalade
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PostPosted: 12:58 - 09 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry If this has already been said. I just browsed through.


On arrival at the site there is little info, no link to a 'What we're for' page or what the site is about. Just one line saying motorcycle exchange network.

Fix that and it may hold interest longer than the 3 seconds it did me.
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thx1138
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PostPosted: 22:44 - 10 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've considered selling two of my bikes to fund an off road holiday in Kenya, but then I'd come back, and not have two bikes to ride off road and would be sad.
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Davenaylor
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PostPosted: 07:14 - 11 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice concept but as marmalade has said, the site doesn't really tell you much and just asks you to jump straight into adding your bike.

No offence but it shows that you have created this as a developer without engaging with your users. All the important and time consuming bits have been coded, but there is no supporting information to actually engage your users.

Maybe add an interactive tutorial or story board to show the users what the site is about.

I think you could work on the banner as well, maybe you could create one that merges the American Rockies with a lake in Scotland or something. I'm no designer so ignore this if you wish.
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Noncreative
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PostPosted: 19:28 - 11 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

LordShaftesbury wrote:
If I was you I'd start a thread in General Bike Chat - no-one reads these sub-forums and it seems to me if your idea is going to have any legs you need people to sign up.


Thanks for advise, mate. I think that website is not ready for public yet. That why I have posted about it in one forum and one thread. I really need some feedback before doing larger scale PR.
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Noncreative
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PostPosted: 19:31 - 11 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Marmalade wrote:
Sorry If this has already been said. I just browsed through.


On arrival at the site there is little info, no link to a 'What we're for' page or what the site is about. Just one line saying motorcycle exchange network.

Fix that and it may hold interest longer than the 3 seconds it did me.


It is a very good point. Thank you very much.

Just create this text, what do you think?

What we are for.

We have built this project to create a strong and secure Community of the Motorcyclists around the World to be able to swap their Bikes for a holiday, touring or local ride in different Countries or Continents.

To make it secure we constantly adding new Bike Exchange Tips. We have Owner's Review and Ratings and also users can report us if somebody abusing the system.

In a future we are planning to add some open communication system. User would be able to track each other activities and estimate if it safe to exchange bikes with some other member.

Because service is quite new, everyone is welcome to contribute some Ideas to improve users experience and make exchange more secure and successful.

Also we are planning to add Routes Recommendations based on the location of the bike.

We have a lot of enthusiasm to make this service really working.

Yours sincerely,

The AllRide.net Team
[/i]


Last edited by Noncreative on 20:05 - 11 Dec 2012; edited 1 time in total
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Noncreative
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PostPosted: 19:39 - 11 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Davenaylor wrote:
Nice concept but as marmalade has said, the site doesn't really tell you much and just asks you to jump straight into adding your bike.

No offence but it shows that you have created this as a developer without engaging with your users. All the important and time consuming bits have been coded, but there is no supporting information to actually engage your users.

Maybe add an interactive tutorial or story board to show the users what the site is about.

I think you could work on the banner as well, maybe you could create one that merges the American Rockies with a lake in Scotland or something. I'm no designer so ignore this if you wish.


Thanks for the feedback. You are absolutely right. It is not engaging at the moment. I'm working with the text and implementation.

The biggest problem for me is: Right/Engaging English for the website. I really struggle to create any text. It is just not mine area of expertise.

I even would be happy to hire someone who could help me with this.
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Noncreative
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PostPosted: 21:22 - 13 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Gents,

Thanks for everyones' ideas and comments, I have added them to the website. Looks good. Great input Wink

I hope that at least for some of you this idea sounds quite realistic. Smile

So, for the first ten of you, most loyal to this project, who sees that it might work for them and the only stopper to add their bikes is lazines, I will give 10.00 GBP Amazon Gift Voucher for each added Bike. Please see details below.

1. Added Bike should be real;
2. Description of the Added Bike should be at least 5-7 paragraphs, well presented and well structured, all details about bike should be true;
3. Information about Biker should be well structured, well presented and valid. There should be at least 7 paragraphs;
4. Added Bike should be interesting for the potential exchangers; So it wouldn't be some wrecks which likely to break after 500 miles riding;
5. Added Bike should have at least 5 quality photos;
6. Unchanged towards worse condition listing should stay visible for the users for at least 2years, please.
7. I'm making final decision whether I give you voucher or not, to make sure that added listing is a quality stuff; Don't worry I can guarantee that you'll get a vaucher for your quality listing, I'm not a moron Smile
8. After you've added your bike, contact me using Contact Us form. Please provide following information. Bike Number, Telephone number (can be random 11 digits) which you have used for the listing (don't worry it is invisible to the users) and your email. If you'll have any problems, please leave me your message in this thread. But please do not post any personal information there.
9. It may take up to two weeks after you have published your listing before you'll get your voucher.
10. I will use this thread (if it still be available) or this forum or my website to let you know when this event will finish. After that I'll stop giving vouchers until further notice.
11. If you see that some of the points here are unfare, please let me know.

Whoah! I think this is it... So many formal things... I don't like it, but please understand me that I don't want to throw away my money, which I'm getting like most of you, by working 9 to 5:30 and which I could spend on my son, for example.

That is it for now.

Thanks for your attention.
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