AJS & Matchless Owners Club

Had you not rebelled Don.................

A cats nature is to chase birds.
A dogs nature is to chase cats.
My nature is to be rebellious.
It's a national characteristic.
"What are you rebelling against?"
"What have you got?"
Cheers, Don. Edited by - Don Madden on 09 Jun 2008 7:48:52 PM

.....shades of Marlon Brando......

I'm neutral but not particularly rebellious! Open markets are in my view good in principle. Barriers are bad. An enterprise will flourish if what it does is something people want. There are now 3 categories of customer - members who are in the spares scheme, members like me who aren't although should be, and Joe Public. The argument is parallel to the one about Kettering Classics which bunged up the letters page in the Jampot for a while.
Revenue-generators help support the club and empower it to do more - assuming the revenue actually comes in. Which we only know if we try. I don't see why it's bad for a club to sell to owners who aren't members for whatever reason - it may encourage them to join. For many of us who aren't in places where we can tootle along to a section and enjoy the fun that goes with that, the club is a useful umbrella, especially when one can get some of the very best advice via this forum. Which is my opinion is more than worth the modest annual sub. I guess we have to wait and see what the benefits of going 'Open' are. But in the meantime, I'm happy to get stuff wherever it can be got, and am a very happy customer of JSL (head gaskets came this am, thanks Jim). I wouldn't not go there just because something as peculiar as a non-member had left his fingerprint on the counter; if the result of non-member purchasing power were that JSL went even further into sourcing hard-to-get parts, then good for them. Had they not been able to develop some serious revenue, where would we be re fork sliders, rear sprocket/drums, etc etc? If the profits from Kettering Classics and from sales to AN Other help, then good. Owners of other marques - I am guilty on several counts - should look up to this club for its vision. It's remarkable what has been achieved. 30 years ago lots of bits that are off-the-shelf today (and often very reasonably priced) were rocking horse droppings . . . . I remember. Says it all for me.

Interesting note in this months magazine on the topic.....appartently we, the members, are not using the scheme enough to generate enough revenue. This will be because over the years as bikes get rebuilt there will be less and less demand for major items and more demand for " running " items. I propose that the spares scheme look into providing such items as exchange dynamos and mags for which we pay a fortune to have rebuilt outside the club rather than waiting for someone to want another ex factory carb manifold. In other words there is a limited supply of bikes that need rebuilding and as time goes on even bikes like mine we be in good condition!

Regards to all.

Why do you think the Club won't have to pay a fortune for recon. magnetos and dynamo's?.

good point....but surely an exchange system without commercial profit rate would be less expensive...

I believe The Club places a priority of spares that have now known other source, co-operating with other vendors rather than competing.

Cheers, Don.

Probably not by way of the Club, but what about the people who do the re-winding etc. JSL will of necessity have to pass this on. The chap who's bike I'm currently working on paid £380 for a refurb. on his K2F and it hasn't even got a new armature.

Isn't that called price-fixing Don?.