Forum Search Recommendations
What used to take hours and hours and hours to search for, now can be accomplished in just a couple of minutes of targeted searching.
However, if not careful, searching hundreds of motorcycle forums across the Internet can be a bit like drinking from a fire hose. The key to success is using specific terms because the amount of valuable content is so significant. The answers you seek are most likely out there, you just need to find them.
Keep in mind that many of the forums we search for you are model and/or brand specific, so depending on what you're searching for, you might be well served to not include your make/model of motorcycle if the topic you're searching applies to many different bikes.
For example, if you're looking for suggestions regarding tank bags or slip-ons, it might not be helpful to include your bike's model in the search terms given that most tank bags and slip-ons are usable across many different motorcycle makes and models.
a bit about motorcycle forums
Types of Forums
Motorcycle forums are online gathering places for enthusiasts and beginners alike to meet and talk about their hobby, motorcycles. Obviously, because they are online, people from all corners of the world can participate. Membership can range from just a few active users to thousands of daily visitors and hundreds of thousands of members.
These forums can be centered around on many subjects, including:
· Specific model of motorcycle
· Specific brand of motorcycle
· Certain riding style (ie: road, adventure, dirt, etc.)
· Geographic
· Membership based
Specific Model Forums
Specific model forums are the most prevalent and are largely dependent on the popularity of the model with the public. Although not always, these existence of these types of forums is often directly related to the overall number of unit sold, over time of the model. The riders of a given model, the higher the likelihood of an online presence of the bike.
While not all motorcycle models have a dedicated forum, some models are so popular that they might have multiple model specific forums online.
The brands we found that had the most model-specific forums were: Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and BMW.
Specific Brand Forums
Often times, while a certain model might not have a large enough following to support a model specific forum, the brand will. As you might imagine, there are several forums dedicated to enthusiasts of an entire brand. Frequently, these brand dedicated forums will have sub-forums that focus on specific models or model sub-groups.
Ducati is perhaps the best example from our research. While there are only a handful of model specific Ducati forums, there are a few well-trafficked forums dedicated to the Ducati brand, often including model specific pages. Ducati fans are some of the most energized enthusiasts in the marketplace.
Riding Style Forums
While less prevalent than model and brand specific forums, riding style forums are some of the most active forums on the Internet.
There are forums for all types of riding styles, however the adventure style of riding seems to generate the most online participation from our research.
These forums cross over many brands and models of motorcycle. For example, within the adventure category, there are several different offerings from BMW, KTM, Honda, Triumph and a few others.
Geographic Forums
The attraction of geographic forums is that most of the participants live in the same region of the world/country. So not only are they riding the same roads/trails, but they are in closer proximity to each other so they can often ride together and meet in person rather than just online.
We did not find too many of these, but the few that we did were well attended.
Membership Forums
Membership forums are typically an off-shoot of an existing affinity group. Often times there is a base membership fee based group that provides members certain benefits. Frequently they have some informal or formal connections to the manufacturer, where most online forums discussed to date do not.
The example that comes most readily to mind is the BMW Motorcycle Owners Association. Founded years ago with tens of thousands of active members, it is primarily centered around a national chapter with several regional events and a national magazine. Over the years, they have developed a broad and active member forum. As a member of the BMW MOA, its members can get benefits such as discounts on the purchase of motorcycles and other BMW branded gear.
