I would like to know. Do they really support off-road motorcycling in this country or does off-road motorcycling support them? We give our funds each year to participate in races, and yet, we see the California Red Sticker Program, Omnibus Land Act, mini-bike sales banned, and riding areas closing faster than mortgage companies. Where is the representation?! What is really being done to stop these attacks on our freedoms?!

Now I know some of you will say "Why don't you get involved?", which is a very good point. I have attended the local meetings about why Clear Creek needs to be closed. I have written all of the letters to all of the people, begging them not to take away my form of family bonding and my pursuit of happiness. But, the one thing that is clear in all of that is that, while we must do all of these things individually, we must have a single entity to speak for us in unity. These battles are being waged at a national level and we need one national voice.

The Blue Ribbon Coalition is a voice for us all, but the AMA is taking funds from us, for that purpose! Are they doing anything, or are they more concerned with the Daytona 200, Laguna Seca, or Harleys being banned from a trailer park in Wisconsin? You can see the level of commitment from the AMA in these races when you look at the level of emergency medical response at these two different forms of racing. Look for yourself at the next national enduro at what kind of medical response you have. God bless them they do their best, but in my opinion, key items such as communications and emergency transportation are sorely lacking.

If the AMA is not representing us effectively, we must create our own national off-road racing organization that includes all forms of off-road racing. The AMA program worked in the past, but this is an entirely different environment for off-roading than it was twenty, or even ten, years ago.

The AMA has pissed me off lately...

A new organization would be nice, but with the AMA being the sanctioning force for most racing, it would be hard to get enough support from tracks and sponsors.

Its a similar deal in sail boat racing, the sanctioning body are out of control...

what has the AMA done for me? NOTHING absolutely nothing. That is why i will never support them unless i have to race ama sanctioned events. The AMA is a joke in my opinion, they haven't done anything for the off road community. They are way more concerned about keeping loud harleys on the road, rather than helping out the OHV community

Whether the AMA is the sanctioning body for racing is a moot point when it comes to having our voices heard in the grand scheme of things. Should we have a more focused spotlight put on our sport using the AMA as our voice?? I'm not so sure they have our best interest at heart.
Just because we pay the AMA to race in their events doesn't mean we have to have them speak for us. We should have our own lobby. No one speaks better about our sport than we do. We need a group who can speak to the love of our sport and what it means to us, on what an impact it has made in our lives. Not a governing body that charges fees to race. Just my 02 cents. Don't get me wrong there is a place for the AMA but is it the best way to get out voice heard?? And heard clearly.. I don't know..............................Oldskoo11
Oh and good gas for you Murphys25........ nice topic

off topic, but many years ago I couldn't buy insurance being an AMA member. At that time it was synonymous with racing, which they perceived to be a risky lifestyle.

Not too many years ago I quit renewing because their main focus seemed to be expensive battles with states over no-helmet laws. Just did care to have my dues going to keep a handfuls a lawyer's occupied with a low priority (to me) issue.

I agree that AMA National doesn't seem to be doing much for the off-road riders. But the District (at least N. Cal) does try to make things better for us. Part of the problem is that AMA, National and District, doesn't do a good job of communicating with its members about what actions they have/are taking.

Ride on
Brewster

OldSkoo11 said:

I could not agree with you more. You put into words what I was not quite able to grasp at that moment. Is the Blue Ribbon Coalition that entity for us? If they are, I am with them full throttle, and so should you! If they are not, who is?

Maybe we need to fill some holes at the local level ourselves. We could take some tips from the labor unions and start building relationships with local politicians with things like hosting barbeques for their fund-raisers, and other methods for them to get to know us in a positive way. Not what I really want to do Saturday morning, but what is the alternative?

It just grinds me that the AMA takes a fair chunk of my money every year, while Clear Creek in California becomes a memory! The reality of that is bad enough, but the precedence it sets, and the message it sends both ways, is horrible. Now they know what works so here it all comes.

I fear that we are up against Ted Turner and Al Gore, read...$$$. And, lets face it, we need our own "David" to stand up to that "Goliath" with hopefully the same miraculous results.

If we do not take real action soon, I fear the wave will build to the point where there is nothing we can do to stop it, and we will be steamrollered in a year or two. Just a fond memory of enjoying riding in our National Forests. I just hope we are not there already.

"Life, liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Is your government giving these things, or taking them away?

yanni23 said:

The AMA does get involved and they urge you to do so as well.

http://www.amadirect...pidresponse.asp

As one who has been involved for many years, you are all very wrong in your assesment of what the AMA has done and is doing. You are also not very well versed in how it works when dealing with the issues.
Is the AMA perfect? No, not by a longshot...can they do better? Yes! How? With you getting involved. The AMA and all organizations like them are only as powerful as their membership makes them. Grassroots advocacy can only be successful with local involvement. This is where YOU use the AMA as a resource to help YOU be the point man for them on your local issues. Just paying fees and membership dues NEVER made a special interest group of any kind successful...ask anyone who is an active NRA member what makes them successful...next to numbers ( the kind that are impossible for motorcyclists to achieve), it's involvement!
On a National scale, the AMA is the only motorcycle/motorcyclist advocacy group with a full time staff in Washington D.C. that concerns itself with off road issues. The other big group, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation does not address off road issues at all.
Like the post before mine says...go to their website and look at all they are tracking and trying to get their membership involved in. There is no way with resources and the manpower they can do it without strong volunteer member involvement!
The AMA works closely with the BRC and many other groups for both on and off road riding issues, and yes...sometimes they do fall behind on local issues because they need their members to keep them updated and informed!
When was the last time you picked up your phone and talked to someone in the AMA's government relations office in Ohio about the local issues that concern you?

OLD TIME BIKER said:

Answer: A little more than a year ago I was battling with the local executive director of the Farm Services Agency. She was insisting that my dirt bike activity cease on my own land that was enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. To make a long story short, I ended up calling Ed Moreland, the V.P. of Gov't Affairs at the AMA. He would do nothing to help me with my situation.

I am a Charter Life Member of the AMA, a former AMA District 15 Board of Directors member, and a 15-year volunteer flagman for the Indianapolis Supercross. The government was telling me I couldn't ride my dirt bike on my own property, despite the fact there is NO language in the CRP contract addressing motorized recreation.

I've done a lot for the AMA for a lot of years. The one time I could have used a little help, they wouldn't step up.

So the government is paying you not to use your land, but then you want to complain when you actually cannot use it? What did you expect the AMA to do? No one is forcing you to take government subsidies.

Actually, they are forcing me. I asked to be released from my contract when they started complaining but they would not let me go.

You can use your land when it's enrolled in CRP. You can even hunt and kill wild critters. The contract does forbid growing crops, raising livestock, and other income-producing ventures. Basically, all I'm required to do is control four noxious weeds.

There is no language in the contract regarding motorized recreation. How can I be in non-compliance if the activitiy isn't even mentioned?

The kicker was this: They started complaining about my riding in the final year of my 10-year contract. They originally were trying to go after all of the money I'd been paid for the previous 9 years! It was nothing but a money grab/power trip for the local executive director.

Unfortunately, I still have some more acreage that won't be out of the program until 2012. Hopefully I won't have any more trouble from the idiots.

I will not be sigining a new contract when this one expires.

Oh. What did I expect the AMA to do? Perhaps just a little more than nothing.

The problem with off road issues is that allmost everybody is too ignorant or lazy to get involved.

People expect the AMA to ride into town each time a track or trail is closed. They just are not big and well funded enough for that.

The AMA lobbies for us on the National level. That's all we can expect them to do. That's all the Blue Ribbon Coalition can do also. They are just more focused on it.

The AMA can't just ignore street bike issues ya know.

Here is an example of the kind of stuff AMA does. I got this out of cycle news. It's just a day or two old.

http://www.cyclenews...d/2009/03/11/-1

Well no they probably are not going to be able to stop this, but at least they are trying.

I just don't think the AMA can afford to get into every issue, so they get into the biggest issues. Unfortunately these things are to abstract for a lot of people to grasp. So people end up going around saying the AMA doesn't do anything.

We're getting a deal on roadside assistance.

yanni23 said:

With all due respect, you obviously don't get it...It's up to YOU to be the AMA. They can't be everywhere, they need YOU to be their eyes and ears...They CAN'T know all of the details on the issue. THEY NEED YOU to testify and lead the other AMA members in your area who are affected by the issue to make phone calls, write letters, visit officials. They will provide alot of support and resources but YOU have to do the actual work! The very idea that you pay annual dues and you should be able to sit back and the AMA should do all the work for you is one of the main reasons why we end up losing on these issues! YOU need to get involved.
I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that the BRC guys working on your issue are all local volunteers and they'd jump for joy if AMA volunteers came and stood with them!

And to the guy in Indiana with the land use /contract deal...My friend...how in the world was the AMA going to help you? You need(ed) to retain a very smart lawyer who specializes in contracts, not a national advocacy association!

^^^ No ...You don't get it. The Chairman of the AMA BOD is not the guy who is going to help you. You don't make contact with a national organization by walking up to someone and dumping a problem on him. You need to talk to someone in the Government Relations department...Ask for Imre Sauter, he'd be a good one to start with. It's easy, just call 1-800 AMA-JOIN and press "O" for the switchboard and ask for Imre Sauter in Government relations (pronounced EMREE). Leave a voice mail if he's busy or not in and he WILL get back to you. He'll either help you or put you in touch with someone on the staff that is knowledgable on and possibly already working on the issue. He'll help you contact AMA members from your area and help YOU organize what needs to be done to contact ALL of the officials that you need to to get your point across. With a little luck you'll find a couple other AMA members that will help you organize. Letter campaigns, phone calls blitzes, attending public meetings and standing up and speaking or testifying... There is alot that need doing and it has to be done LOCALLY.
The possibility STILL exists that you will lose. AND ...that's where grassroots political activism comes in. Answering phones and hanging signs and making phone calls on behalf of the guy who is running against the one who voted against you in this Tellico closure. The AMA will help you in many ways...all you gotta do is ask and they will help...but like I told you, they are not some magical group from on high that are going to come from Ohio on a white horse to make your local issues go away...that's YOUR job because in your area YOU are the AMA! Local volunteers are how it gets done!
I don't understand what you mean that you voted "NO" to 4 different organizations...The only vote that you have that counts is the one for or against the politicians that either do or don't support you.

The AMA takes $40 from me every year so I can race in races that have absolutely nothing to do with them. If it wasnt for the rules the track uses, there would be no AMA presence. Which is why they switched to glmx, their own governing body. But i still gotta pay the fee.

AMA sanctioning of races and AMA government relations and motorcycle rights advocacy are two separate entities. If you are disatisfied with the AMA as a sanctioning body, stop competing in AMA sanctioned events and let your membership go. If you want to be part of the largest (with about 300,000 members it is the largest by far) organization that is a voice for the interests of motorcycling (and ATV's) in Washington D.C. then maintain your membership, get involved, volunteer when you can, and using the AMA as a resource, add your voice to the betterment of motorcycling. Just paying a $39 membership fee and expecting things to get done is not how it works.
If you're posting here, you obviously have a computer...have you ever gone to the AMA site and gone on the "rights" page and gone through all the states and seen all of the issues the AMA is monitoring and assisting their members in resolving?