The Future Of VIM!

[Menno]

That's not my point... Or maybe it is.

In my opinion the main goal is to re-unite with friends... So it can be put together with less effort if you scale down the bespoke parts and opt for a standard approach. I know of a magnificent hotel (60 pax) in the Vercors, France. Great owner and I am pretty sure we could outsource everything. I think a meeting in ZAMS could be organized with little effort.

Again: Kill your darlings! Opt for a different approach (like Emmanuel Macron) and keep VIM alive.

[zebulon]

You can help to keep VIM alive, and please let us with Macron... No politics here of course 

Vercors or Zams are good places for me ! 

[Menno]

I absolutely love the Vercors for riding...

And the hotel I stay at is a great place to stay, the owner is a great host.

If the members can accept that they just have to book the hotel and thats it, I am willing to contact the owner and see what is possible.

This means NO T-shirt, NO-goody bag, NO Logo competition, NO VCIM21 booking website,

BUT Yes to: Great hotel with great hospitallity, great food, beautifull scenery, twisting roads.

The hotel can accomodate 60-70 guests and there is a seperate building with additional capacity. Tenting should be possible I beleive...

Let me know if you are ready for a different approach.
By the way: at current price level 3 nights with breakfast and dinner will cost € 205. (based on 2 persons per room)

[zebulon]

Let me know if you are ready for a different approach.
By the way: at current price level 3 nights with breakfast and dinner will cost € 205. (based on 2 persons per room)

Nobody have the power to decide, it must be discussed by everybody here 

[SB]

Let me know if you are ready for a different approach.
By the way: at current price level 3 nights with breakfast and dinner will cost € 205. (based on 2 persons per room)

Riding 800 Km and  meeting up for a weekend in a nice hotel is great but for most people VIM is a lot more than that.

In many cases it involves a 3,000 to 5,000 Km round trip and at least 1,500 euros. So the meeting needs to be more than just book a room and turn up and the price of a shirt etc. is just a small part of the overall cost.

I think the main problem is that we have lost touch with a lot of the National owners clubs/forums. Organising a good VIM is a lot of work for or or two people. It needs a group, and teamwork.

[zebulon]

I think the main problem is that we have lost touch with a lot of the National owners clubs/forums. Organising a good VIM is a lot of work for or or two people. It needs a group, and teamwork.

personally Not agry with that part (but just my own experience)  think that some of national forum do not want to have any contact with us; think that VIM is something very different then national meeting (as you mentioned above  ) and finally not need to be  numerous to organize a VIM. As I ofently think (based on experience also) if you're less, it's easier to stay ok with you 

[james.mc]

I live Canada these days, but here is my few cents worth.

To me it's not so much 'Where will VIM be held in a couple of years?' but more like; Will there be a VIM at all?   You need to keep people interested plus bring new riders into the group.

I've pretty much said this in the past, as some on here will recall, and will repeat now for the benefit of those that don't know me.

To protect the identity, broad social spectrum and overall appeal of this group, the Varadero International Meetings need to gradually rebrand and morph into a more generic group example: Honda-ADV International Meeting (HADVIM) or  International Honda Adventure Riders Meeting Although IHARM sounds a bit whacky!.   
Rebrand the forum (if need be) to 'Honda-ADV International' match the name of the HADVIM meeting.  With a generic 'all encompassing' name that should be the last change, no matter what ADV bike Honda brings out.   The name change will protect the brand and the idea.  When Honda bring out a new model of bike in (say) 5 years time, the Forum and its associated 'similarly named' international meeting will not have to keep trying to add different model names to the group name to identify whom it appeals to.

When we think of the numbers game, Varadero's are gradually fading away.  So will Crosstourers, so might the current Africa Twin (CRF1000L) for all we know. 

So, when asking the question what is the future of VIM?  I say in the longer term, as long as its called VIM, it will continue to gradually lose its appeal.  New riders of new Honda ADV models won't know the history behind VIM and might eventually start asking "Whats a Varadero?" or "What was a Crosstourer?" or "What is VIM?"

The History of VIM is great.  I loved the meetings I went to, when living in Portugal, but the Varadero is fast fading away.
The hard facts are; To expect the Varadero International Meetings to not to fade away is like putting your head in the sand and hope that things will improve.  Its time to move on to the next step.

I strong push should be made to renaming the international meetings to something other than VIM and something that identifies with the new(ish) name that this Forum uses. Only this way will the Forum and the International Meetings attract new riders in decent numbers on new Honda Adventure bikes other than Varadero's and Crosstourers.

I propose

Rename the Forum to:  Honda-ADV International
Rename the meetings to: Honda-ADV International Meeting (HADVIM)

or something similar.

I've just noticed that this has been discussed elsewhere and voted on, with the conclusion being... keep the name VIM. 
Personally I think thats a mistake and will not help ensure the longevity of this group in any significant numbers.

[zebulon]

Absolutely agree with you James !!! 
But we have proposed a lot of name for both forum (agree with this one - we just have to change the banner  )and meeting. Remember forum's name have evolved from Varadero to varadero & crosstourer, and now larger as possible with Honda adventure riders preventing next models.
The name of the meeting is easy to remember and to say (for non native English ) ; but is the name of something do not exist anymore... perhaps a new poll? In an other hand, not sure only the name can change the desire for people to come (or not) to a nice International meeting !

[james.mc]

Yep!  I agree that the new Forum name is more welcoming for all Honda ADV bikes. 👍 

I did see options on the Logo/Banner change elsewhere in the Forum, which I think was a poll and now a closed thread for comments.  The only comment would add here is to not include specific model names to the new Logo/Banner, otherwise (Like the old Forum name) the logo will need to be changed each time Honda introduce a new ADV model.   
So, using a Logo/Banner that says: Honda Adventure Riders or Honda Adventure Riders Forum is fine in my mind.

To some, this discussion may now seem a little off topic concerning the original thread subject: 'The Future of VIM'
To me, adapting the Forum name, Logo/Banner and International Meeting Name, to create an obvious 'All Honda-ADV bikes welcome' brand, will ensure the success of this Forum and its International Meetings.  This is the only way the original VIM spirit will continue to live on for many years to come.  The same original people, the same genres (class/type) of Honda ADV bikes..... plus - many new riders.

regards
James Mc

[zebulon]

We are now approaching from our 20th meeting in Andorra; and after this off-topic interlude perhaps time to initiate some new ideas, we can then discuss them in Andorra behind an Estrella or something else   

[Skye]

Have we ever been in Prague?

[zebulon]

Have we ever been in Prague?

Just have to find somebody to organize 

[Two Plugs]

There are still several countries in which VIM not has been hosted, and even some to which we have returned (f.e. Germany and Austria).
Like Gilles has written: its only a matter of finding some one, who is part of our international community (in my modest opinion not only restricted to this forum, but also including the growing international Varadero community on social media), knows his way around and what it takes to put a meeting like VIM on track locally.

To often, the admin team had to bail out some one or some organisation, for what reason ever.... On the other side, till today we have and had an continuous uninterrupted series of VIM meetings for the last 20 years which is a very, very big achievement!

The International Transalp Treffen (ITT) was my main- example how an international Varadero meeting should look like when I started the tradition in the summer of 1999. The ITT exist since 1992, celebrating the 24th edition this year... Do your maths, in 27 years the ITT was cancelled 3 times because of 'organisation troubles'... Till today, we always managed to find an solution if things got tense. 

VIM is 'secure' till 2019 (presentation of VIM21 due to expected in Andorra  ).

From 2020 (VIM22+...), the canvas remains unpainted.

[Jyrays]

Russia?

[zebulon]

Can have plenty of ideas like this : Slovenia 🇸🇮