Topic: This is a great Idea!

[shacolaid]

I just received my June 2009 copy of Bicycling magazine and there is a great little article about a shop in Oklahoma City called Free Wheels Bicycle. Essentially, a group of people got together to create a shop that is free that "caters to people that are marginalized".

Free parts, free tools, and a free place to work on bikes. Volunteers staff the shop and much of the parts and tools were donated or obtained from money from auctions.

The shop is in a building that is part of a co-op that also houses a lending library and a venue for live music.

Question for all of you, could this work for motorcycles?  I think absolutely. THere are enough older motorcycles left around. The question is, would there be enough donations to support the shop?  THe last sentence in the article is "We want to promote bicycles as a viable respectable mode of transportation, not as a toy."  Subsitute motorcycles and the thought is the same. 
One thing this country needs to do to promote motorcycling like the European and Asian countries is to make motorcycling just like any other means of transportation.

[Damfino]

I'm thinking that the old subject of liability would rear it's ugly head. 

[333]

Not to be a nay say-er, but it is a great idea.  Except for the impression of motorcyclists as nasty stinky mean bikers.  And that impression isn't being helped by TV and movies.  Bicycles are green, clean, and so are the people who ride them.  And I've mentioned this before, but just admit that you ride a motorcycle at a party.  Statistically, 3% of the room will say "Cool, so do I".  But the rest of them will spout out stories about friends or family who were maimed or killed on a bike, or how those infernal machines and their crazy riders zip in and out of traffic (cutting lanes) while they are stuck in traffic.  That last one is, of course, a dig at those few sport bike riders that are making it tough for ALL the rest of us.  But this whole phenomenon is an example of it being only human nature to remember the negative.


But a great idea.

[fuzzybutt]

I'm thinking that the old subject of liability would rear it's ugly head. 

unfortunately, in todays litigious society that is exactly what stops me from offering free mechanical work on strangers motorcycles. i'll work on a friends or family members cycle but thats it. It's too damn bad when a group of people who WANT to try and help are less inclined to do so because of sue happy people. i started to do just this when i came back from working at a bmw/triumph/victory dealer in connecticut but a lawyer friend (i know good lawyer, no such thing lol) told me that i could very well lose everything if someone got hurt.

[Gordon]

It sounds like a great idea if somebody else is doing it.  A terrible idea if I'm the one taking on the task. 

I think a good alternative is to start or join a local community of like-minded motorcyclists and host garage days at various member's places. 

[CaféElite]

Motorcycles require a title, need to be tagged and insured in order to ride where bikes just require a person to push the pedals. Not only that but to restore a pedal bike to reliable riding condition requires almost no new parts where restoring an out dated "worthless" motorcycle will tend to require a decent chunk of new parts. Then there is the ground breaker item in my book... KNOWLEDGE.. doesnt take much to make a bike roll down the street, take a motorcycle that is old (running or not) and there is only a hand full of peeps in the country I think that would volunteer their time to get them running.

Now spin this a bit different and I think there is more potential. I think you would be better off starting more of a hacker space concept but w/ the idea more focused on working on motorcycles (engine, suspension, etc etc). Find an old garage in your area, setup a non-profit, get some tools, old bikes and whatever else donated, then setup workshops. Find people that know there #$%* and see if they will educated a class on things like rebuilding carbs or whatever. Build it and they will come....

hacker space... w00t w00t thats right there is on in KC!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackerspace

[Demon67]

You know Triple 3 you might look at them and say the best and the brightest will survive the rest have been naturally selected.
Bill the demon.