Topic: Why have number of posts gone down?

[Ichiban 4]

I have  a lingering question here [maybe Glenn can answer it?]..
Why have the number of posts on the SOHC4 website dropped so dramatically over the past few years?
As remember..there used to be 3 to 5 pages daily posted. More recently..seems like you're lucky to see two (2).

I'm old school in more ways than one LOL  Don't use social media..and don't carry an I-phone.  Was wondering if it's due to more people shifting over to these formats/platforms for information nowadays?

Any other thoughts on this?
Cheers..
Ichi

[Stev-o]

I'm old school in more ways than one LOL  Don't use social media..and don't carry an I-phone.  Was wondering if it's due to more people shifting over to these formats/platforms for information nowadays?

Hey Ichi....I would say it is all the other platforms...Fakebook, Instantgram, Tweeter etc!

I dont care for them but many others do. 

No iphone for you?! Unbelievable.  I like mine, use it for work, it's my mini computer while I'm out in the field and the company pays the monthly bill.

You dont do social media?  What do you think this is?

-S

[HondaMan]

I can't afford those phones...
Actually, as I have been designing, building, using, programming, fixing, teaching computers all day, every day, for over 40 years....I get so tired of using them that I don't WANT one of those things...that's why my 'hobby' is SOHC4s.

[Ichiban 4]

Hi Steve..

Thanks for the opinion on that. I was thinking it was probably the same thing.
Reason I don't use..or want to use the Social Media platforms is because from my past experience with things like that [un-monitored information..personal opinion stuff..what I call "tabloid" or gossip mentality stuff] is because I feel the majority of comments tend to be BS.

Please remember that I'm a medical person by training..and learned/was taught to be skeptical of any information that was not either peer-reviewed or verified by some sort of scientific or statistical data.  I rarely see that sort of verification on the social media platforms [besides that I'm not good a navigating them.  I'm a two-finger typer LOL]

I agree with you that websites such as SOHC4..et al..are a form of 'social media'..kind of.  But a big difference between this and the other stuff we've discussed..is that at least here..there is a time-lag between when someone posts a comment..and someone else responds..which tends to calm the emotions somewhat. We also have forums monitors that cull-out the really inflammatory and/or nasty stuff from further discussion..which I wish there was more of on other media platforms.

I'd really appreciate seeing whatever Glenn Stauffer may have to add to this discussion..especially in terms of what's really the reason for the reduced posts in recent years. I've been a forums member for over 13 years now [BTW: the reason my post count is not as high as a lot of you..is because I periodically delete my old posts which I feel are out-of date now]

Thanks to all here reading this..many of whom I feel are good friends nowadays..
Al/Ichi

[Finnigan]

My personal opinion is that these forums could never be matched by other social media platforms judging by the amount of material and experience here.  If someone wants answers, 9 times out of 10 they'll come back to forums where people talk about a certain topic like old bikes for example.

As someone who has been on and off this particular forum, the reason why I leave for extended amounts of time is because asking for a specific answer to a question can be incredibly frustrating.  Want to know about exhaust, someone posts about paint.  Want to know about model year differences, someone comes out and says back in the day they had the best one and choppers rule.  And the thing is, 90% of all posts are answered by the same 20 people so no new information is being published or people get exhausted with having threads taken over, and leave.

I've not started build threads because I know it would just spark random conversation about what motor oil is best or some other off topic drone.

People aren't posting because there's a search button and I'm refraining from posting because I don't want to hear about the long hair you used to have, how your bike used to to 9's, how you used to be a bada$$ and how everyone except you (anyone writing the response in a negative way) is doing it wrong.

Rant over

[PeWe]

People might search more and find their answers on this huge knowledge bank of SOHCs.

I have a modern smartphone so I visit more frequent now.
Todays phones with all apps make shopping, payments, money transfers much easier and possible to do wherever I am.

Good camera too.
Phones very useful from 2 years back. I need a screen I can read. 
Camera from last year with wide angle. My last holidays no camera, only my phone.
Oneplus 6T replaced by Oneplus 7 Pro. 6.1" screen.
Good bang for less than iPhone and Samsung.

[madmtnmotors]

Many of my Facebook responses related to SOHC/4's often include a link to threads on this forum.

[Stev-o]

Many of my Facebook responses related to SOHC/4's often include a link to threads on this forum.

Not speaking of you Wilbur but some of the responses to technical questions on Fakebook are comical.
Helpful info is limited but there are a lot stoopid posts and bad info.

[madmtnmotors]

Not speaking of you Wilbur but some of the responses to technical questions on Fakebook are comical.
Helpful info is limited but there are a lot stoopid posts and bad info.

Yeah, I see a lot of that as well. The FB interface doesn't seem to lend itself very well to technical discussion.

[70CB750]

Social media is part of it  but there were also some unfriendly encounters and some members left because of that.   Like Momo, Wobly and the list goes on.

[PeWe]

It is sad when good people leave this forum due to an infected discussion.

That's life, other people can and will cause bad discussions. We all can do that and react very stiff to it.
Just to accept, easier after a good night sleep.
Better discussions after is one way to "apologize" and become better.
We are all people that have good and bad days.

Women can discuss a bad discussion for years to come, even if they were to blame to start with.

We men can accept and just continue doing better like our old Hondas

[Rookster]

I can only speak for myself but I used to post regularly.  I stopped because I got another bike and immersed myself in BSA singles for a few years.  With that bike complete I switched back to doing some changes to my CB750 this Spring.  I have been posting and reading more.  I think it's just the progression of tastes.  For the last 10 years the CB750 was one of most popular vintage bikes to restore or customize/cafe.  Vintage BMWs and Italian bikes have become hot over the last few years not to mention the early 80s superbikes.  This happened with British bikes a few years ago.  Sites like britbike and triumphrat have much less traffic than they used too.  Prices of restored British bikes seem to be in decline as well.  I expect CB750s to follow the same path over the next 5-10 years.  Right now prices are still very high for restored and original CBs. 

Scott

[Gordon]

There are a lot more options on the internet for sohc4 owners now than there were back in the earlier days of these forums.  There's also the advent of Youtube, which is surprisingly only 15 years old.  You can find a video showing you how to do just about anything, including how to work on specific motorcycles.  There's also the fact that these bikes (just like all of us ) are a lot older than they were back then, and there are fewer still on the road.   

For me, specifically, I post a small fraction of how often I used to many years ago.  Life, priorities, responsibilities and hobbies change.  I know it's the same for many other long-term members.  Some post far less often, some have disappeared completely, and very sadly, some have passed on.

None of these factors is enough by themselves, but combined they make a noticeable difference.  It's all conjecture, though, and I'm obviously not Glenn, but having been on these forums for close to 20 years hopefully you'll give my conjecture at least some weight.   

[andy750]

Why are we here? Honda SOHC motorcycles. We all like them, want to keep them running and for some of us want to ride them. I chose to buy a Honda SOHC motorcycle in 1992 when I was a visiting student from the UK to ride across the USA because it was described as a reliable motorcycle. 7700 miles later after that first trip I was sold! and have had a CB750  ever since 

The great thing about this Forum is that unlike many other Forums...is the longevity of it. Glenn has done an amazing job keeping it going since 1994! Can you believe that they started off with a book that was passed among a few members around the World. Out of that came the Western European Rides (WER) and the dorje mailing lists (still going in 1999 when I joined) and then the Greenspun forums and then iterations of what we have now.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Gordon these last 20 yrs and many others, some of whom have passed on (Raul, Axl RIP). My life has been enriched by the people I have met in person and online and all this from the shared passion for Honda SOHC motorcycles. I think Gordon and Rookster have said it well and that there are phases of interest in Honda SOHCs, interest for other SOHC-related forums etc etc...but for me none will beat this community, shared knowledge, camaraderie and breadth of experience that exists in this forum. We have members from all over the World, of all ages and with that you get a lot of differences and yet a lot of similarities. Thats why its been around for the last 26 years. And may it keep going on and on... 

[PeWe]

An old sohc Honda CB750 is really fun to ride on common roads.
Most fun happen between 70-160kmh so there is no reason to have a modern bike that make 250-300+ kmh. I see the risks with others and animals on the roads.

I and friends with old CB750's have often seen people admiring our bikes talking about old days while neglecting new $20-30.000US bikes parked beside.
These old bike have something very special.
This forum a perfect place to learn more, get inspiration and help.

[scottly]

The forums may have slowed down some in the last few years, but not as much as it has in the last few months, IMHO. One would think with the whole Covid thing and people staying home more the activity would have increased, but that doesn't seem to be the case??
Something I have noticed, is some members who haven't posted much recently are now posting more frequently, perhaps due to Covid cabin fever?

[74cb750]

 

I can't afford those phones...
Actually, as I have been designing, building, using, programming, fixing, teaching computers all day, every day, for over 40 years....I get so tired of using them that I don't WANT one of those things...that's why my 'hobby' is SOHC4s.

[74cb750]

Some of the reasons I don't post as much are:
1-I'm down to one CB750 (from ,
 -it is not running,
2-I have a CH150 I use for daily commutes to the villages,
3-just bought a running Kawasaki ZR750H that I'm fixing/upgrading, and riding hundreds of miles a week,
4-restoring 2 Kawasaki's, 1976 KH500, 1972 S2, (at least that's where most of my $ is going)
 -I feel the restorations of the above 2 bikes will be worth more than a restored 1976 CB750
5- time, too little of it w/ the wife's To Do List increasing on a weekly basis 

This is a great site and I'll probably come back to it more often once winter arrives and the garage is insulated and heated, Then I can work on the cb750, sl175, and some of the other non-runners in the yard.
peace,
michel

[BenelliSEI]

Here’s my two cents......

My son and daughter (and their kids) don’t participate. When they need an answer to any question, they simply “google” the answer, and move on. Rarely question the answer and usually choose the one they prefer. They call it “expedient”. I call it mediocrity. (And sometimes totally wrong).

The best answers come from many places, get discussed and developed, and improve. Forums can be painful, irritating and frustrating, but usually the outcome is most informative.

[Glenn Stauffer]

My thoughts generally reflect what everyone has posted in this thread.  If you look at the forum stats, you can see a steady decline in posts and new members over the last decade and we're now about at about 1/4 of where things were around 2010.  I imagine that Facebook and other "competitors" have played a big part of that.  Changing demographics have likely played a part as well.  Pageviews have fallen off a bit the past two years which also has an impact.  A big factor in the decline in pageviews are technical.  I need to set up a secure certificate for the forums to get back into the good graces of Google and, this is a much bigger project, I need to migrate the forums to better supported software.  The Simple Machines forum software community has declined significantly and that means a stagnation of features and, more importantly, fewer modules which support the kind of "social media" integration which could contribute to bringing traffic back to the site.  Moving to more up-to-date software is a big expensive project.

A side effect of the traffic decline is that revenue from site advertising has declined significantly.  Since I never viewed this as a commercial venture, those revenues (along with donations) were set aside into an account which I use to cover all of the costs related to the forums and websites.  I have taken some action this year to move the www site to a much cheaper hosting platform and I'll eventually do the same with the forums.  My goal for the future is to reduce costs to a more sustainable level which will allow me to remove ads altogether and cover all the costs through member donations.

I have other ideas about things like better club merchandise and more real-life engagement, but those will have to wait a bit.

[dave500]

ive noticed since weed was legalised in USA that its dropped off a little?

[Gordon]

Something I have noticed, is some members who haven't posted much recently are now posting more frequently, perhaps due to Covid cabin fever?

I have definitely been more active on the forums lately, and it does have to do with the pandemic.  For me it's not cabin fever, though.  I still go to work 5 days a week, and we're busier than we've ever been.  I just have more free time now.  For the past 8 years or more most of my time after work and on my days off was taken up by attending kids events, shuttling them to/from activities, having the kids' friends over, visiting family or family visiting us, going on family outings, etc.

All of that has stopped.  Completely. 

In the last six months I have checked off the vast majority of my overflowing home projects list.  I took two weeks off work in June and didn't leave our property the entire time.  It was glorious.  I even learned to juggle.     

[Gordon]

ive noticed since weed was legalised in USA

If only that were true...

[PeWe]

The TV show Cafe racer might have a part of the higher interest 10 years ago.
People with old bikes parked since many years (like me) and others building bikes with parts from scrapped bikes as in the series.

I guess that some made their builds and got other interests like family. Maybe only riding their bike(s) or changed bike. It depends on the age too I suppose.

I had a profile in the old forum early 2000. Only a few posts and no build ongoing.

I got a good smartphone January last year so I can reach this forum wherever I am with Tapatalk. Screen big enough for Internet surfing without magnifying glass

I have no FB account or similar to waste my time and share my personal details for anyone that should not know or gather data about me.
THIS site has become my daily place.
I'm a SOCH forum addict!

[dave500]

yeah i dont do facebook.