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May 16th, 2009
Motorcycle enthusiasts are always looking for
ways to meet new riders and avenues to share the
passion that only two wheels can bring.
The latest way to meet fellow riders comes
courtesy of Honda as it opens the doors to its
riders club, offering free membership to the
Honda Riders Club of America. Introducing
a new membership format for the popular
Honda Riders Club of
America, effectively immediately, new
members may join the HRCA free of charge.
Motorcycle riding clubs have long been a
convenient way for riders to meet a large group
of like-minded riders and can come in the form
of independently run organizations raising funds
through rallies or membership fees or with
groups sponsored by motorcycle manufacturers.
While most company sponsored riding clubs
offer unrivaled insight to the manufacturers
motorcycles and discounts to organized events,
until recently they did involve charging some
form of annual membership fee. Honda could be
seen as setting itself apart from other company
sponsored riding clubs by waiving the membership
fee to attract new members. |
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Riders interested in joining the Honda Riders Club
of America can go to the website, enroll in minutes
and have access to the club's exclusive magazine,
Honda Red Rider magazine and take advantage of
special discounts. The special discounts offered
to all HRCA Members includes select events such as
the 2009 USGP races at Laguna Seca and Indianapolis,
the AMA road races at Barber Motorsports Park, the
Hangtown Motocross races and more.
Delivered in Adobe PDF format, the Honda Red
Rider magazine offers articles, photos and videos,
bringing an internet-style update to the publication
that's been in print since 1993. |
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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The new membership offer is considered by some
industry experts as a marketing attempt to win the
interest of new riders to the Honda brand. When the
Japanese motorcycle manufacturer released it's first
quarter sales figures at the end of April, Honda
reported the
sales of its motorcycles fell 15.5% in the fourth
quarter of 2008 compared the same period the year
prior. The motorcycle manufacturer took the hardest
hit in its own market with the number of units sold
in Japan falling by nearly 23% over the same time
the year before.
 The
company has pursued aggressive cost-cutting measures
such as closing American factories that produced
it's Goldwing motorcycle and backing out of many
major racing series. Although billed as a
multi-brand event, after fifteen years the Honda
Hoot was also quietly cancelled.
The family-focused motorcycle rally grew from 3,000
attendees at the first Honda Hoot to 13,000 at last
years event in Knoxville Tennessee. What started as
a Honda owners event evolved into one of the
nation's largest multi-brand road rallies and over
the years, almost a quarter of a million guests
attended the Honda Hoot.
However, the company has continued with both its
motorcycle innovations and line-up. Making waves in
the two-wheeled world, Honda introduced the first
motorcycle airbag on its touring Goldwing model and
added a custom-looking chopper to its line-up with
the Honda Fury, which has become the talk of
motorcycle events and bike shows.
There is good news for paying members of the
Honda Riders Club of America
with online access to one model-specific service
manual, MSF rider-training reimbursement and more,
all remaining exclusive to those HRCA Members until
the expiration of their current paid membership.
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