About the Motorcycle Tourer's Forum
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About the Motorcycle Tourer's Forum
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The
Motorcycle Tourer's Forum provides a meeting place for
motorcycle touring enthusiasts and owners, riders, and admirers of all
brands and models of touring motorcycles. This is a place to hang out,
POST messages, share stories and photo's and get answers to questions
about that tour that you have been dreaming about.
The Motorcycle Tourer's Forum continues to grow and has become more than just an online meeting spot. Members get together throughout the year at lunches, dinners and other events fostering friendships that will last a lifetime.
The Motorcycle Tourer's Forum was started in July, 2001 by Alan Leduc, otherwise known as AL2000 (Delphi name 1343). Alan returned to motorcycles in May 2000, thus the name AL2000. His return to riding was on a cruiser. He put in 18,000 miles in the fourteen months that he owned it, including an Iron Butt Association Bun Burner 1500. He soon realized that his real interest was in touring and decided to buy a touring model, on which he logged 16,000 miles in six months. A search for an internet forum that catered to touring revealed the following observations:
The solution was to start the Motorcycle Tourer's Forum using the successful format of the Shadow Riders Forum format that was started by Bill 1100 (Bill Rich).
The MTF started with 131 vistors in July 2001. Over the next two years the MTF grew considerably and in July 2003 there were 505 visitors. Over a 3 year period, the MTF has averaged 4,779 posts per month with approximately 200,000 total posts in over 10,500 threads (topics). On July 24, 2007 some six years after the establishment of the MTF, the 500,000 post was made.
In recognition of the changes in information sharing, the MTF opened a Facebook page on April 25, 2017. The idea is that Facebook and our Forum on Delphi would complement each other and further attract like-minded members.
As the MTF has continued growing, it became necessary to create a structure to ensure the MTF would continue growing and remain viable. You can see the MTF Organzation chart by clicking here. In April of 2004, Alan Leduc decided that if the MTF was to continue beyond his involvement, it would be necessary to incorporate and and deepen the organization structure. The first Board of Directors was organized which consisted of Alan Leduc, Jason Jonas, Bill Neese, Terry Braud, and Roger Bliss.
The first long distance event was held in May 2002. Alan Leduc was planning on doing a 50CC and invited others to join. There were 14 participants with 9 finishing the 50CC and 2 finishing the 100CCC.
In June 2002, 20 MTF members met in Bryson City, NC for the first Summer Mountain Ride, hosted by Andy Simons. Yogi (Tom Maiden) suggested that for 2003 we should have a Poker Run from Hell (5 back to back IBA Saddlesore 1000's). The event expanded to include Flower Sniffers as well and was held in Russellville, Arkansas in May, 2003.
Later in 2003, Neily Dolson hosted the first Great White North (GWN) Tour. Eight riders toured Ontario, CN, starting from Niagara Falls.
In September of 2004 Andy Simons offered the first Rough Road Ride, which started in the Smoky Mountains at Bryson City, NC, and was called the Summer Mountain Rough Road Ride (SMRRR).