650rider

[yamaman]

Yeah, I know there's another thread on this, just thought this deserved a run of its own. The following was posted by bigjimmyw13 on the 650garage:

I sent this email to Russo to ask what the deal was:

How are you? I was wondering if there was any update to the status of 650rider.com? Any information on taking it over if that's still up on the block?

And this was his EXACT response (minus his contact info in his signature):

Hi - its down due to hosting firms misshandeling. I would like to sell the domain for a few hundred and the new orwner can turn it back on.

Sent from mobile device,

Anyone who is interested, his email is ---edit: removed email since the site is no longer for sale---
Probably not great form to post his email..............But you get that!
Anyone who wants his phone#, pm me.

 

[BigJimmyW13]

Well you beat me to it Yamaman.

I only posted the email in the hopes someone would swoop up the info and maybe reincarnate the 650rider.

 

[yamaman]

Sorry to steal your thunder Jimmy, I wasn't aware you were on this channel.
Yeah, I realised you had the best intentions

 

[BigJimmyW13]

Haha no worries. Definitely wasn't trying to gain any thunder by posting it. I just recently got on this channel.

 

[rustynail99]

yea im so glad you guys posted this i wanted to ask if anyone knew what the deal was but i didnt want to take up a whole thread just to ask that. there were two pages from there on forward controls and modified kickstarter pedals that i had bookmarked for future reference but they wouldnt open...bummer. hope someone will be able to snag it and get it going again. if they do, do you know if all the old posts will still be there? thanks.

Rusty

 

[BigJimmyW13]

I'm sure they would, but as of right now Russo wants someone to buy the domain for a couple hundred and I'm sure he wouldn't part with the material without the purchase.

 

[rustynail99]

what if we had a bunch of people from the different xs forums donate to get the money up? do you know someone that could take it over? i know i would throw in some money to have access to that info again. just a thought, dont know if or how it could work.

 

[Travis]

do you know someone that could take it over? i know i would throw in some money to have access to that info again. just a thought, dont know if or how it could work.

Rusty, I know someone who could run it. Me.

I have some insight on all of this I should share: Right when Gerald posted that he was looking for someone to take over 650rider, I sent him an email asking him if he was selling it, or just looking for someone that was willing and capable to take it over. I was about 90% sure he was looking to sell it and I was right. Before I told him who I ran XS650.com, we emailed back and forth a few times regarding the site and how much traffic it was receiving and where it was hosted and things like that. He told me he needed it off his old company's servers in the next couple of weeks so the new owner would need to transfer the domain and site to a new company and reinstall the forum software and reconfigure it all and reinstall the database. That would get the site up and running again. This could be all be done in less than 24 hours but would be a lot of work for someone unfamiliar with that forum software and database configuration. So he didn't want to set a price and was asking for offers. In the end, after I told him who I was, I ended up offering him a few hundred dollars and he responded that he was looking for closer to $2,000. ..

I was only interested in the site because there is a lot of valuable information there and I'm capable of running it. It would be a real shame to lose everything that is there and I thought maybe I could either buy it and keep it going as like a sister site to this one, or merge them, or use it as an archive or something. I really didn't know what I would do with it but thought it shouldn't be just shut down and lost. But I knew it wouldn't be because Gerald said how he's been in the internet business for over ten years and he knows the site is valuable because of the traffic. So that means someone who could give a shit less about the XS650 could buy it and load it up with ads and make some money off it. Actually if someone did buy it for that kind of money, even if it was a member just to keep it going, they would have to completely load it up with ads just to hope to make their money back within a few years. And with that many ads, everyone would get pissed off and leave and the whole thing would probably be a flop.

So when the site was shut down, I assumed Gerald was in the process of transferring everything over to a new host and it would be back up soon. Turns out it was shut down unexpectedly and now he just wants to sell it as-is and have the new owner get it back up and running again. The problem is, not many people know how to run even a simple website and if they do, they probably don't want to have to learn the new forum software and also have to pay a lot of money to do it! So to me, it seemed like he was holding the data of site hostage for $2,000. Now that the site has been down for a couple of weeks, the search engine rankings will be seriously affected and the traffic of the site will go way down so it's not as valuable to an outsider. The only person who sees any value a site that's not even working is someone who has lost something because of it going down (all of you former members) because of all the time and energy invested in creating tech articles and the information that was shared when helping each other out. That's probably why he's now said he "wants a few hundred for it".

So where does this all go from here? I don't know.. I think everyone who has transferred here from there can see xs650.com has a better set-up and the only reason everyone misses that site is because of history and information that was seemly lost. If all that good information was here, no one would miss the old site. Well maybe a couple of you. And there is a lot of shit on that site not worth the server resources to save or bring back.

Now I said above, I am capable of running the site, but I am unfamiliar with the software so there would be a learning curve. Also the fact that the reason I started this site is because I like vBulletin and didn't like what the other XS650 forums were using. I thought I could make a better XS650 site than any of the others so I set out to do it! So I wouldn't want to admin 650rider using the software that is currently used because it's not supported like vBulletin is (because vBulletin is not free). Now there is probably a way to import (convert) that database to work with this one, but it would be a huge job. If I ended up buying the site, I think it would be best to just bring over some of the tech stuff and archive the rest. If you all were to get togther and buy it, you could probably save the whole thing, including the shitty look and setup.

Alright, well that's about everything that I know about the whole situation (including my bias commentary on the whole thing). If enough people or members are interested in paying Gerald's ransom (whatever the current amount is), it could be saved for the most part. Even if it was just to buy the whole thing for the database.

So now that I've come clean on that whole thing, what does everything think about all of the above?

 

[yamaman]

Cheers Travis, totally agree with you, this site is great & with a great feel. most of the tech know how is around, the tech section here is great..............Yeah for sure I and others miss having it at our fingertips, but no drama at all if 650rider stays gone!

I'd reckon that if 650rider did open again, it would start an avalanche of cut & paste lol

I guess just one question remains.................

 

[650Skull]

When Gerald first posted the site for sale i emailed an interest and asked for information on the costs of the site. The reply was a sometimes it makes money and sometimes it doesn't, mostly not. and asked for an offer. As i have no real experience with websites, I wanted to find someone who had the knowledge to help with servicing any problems, (yes i know it is very complicated and expensive). My next inquiry was for a more detailed costings of outgoings and income and how much he wanted and all i got back was $35 per month from Google adds and maybe $15-20 per month from donations, maybe, and $1000 if that was ok.

I was doing the ground work when Gerald posted the site would be closed down if no takers in the next 2 weeks,and wanted $2000, then the next day he posted the site was saved. Within a few days he shut it down

The next i got an email asking for some help passing around links for his wife's business.

 

[Barb]

It would indeed be very cool to save the information banked at 650rider, and I guess it's worth something as a site, but honestly, I like this one better. The people are nice, but mainly the layout and format--the physical presentation--seems user-friendly and fun.

If the sites could somehow be combined that would be wonderful, and when Russo posted the "For Sale" sign in the yard, I was wishing I knew even a little bit of how to run a computer, since I only work part-time, but alas, I'm computer-illiterate as all get out!

Travis, I bet if you made a formal proposal to buy it, that some of us here could come up with capital to invest in the new product....assuming we are indeed talking in the hundreds, and not thousands. It's worth exploring. Combining both sites would produce the King Kong of XS650 sites!

Food for thought....

Barb

 

[weekendrider]

Has all that much really been lost? Most tips,tricks and mods can be found elsewhere.
Except maybe Johns mods. His quicker throttle, oil cooler, cupped pushrod, carb knowledge(for the stock 34's), light switch, the carbon wings for air flow, valve oilers, lower compression,etc.

Travis,
Thanks for your time and effort in this site.

 

[cretinxs81]

I was wondering what happen to the site. I joined this group because I was hoping for some of the same info that 650rider offered. Thanks for the update...

 

[inxs]

- bloody hell..can you imagine the job of sorting thru all the crap just to retrieve some info, that could only be a labour of love...in some ways it would be better to recreate the knowledge with the advantage of hindsight...i keep many of my posts filed on a reserve harddrive or usb stick...one day i will catalogue it on a cd so i can use it as a library

 

[rustynail99]

Travis, thanks so much for all that info. and i definitely agree with everything you said. this is really the only xs site i look at consistently and really the only reason i even noticed the other site was down was i tried to pull up some saved posts about a few certain things. i think if we could get it just for the info on there and work it just like you suggested that would be truly ideal. that way i never have to look anywhere else for info.

also it is awesome that we were able to get some of the people over there from that site. in particular for me yamaman has been extremly helpful in aiding me in getting my bike running as well as everyone else on this site.

this site is also much more user friendly and easy to use. that is why i think i quickly was drawn to using this forum because the layout is so clean and easy to use. the other site was a little overwhelming at first site and wasnt quite as easy to navigate. might just be my ignorance but i found it was easier to to search for things on google then on the actual site. not the case with this one.

All and all, TRAVIS HAS DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB AND I HOPE THIS FORUM IS ALONG FOR A LONG LONG TIME. also i would definitely be willing to contribute to buying the info if you (TRAVIS) would be the one to run it so i would know the info was going to be used well and not destroyed by people who dont care. ok thats my rant. thanks guys.

Rusty

 

[BigJimmyW13]

Yeah from what I had understood from his hosting company he owed them back fees and then the feeling I had gotten from him was that he just wants the money. The domain itself is probably worth $100 at most. Unfortunately, like Travis said - he is holding the data hostage. Which is a shame. I am beginning to understand more and more postmortem 650rider why a lot of ppl left it when it was still up. Oh well. I do hope it is revived if at the very least to get the info off of it.

 

[650Skull]

- bloody hell..can you imagine the job of sorting thru all the crap just to retrieve some info, that could only be a labour of love...in some ways it would be better to recreate the knowledge

I pushed for the Vault for that reason and i saw repetitive basic questions asked over and over again, and yes i was spending a lot of time going through past posts finding what i thought was relevant information. I could not find a library of information any where on the internet when i was looking for technical information for the XS, yes there is good information in lots of different places but as any one knows it was very time consuming and almost imposable to find it all. Your tech menu, like the Vault at 650rider, is attempting to do that, to make the site more attractive and easy for the enthusiasts of the TX/XS to read and find info to start off with without asking the basic questions over and over again. All the work that was put into the vault was a labor of love and can never be recreated as a lot of info is added in the threads that does not come out in a write up. A lack of administrative control was the downfall of that site and although he set up 650rider his input was minimal and in the last couple of years he would not post or respond for up to 6 months

This is a good site which still in its infancy and has a long way to go before it will have the library of information that has been lost by the demise of 650rider. A lot of the people here have that info and would freely give it if the right questions are asked.

INXS you are doing a great job with the time you are putting in with write ups and the amount of time you are spending on the internet collecting that info ( plus your own knowledge), it is very valuable. As i said earlier the info from 650rider it can never be recreated as the treads themselves evolve with ideas and information that can never be read in a write up.

XS650.com


Russo 650rider

 

[Travis]

Update on the situation:

I will be taking control of 650rider.com!

I've worked out an agreement with Gerald and we are currently working on getting everything transferred over to me. The amount of the transaction was for much less than he previously wanted, and I'd like to leave it at that. This will be quite a process so bear with me as it all happens. I'm going to move this thread into The Lounge to take some heat off of it, and will eventually create another thread with more information on what's going to happen and give the members here a chance to give some input on the whole thing. That's all I have for now.

 

[danno]

Update on the situation:

I will be taking control of 650rider.com!

I've worked out an agreement with Gerald and we are currently working on getting everything transferred over to me. The amount of the transaction was for much less than he previously wanted, and I'd like to leave it at that. This will be quite a process so bear with me as it all happens. I'm going to move this thread into The Lounge to take some heat off of it, and will eventually create another thread with more information on what's going to happen and give the members here a chance to give some input on the whole thing. That's all I have for now.

Will we be able to donate to help fund the 650rider takeover ? I am not rich, but I would be happy to contribute.

 

[Travis]

No, not at this time. It wouldn't be right until all the work is complete. Besides, if donations are going to be accepted, I would rather have it be for this site in general and not for the acquisition of 650rider since the cost of 650rider was only a fraction of the total expenses for this site so far. So when the time is right, I'll find a way for people to contribute if they choose. For now, just enjoy!