[Doodle Bugger]

in reply to: 2015 Doodle Bug Reunion #1639 |

No, Jim does not have a website or seem to even do much with email. Call him if you’re looking for something. His shop is appointment only, not really a retail establishment.

[Doodle Bugger]

in reply to: Let's See Your Doodle Bugs! #1637 |

Yep, the Doodle Bug Reunion, which is the annual meet of the Doodle Bug Club of America, is still going strong in Webster City, Iowa each September. The scooters were manufactured in Webster City, IA which is the reason for the location.

All of the details are at wcdoodlebug.com

• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by Doodle Bugger.

[Doodle Bugger]

in reply to: Looking for a title #1635 |

Ok…insurance.

Yes, I did go through the State of Vermont process personally as I mentioned it above. It is legal IF YOU FOLLOW THE RULES, LAWS AND PROCEDURES THAT THEY OUTLINE. THE POINT IS NOT TO CHEAT…DO NOT BE DISHONEST OR FLAT OUT LIE ON ANY OF THE FORMS OR DISCLOSURES!

I did get insurance in my home state (which is not Vermont). It was collector “motorcycle” insurance. They asked no questions and did not care at all about the vehicle being registered out-of-state. You do not have to demonstrate any sort of proof of insurance to the State of Vermont to receive a registration, but you are supposed to have insurance, so again…PLAY BY THE RULES! After a few months, my home state did mail me a letter through the DPS asking about why I had insurance in my home state for a vehicle registered elsewhere. They sent me a form to fill out to explain it. I filled it out honestly (again, be honest – don’t fake this stuff) and received a reply several weeks later that said basically “ok, thanks for letting us know what the story is.” You do need to have insurance, but it does have to be issued to someone in Vermont…again, so long as you play by the rules, and get insurance properly, you’ll be ok.

So, as I said, I followed the procedure to a “t” and to the absolute letter of the law. I completed all forms truthfully and answered any questions completely and honestly. No problems for me. Vermont even mails me my registration notice every year. Thus, it CAN BE a completely legal way to legalize and register early never-titled machines and barn finds.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by Doodle Bugger.

[Doodle Bugger]

in reply to: Looking for a title #1580 |

Look into registering it in the state of Vermont. Yes, seriously.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t live in Vermont, haven’t ever lived in Vermont, and won’t ever live in Vermont. They do not issue titles, but you can register the bike in Vermont and they’ll send you license plates and everything that you need to be legal. You just won’t necessarily be operating the machine in the state of Vermont which is ok. Once the machine is registered and plated, it is legal in all 50 states.

At that point you have two choices:

1. You can keep in registered in Vermont forever and simply pay the annual fee to renew the registration (again, regardless of where you live)

OR

2. You can take your Vermont registration to your home state and explain to them that the machine is registered in Vermont and you’d like to transfer it to your state. When they ask why you don’t have a title, you’ll be able to show them that Vermont is a “no title” state at which point they’ll either transfer your registration or draft a title in your home state or they’ll tell you “sorry” and you’ve really lost nothing because you can keep the bike registered in Vermont as is.

Yes, this is legal. I have done this myself with a Vespa that never ever had a title (and was sold new in Italy, not in the US). Many, many people in the Vespa & Lambretta community register their machines in Vermont due to lack of titles. It seems they are happy to register the machines in return for collecting your annual fee.

DO NOT BOTHER WITH THE “TITLE SERVICES” LIKE BROADWAY (just google them to see why). They are slow, expensive, and risky. Plus now many states are cracking down on no-title bikes that have been run through Broadway. Avoid. Most states have a provision for legally getting a title (some easier than others) but the Vermont angle is a sure-fire deal. Check it out!

[Doodle Bugger]

in reply to: A members concern #1454 |

There a lot of issues that you brought up:

-Arriving early
-Reserving space / spreading out
-Flea Market / Unrelated items for sale
-Board vacancies

Going through these one by one, I’ll start with arriving early. This is a tough one and is an issue I have read about in the club magazine for years. As long as the fairgrounds are open and willing to accept campers, there is absolutely ZERO that the VMBC can do if VBMC members show up before the club takes possession of the grounds and the meet officially starts. The only way to stop early arrivals would be if the perimeter were completely secured and there was no camping allowed during, for example, the entire week leading up to the meet. That just isn’t going to happen. This isn’t just a VMBC issue…all clubs with big meets have the early birds that show up early, do trading amongst themselves, and are ready to pack up and hit the road just as the meet officially starts. I wish there was really a way to deal with it, but there just isn’t short of shutting the place down and allowing nobody in prior to the official VMBC dates (again – it ain’t gonna happen).

Taking too much space and holding space for other people is something that could be controlled, but like you said, you’d have to map it all out and assign spaces. I see this turning into nothing but a giant headache for the administration and think you’ll probably do little more than upset people. First come, first served seems to still be the most reasonable way to deal with camping locations. Folks should be reasonable about the amount of space they take and what they try to save for others, but the fact of the matter is that camping there is a free-for-all and folks are going to do what they want to do unless there is a massive crackdown with huge amounts of manpower. My opinion is that the best use of time and energy would be to let this go.

Flea market type items at “special interest” events (like the VMBC meet) irritate me, personally. If I go to a motorcycle meet or antique car meet, I don’t want to have half of the swap meet spaces full of crafts, cheap sunglasses, or miracle cleaning products, yet I see all of those things almost everywhere I go. Frankly, it’s been a few years since I’ve been able to be at the VMBC meet, but I don’t recall it being that bad. This is something else extremely difficult to control without being really hardcore about it and using a lot of manpower. Some of the “better” events I attend kick people out with unrelated items and ban them from coming back in the future – but that takes a lot of time and effort and you can’t be afraid of making people angry. Probably not something the VMBC really wants to get into.

The situation with the lack of board members, your desire to step down as President, and the Editor opening is all information that needs to be put in the club magazine along with what the requirements REALLY are and what the job REALLY entails. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, someone would just about have to be local to the Portland area so as to be able to meet in person and always attend the meet. If there are official roles for those of us that live a little further away (1,000 miles in my case), that is something I would be interested in, but I obviously cannot participate in regular meetings in person that are taking place 1,000 miles from home. Even the editor job…can that be done remotely? Has anyone ever thought about having board members from long distances participate in meetings via conference call or over the internet somehow? Is attending the meet absolutely critical? There are probably a lot of folks out there that are like me…they are interested, passionate about motorbikes/scooters, but live a long ways from Portland and question how they would be able to participate. “The club” really needs to find a way to tap these folks as they are probably the ones that will ensure the future of the club.

[Doodle Bugger]

in reply to: Membership #1441 |

Hi Darren-

I very much appreciate the response.

It’s helpful to have more insight and thus a better understanding of the club’s financial position, how membership fees are allocated (spent), and what the club’s significant financial challenges are. As to rising costs, I’m sure everyone can relate in some way to that.

I (and I suspect most members) was not aware that filling the editor role has become so problematic and has moved us to the point that bumping up membership dues was necessary because this will likely become something we have to pay for in the future. Unfortunately, I am another one of the many that isn’t able to step up to do the job as my [paid] work life already sucks up most of my time and the rest of the time I try very hard to spend with my wife & daughter.

I agree with the importance of a web presence and think you’ve done a great job with this and could certainly consider moving the club into the 21st century with a website to be your legacy. The fact that you’ve invested heavily in it personally is really incredible and is certainly something I was not aware of. That said, the fact that it was done on a “budget” is even more amazing…my assessment is that you’ve done well for the money here.

Thanks for explaining the situation with making the magazine available online. I certainly understand if there is a sample publication made available online and think that’s a good idea. I just didn’t want to see ALL magazines end up online where they could be accessed by anyone for free while the membership was still paying for the magazine to be created in the first place…that I would disagree with.

I think you’re on the right track here.