As an avid Top Gear fan I was excited when DriveTribe was started. It sounded like a great social media platform and a way to be more connected to Jeremy, James and Richard.
It also sounded like a modern alternative to the dying forums I once loved. FaceBook groups had all but killed forums, so there was no good outlet for project threads or an easily searchable database of posts. My good friend Kerry started a tribe called Mechanical Advantage. We wanted a space to talk junk motorcycles and just have fun. Both of us were actively wrenching on project bikes and thought others would like to share in the fun. As with many experiments, it never really took off, but it was always fun.
At the time I had a Norton Commando. It lived outside in a parking space of my apartment complex. It was a bike I never thought I would own. I had trade my way through a couple of Hondas to be able to afford it. I was super proud of that bike and mildly regret getting rid of it.
I started telling stories of bikes I had owned, and things I had done. If felt great to have a way to document all the fun. The brown CB450 I owned remains one of the cleanest bikes ever to pass through my garage.
Still remember the first time something I wrote really got some views. It was a story about a CBX I had bought. The bike was cool, but the situation revolving around me buying it is still a story I like telling people.
Over the years my life changed a lot. Moved a couple of times, finished a degree, got married, bought a house and had a child, but DriveTribe remained a constant place to turn to for fun stories and people sharing interesting stuff.
It was a great place to record a history of your thoughts. I had posted an image asking if anyone had experience with a super rare Bimota. Just a couple of weeks ago, one joined my garage. So neat to be able to see how long I had really been lusting after this machine.
My garage taste had shifted over time. When I first started I was focused on 70s Japanese bikes, but now my garage is filled with late 80s-00s Italian super bikes. A little credit is due to the connections that could be made on DriveTribe.
I had bought a Bimota SB8R in no small part because I knew Richard had one. I think that the connections were really the best part. I actually shared another bike with Richard at one point, and he had even commented on one of my posts about it.
For me this personal response meant the world. It was so cool to think that these guys were reading and enjoying things us mortals had wrote.
Had James recognize using the correct tool for the job once in a post about some carburetors I was rebuilding.
At one point I was invited to join the Creators Program. The Discord group was an amazing place to bounce ideas off of and learn new ways of writing. I personally have never thought of myself as an overly good writer, so finding out someone was willing to pay me to tell stories was a real shock. And by pay me, I mean sent me enough money to buy a pint every month.
I have had an amazing time sharing my garage with everyone here. I have been able to look back on projects and feel proud of what I have been able to do.
At this point I have zero idea what I will do. Do not know of any place that would offer a similar format to share projects. Sad to think this will end, but there will always be a new adventure somewhere.