Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

gram ; which the AMA could be instrumental in, would make even those people who never intended to buy a motorcycle better drivers in 'tha t they would be aware of the two- wheeled traffic on the highway. The pro b lem is not that the average motorist doesn't like motorcycles; the problem is that they are not aware of them and the difference in the two. If everyone had some knowledge of what it takes io ride a motorcycle, it would be safer for everyone. r ~~The most im- portant item is to put the AMA on a stable financial basis." CN: Hasn't the membership of the AMA remained fairly stagnant at about 100,000 in the 12 years since you left. That would seem to say th a t there is a core of supporters, and that regardless of what is done, the number will remain nearly the same. LK; I would have to say . that it ap · pears that way. The problem lies in that the renewal rate of first -year members is at about 50%. That is an area into which we need to look closely . Some of that figure are persons who joined only to compete in an event, and , now that they no longer compete, have not continued their membership. We need to make th em realize that the AMA is a lot more than just a competition organization. CN: How about a contribution on a per-bike-sold basis from the manufacturers to help to add revenue to theAMA? LK: The idea is a go od one. However. it will not work be cause the manufacturers do not want their rivals to know how many units they have sold, which would be an easy figure to arrive at simply by knowing how much one contributed. Also there are problems in that if you add on a sum. even if it is only one dollar, the consumer, though he is the one benefitting, is the person actually supporting the program . In that situation, you would probably be open to a lawsuit by requiring a mandatory contribution from people who didn't care to SUppOTt the organization. CN : W h a t cost-cutting measures are you looking a t as rega r ds the AMA staff and programs t hat the AM A administers? LK: First of all , I believe that we have a good staff as it nowstands. I feel that they are aware of the problems, and that by working closely with each other and 'ourimdgl:ts'that we 'c'an 'come up' '. o with some savings. This means tha t we ha ve to look carefully at everything we do , and weigh the cost against the results. What we are doing, and this is done in any business where you have turnover in help, is that when we do have an individual leave. it is our responsibility to determine how and if we are going to replace that individual. This again isa cost -cutting measure. CN: Is the $200,000 that has been mentioned as an operating deficit a correct figure? LT: Actually, when' you are talking about an operating deficit , the figure sometimes does not present an accurate picture of the situation, since .sorne of the funds may have been channeled into other areas. Yes, we do have to make up some funds . There isn't any doubt that the AMA , for about the past five years , hasn't had the working capitol and the working income that they should have for a . business of this type. $200,000 is the figure generally known and discussed, and it is a difficult figure to explain. It is correct and it is still around . CN: It would a ppear dien that the AMA is operati n g from a catch-up position? L K : This is correct. However , it isn't a catch- up p rogram from last year or the past couple of years, but one that has been going on for some time, and it didn't necessarily occur from one specific area or department of the AMA . The more you try to do in the way of services, the. more expense you are going to have. With inflation and other things, we are in the same fix that many other businesses have found themselves. Here again , the only way we can overcome the problem is con tinued expansion of the membership . CN: As a pa r t of the deficit, there were rumors that fu n ds were unaccounted for in the professional racing department, Can you comment on this? L K: I am not aware of any missing funds. Quite frankly , what has happened from what I havebeen able to observe is that we 'beca me involved in some programs which in total dollars looked like they would be good for the AMA, but in the final analysis . once . the point fund money and" the corn missions to those setting up the deals had been paid . the AMA didn't go to the bank with any money . A $200 ,000 HI saw returning to theAMA as more of a personal challenge than anything else. " sponsorship m ight look good on paper, but when you're all finis he d , the money that would have gone to the AMA has to be used to carry out the commitments that were made to the sponsor. This type of problem is one that we will be looking at very closely onany sponsorship. We want to have major sponsors , but the big money deals .of other aspects of professional sports have clouded our view. You can read every day about baseball or football players making astronomical sums of money. We seem to be trying to put ourselves in the same league as those people, and it's very difficult. From my association with NASCAR. I personally know of the big money that many of the stock car drivers are making. It doesn't all come fro m the pu rses. T hey are making good money because they have good sponsors. Without sponsorship itis difficult for any type of racing to expand. CN: W ill you be taking a n a ctive r ole i n t he sea rch fo r sponsors? L K : It is my intention to act as the administrator and become invo lved in the selection of sponsorship packages , and contingency programs we are in volved in . My main concern in that respect is where is the AMA going to end up at the end o.f the year? What is the balance going to be? At the same time, we are going to be looking to see that whoever is involved is getting their fair share also, . It is also our position to have the competitor' realize that he has an obligation not only to the sponsor, but to the public to mention the par· ticular product or sponsor's name as frequently as possible when they win or are involved in interviews or other media functions . That is what makes it worthwhile for 'a sponsor to want to continue, and for an association to go out and seek potential sponsors. CN: Are we looking a t more involvement from Nikon, Mr. PiB B and Toyota, or a re we going to have to look elsewhere? LK: I know that we are going to have to look for more sponsors. I know that Toyota is cutting back. With Nikon , we are trying to arrange at least another photo program and possible additional involvement. The proposal of Mr. PiBB is approximately one ha lf of what it was last yea r in dollars. At this point it looks as though we may not become involved . If we did accept the program , there would be some commissions involved that were set up in the initial contract which would need to be paid , and that would probabl y reduce the amount left for the AMA to an amount that wouldn't make it worthwhile since they have reduced the money at both ends . (T he AMA has sin ce announced that Mr. PiBB will not be sp ons oring the 1979 Nat ional Championship MX Series .. . Editor.} We have talked to various other sponsors that I can't name. However , one of the problems is that sponsor· ships have to be worked out at least a year in advance in order for them to get budgests approved and to set in motion the rest of the details that go with a program. What we may have to do if we can't get full sponsors for '79 is to go with some companies on trial spo nsorship deals . one where the sponsor gets his fee t wet and is perhaps im p ressed enough to come back with a full program for 1980. CN: It appears tha t in some of the sponsorship negotiations of last year that the people involved were more interested in their own gains rather tha n the AMA? L K: I can't answer for the people who made the commitments. But I think that ' possibly 'a little ' mote thought' ~ ITlie only way we can overcome the prolilem is continued expansion of the membership. " should have been given to the deals. You have to know what the sponsor wants in return for his dollar, and you . also have to know what you limitations are in getting him that return . A san. tioning body may be able to 1(0 out and get a sponsorship. but they can't make a total comrnittmem for all of the promoters involved in the program. It's a tightrope act. If every sponsor were like R.J. Reynolds of the Winston Pro Series, we would have few problems. CN: What do you feel is the most impor t jln t challenge facing yo u at this time? LK: The most important item is to put th e AMA on a stable financial basis. However, that all goes back to my goal and objective of increasing the mem bership, which is the answer to all of our problems. There is a weakness, and this has been going on for a long time, in that our 127 ,000 members is a very small percentage of the millions of individuals who own motorcycles. Everyone who owns a motorcycle is benefitting from the AMA's work , par· ticularly in the governmental relations field , but only a few are contributing to the costs . I believe that our government relations department is the most im portant function of the AMA in the present legislative atmosphere we are living in . Everything concerned with motorcycles is under. or coming un der, some fonn of legislation · land closure. the EPA . product liability, noise. \Vhat we are trying to d o is remain in a position where we can continue our activities without undue law s governing every move. . CN: You said the AMA is in the people business. Could you elaborate? LK: Our whole concept is based upon dealing with people in all segments of motorcycling, whether competition, en thusiast , dealer , or industry convected. I think th at the success of the AMA is based upon the ability to understand and communicate with the people. Unless you are comm unicating with the people, all the graphs and charts and fancy surveys don't count . I feel that we have to instill in members and prospective members, that whether or not they agree with you , that they should have confidence in what the AMA is doing. • 13··

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