GT Rider Maintenance, Costing and Support.

[DavidFL]

16 June 2025

GT Rider Maintenance & Costing—Support.

As most of you will have noticed, the GTR forum underwent a major rebuild and upgrade recently.

The costs for this have totalled US$560. This includes tech work, licencing, and app upgrades.

I have now settled on a new host with tech support that is costing US$45 a month.

Once upon a time, GTR was selling hundreds of maps and able to provide a free information service via the forum.

Times changed, map sales plummeted, and GTR continued to provide a free information service to promote motorcycle touring and a biking community.

To help subsidise costs, an attempt at a subscription service for Road and Trip Reports, plus recommendations was installed.

To encourage reports and recommendations, people contributing trip reports and recommendations were given a free subscription.
Ultimately the subscription service has not achieved the desired result.

Sadly, other social media, notably Facebook and group chats, have become more popular.

The reality is that GTR is struggling to stay afloat nowadays with negligible map sales and people willing to subscribe.

Several members mentioned privately that they would be amenable to helping out with costs.

Should any members or GTR supporters wish to help and chip in, you can donate via my BKK bank account or via this PayPal address.

Thank you in advance for any kind donations to assist in keeping the GTR forum going.

 

[DavidFL]

Thankyou for your GTR support
1. Jurgen.
2. Franz
3. Mats.

 

[theWTD]

Hi David,

I sent you some money as I do understand this is a burden and I do love this community. Thank you for all you've done.

As your map sales dwindled, you added complexity to the community, and it has obviously resulted in less participation. Which results in less people participating which results in less community. It's sort of a death spiral. I realize this costs you real money, so I am sympathetic to your situation. But opening up the site more will be better. There are so many free options these days.

My take: You are nickel and diming yourself to death. You need to monetize the site via advertising.

You have so many great trip reports and so many hotels in your reports, why not just add Agoda links to all the hotels you have reviewed and make the 6% affiliate commission as well as having general Agoda links all over your site. All of us are grateful for your recommendations and reviews and would be happy to book via your links. But we can't as you don't have them. For instance, I travel around The North for 30-60 days a year. I stay in low end hotels that cost between $10-$20/nt. Assuming $15/nt x 45 nights thats $40 of affiliate commission for you.

If you make the forum free I think you'll make way more money off Agoda (and of course there are other sites that pay advertising revenue, you can probably just add Google Ads) and advertising. Folks with Motorcycles have cash and are an attractive market.

I also offered when I met you last year to setup a GoFundMe to finish your Map for Nan. You could list that very easily (i can help) and I am sure many of us would be happy to pay for that map. You complained printing the maps is too much cost up front, so why not do a GoFundMe. You could have tiers from $30 to $200 which would include a map, as well as various other incentives if people pay more. The nice thing about a GoFundMe is if you don't get the funding, you don't have to do it.

David you do such great work on this site, and we all know you deserve to be compensated. The internet however lives on advertising! The other nice thing about setting up an ad network, is if you can show income from that, you can sell the site to someone who will really juice it for profit. We may all rue that day but that is the way of the world.

Best, Ryan