Britbike forum Forums British motorcycles in general The triple forum TOL down again

Anyone have any news or updates?

Still takes ages for me to get onto the site---and then further ages to get onto the forum.
There are quite a few comments on the forum-- all reflecting the same sort of experience.
Unfortunately no indication of if/when there might be any improvements.

Doing better than me then, I get:

"Triples Online is temporarily unavailable. We apologise for the outage but we will be back online very shortly."

I agree it can be a bit of a PITA to access, but its still worth a visit.

I hope Kim is considering an updated platform and a switch to a more current format. Something along the lines of this forum would be nice.
So far Kim (Rowden) has been reluctant to do so, and with TOL being his own baby, created by him, sustained by him and moderated by him, he would probably be short of both funds and time to update it properly. It's been a heroic effort, and I hope it prevails, but if TOL used to be my favorite place on the web, it isn't anymore. I cross my fingers and hope for the best.

SR

IMO a good idea to integrate the TOL forum on britbike.com ?

I've never jouned TOL or even perused the site until seeing this discussion. Som I tried going to the site and the login page loaded rapidly. But, not having signed up on it yet, that is as far as I can get.

One would think that many would transfer from TOL to here, given the state of TOL these days, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The TOL fan base is a loyal bunch, though there used to be many more on there in its heyday. Personally, I'd like to see it succeed once more, but I do find the format tiresome, and I believe that's one of the reasons for its dwindling support.

SR

When I started this forum "BSA PitStop" and British Mototorcycle Forum" in 1996 which became Britbike Forum in 1998 it was programmed using a Shareware software. in the late 90's I purchased a new software but it was still based on a single text file to store the data. I had to delete data constantly not to oversize the file making it corrupt. I then upgraded it to a database supported software and imported the data. Since then that software has had its ups and downs when it concerns upgrades. for a long time it was neglected by the owners but the last years it has been and we have been able to do a lot of upgrades.
Software needs to be uptdated over time cause the host's server softwares require it to work. TOL may have a small issue bit it could also be that its obsolete I don't know.
I would think it would be difficult to update or convert to a modern format so lets hope they can fix the issues.

You triple guys has always been welcome here even though I never owned one.. I have owned many singles and twins however 1+2=3 right.

Feel free to use this forum anytime as long as you like.

Cheers

I started a thread about changing forum engine to something more current a while ago and most users acted offended just for bringing it under discussion. Perhaps their perception changed with time?

I like it here Morgan, and the layout is definitely much better than on TOL, but like many others, I haunt a few forums. Because - unfortunately - no single location is the source of all knowledge.
Plus, sometimes I am the font of knowledge (helping others) and sometimes I am the recipient

I tried again to access TOL both last night and this morning.
Result-- same frustrating lack of action.
However-- be patient --maybe something will happen to make things work out.

The same happened to me a while back. It wasn't popular. I like new replies on top and in chronological order, but Kim said that takes up a lot of space. Who am I to argue. Another issue is that you have to log in so often, even after writing a shortish post. Tedious.
Anyway, as Kim hosts the site and mostly from his own pocket as I understand it, I quickly backed down. Let's hope he gets it up and running again, I can live with the format if the site works.
Participation is at an all time low now, mostly due to the problems I guess but I've noticed an ever dwindling support over the last years. I'm thinking that the fanbase is shrinking, at least as far as the DIY types go?

SR

i liked the information available on TOL, but i abandoned it, 100 percent because of tbe awkward format.

stll visit occasionally to search for something, but i dont go there for any other reason.

We are getting older Stein and dwindling membership going with it is normal I suppose. However format of the old school "mailing list" is something I really hate on triplesonline, so I decided to actively support Morgan effort here hoping more guys from there will start to show up here, because this forum is so much easier to use.

I too like this Forum so much that I opted for a Premium Membership. Keep up the good work Morgan!

SR

There's always the TR3OC forum, but you must be a member. You're not member? Why not?
Most of the folks there are Britons, you know the place where most of the triples went once it became obvious that Americans didn't want them.

I understood that TOL came into being as a response to the "snootiness" of the TR3OC group some years after its formation.

Dont know either way.

I let my TR3OC membership lapse as the forum was not very lively and all the events were in the UK. A no brainer if you live in the UK though...

It was the other way around, the TR3OC forum was launched much later than TOL. There used to be a lot of bickering on TOL a while back, and I guess some couldn't or wouldn't take it. That was my impression anyway. I find the TR3OC of less interest to me and maybe a bit "parochial" as someone described it. I too opted out as it wasn't as relevant to me as TOL or BBF.

SR

I understood that the TR3OC started in 1979, before the interwebs😜!

The club yes, but not the TR3OC forum.

Just tried accessing TOL again.
There is a message saying temporarily unavailable but will be back soon.

FYI I have emailed Kim asking what the problem is but have received no reply to date.

I first joined TR3OC in the late 80's. That club was based in the US, the newsletter came from some guy in West Virginia. Kim took over early 90's, and now runs TOL.
The TR3OC I get now is UK based. They love T160's and Rob Norths. The newsletter was more interesting during the plague, more racing history, less about European rallies. It still doesn't have many tech articles though. The old club did.

I am a new comer to this site. Dont spend a lot of time on the internet.
I guess I did do a little of an introduction in a thread I started about needing a torque spec in this triples site.
I had been looking for a trippples forum website to join and did find the TR3OC site but never planked down the money to join.
When looking for a supplier for starter components to convert this 1974 unit over to an electric start, as a request from My 80+ YO cousin I found the Rob North website.
That company has changed hands and is now being run by Les and Denise Whiston and I do hope that they make a real good go of it.

So, when it is up, how do you register for TOL?

It's very easy, you just register with your name / nick name and password perhaps email address as well. Finding the relevant information is another story.
But you can ask certainly and people there like here are very helpful.