Yeah, I'm guessing you hit the same realization that we did, only earlier? (I remember at one point, you were called "Rider's Dijest". This channel can be a good litmus test of "how well one can do" if they keep pushing 😂 We're kindof at a turning point now, where we are figuring out how much time we need to put in, how many videos to post, how much effort for each, etc. And, do we scale back to match what we're getting out of this and make it more of a hobby pace and enjoy it? Or push harder forward for the next year or two regardless? The jury is still out, lol.
I think that’s a very true statement that most people underestimate how much time it takes to create/edit a quality made video, especially when working with equipment failures as shown in this video. Congratulations on the first milestone achievement, and hopefully many more to come! 🍻
Yeah, a REAL big milestone acheivement, LOL. BIG THINGS to come for Retro Grade!!! 😂 I've said it and I'll say it again - 'Equipment Manager' can be a full time position for a UA-cam channel. Just keeping the cameras, mics, etc. organzied, charged up and working, and mounting all of it up for each video is a HUGE task.
Ive been putting youtube videos up for 15 years now lol monetized for 4. 3k subs and editing takes FOREVER!! lol keep up the good work guys. I also work full time and post when I can. Im up to a sony a6400 and my next purchase will be a lens! Dont forget the bigger channels pay for editors!!
What makes you keep doing it and going on? Do you actually enjoy it? Is it the hope/chance of actually succeeding at some point? Is it the "Fallacy of Sunken Costs", where you're too far in to quit? It's been hard here to keep going. Not that making videos isn't enjoyable necessarily, but I think at times we'd both just rather leave the cameras behind and enjoy the stuff anymore. In all the time spent to get this stuff posted, there are so many other things we could be doing to make money or enjoy our time 😂😅 It seemed like a good idea when we didn't know any better, but now we're wondering if we just got in far too late in the game.
Appreciate the candid view of your pursuits. Your content has helped me on more than one occasion to get off the couch and attend to moto maintenance. Thanks again for your posts.
Ha, no problem! We weren't trying to come off as negative or complaining, more just show the large amount of work that goes into it with very little payout. Alot of people act like getting monetized on UA-cam is such a big deal, and it really isn't. We don't feel that many channels convey this properly. We are glad that posting stuff up has motivated you to get out into the garage! Which video(s) in particular?
@@retro_grade Love the older Hondas. After watching your Trail 55 videos, I bought a couple in mild disrepair and got them back on the road. Your wiring harness connector video really helped with that. Also was fascinated with your P50 vids as well as your use of the CT125 as boat hauler. Truly hope you guys continue to find it worthwhile to continue posting. Thanks again.
@@Robinsbro17 wow, thanks for the details, I'm glad to hear that we had that much impact on you getting some Trail 55's back on the road! We still actually have ours - making some more videos on that (trail testing, Herb Uhl story, etc) is on the 'bucket list' of items. It's been really hard latey to be motivated to make much more content and keep this channel going, so seeing this actually provides a little bit of hope 😂
@@retro_grade Looking forward to those. Truly a fascinating story about the origins of the Uhl prepped trail 50's . We are in Western Oregon so his legacy still comes through in some of the bikes that occasionally come up for sale. I feel lucky to have reunited one of the 55's with its original dealer. Found it on a farm in central Oregon where it had spent all its life. It was titled and the 3rd generation owner decided to sell as he was a large person (+250lbs.). After getting it back up and running (thank you both), I decided to clean it and discovered the original dealer tag. It had the same address and phone number as the dealership I frequent here locally. Decided to offer it to the current dealership owner who promised to keep it safe and running as part of his collection. It is now used as a pit bike for his race team during the season and spends the off season with some of its peers in a climate controlled barn. (A semi-retirement well earned.)
@@Robinsbro17 That's great, very cool story and so awesome that you were able to restore and preserve those bikes and reunite them with the dealers that sold them! It's crazy how many people don't know the story of the Herb Uhl and the Trail 50's and 55's and the contribution that they made to offroad toys moving forward. They not only led to the creation of the CT90, but arguably opened the market up for the manufacturing of ATV's also. I'm shocked that some of the more "mainstream" motorcycle UA-cam channels with more subscribers, experience, and resources have not done a well made episode on this. There's a couple in particular that I'm thinking of, each with their own styles. (Think one channel that's the 'Top Gear for Motorcycles" and another who is a "Motorcycle Historian" that splices existing footage together and narrates over it). We were going to early on, and have put it off because we feel we don't have enough traction for the effort and content to be appropriately appreciated. Small Bike Stuff actually did do an 'origin story' interview with Herb fairly recently, have you seen that one yet? (Very cool that he took the time to do that and put it together): ua-cam.com/video/JZ0Ig8kxXBQ/v-deo.htmlsi=eZ0-PxoamHPrb3DV I also assume you've seen the original 'Hunting with Honda' videos? ua-cam.com/video/Sc-bALwNb58/v-deo.html But, I digress, very cool story and thanks for sharing! Glad we were able to provide some motivation! LOL
Good day. Came across your latest video of bringing home the family boat. Great video, which led me to your channel and had to sub. You two make (in my opinion) really top notch video's with good quality content. Content that for the most part has some real money involved and I'm thinking that just might be the reason it's taken so long to become monetized. I believe 75% of North America is living with very little or no disposable income so they have a hard time relating to content requiring any type of serious investment. I am not saying you should change it up, but If you were resurrecting bikes and boats you obtained for free or very cheap or... were dealing very very high end equipment that the other 25% of the population can relate to you would've hit the two main target audiences and past monetization hitting 100,000 subs quite quickly. Keep e'm coming and I'll try to get caught up on your past vids.
Hey, thanks for subbing, we really appreacite it! It's good to see that someone thinks we make top quality content, sometimes we both think we are crazy! You have a very interesting point, I haven't thought of it that way. Honestly, I figured it was the other way around - that basically, the stuff we are working on nobody cares about, and everyone else is more likely to click on thumbnails with flashy new cars and big garage reveals (I watch alot of automotive UA-cam). And, while we can dumb it down some, we can't drop ourselves to the level that alot of social media is at. Just a week or so ago, I started seeing the "Hawk Twah" memes and jokes online, and had to look it up to see what it meant. Once I found out, I was like "Yep, and this is why we are never going to get ahead on UA-cam when this is what trends". On top of that, we're just a couple of middle aged guys, nothing special to really look at for a click bait thumbnail - I'll just let you take away from that what you will :) And, after all of that, you're really at the mercy of UA-cam and whether or not they want to put your content in front of people or not....whether their alogorithm thinks it's content that people want to see. I think overall, the stuff we are into is niche...which is good, but maybe it's too niche (the old boat content anyways) - however, the stuff that is less niche is overall saturated like the rest of UA-cam. I don't think our stuff is extremely high end, most of it is fairly cheap comparatively speaking (to any new boat, car, or motorcycle for instance). On that note, I think that even the people who can't afford it tend to "foam at the mouth" over videos that feature really high end stuff, even though they can't relate to it. To your point though, one of the best performing shorts we have is where I took a quick video on a Mercury MK78A that I obtained.....but I put "free" in the title. And, I'm pretty certain that "Free" was the reason it got the clicks. So, maybe on the video with the 1956 Alumacraft G that I fixed up, I should have hit harder on the fact that I only paid $600 for it, and it came with a trailer (which I later sold with another boat), and brand new Minn Kota trolling motor. So, more focusing on being able to use a $200 boat...... We don't hit on it hard enough, but one of the main points of this channel (or beliefs) that we want to hit on, is how bloated and expensive everything has gotten today. How everyone thinks they need a $50,000 or more boat to go fishing, for instance. Look at the clip in the Queen Merrie video of all the people that were fishing in that 14' Alumacraft Model A - perfectly illustrates what I'm talking about, and putting that particular clip in there was intentional. So, maybe we just need to hit harder on that point. Thanks for the insight and the comment, hopefully you enjoy the rest of what you find!!! -Brock
Thats why i limit my contribution to this at documentation. Nothing fancy, we just film what we do.
Its also nice to have the memories stored
Yeah, I'm guessing you hit the same realization that we did, only earlier? (I remember at one point, you were called "Rider's Dijest". This channel can be a good litmus test of "how well one can do" if they keep pushing 😂
We're kindof at a turning point now, where we are figuring out how much time we need to put in, how many videos to post, how much effort for each, etc.
And, do we scale back to match what we're getting out of this and make it more of a hobby pace and enjoy it? Or push harder forward for the next year or two regardless? The jury is still out, lol.
@@retro_grade yep, we've had a few names for sure! Still good fun
I think that’s a very true statement that most people underestimate how much time it takes to create/edit a quality made video, especially when working with equipment failures as shown in this video. Congratulations on the first milestone achievement, and hopefully many more to come! 🍻
Yeah, a REAL big milestone acheivement, LOL. BIG THINGS to come for Retro Grade!!! 😂
I've said it and I'll say it again - 'Equipment Manager' can be a full time position for a UA-cam channel. Just keeping the cameras, mics, etc. organzied, charged up and working, and mounting all of it up for each video is a HUGE task.
Ive been putting youtube videos up for 15 years now lol monetized for 4. 3k subs and editing takes FOREVER!! lol keep up the good work guys. I also work full time and post when I can. Im up to a sony a6400 and my next purchase will be a lens! Dont forget the bigger channels pay for editors!!
for the record I make about 100 bucks a month!
What makes you keep doing it and going on? Do you actually enjoy it? Is it the hope/chance of actually succeeding at some point? Is it the "Fallacy of Sunken Costs", where you're too far in to quit?
It's been hard here to keep going. Not that making videos isn't enjoyable necessarily, but I think at times we'd both just rather leave the cameras behind and enjoy the stuff anymore. In all the time spent to get this stuff posted, there are so many other things we could be doing to make money or enjoy our time 😂😅
It seemed like a good idea when we didn't know any better, but now we're wondering if we just got in far too late in the game.
Appreciate the candid view of your pursuits. Your content has helped me on more than one occasion to get off the couch and attend to moto maintenance. Thanks again for your posts.
Ha, no problem! We weren't trying to come off as negative or complaining, more just show the large amount of work that goes into it with very little payout. Alot of people act like getting monetized on UA-cam is such a big deal, and it really isn't. We don't feel that many channels convey this properly.
We are glad that posting stuff up has motivated you to get out into the garage! Which video(s) in particular?
@@retro_grade Love the older Hondas. After watching your Trail 55 videos, I bought a couple in mild disrepair and got them back on the road. Your wiring harness connector video really helped with that. Also was fascinated with your P50 vids as well as your use of the CT125 as boat hauler. Truly hope you guys continue to find it worthwhile to continue posting. Thanks again.
@@Robinsbro17 wow, thanks for the details, I'm glad to hear that we had that much impact on you getting some Trail 55's back on the road! We still actually have ours - making some more videos on that (trail testing, Herb Uhl story, etc) is on the 'bucket list' of items.
It's been really hard latey to be motivated to make much more content and keep this channel going, so seeing this actually provides a little bit of hope 😂
@@retro_grade Looking forward to those. Truly a fascinating story about the origins of the Uhl prepped trail 50's . We are in Western Oregon so his legacy still comes through in some of the bikes that occasionally come up for sale. I feel lucky to have reunited one of the 55's with its original dealer. Found it on a farm in central Oregon where it had spent all its life. It was titled and the 3rd generation owner decided to sell as he was a large person (+250lbs.). After getting it back up and running (thank you both), I decided to clean it and discovered the original dealer tag. It had the same address and phone number as the dealership I frequent here locally. Decided to offer it to the current dealership owner who promised to keep it safe and running as part of his collection. It is now used as a pit bike for his race team during the season and spends the off season with some of its peers in a climate controlled barn. (A semi-retirement well earned.)
@@Robinsbro17 That's great, very cool story and so awesome that you were able to restore and preserve those bikes and reunite them with the dealers that sold them! It's crazy how many people don't know the story of the Herb Uhl and the Trail 50's and 55's and the contribution that they made to offroad toys moving forward. They not only led to the creation of the CT90, but arguably opened the market up for the manufacturing of ATV's also.
I'm shocked that some of the more "mainstream" motorcycle UA-cam channels with more subscribers, experience, and resources have not done a well made episode on this. There's a couple in particular that I'm thinking of, each with their own styles. (Think one channel that's the 'Top Gear for Motorcycles" and another who is a "Motorcycle Historian" that splices existing footage together and narrates over it). We were going to early on, and have put it off because we feel we don't have enough traction for the effort and content to be appropriately appreciated.
Small Bike Stuff actually did do an 'origin story' interview with Herb fairly recently, have you seen that one yet? (Very cool that he took the time to do that and put it together):
ua-cam.com/video/JZ0Ig8kxXBQ/v-deo.htmlsi=eZ0-PxoamHPrb3DV
I also assume you've seen the original 'Hunting with Honda' videos?
ua-cam.com/video/Sc-bALwNb58/v-deo.html
But, I digress, very cool story and thanks for sharing! Glad we were able to provide some motivation! LOL
Good day. Came across your latest video of bringing home the family boat. Great video, which led me to your channel and had to sub. You two make (in my opinion) really top notch video's with good quality content. Content that for the most part has some real money involved and I'm thinking that just might be the reason it's taken so long to become monetized. I believe 75% of North America is living with very little or no disposable income so they have a hard time relating to content requiring any type of serious investment. I am not saying you should change it up, but If you were resurrecting bikes and boats you obtained for free or very cheap or... were dealing very very high end equipment that the other 25% of the population can relate to you would've hit the two main target audiences and past monetization hitting 100,000 subs quite quickly. Keep e'm coming and I'll try to get caught up on your past vids.
Hey, thanks for subbing, we really appreacite it! It's good to see that someone thinks we make top quality content, sometimes we both think we are crazy!
You have a very interesting point, I haven't thought of it that way. Honestly, I figured it was the other way around - that basically, the stuff we are working on nobody cares about, and everyone else is more likely to click on thumbnails with flashy new cars and big garage reveals (I watch alot of automotive UA-cam). And, while we can dumb it down some, we can't drop ourselves to the level that alot of social media is at. Just a week or so ago, I started seeing the "Hawk Twah" memes and jokes online, and had to look it up to see what it meant. Once I found out, I was like "Yep, and this is why we are never going to get ahead on UA-cam when this is what trends". On top of that, we're just a couple of middle aged guys, nothing special to really look at for a click bait thumbnail - I'll just let you take away from that what you will :)
And, after all of that, you're really at the mercy of UA-cam and whether or not they want to put your content in front of people or not....whether their alogorithm thinks it's content that people want to see.
I think overall, the stuff we are into is niche...which is good, but maybe it's too niche (the old boat content anyways) - however, the stuff that is less niche is overall saturated like the rest of UA-cam. I don't think our stuff is extremely high end, most of it is fairly cheap comparatively speaking (to any new boat, car, or motorcycle for instance). On that note, I think that even the people who can't afford it tend to "foam at the mouth" over videos that feature really high end stuff, even though they can't relate to it.
To your point though, one of the best performing shorts we have is where I took a quick video on a Mercury MK78A that I obtained.....but I put "free" in the title. And, I'm pretty certain that "Free" was the reason it got the clicks. So, maybe on the video with the 1956 Alumacraft G that I fixed up, I should have hit harder on the fact that I only paid $600 for it, and it came with a trailer (which I later sold with another boat), and brand new Minn Kota trolling motor. So, more focusing on being able to use a $200 boat......
We don't hit on it hard enough, but one of the main points of this channel (or beliefs) that we want to hit on, is how bloated and expensive everything has gotten today. How everyone thinks they need a $50,000 or more boat to go fishing, for instance. Look at the clip in the Queen Merrie video of all the people that were fishing in that 14' Alumacraft Model A - perfectly illustrates what I'm talking about, and putting that particular clip in there was intentional. So, maybe we just need to hit harder on that point.
Thanks for the insight and the comment, hopefully you enjoy the rest of what you find!!!
-Brock