Our Story
How a love of riding, a lot of listening and one simple idea became MotoKind.
MotoKind wasn’t created from a business plan. It grew from riding, listening and noticing what was missing.
Like many riders, I started because I wanted the freedom that comes with being on two wheels. I came to motorcycling relatively late and passed my full test in 2024. Not long afterwards, I set off on a roughly 3,000-mile trip around the UK.
I learned a lot very quickly — not just about riding, but about the motorcycle world itself. I discovered how generous riders can be, how much knowledge exists within the community and how readily people will help one another.
But I noticed something else too.
There was no shortage of information, advice or opinions. What wasn’t always easy to find was somewhere you could simply say “I don’t know” without feeling as though you should already know the answer.
I wanted to create a place where riders could talk openly, share experiences and learn from one another without judgement or ego. Somewhere newer riders, experienced riders, solo riders and those returning after years away could all feel equally welcome.
MotoKind grew from that idea.
It started as a Facebook group, but it was never really about Facebook. It was about bringing riders together and seeing what happened when people felt comfortable enough to talk openly.
That community has now grown to more than 6,700 riders, but the conversations matter more than the number.
Riders ask questions. They share experiences. They recommend the businesses that have looked after them. They talk about the things they find difficult, as well as the things they love about riding.
Over time, patterns started appearing. Similar questions came up again and again, along with recurring frustrations and gaps in the support riders could find.
That was when MotoKind began becoming more than a community.
Meet Karen
I’m Karen Rhodes, founder of MotoKind.
I came to motorcycling relatively late, which meant entering a world where I didn’t already know the language, the unwritten rules or even which questions I was supposed to ask.
That turned out to be useful.
It made me notice things that are easy to miss once you’ve been around motorcycles for years. It also made me appreciate the riders who took the time to explain something without making me feel silly for asking.
My background is in marketing, business and community building, and those skills now help me spot patterns in what riders share with MotoKind and turn those insights into something useful — whether that’s better information, a workshop, a recommendation, an industry conversation or simply a place where somebody feels comfortable asking a question.
What I want most is for more people to experience the side of motorcycling I know exists: riders stopping to help one another, friendships formed through a shared love of bikes and people being welcomed regardless of what they ride or how long they’ve been riding.
MotoKind is my way of helping more of that happen.
Meet Bill
Bill has been around motorcycles for most of his life, from helping his dad with bikes as a child to trials riding and touring across the UK and Europe.
His professional background is just as practical. He completed an apprenticeship as a mechanic with the British Army before spending more than two decades in military engineering, eventually becoming a Warrant Officer responsible for one of the Army’s largest workshops. He later earned a Master’s degree in Engineering and became a Chartered Engineer.
But qualifications are only part of why Bill is involved with MotoKind.
Throughout his career he’s taught, coached and mentored others, with a particular ability to explain technical subjects in straightforward language.
That’s what he brings to MotoKind’s workshops: the technical knowledge to explain what riders are looking at, combined with the patience to explain it without assuming they already know.
There are no silly questions, and no expectation that you should already know the answer.
From Listening to Doing
As the community grew, the patterns within those conversations began shaping what MotoKind did next.
Riders saying they knew how to ride but didn’t really understand their motorcycles led to Know Your Bike. Rider recommendations began shaping a better way to help people discover businesses worth knowing about. Other conversations are helping us understand where support, information and opportunities are still missing.
Not every conversation needs to become a project. But when the same need keeps appearing, we pay attention.
That’s how MotoKind is growing: one useful thing at a time.
Looking Ahead
MotoKind is still evolving, but the direction is clear.
We’ll keep listening to riders, looking for the gaps and finding practical ways to help — through useful information, workshops, trusted recommendations, opportunities to connect and collaborations with organisations that genuinely want to support riders.
And as MotoKind grows, so will the Rider’s Fund and our ability to give something back to the wider motorcycle community.
The aim isn’t to build the biggest motorcycle community. It’s to build something genuinely useful.