Many people at my alley changing to Motive.

[rv driver]

As an addendum to my last post, to be fair, they did have a Cyclone, too. They also had a fair amount of Radical equipment -- and no DV8! They used to have TONS of DV8. I really wonder if Brunswick isn't going down the crapper, or if it's just my pro shop?

[Ryster]

I just got my first Motiv ball, the red Primal Rage, about a month ago. Like any ball it has its time and place. It works well to start the night, but by the end of the 2nd game it is time to go to another ball. I usually switch to a solid cover ball for the 3rd game as the Rage starts to get very over/under. The Rage carries very well, but I have not found it to be any better than my Radical, Columbia, Track, or DV8 balls. My Motiv experience so far has not convinced me that I want to run out and get another.

Motiv has exploded here, and the shop I use is very Motiv-centric. They will happily get you whatever you want to order, but really like Motiv. Another local shop is owned by Motiv staffers, so they are selling a lot of Motiv too.

[Aslan]

The tour plays a part as well. Motiv did well on the tour last season, people wake up and get excited about Motiv. We'll see what happens on the PBA50 Tour…I need to catch up on watching it…but early on Parker Bohn won twice throwing the Rhino Pro…and that at least influenced me to take a look at that ball despite my usual avoidance of "retro balls". I'm finishing watching the first WPBA event and it looks like ROtogrip vs. Rotogrip…my first though was that Rotogrip may see a bump among female bowlers as a result…especially if that continues.

The problem with the PBA is they don't require the bowler to bowl with a ball that's brand matches your jersey…so I think the two gals throwing FOR Rotogrip…are actually throwing Storm balls…and the rep there is 'TEAM STORM'….so maybe Rotogrip won't see a bump after all. It still bewilders me why a company would spend the countless 10s and 100s of thousands of dollars it costs to create a new brand and all the stuff that goes with it…but then just ignore that it exists when you're on TV where you actually have an audience????

And thats another marketing failure by ball companies that is helping Motiv…failure to really support the lesser brands by the parent company. DV8, RotoGrip, 900Global, Radical…they can't compete with Motiv because their pros end up all throwing either Brunswick or Storm labeled balls. If the pro wearing the logo on his shirt and the reps supporting him would rather throw another brand ball…why the hell would I buy the brand on their jersey???

Ebonite is different…because Ebonite actually bought brands that were equally or more popular than their parent companies brand. Once they got the Columbia and Hammer names…thats what they wanted…thats why they made the deal…and they've pretty much been 'Hammer' ever since because thats the most popular brand in their umbrella….thats where they've pushed their reserach and advertisement money….and now many bowlers forget that Ebonite and Track still make balls and they look at Columbia as a company that makes a good, cheap spare ball.

[rv driver]

What you're saying makes a lot of sense. I'm astute enough to realize the whole advertising/pro use paradigm, and I'm still influenced to buy Storm or Brunswick, because that's what I see all the time on TV. I haven't seen anybody throw Columbia this year, and I've sort of forgotten about them. I'd still like to give Motiv a shot though -- I was really impressed with their customer service when I was looking for my first ball. Columbia actually pi$$ed me off, so I stopped considering the Freeze, and ultimately ended up with the Misfit. I'm also looking at maybe trying a Melee Cross. Brunswick, right?

[John Anderson]

What you're saying makes a lot of sense. I'm astute enough to realize the whole advertising/pro use paradigm, and I'm still influenced to buy Storm or Brunswick, because that's what I see all the time on TV. I haven't seen anybody throw Columbia this year, and I've sort of forgotten about them. I'd still like to give Motiv a shot though -- I was really impressed with their customer service when I was looking for my first ball. Columbia actually pi$$ed me off, so I stopped considering the Freeze, and ultimately ended up with the Misfit. I'm also looking at maybe trying a Melee Cross. Brunswick, right?

Yes the Melee Cross is of the Brunswick variety. Dougb just got one I believe, so I'd direct your questions about it right to him.

[foreverincamo]

RV Driver, I have a Melee Cross. Great ball in my opinion. I drilled mine pin up. Very smooth ball off the breakpoint. Flares about 5". Only bad thing about the solid cover is that it picks up dirt rather easily. It cleans up well with the Monster Tac I have

[rv driver]

RV Driver, I have a Melee Cross. Great ball in my opinion. I drilled mine pin up. Very smooth ball off the breakpoint. Flares about 5". Only bad thing about the solid cover is that it picks up dirt rather easily. It cleans up well with the Monster Tac I have

I think I'm gonna pick this ball up, when I'm a few berries to the good. It looks like a helluva ball.

[dougb]

Yes the Melee Cross is of the Brunswick variety. Dougb just got one I believe, so I'd direct your questions about it right to him.

Yes I just got one and love it. I've used it on everything from the fresh to the absolutely trashed house shot (the bumpers were up on the lanes when I arrived) and it is fantastic. Absolutely smooth, absolutely predictable. None of the over/under of the original Melee but just as versatile. This ball has an old school look to both the cover and the ball motion. I got four new balls and it's my current favorite.

[Amyers]

Im seeing more and more Motiv on the lanes which is surprising since non of the pro shops here stock them. If a bowler (notoriously cheap and impatient) is willing to wait on something tells me thier must be something good going on there. Of the three houses I bowl regularly in one is mostly storm/roto and some seismic, the others two tend more towards a mix of Brunswick, hammer and storm. You can find a decent amount of motiv in all three though.

It's going to be interesting around here this fall as one of the pro shops just signed a staff contract with 900 global and the other shop has been stocking up on radical neither of which I see very much of.

[Aslan]

I'd still like to give Motiv a shot though -- I was really impressed with their customer service when I was looking for my first ball. Columbia actually pi$$ed me off, so I stopped considering the Freeze, and ultimately ended up with the Misfit. I'm also looking at maybe trying a Melee Cross. Brunswick, right?

You aren't the first one to praise Motiv's customer service nor the first one to criticize Ebonite Internationals'. I sent an e-mail to Ebonite over a year ago asking for help with the telescoping handle on my 4-ball roller bag and never got a response. And I've heard others that have bought Columbia balls that have cracked and Columbia gave them a lot of cARp when they tried to get a warranty replacement.