A Great Place To Race: Motorcycle Land Speed Racing
A story of how one rider became an amateur racer.
MPN Industry Profile
In February of 2013, MPN conducted a readership survey to gauge the performance of today’s powersports dealer. We asked our readers detailed questions addressing the many elements of your business – ranging from shop operations, staffing and supply to online presence, marketing strategies and industry concerns.
MIC Welcomes Dealers
In February, the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) began welcoming dealers into its membership for the first time in its long history. Editor Colleen Brousil explains why you should look into joining.
January 2013 P&A Department Performance
This month, we’ll review January parts and accessories department data, which includes apparel. We’ll compare a good-performing metric 20-group with the National Norm (NN) numbers and the averages for the Top 5 dealers for this group in each category. As you can see, sales this January weren’t as strong as last year for the group
Powersports Vehicle Starting System Troubleshooting
Electric starting systems are now found on almost all powersports vehicles. All electric starting systems have two separate circuits: one for low-current, and one for high-current. Both circuits are connected to the battery. When the starter motor is activated, it requires a large amount of current to turn the engine over. The high-current circuit carries
Most Values Trend Upwards In Preparation for the Riding Season
After the last couple of months in which values remained largely flat, February brought some movement to most, though not all, segments in the powersports market. One segment even shows almost exactly zero net change this month. First up, the segments showing losses are the ATVs and, somewhat surprisingly, the snowmobiles. ATVs are down -.4
Nobody Wants to Work for Jekyll and Hyde: Five Ways to Build Managerial Consistency, Trust and Gain Monstrous Commitment
In 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson published the book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the story, a lawyer investigates the activities of an old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the evil activities of his alter ego, Edward Hyde. The story is so well-known that the mere mention of the names “Jekyll”
Dealer Expo: New Technology Review
Technological innovation was easy to find at the 2013 Dealer Expo in Indianapolis, Ind. Here is a rundown of the latest and greatest products showcased for powersports dealers: AccessorySmart Imagine, no more flipping through paper catalogs searching endlessly for SKUs, or ordering the wrong item because the SKU was handwritten incorrectly. AccessorySmart by ARI Network
Meet the Customer Early
Over the past several years, I have spent a lot of time looking at dealership numbers and talking to sales and finance managers about how they do what they do. Through this exercise, I have been able to quantify what behaviors, environments and approaches produce the best results in a finance office and why. In
Service Department Promotions
In 2008, our industry sold around 1.1 million units. The economy was hot, financing customers was easy and unit inventory levels were adequate to low. In 2009, the economy slammed on the brakes, and we have not achieved those 2008 new unit sales levels since. Over the last several years, our industry has delivered around
Sea-Doo Offers Incentive To Racers
The 2013 X-TEAM “Big Bucks” Bounty program pays racers cash bonuses for a top placing in all IJSBA-sanctioned closed-course races in the United States and Canada, as well as the IJSBA National Tour and IJSBA World Championship. Bounty awards are also available for select offshore/endurance-style events, including the Mark Hahn Memorial 300 and Long Beach 2 Catalina races.
Destination Dealership: Ural of New England
Owner Dmitry Bykhovsky’s success is based on three legs: a wide selection of stock and customized Ural motorcycles and accessories, a reputation for inventive customization and creative use of the Internet. Ural of New England has become well-known for its YouTube videos that are shot in-house.