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Apparel Pro: Vintage & Retro

While the motorcycle industry thrives on new bike sales, it’s a lot of fun to watch the resurgence of interest in the older, vintage bikes. Driven in large part by the hipster market, which is huge in several unlikely markets across the United States, I see lots of opportunities for dealers to profit from the

Retrograde Motion: What is Old is New Again!

Slab seats, flat bars and universal tread tires… what is old is new again. In a case of retrograde motion, these classic hallmarks seem to be the choice of builders these days (see sidebar on the Handbuilt show).

Passing the Spring Peak

While pre-owned powersports unit sales continue to be a shining star for dealers, the wholesale market has crested its peak. Dealers are still in their selling season and need good inventory from the auction, but they are maintaining their inventory levels rather than building up in anticipation. This is typical for May as the market

Slight Uptick in Retail Sales Environment

Our latest survey of powersports dealers indicates that the retail sales environment improved sequentially in the month of April. It appears that after starting off slowly (in part due to unfavorable weather conditions), sell-through trends picked up as the month progressed and comparisons eased (lapping the Polaris stop-sale last April). Now that Can-Am’s Maverick X3

Shifting Gears (June): Printing All The News That Fits

Former director of federal affairs in the MIC, SVIA and ROHVA Government Relations Office, Duane Taylor is now executive director of the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC). “We are excited that Duane’s leadership at NOHVCC will help our joint goal of furthering a positive future for responsible OHV recreation,” says his former boss, MIC

Online Fraud Protection

If your dealership has an e-commerce site that is taking orders and perhaps even offering a “pick-up in store” option, you could also be at risk for fraud.

Adventure Bike Shock Service

Adventure bikes rack up hard miles. The shocks on these bikes are especially prone to wear and deterioration by how they are used and their construction. We stopped in at Cogent Dynamics and learned about shock service and improvement from owner and suspension specialist Rick Tannenbaum. Our guinea pig is the KYB shock on the

Q&A with Tucker Rocky President Eric Cagle

In less than a year since being hired to guide Tucker Rocky into its next 50 years, company president Eric Cagle is doing just that. Having spent 25 years at Caterpillar Logistics managing OEM and aftermarket parts businesses, Cagle brings a wealth of understanding on how to make course corrections for the corporate ship. We

Lower Priced Units Remain In Demand

Our latest survey of powersports dealers indicates that the retail sales environment remained weak in March. The general theme in the marketplace is that consumer interest was focused on lower-priced ATV units and utility products from Can-Am, Polaris and Honda. In the recreational market, Can-Am’s Maverick X3 Max was a major topic of discussion as

Test Rides: Are They Worth It?

I recently had an exchange with a friend of mine where we discussed the experience of buying a motorcycle, something we both believe should be special and unique. We are not the auto industry, where someone usually purchases a car because he has a specific need for one as transport, or perhaps a work vehicle.

‘What If’ Scenarios Playing Out In My Head

Dear Ma, I hope you’re well up there in Heaven. We are doing fine in Big D. Ya know, life is a struggle, it really is. I absolutely LOVE the motorcycle industry and I guess that makes the struggle bearable for me. Sometimes I think about some of the decisions I’ve made over the years

Pavement, Powder and Everything in Between

Textron Specialized Vehicles Welcomes Arctic Cat and Outlines the Future Just one day prior to Arctic Cat being bought by Textron Specialized Vehicles, Eric Mercer, the owner of Velocity Powersports in Victoria, Texas, made the tough decision to terminate the Arctic Cat line from his dealership. “If I knew that was going to happen I