Dealer inquiries wanted! Powersports industry brand builder Rod Derifield is back in the saddle… literally. Most recently president of the Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG) Off-Road Group, including DragonFire, Malcolm Smith Racing HardParts, ProTaper, QuadBoss and Renthal, Derifield launched ROR Brands in conjunction with the Laughlin River Run. “ROR Brands is founded on a passion for the powersports industry and a commitment to enhance the riding experience,” says Derifield. ROR’s initial products will be based on seats and related accessories, starting with Royal Riding Gel Seat Pads before expanding into other arenas. “We want every rider to enjoy every ride in comfort… for as long as they want.” First order of business is to revitalize the dealer network, e-mail [email protected], call (714) 325-5572 or click on www.rorbrands.com for details.
Former finance manager at San Diego BMW Motorcycles Jeff Wharton is now with National Powersport Auctions. Based out of the Poway, California HQ, Wharton is calling on dealers in the Western and Pacific Northwest Regions for the auction giant. “I am very excited to have Jeff on the team,” says NPA director of sales, Mike Murray. “His industry experience in retail, finance and lending gives him a skill set second-to-none when it comes to assisting dealers in increasing revenues.” Although new to NPA, this is by no means Wharton’s first rodeo. He has been in the saddle since he bought his first GSX-R 600 back in 2003. “For a dozen years – and an equal number of bikes – I’ve worked as a retail salesperson, online support agent, assistant sales manager, Internet sales manager, finance director and regional sales manager,” he adds. “Motorcycling has been a huge part of my life’s successes and I’m happy to share my passion with dealers.”
Clicking up a gear! Former roadracer and road warrior for Kuryakyn, Bryan Desimone has stepped up as the sales manager at Mile High Harley-Davidson in Aurora, Colorado. “Adding Bryan to lead our sales team was a unanimous decision given his extensive industry background and reputation as knowledgeable, effective leader,” says Mile High GM Robby Farrow. “Our core values honesty, integrity and service to the Community… which Bryan lives up to.” Most recently with another greater Denver area dealership, The former Harley XR1200 racing series standout adds, “Working for avalanche Harley-Davidson for the past few years as the parts and service manager was a great experience. Leaving there was a tough decision, however I am very excited to lead a great group of sales professionals and build a phenomenal team at Mile High Harley-Davidson.”
Mea culpa! There was a typo in the last issue regarding 4XPro’s new address. It’s supposed to be 306 Mears Blvd., Oldsmar, Florida 34677. The write up says “206”– missed it by that much!
Magazine guy makes good: Mazda North America has added Tim Olson to its public relations team. Olson goes to the car side after a decade as the public relations manager for Yamaha Motor Corporation and most recently Suzuki Motor of America. Prior to that, he spent 10 years in the trenches as managing editor for Motocross Action magazine. In his new position, Olson is responsible for managing Mazda’s day-to-day PR activities and will be based out of corporate headquarters in Irvine, California.
SHORT SHIFTS: World renowned motorcycle designer Pierre terBlanche has hung out his shingle at PierreTerblancheDesign. Most recently with Royal Enfield, terBlanche is probably be best known for his work on the seminal Ducati 888 (but he also did the Multistrada, Hypermotard, Supermono and MH900e Hailwood tribute); check out his portfolio at pierreterblanche.com Bicycle Industry outreach to dealers: Interbike just hired one-time Dealernews editor and long-time National Bicycle Dealers Association Executive Director Fred Clements to be their “retail relations director” to strengthen the relationships between the show and the independent bicycle dealers. RideNow Chief Operations Officer Bill Nash has retired. During his 24 year tenure he oversaw the largest powersports dealership group in the nation, with 32 stores and more than 1,300 employees across the United States. In addition to his time with RideNow, he has 32 years in the industry, so far… Nash is still the owner of Wildhorse Harley-Davidson in Bend, Oregon (pictured above). Former MAG e-com expert with Motorcycle Superstore Tim Barcz is now VP of ecommerce and digital marketing at Nexus Brands Group. Nexus specializes in high end furnishings and is parent company to TATSoul (a premium tattoo equipment supply company) and Kingpin Tattoo Supply … both headed by another MAG alumni, former CEO Brian Etter.
