MPN_02.10 by Babcox Media

u Website Fundamentals u Destination Euro Moto u Dealer Expo Sneak Peak

February 2010 VOL.36 NO.2 WWW.MPNMAG.COM

The Drivetrain Low Down The Latest Chains, Brakes & Sprockets

Easy Riders Smooth Riding Suspension

Wilderness Wonderland? What the Red Rocks Wilderness Act Might Wreak uRace Face: The Inside Scoop on Jamie Littleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s High-Test Trackside Reporting

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TABLE OF

Contents

February 2010 Volume 36 Number 2 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

www.mpnmag.com

S k Shop Talk How To Hackett H

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Otis’ Pre-Paid Maintenance Saga, Act 1 O BY OTIS HACKETT B

Best Operators Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 B Probing The BOC’s November Numbers P BY STEVE JONES B

Peak Dealership Performance . . 38 P H Have You Lost Weight? See Page 38 to Improve Your Persuasiveness BY MARK RODGERS B

Lessons Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 L Photos courtesy of Jamie Little

The New Economy Ain’t Easy T BY ROD STUCKEY B

Practice What You Preach . . . . . . . . . . . 42 P Why the Lead Ban is Just Ridiculous W BY WILLIAM DOUGLAS LITTLE B

Web Savvy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 W Market Your New Inventory Electronically M BY PEGGY OLSON B

Departments D One-On-One With Jamie Little Wilderness Wonderland

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The Road Ahead Th Destination Dealership D

20 2 0

Bend Euro Moto Preaches of European Sophistocation in the Countryside BY MARGIE SIEGAL

Essentials V-Twin Product Marketplace Ad Index

What the Red Rocks Wilderness Act Might Wreak BY DOUG DALSING

Drivetrain Low Down

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6 10

The Latest In Brakes, Chains and Sprockets

46 48 50 50

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Race Face

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Jamie Little’s High-Test Trackside Reporting BY LEE KLANCHER

Easy Riders

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Smooth Riding Suspensions u Website Fundamentals u Destination Euro Moto u Dealer Expo Sneak Peak

Dealer Expo Preview

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Sneak Peaks from Some of the Expo’s Top Exhibitors

February 2010 VOL.35 NO.2 WWW.MPNMAG.COM

The Drivetrain Low Down The Latest Chains, Brakes & Sprockets

Easy Riders Smooth Riding Suspension

MPN (ISSN 0164-8349) is published monthly and is distributed without charge to qualified motorcycle retail professionals by Athletic Business Publications Inc., 4130 Lien Rd., Madison, WI 53704-3602. Change of Address: In order to ensure uninterrupted delivery of MPN, notice should be made at least five weeks in advance. Direct all subscription mail to MPN, PO Box 47705, Plymouth MN 55447, call 800-869-6882 or fax 866-658-6156. For faster service, visit us online at mpnmag.com. Single copy price is $8 (Buyers Guide–$50). Subscription price is $55 for 12 issues in the U.S.A./Canada/Mexico. International subscription via air mail is $130. Periodicals postage paid at Madison, Wisconsin, and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to MPN, PO Box 47705, Plymouth MN 55447. © Athletic Business Publications Inc., 2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited. MPN is a trademark of Athletic Business Publications Inc. Canadian Publications Agreement No. PM40063731. Canadian Mail Distribution Information: PB IMS, Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5.

ON THE COVER

– – – – – – – – –

Yamaha’s Grizzly 550 FL soaks in the scenery in this shot courtesy of the Yamaha Motor Corporation.

Wilderness Wonderland? What the Red Rocks Wilderness Act Might Wreak uRace Face: The Inside Scoop on Jamie Little’s High-Test Trackside Reporting

follow MPN on

4 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

@MPNmag

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HA-6007 HA-1004 HA-1008 HA-1008R

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KA-2508 KA-6007 KA-6009 KA-6009R KA-1008 KA-1406

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THE

RoadAHEAD

By Colleen Brousil

MEASURING SUCCESS How Do You Rate?

.D. Power and Associates has released its annual Motorcycle Competitive Information Study. This study doesn’t crunch hard sales numbers; instead, it takes a look at how human factors affect overall customer satisfaction with motorcycle ownership. While the latest MIC numbers are anything but encouraging, the results of this study show the average consumer experience is as good as it’s ever been, deﬁnitely something for you to feel good about. Overall satisfaction increased for a seventh consecutive year to its highest level yet; average satisfaction reached 838 on a 1,000-point scale in 2009, up 24 points from 2008. In fact, satisfaction improved across all ﬁve measures in the study — product, quality, cost of ownership, sales and service — with the biggest gains in the sales and service areas — great job, guys! “Given that industry sales are down roughly 30 percent during the past year, manufacturers are competing more than ever

for every customer,” says Todd Markusic, senior director of the powersports practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “The result of this increased competition is that the quality and performance of bikes is at an all-time high, and dealers are paying much more attention to their customers’ sales and service experiences.” The study also reinforced the idea that post-sale follow-up is key to customer satisfaction. On average, the sales satisfaction score among customers who received a follow-up phone call was 170 points higher than among those who did not get a follow-up call. “The follow-up phone call is a simple concept that may have a signiﬁcant impact on customers’ sales or service experiences,” says Markusic. “While it might seem that calling customers after a visit would be standard practice for dealers, 20% of customers don’t receive a call after a new bike purchase, and 56% don’t receive a call after having their bike serviced.” In addition to following up

6 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

with customers who actually laid their plastic on the counter and added to your bottom line, you’ve also gotta follow-up up on the door swings that didn’t convert to immediate sales. Service department sales have been a lifeline to many struggling dealers as new unit sales falter and riders are maintaining older units. According to the survey, the length of time a motorcycle is in for service greatly impacts overall service satisfaction. The average repair time for maintenance work is one day, while the typical repair takes three days to complete. Dealers who are able to complete repairs in less than three days may benefit greatly, as their customers tend to be significantly more satisfied with their service experience. The average satisfaction score among customers who have a repair completed in less than three days is 857, compared with 753 among those who receive their bike back in three days or more. The results of the 2009 Motorcycle Competitive Information Study are encouraging. 8,000 owners who purchased a new 2009 model year on-road or dualsport motorcycle participated in the study, and we hope the results shed a light on what your customers need. Consider drafting your own customer satisfaction survey to see how you measure up. t Colleen Brousil is the editor of Motorcycle Product News. Her monthly column, “The Road Ahead,” explores issues facing dealers across the country. Got a problem? Drop her a line at colleen@mpnmag.com.

Staff EDITORIAL Editor Colleen Brousil colleen@mpnmag.com Assistant Editor Doug Dalsing doug@mpnmag.com Columnists Otis Hackett, Steve Jones, William Douglas Little, Mark Rodgers, Rod Stuckey Contributors Cooper Brown, Lee Klancher, Peggy Olson, Margie Siegal ART Electronic Production Manager/ Art Director Marjorie Schultz marj@mpnmag.com Production Assistant Scott Packel ONLINE Online Producers Susan Bickler, Erika Reise Web Programmer Alex Malyutin ADVERTISING SALES Associate Publisher Dean Kelly dean@mpnmag.com (866) 616-1635 ext. 130

PUBLISHER MPN/Athletic Business Publications Inc. 4130 Lien Road, Madison, WI 53704 Phone: (866) 616-1635 • Fax: (608) 249-1153

CEO Gretchen Kelsey Brown President Peter Brown Group Publisher Shawn Gahagan Administration Director & Controller Sharon Siewert Audience Development Director Jennifer Boyd Audience Development Coordinator Colleen Wenos Email Marketing Coordinator Lisa Popke

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For more information see your local dealer or visit tourmaster.com. Cortech and Tour Master are registered trademarks of Helmet House. ©Helmet House, Inc. 2010. Always maintain, inspect and wear protective motorcycle riding gear. No gear can offer complete protection from all situations. Obey all speed and safety laws. Riding and alcohol or other drugs don’t mix.

DESTINATION

Dealership

Beware the Vespa hordes! Scootermania is on the loose!

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by Margie Siegal

Despite its rural location, the store presentation and layout meets modern principles of retail design.

SMALL MARKET, MAJOR PLAYER hat happens when a nice young woman with a background in retail management meets a nice young man with a degree in aviation maintenance? They get married, move to the country and start a successful Ducati shop. Bend, Ore., boasting a population of about 80,000 and located near the geographic center of the state, is not where you would expect to find a retailer of fine Italian machinery. Although Ducati motorcycle shops are usually found in hip urban areas and wealthy suburbs, Bend Euro Moto has thrived among the fields and streams since 2005. Kathy Jo Porter met David Bingham in Seattle soon after he’d switched from aviation maintenance to servicing high end cars. “The Lamborghini shop paid a whole lot more,” Bingham says of his former occupation. It didn’t take long before they got hooked on Ducatis and each other. Next, the couple moved to Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, to work at an Italian bike shop, but that didn’t last long. “We had our own ideas on how to run things,” Porter explains. Bingham had lived in Bend when he was younger, so the couple decided to move there after leaving Idaho. They rented a 1,250 square foot

shop and did repairs. Within two years they had enough word of mouth business to be looking for a bigger location. “The timing was perfect, since Ducati was looking at Bend as a market. We wrote a long, pleading, epic e-mail and asked them to give us a chance,” Porter says. Since then, Bend Euro Moto has added Vespa and Husqvarna. Personable and articulate, Porter is willing to explain at length exactly how Bend Euro Moto beats the odds. She says that a Ducati dealer’s challenge is to persuade the buying public that Ducati does not mean finicky, fragile and expensive. “Ducati has come far with reliability and pricing. Monsters, for example, are economical to run,” she says. The couple credits a combination of creative marketing, excellent customer service and, of all things, their location for their success. The Bend area actually has an above average number of upper income people, as evident in the nearby Porsche dealership. It also has great scenery, a mild climate and twisty roads, making it a natural vacation destination for Ducati aﬁcionados. When marketing the shop, Bend Euro Moto capitalizes on this location. For example, the shop buys banner ad space

10 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

on Ducati enthusiast sites and offers a vacation package, including: plane fare to Oregon, airport shuttle, hotel room, new motorcycle and service for the ﬁrst 600 miles. “We offer something extra,” Porter explains. Intelligent use of the Internet gives Bend Euro Moto a broader audience. “If you can’t get the customer to come in, you have to go out and ﬁnd the customer,” she says. Bend Euro Moto’s Facebook page gives a personal touch to the shop’s online presence. The couple tends an Ebay store in addition to their brick and mortar location. Instead of marking down inventory so it will move, they either post it on their website (which has direct sales capability) or auction it off, often getting close to full retail for the newer items. “If you have desirable merchandise, there is no reason to give it away.” Another advantage of the Bend location is the small town aura of the store. “We are like family here,” Porter says. “We have a passion and love for what we do. We trust all our employees to give everything

Easy to locate clothing and accessories make for happy customers.

they have to every customer.” Salespeople are on salary. The aim of Bend Euro Moto is not just to sell a customer a motorcycle, but to sell that person the motorcycle that is right for them. Women now make up more than 12% of new motorcycle buyers, and the couple is passionate about getting more women on motorcycles. They have learned a repertoire of tips and tricks over the years to make the bikes in all their lines comfortable for each customer. “We are enthusiasts,” Porter says. “We love what we do. I know how I want to be treated when buying, and I do my best to treat customers that way.” As a result of their devotion to customer service, Porter and Bingham have developed a loyal following that supports them in good times and bad. Posters on Yahoo! Local and enthusiast boards give Bend Euro Moto a ﬁve-star rating. “Even if we are having a tough time,” Porter says, “we have an unspoken rule in the shop that we don’t mention how bad things are. Motorcycling is our customer’s escape — that’s what we give them.” t

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by Doug Dalsing

f you want to sell recreational ATVs and dirtbikes, folks gotta have a place to ride ‘em. Unfortunately, there’s a big push afoot to deny motorized access to huge portions of the West and Southwest, and the primary culprit is “wilderness.” One piece of wilderness legislation that has seen its popularity ebb and flow for the past 25 years has been the Red Rocks Wilderness Act. As the BlueRibbon Coalition’s (BRC) Brian Hawthorne puts it, “Some years it’s hot, and other years it’s just background noise.” In the past, legislators would push the act for awhile and then eventually give up; however, these failings have only emboldened its backers and the amount 14 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

m Ya

just kind of a beat up pickup, but it’s clawhammer reliable!”) co So, is anything working in the favor of today’s to o h powersports dealer? Yes, sales and traffic are down, P but, rest assured, the BRC and local OHV groups are making headway in the land access fight. Several large single-state and multi-state federal wilderness bills exist in different stages today; however, the trend of trying to pass acts that encompass much smaller plats of land — “almost county by county,” Hawthorne says — is certainly catching on thanks to the BRC and its sister organizations. This is because 9.4 million is such a huge number to digest, and it doesn’t matter what we’re talking about: acres, miles or Legislators even Fruit Loops. This trend, as Hawthorne puts it, is “a little try to deny Utah positive thing.” Legislators who promote these smaller bills “grapple” with protecting OHV access instead of “totally recreationalists often precluding it,” totally restricting access, that is. “We think from more than this is a good thing,” Hawthornes adds. Within the battle of 9 million acres … again protecting wilderness and protecting OHV access, there has emerged a 3rd Way Proposal, as he calls it. Though today’s classic land rights battle often pits the of land the act aims to restrict has grown same two sides against one another — environmentalists and astronomically, from its beginnings of around groups like the BRC, who are mislabeled as “anti-wilderness” 4 million acres to today’s whopper of an act at — Hawthorne points out that people like Clark Collins, who 9.4 million acres. I’m sad to say it, but the Red Rocks founded the BRC in 1987, would bristle at being labeled “antiWilderness Act is once again a hot topic. wilderness.” “We support wilderness where it makes sense,” Specifically, the U.S. Congress is deliberating passage of Hawthorne says, “where it is true wilderness.” The problem, two bills, S. 799 in the Senate and H.R. 1925 in the House. as Hawthorne sees it, is that many of the areas under Collectively, both bills are referred to as the Red Rocks consideration today are not truly wilderness, “land retaining Wilderness Act. The act aims to designate 9.4 million acres its primeval character and influence.” Land access rights on of federal land in Utah as wilderness. Congress defines which our industry depends are being unduly trampled upon. wilderness as “land retaining its primeval character and Unfortunately, most Americans are fooled into believing influence,” and lands tagged as such must remain free of that if a plat of land is not designated “wilderness,” then motorized vehicles, roads and even trails. willy-nilly development can take place upon it, Honda Obviously, losing this amount of recreation land in Utah CRF250Rs can run rampant. This is simply untrue. Local will be detrimental to our industry, not just within Utah, management plans, permit stipulations, federal acts but throughout the U.S. as well. After all, like myself, who protecting air, water, archaeology and endangered species, doesn’t have dreams of touring Utah’s Moab-Lasal Canyons and travel management directives all play a part in protecting on their KLR650? If access to these lands is lost, not only true earthly gems. Huge blanket proposals like the Red will recreationalists inside Utah suffer, but the prospect of Rocks Wilderness Act look good on a legislator’s scorecard, touring spectacular sites within the state will be diminished for but they come at the expense of informed decision-making everyone in the nation, a double whammy for folks who rely on that actually benefits the most people. OHV sales (and Utah’s tourism) for their livelihood. As always, MPN urges you to be active in the legislation — Another unfortunate aspect of the Red Rocks act is that local, state and federal — that affects our industry. BRC’s web it appears to be only popular with power brokers outside portal, www.sharetrails.org, posts regular updates on many of Utah. Today’s versions were introduced by Rep. Maurice land rights issues that directly affect your dealership on a Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Dick Durbin. (D-Ill.). The BRC’s local level. Also, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Hawthorne thinks people who support Hinchey and Durbin’s provides overviews of a number of federal bills that will affect acts are on an “acreage hunt” and are “trying to rack up a our industry at www.ama-cycle.org/rights. Plus, the AMA big score” by blockading the 9.4 million acres. Not a single provides pre-written letters and legislator contacts so you can U.S. legislator from Utah supports the act, while its county reach out to your representatives with just a few clicks of your governors oppose the act, too. mouse. (I’d recommend personalizing your letters and mailing Hawthorne, public lands policy director at BRC, is not new them standard, but, hey, I know we’re all busy!) to addressing legislation similar to the Red Rocks act. He So the next time you sell an OHV, urge your customer to seek spends much of his time criss-crossing large parts of the out the local OHV club so they’re in the loop. “The local ma and West in the non-profit group’s ‘92 Toyota Tacoma, assisting pa clubs, they’re doing great work; they’re the foundation upon local groups in standing up against high-funded and tightly which BlueRibbon stands,” Hawthorne says. You might even run environmental groups so prevalent today. Driving “The contact the club for literature you can distribute at the point of Rum Runner,” which a BRC member donated to the group sale. No matter what, remind the customer of the BRC’s three some years back, he’s the budget-conscious underdog in the tenets: conservation, safety and courtesy. “Those three things,” great debate over land rights in America’s West. (He gloats Hawthorne adds, “will do more to enhance our sport and secure about The Rum Runner’s great gas mileage and adds, “It’s our business than anything.” t ur

s te

www.MPNmag.com February 2010 15

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hether your customers are doing regular upkeep, tricking out a cruiser or upgrading a racer, aftermarket drivetrain parts are a great source of sales and, once again, knowledge is power, so MPN put together this little treatise. These hard parts can usually out-perform their stock counterparts, and the cool factor is upped as aftermarket providers are great at imbuing brakes, rotors and sprockets with cool style.

360 Brake Company New from 360 Brake is its 6-inch Big Brake, distributed by MC Advantages. 360 Brake says its product has 60 percent more pad touching the rotor than a conventional brake. It also includes improved heat dissipation for strong stops. The brake comes in chrome, black powdercoat, black anodized or show polish. MSRP begins at $1,295, and hardware is included. www.360brake.com

Beringer Brakes USA Beringer has released a new stainless steel brake rotor offered in its traditional Aeronal directional design, complete with staggered ﬂoater cuts to allow rotor ﬂoat even under braking. The hubs are made of aerospace aluminum and are replaceable thanks to the fully rebuildable design of all Beringer brake discs. The factory hub color is red, but optional colors (black, blue, gold, silver, polish or chrome) are available for an extra cost. These rotors begin retailing at $249.95 each. www.beringerbrakes.com

DP Brakes and Clutches DP Brakes and Clutches says its brake pads are more durable than OEM pads. They create no brake dust nor squeals, and there is no brake fade. The pads’ ceramic backing reduces vibration and eliminates heat transfer to brake the brake ﬂuid. www.dp-brakes.com

www.MPNmag.com February 2010 17

EBC Brakes EBC’s MD series of MX rotors come in two flavors: full circle profile rotors, which are the same size and shape of OEM equivalents; and the lighter contoured profile C series rotors. Both designs are made with heat-treated carbon steel, which is back-tempered after hardening. www.ebcbrakes.com

PBI Sprockets

Drive Systems USA Drive Systems’ 520 Superlite steel sprocket kits are available with premium D.I.D. 520VM, 520ERV3 and new heavy duty 520ZVM-X series chains, and they’re perfect for street or track use. The kits feature a chromoly steel drilled and lightened front sprocket, strong black Superlite steel rear sprocket, premium D.I.D. X-ring sealed chain cut to length, and a rivet-style connecting link. Retail starts at $179.95. www.drivesystemsusa.com

PBI’s range of sprockets includes OHV, sport, street, vintage and custom applications. Its rear sprockets are made from 7075T-651 aircraft-quality aluminum alloy, while its fronts are made from chromoly steel approaching 200,000 PSI. The sprockets are available in a full range of tooth sizes for gear ratio versatility, and they come individually skinpacked and labeled for easy identiﬁcation. (800) 628-1256

Flyrite Choppers Flyrite Choppers’ brake products provide traditional style, function and value, the company says. Its primary brake line offers four-piston front brakes for springers and includes a 420 stainless, 11.5-inch rotor with hardware. Its primary rear brake is a two-piston setup and includes a polished 48-tooth, 420 stainless steel rotor/sprocket and attaching hardware. Each brake is machined, hand-ﬁnished and assembled in-house. Pricing starts at $535. www.ﬂyritechoppers.com 18 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

RK Excel America Inc. Each of RK’s Quick Acceleration Aluminum chain and sprocket kits feature a premium, lightweight RX or XW-ring sealed racing chain in either gold or natural ﬁnish; an ultra-light 7075 T6 black PTFEcoated Vortex aluminum rear sprocket; and shot-blasted steel front sprockets. RK says the kits are geared to increase overall performance and reduce rotating mass, resulting in quicker starts and better turn exiting. The kits begin retailing for $105. www.rkexcelamerica.com

Supreme Legends

Ultima

Supreme Legends says it’s putting a stop to over-priced braking systems. Its Twopiston, 50-tooth Sprotor is reversible for right or left drives. It’s made from 410 stainless steel and comes with an 18-month warranty. Sprockets can also be machined to speciﬁc bearing ﬁtment requirements for a small additional charge. Customers can get all of this starting at $599.99. www.supremelegendsusa.com

Whether a customer is dressing up his cruiser or building his own one-off, Ultima’s fourpiston calipers are ideal. Its front calipers retail for $162.22 and the rears go for $188.03. Ultima also offers retro-ﬁt calipers for ‘84 through ‘99 Softails. Both of these setups come complete with break pads. www.ultimaproducts.com

Western Power Sports WPS’ O-ring and X-ring chains feature quality-engineered technology at economical prices. Each WPS HSO O-ring and HSX X-ring chain is engineered for strength and durability using processes such as shot peening to reduce crack propagation and pre-stretching to reduce elongation. These chains feature higher tensile strength, less friction and longer life. The O-ring chain starts at $55.95, while the X-ring starts at $72.95. www.wps-inc.com

www.MPNmag.com February 2010 19

little more than 10 years ago, 19-year-old Jamie Little made the first of a series of right moves while hanging out at the San Diego arenacross with her classmate at Green Valley High, Carey Hart. Bear in mind this took place before Hart’s backflip made him famous, before his off-again on-again marriage to Pink made him tabloid fodder. Little found Hart shortly after she moved to Las Vegas. She and her single mother left Lake Tahoe when Little was 13 years old. She and Hart both had single parents, and the two became friends. “I was the tomboy girl who loved to hang out with the boys and being accepted in their circles,” Little says. “Carey and his buddies were often the ones who would laugh when I would ride their bikes.” Little wasn’t wasting her time at the races basking in the bit of limelight Hart cast early in his freestyle motocross career. The journalism student was hard at work finding some light of her own. While in the pits one day, she spotted a guy wielding an ESPN microphone. She walked up to him and asked him if he could help her become a television journalist. The guy happened to be Lex Valasakos. He was freelancing for ESPN, and he also owned the website Supercross.com. Valasakos put Little to work writing race reports for Supercross. com. Little also wrote a few pieces for Dirt Rider, all while studying journalism at San Diego State University. For a year and a half, she wrote for the exposure rather than cash. That work paid off. When she applied for a job with Clear Channel, the executives were familiar with Little’s reporting work due to all the videos she and Valasakos had submitted. She landed an assignment as a live announcer at the Anaheim Supercross on Jan. 8, 2000. The race would be the young college student’s first live announcing gig. “It was nerve-racking,” Little says. She had an edge — she knew most of the guys competing due to her work for Valasakos and time spent with Carey. The riders were easy for her to interview. “What was tough and intimidating was speaking in front of 48,000 people for the first time and knowing the process of a show,” Little says. Little dealt with the pressure just fine and spent much of the 2000 season in the pits. Jeremy McGrath was on fire that season, and Little remembers him fondly. “McGrath was a favorite,” she says. “He was always so kind, interesting, and he was who everyone wanted to hear from.” Little continued covering Supercross and motocross for Motoworld for six years. She earned a regular gig as a pit reporter in 2004. “The races that most stand out were Bubba’s, Ricky’s and Pastrana’s early 125 days when they would run up to the podium to be interviewed,” she says. “They were so gifted and so adored by the fans … it was always a treat to interview them. And Bubba’s dancing was a highlight I encouraged 100 percent.” Little not only covered motocross racing, she took it on as a sport of her own. Her father had been into all kinds of motorcycles, and Little

20 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

recalls riding with her dad around their Lake Tahoe neighborhood on his CR250 while growing up. When her announcing career took off, she started riding motocross and even dabbled in some mini racing. Her first bike was a CR230. “I started attending local tracks and applying the skills of riding,” she says. “To my surprise, all of the watching and studying and talking about the sport actually transferred to my ability on a dirt bike!” She also covered freestyle events. Little became a fixture at the X Games, and has been on the scene during some of the most memorable events in freestyle motocross. Little was reporting when Carey Hart attempted the first-ever backflip at the 2001 Gravity Games. She also reported during Mike Metzger’s back-to-back backflips at the 2002 X Games and his backflip over the fountain at Caeser’s Palace. Little was the reporter on hand the last two years when Robbie Maddison defied the odds during his ESPN specials on New Year’s Eve. She describes his 2008 jump onto a faux Arc D’Triomphe in Las Vegas as “the scariest, most intense motorcycle event I’ve covered.” “Robbie is an amazing human being. He’s so mentally tough, and he’s so skilled on a dirt bike,” Little says. “He’s not a daredevil and that’s why I love the huge events he pulls off.” Little also got into mountain biking, which ironically led to another media opportunity. “I was dating a guy who raced downhill mountain bikes,” she says. “Being the athlete that I’ve always been, I wasn’t going to sit on the sidelines and watch him. I jumped on a downhill mountain bike in Lake Tahoe when I was 23 years old, put on some knee and elbow pads and a helmet and off I went. I was hooked!” She raced for two seasons in the sport class. Regular podium appearances earned her an Oakley sponsorship. Through her fellow

Oakley-sponsored friends, she met a freelance journalist who suggested they pitch FHM magazine a photo shoot of the athletes to promote the Winter X Games. The magazine bought the story, and Little appeared on the cover. Working for ESPN and mountain biking paid off with a major mainstream magazine cover. In 2004, while covering motocross and supercross, Little broadened her horizons and began to cover IndyCar racing. Later that year, she became the first female reporter to cover the Indy 500 from the pits for ABC. “Covering the Indy 500 continues to be a dream. It’s just so historical and such an American tradition,” she says. “It really put racing on the map in this country. You feel that every time you walk through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway tunnel. It’s still an honor for me to cover that race.” Danica Patrick was just coming on the scene in 2004, and she led the opening laps of the race. Patrick is one of Little’s idols. “I really enjoyed covering Danica,” Little says. “We have a mutual respect. She is the total package and made me proud to be a woman in racing.” Auto racing inspired her to take to the track, and she won the Toyota Long Beach Celebrity Race in 2008. She held off NASCAR regular Mike Skinner for the win. “I love racing anything with a motor,” she says. In 2007, Little first took on her current role as a trackside reporter for ESPN at NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup series races. She says she loves the sport and the work, but is quick to point out that she misses Supercross. “I really miss the dedication of the Supercross fans and the athleticism of the riders. It’s a core sport, and I miss that.” With appearances in several feature films, a celebrity judge appearance on “Iron Chef,” and a full-time gig with NASCAR, Little is more than content. “I’m living my dream,” she says. t www.MPNmag.com February 2010 21

hether he’s ready for a revalve or in the market for an upgraded suspension suite, your customer’s riding experience depends on his shocks. Make sure a complete suspension evaluation is a part of every tune-up to maximize your service sales. Even if you can’t complete a suspension overhaul in-house, make the process as fast and easy as possible by contracting with a reputable suspension company. If your customer swaps out his single saddle for a two-up conﬁguration or bulks up with a set of saddlebags, make sure his suspension can handle the load. Your customer will enjoy a smoother ride, and you’re sure to enjoy pumped up suspension sales this spring selling season.

www.MPNmag.com February 2010 23

Burly Burly’s Slammer kit has combined dropped fork springs and stubby 10.5-inch shocks into a very price friendly package. Burly has created a drop-in spring kit that does not require the disassembly of the fork and can be installed in a fraction of the time of traditional drop kits. In fact, the entire Slammer kit is set up to go from box to bike in an afternoon with just basic tools. www.burlybrand.com

Fox Racing Shox Durfee Girders Durfee’s new Wide Classic accomodates mid or wide-glide wheel and tire combos. Its upper triple trees have countersunk bolt holes on 3.5-inch centers for a clean-hidden mount for risers and/or handlebars. A unique feature on all Durfee girders is the ability to adjust four points to eliminate any bounce or pogo when riding on less than perfect pavement. www.durfeegirders.com

The Fox Racing Shox Float X Evol has been specifically engineered for the demands of ATV racing. This innovative shock’s ultra-wide range of externally adjustable compression and rebound settings, combined with infinite dual-stage air spring adjustability, allows the rider to tune for any conceivable course condition. The new generation Float X Evol has been refined with new Teflon-lined bearings and low-friction seals for improved suspension response. A new single piece forged air sleeve cap and improved air valve protection further enhance its reliability and durability. www.foxracingshox.com

Lindemann

Custom Axis Racing Shocks The rear piggyback motocross shock is speciﬁcally designed to improve performance. Increase traction, reduce rider fatigue, and add stability and bottoming resistance. Tighter tolerances allow more consistent performance and feel than stock shocks, even over the course of long races. www.customaxisshocks.com

Factory Connection Get connected with Factory Connection’s Shock Link for CRFs. This billet link made of T-7075 aluminum is longer, which lowers the rear end, improving chassis balance. Anodized and sealed FC Red for brilliant, long lasting color, this product is a bolt on item and comes with all OEM bearings and seals. It helps minimize fork dive; improves stability and overall chassis balance; and reduces kicking and pitching of the rear end for more control. www.factoryconnection.com 24 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

Lindeman has taken the design of Yamaha’s stock R-6 fork compression adjuster, and, instead of limiting adjustment, the company has greatly increased the range of the high and low adjusters, still using the stock pistons. This allows for optimum suspension adjustment and maximum grip and control. This LE kit can be installed in only 15 minutes. www.le-suspension.com

Progressive Suspension

RG3

True high performance front suspension has ﬁnally made its way to the H-D Touring line. Progressive Suspension’s state-of-theart Monotube Fork Kit replaces the sloppy open bath damping of H-D forks with high performance specialty components. The kit features a set of gas-charged monotube dampers and a set of custom-tuned fork springs. Monotube style damping improves ride comfort, resistance to front brake dive, as well as improving front end stability, cornering and bottoming control. No mods are required and install is relatively simple. www.progressivesuspension.com

RG3 Suspension’s Diamond Kit is a revalve and coating service that takes existing forks and shocks and modifies them to your customer’s specifications. They receive all the benefits of an RG3 Suspension Revalve, which supplies riders with a more plush and progressive feel, a custom set up, and improved traction and predictability. www.RG3Suspension.com

&$1 0< &86720(56 ,1&5($6( 32:(5 $1' *(7 7+( 6281' 7+(< :$17" www.MPNmag.com February 2010 25

Race Tech Race Tech’s latest Gold Valve Fork kits are for the all-new Showa BPF forks found on the 2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R and 2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000. Race Tech’s Gold Valve kits for the BPF Forks address three major problems. First, the Gold Valve improves ﬂow characteristics. Second, travel is increased, which improves bump absorption, particularly under heavy braking, and it increases front end trail, thereby improving stability and grip. Third, the stock bottom-out mechanism is short and abrupt. The $299.99 Race Tech kits make the bottoming process more gradual, further decreasing braking chatter and improving traction. www.racetech.com

SuperBrace H-D’s Fat Bob/Dyna Wide Glide SuperBrace two-piece fork brace is extremely rigid and is said to improve front tire life and dramatically reduce high speed wobbles. This American-made fork brace is available in mirror polish, mirror polish with ﬂames, Denim Black or Vivid Black. www.superbrace.com

26 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

Works Performance With an adjustment range from 150 to 500 pounds for the rider and load, the new Air Tracker allows riders to tailor their machine for their own riding conditions. At the heart of the new design is a high pressure gas-charged, 7075-T6 aluminum shock, similar to the smooth and stable Billet Tracker, renowned for its ride quality. A corrosionresistant, stainless steel pressure cylinder takes the place of springs and gives a smooth, uncluttered look to the machine. Designed for easy reďŹ ll from any compressed air source, including H-D air systems, these new units typically require only 50 to 90 psi. Internally, the shock features a ďŹ&#x201A;oating piston to separate the nitrogen gas from the damper ďŹ&#x201A;uid. www.worksperformance.com

Terrycable Terrycable Suspension is now offering three styles of shocks, including lowering versions for Dynas, Sportsters, baggers and Road Kings. These shocks are positionsensitive to prevent bottoming out and still allow the bike to ďŹ&#x201A;oat down the road. Terrycable offers a 90-day money back guarantee and a three year warranty. www.terrycable.com

The Cardo scala riderÂŽ G4â&#x201E;˘ Is HERE! â&#x201E;˘

communication in motion

STOCK IT AND SELL IT!! From the Scala Rider line of BluetoothÂŽ Helmet Mounted Headsetsâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;The Hottest Helmet Accessories on the Market. G4 Features include:

s )NTERCOM TALK BETWEEN FOUR RIDERS TWO DRIVERS AND TWO PASSENGERS THREE RIDERS ON SEPARATE BIKES OR TWO RIDERS BIKE TO BIKE OR RIDER TO PASSENGER s #OMPATIBLE WITH ! $0 ENABLED -0 PLAYERS FOR STREAMING WIRELESS 34%2%/ MUSIC s "ACKWARDS COMPATIBLE -PDBM 4BMFT 5FBN r )JHI .BSHJOT r -PX 3FUVSO 3BUFT r WITH THE INTERCOM LINE OF r 64 #BTFE $VTUPNFS 4VQQPSU r *OEVTUSZ -FBEJOH 1SPEVDUT scala rider headsets** * Results may vary according to terrain ** Reduced operational range when connected with older scala rider models

www.cardosystems.com or call 1-800-488-0363

See the scala rider G4 at the Cardo Systems Booth at the following shows: t 7 5XJO t %FBMFS &YQP

www.MPNmag.com February 2010 27

eld Feb. 12-15 at the Indiana Convention Center and the Westin hotel in Indianapolis, Ind., Dealer Expo is your chance to see the entire industry show off its latest bells and whistles. Can’t wait for the show? We’ve rounded up some of the hottest products for 2010 from MPN’s top advertisers. Stop by their booths in Indy for the full 4-1-1 and tell ‘em MPN sent ya! v

Bushtec Performance Sport Trailers

Barnett

Booth 1455 Be sure to stop by the Barnett booth for information on its full line of American made motorcycle and ATV clutch components and cables. New products on display will be their new segmented friction plates, all new Ducati clutch spring kits and covers, and Black Scorpion belt drive. www.barnettclutches.com

Booth 6241 The new Entourage motorcycle trailer from Bushtec can handle all your customer’s touring needs. It’s available with color-matched paint for a uniﬁed look. Bushtec’s exclusive air ride adjustable suspension system eliminates bouncing, and there’s plenty of cargo room to stow camping equipment, luggage and golf clubs. www.bushtec.com

Cardo Systems

Booth 3719 The Cardo Scala Rider G-4 Motorcycle Bluetooth headset provides state of the art bike-to-bike intercom communications with either four riders (two drivers and two passengers), three riders (three separate bikers) or two riders (rider-to-rider or rider-to-passenger) up to a distance of one mile. The G4 can connect with nearly any portable device that is Bluetooth-equipped, including mobile phones for wireless conversations and GPS units for in-helmet navigation instructions. The G4 can also transmit wireless Stereo music from any Bluetooth MP3 player equipped with A2DP. www.cardosystems.com 28 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

Continental Tire

Booth 1413 Continental Tire will compete in the economy radial market by signiﬁcantly lowering the price on the ContiMotion. Continental has developed the ContiMotion with the latest cutting-edge technology based on a whole new concept to serve the needs of budget-minded riders of sport bikes and sport tourers. www.conti-moto.com

Fly Racing

Booth 3513 Kinetic MX Boots are the latest in boot technology from Fly Racing. With slim proﬁle molded soles, top grade leather construction, easy-lock buckle system, and large accommodating top gaiter, Kinetic MX boots are a perfect blend of high tech and affordability with a $149.95 (black) and $159.95 (Victory print) retail price. www.ﬂyracing.com

Handy

Booth 3143 The S.A.M.2 Lift from Handy Industries lifts bikes up to 1,000 lbs.and was developed for bike professionals that needed a longer (93”) and wider (28”) work surface with the convenience of double drop panels (15” x 28”) for easy maintenance. It has a maximum height of 35” with a longer ramp of 40” for lower built bikes. www.handyindustries.com

HJC

Now available....

Get the same powersports product and market coverage in our printed version each month, delivered to your inbox FREE.

mpnmag.com/site/digitalissue 30 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

Booth 3625 The lightweight, full-featured, Snell 2010-approved HJC CL-16 helmet offers unmatched performance and features in an affordably priced package. It has new multi-layer foam padding for improved ﬁt and new SpeedCool interior fabric for moisture-wicking comfort. It Includes a Pinlock-prepared face shield and a proven Pinlock anti-fog insert for the ultimate in fog-resistant performance. www.hjchelmets.com

K&L Supply Booth 2019 Fuel Injection is here to stay, and with it has come the need for new diagnostic tools. A controllable fuel supply is mandatory to accurately service these bikes; the MC800 from K&L Supply is the answer. The MC800 uses a 12-volt bench source for power. A large dial gauge displays fuel pressure, and the unit is regulated via a front panel knob. An on-off switch and power indicator light complete the display. www.klsupply.com

>V Ê Ê

« Õ `

PartsLookup

Booth 3257 After 13 years helping dealers to streamline their parts logistics , labor tracking and customer support, PartsLookup has taken the next step in its evolution — rebranding itself to better reﬂect its position as a fullfeatured DMS. www.parts-lookup.com

Shoei

Booths 3105 & 3305 Since its 2003 inception, the RF-1000 has enjoyed great success, but that didn’t stop Shoei’s world-class engineers from throwing out the molds to develop a brand-new helmet from scratch. Combining customer and dealer requests with advanced technology, modern testing practices, and 50 years of helmet-building experience, the all-new RF-1100 combines aggressive styling with Shoei’s attention to detail. www.helmethouse.com www.MPNmag.com February 2010 31

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Starting immediately NPA dealers will be able to view and bid on used powersport units 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Additional inventory will be added to the NPA Advanced E-sale every weekday, Mon-Fri at 6am PST. There are now over 500 units a month being offered online! Closing times are now unit speciﬁc, so check in often.

aler expo booth 326

HOW TO

Hackett

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

BY OTIS HACKETT

TRY, TRY AGAIN Pre-Paid Maintenance Implementation

was all prepared to tell everyone about the fabulous pre-paid maintenance program we implemented at one of the dealerships we manage, but I’m sorry to admit that I cannot do so in this installment. Why? Because it fell ﬂat on its ass! So now I’m sitting here at the keyboard feeling like a failure, desperately wanting to write about some great, powerful and revolutionary program that we’ve gotten off the ground so as to inspire anyone who has ever failed to try, try again. But no, I’ve gotta tell you a much more common story instead. You’ve gotta know that I know how hard it is to get anything off the ground, and this is my chance to stand before you all and tell you that I blew it. It failed due to a lack of buy in. I failed to sell the program to the team, but mostly I failed to sell it to the ﬁnance director, and he’s the one person in the dealership who has the most to gain from it in terms of commission, right? But no,

he doesn’t believe that it’s good for the customer. He can sell concepts. He can sell intangibles all day long. But sell this stuff? No! Thankfully, there is a tiny spark of life left in the whole thing, enough that I’m laying it all out here in this column about failure in hopes that it’ll get traction and become a success. I’m always telling folks that the only thing worse than a failed initiative is yet another failed initiative. And here I am telling you about my failure. Why would I do that? Because one of the managers may have pulled the program back from the brink of certain death, that’s why. Tell me if you have this guy working in your dealership: He happens to be the sort who doesn’t buy any back end products. He frankly believes that extended service agreements, GAP, or any insured product for that matter, is evil. And yet he may have breathed the needed life back into this program

34 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

w when he looked at our finance director and said, “But pre-paid maintenance is the only tangible thing you offer; it’s the only thing you sell that I’d buy from y you.” When that little chunk of reality fell out of his mouth, the w whole room just went quite. Everyone in the room had that blank stare you get just before the proverbial light bulb flickers on atop your head. “Well, maybe I just don’t understand exactly what we’re selling with this pre-paid maintenance,” was his reply. The ensuing discussion was amazing. I’m not going to try and sell you on pre-paid maintenance in this column. New initiatives are all about change, and change is almost always a challenge. I know I won’t have the results to look at here; all I can tell you now, this close to the deadline, is what the management team decided to do once they all bought it. Right now they’re having a “name the program” contest with a pretty large cash prize to the winner. This initiative will hopefully get everyone involved in the process, and as they try to come up with a cool name that’ll get ‘em paid, they’ll all buy into it. The dealer also designed a spiff program for salespeople when they properly introduce a customer to the finance director, opening up a conversation about the program. They intend to make it a contest with a cash prize and to track the contests openly. They even talked about encouraging the salespeople to “work the system” by calling existing customers. The finance director will be

training the entire staff on how important the maintenance program is both to the customer and to the dealership. This will help the team come up with some good names as well. The service manager talked about putting a sandwich board in service welcoming all customers with appointments, noting “Advantage/Edge/ Priority” (or whatever the name of the program ends up being) so as to induce conversations with existing customers. That’ll give the service department personnel an advantage in the spiff program. The PG&A guys are planning to ask customers when they check out, “May I see your Advantage/Edge/Priority card so I can get you your discount?” Again, we’re hoping to get more customers talking about it. Stay tuned for the results. I’ve seen a properly run, well-understood pre-paid maintenance program make a lot of dealers a lot of money over the years, but only when the entire team believes in the product. I feel that we now have a team of believers at this dealership, so let’s let the thing run its course. I hope to have a great success story to tell you about next month. Keep your ﬁngers crossed. t Otis Hackett is the founder of Otis Hackett Group. OHG provides general management services for powersports dealers across the US. The OHG team brings realworld experience having all been motorcycle dealership employees working on the front lines of the industry every day. Click on www.otishackett.com or e-mail otis@otishackett.com. Join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

BEST

Operators CLUB

Note: Our Voyager 4 data reporting and analysis system is available for any dealership to use for a very nominal fee. For more information on our data reporting system, dealer 20-groups, on-site consulting or training, drop me an email at steve@gartsutton.com or visit www.gartsutton.com.

Chart 1

Total Store Benchmark 25% Gross Proﬁt 7% Net Operating Proﬁt Revenue Change

TBOC ‘08 23.2% 1.2% -10.5%

TBOC ‘09 24.7% 1.0% -21.6%

TBOC ‘08 11.8% 11.2% 9.2%

TBOC ‘09 12.6% 15.7% 7.5%

18%

18.1%

16.3%

15%

12.3%

19.4%

15%

5.6%

35.2%

$75

$124

$228

Benchmark

TBOC ‘08

Chart 2

New Sales Benchmark 17% M/C Gross Profit 16% ATV Gross Profit 14% UTV Gross Profit

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

BY STEVE JONES

DEALERSHIP DATA FOR NOVEMBER 2009

Preowned M/C Gross Profit ATV Gross Profit UTV Gross Profit Flooring Expense PVS Chart 3

he following article compares a representative sample of November 2009 versus 2008 Top of the BOC (TBOC) data. In Chart 1, we see total store gross profit was up, but net was slightly down. The good news is that there was a net for November. This was a very tough month for most dealers, as evident by the revenue change from last year. Chart 2 shows that most unit categories were up, preowned UTV in particular. Dealers are working harder to maintain margins in spite of inventory dumping. Regrettably, flooring PVS was also up. Most OEs are working to help this situation by reducing build plans, order Notes: PVS/PUS = Per Vehicle Sold TBOC = Top of the BOC = average of top 5 BOC members (based on store GP), NOP = Net Operating Profit, NN or N Norm = National Norms (data compiled from multiple groups).

quantities and even doing some inventory balancing in the field. In Chart 3, service labor margin has really come up. Service sales have improved for many dealers and the remaining techs are working harder. This effectively reduces the cost of goods sold (tech compensation) relative to revenue. There has also been a significant improvement in net profit per repair order. Chart 4 reveals that F&I has taken a major hit during this recession. Two years ago dealers were “killing” the $500 benchmark. Now they are at $320 gross profit. The national norms are showing $370 year to date, a bit better, but not much. The main culprit is the decrease in finance penetration. Plus, financed deals have little extra room for add-on stuff. PPM decreased as dealers backed off due to high redemptions. Many dealers spent their reserves to stay alive while customers started using their PPM more. Take note of this.

36 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

Service

TBOC ‘09

Service Dept. Labor Margin

70%

77.3%

Service Dept. Net Proﬁt Per Repair Order

$50

$24

Benchmark $500 70%

TBOC ‘08 $449 56.8%

TBOC ‘09 $320 38.6%

50%

36.5%

26%

30%

21.7%

2.6%

20%

2.4%

7.5%

10%

0.5%

Chart 4

Finance Finance GP PVS Deals Financed Service Contract Penetration Pre-Paid Maintenance Penetration Security System Penetration Financed Deals with Credit Life

You must retain close to 80% of current potential PPM redemptions. Security systems look to be a growing product category. There are a lot of good products and consumers are buying them. Also, credit life has found new life (sorry). Use this information to see what you can improve in your dealership operation. Get a handle on every aspect of your business. Measure, monitor and manage it so you will be

around when this thing finally runs its course.t Steve Jones, general manager of GSA, coaxes the country’s best dealers to share the secrets of their success outlining business practices to boost margins, increase service profitability and retain employees. His monthly column is like a 20-club meeting in our readers’ mailboxes! GSA is recognized as the industry’s #1 authority on dealer profitability.

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PEAK

Dealership PERFORMANCE

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

BY MARK RODGERS

PERSUASION POWER 15 ways to persuade customers

ast month we talked about the principles of persuasion. Logon to www.mpnmag. com to catch up if you missed it. This time I’ll show you how you can apply the principles of persuasion so you can be ethical and sleuth-like, and so you’ll always sell with integrity. The following are 15 ways to dramatically improve your persuasiveness. 1. Your ofﬁce, your expertise. How did Cialdini increase patients’ compliance with a physical therapist’s direction? He replaced the silly motivational posters in the exercise area with the physical therapist’s diplomas and other credentials. This reinforced the physical therapist’s expertise and subsequently took exercise compliance from 15% to over 34%. You should do the same thing. If you have a college degree you should consider hanging your diploma in your ofﬁce. Have you attended workshops, seminars or other education events and received

a certificate? Are you AFIP certified? Show your credentials and watch your credibility increase substantially. 2. Consistency. You should own and finance as well. What’s the best way to prove to others that you’re providing valuable products and services? Heed your own advice. You should ride what you sell and finance as well. Why? Well, what do you call a person who says one thing and does another? 3. You’re like me? Hey I like you! When working with customers, find something in common to talk about. The research on this is crystal clear. We want to do business and spend more time with people whom we like and respect, especially people who are like ourselves. Regardless of what that similarity is (sports, politics, your son’s pee-wee team — whatever), any genuine similarity that leverages the principle of liking is good. 4. Great bike! An excellent selection. Have you ever been to a restaurant and ordered the salmon only to have the

38 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

w waiter compliment you on your selection. “The Salmon is an excellent choice, sir.” Now you and I both know that guy is saying the same thing to every other person in that restaurant, regardless of what they order. But there is something to the human condition that supersedes that knowledge. Even though you know this w waitperson is probably paying that same compliment to others, somewhere deep down inside your mental conversation replies with something like this: “It is a good choice.” So, how can you use this to help yyou dramatically improve your sales success? When you first meet a new customer, find out what they are interested in and compliment them on their selection. Again, they can be looking at anything in your store: bikes, parts, gear, whatever. Even if it isn’t the bike you ride or the jacket you wear, there is always something to like about an item. So pick out the positive and tell them, “Great bike! There’s a lot to like about that model. What specifically do you like?” 5. Recirpocity: the cosmic force of the universe. The principle of reciprocity is the idea that people repay others in kind. What does this mean to you? You get what you give. So give the gift of your attention, energy and enthusiasm for the person with whom you are working and, guess what? They will be enthusiastic about you and what you have to say. So, increase your energy level, look your customers in the eye, smile and laugh, and be extatic that they are spending time with you; they will be more inclined to be happy and enthusiastic about what you have to say as well. 6. Want to increase your CSI? Get more forms sent back in. How do you get more

forms sent in? All you need to do is say something like, “Not only are we concerned about your experience, but so is the company. In a few weeks you’re going to receive a survey in the mail. When you get it, please ﬁll it out completely, honestly and, most importantly, will you promise me you will return the form? To which most customers agree and say, “Yes.” And what you’ve just done is win/win. It’s a win for the manufacturer because they get more forms and more data. And it’s a win for you the dealer because you’ll have more forms to counterbalance any negative feedback. One dealer we know changed nothing about their business practices except for the improvement mentioned above. He went from being ranked 16 in his region for CSI to 4, and all they did was implement this one idea. 7. Small commitments lead to larger agreements. Sales success is really predicated by small agreements, not some big score in terms of closing questions. What are some small agreements you might use: • Day off? • May I show you something cool? • May I ask you some questions about your experience? • What prompted you to buy your motorcycle from us? • What have you liked about your experience? • What could we have improved? • Will you promise you’ll send the CSI form in? We can use agreements like these without “selling.” Ignore this psychology at your sales commission’s peril. 8. The language of experts. When you are in the dealership you are the expert. Use the language of expertise.

Recommend. Suggest. Advise. These are words that connote your knowledge and dramatically increase the likelihood that people will comply with your requests. 9. For me? Thank you! Disabled veterans were having an 18% response rate with their direct mail efforts. They changed one thing and increased their success to well over 30%. What was the one thing they did? You guessed it: They included self-addressed return labels in their mailings as a gift to the recipient. They literally gave a useful gift benefiting the recipient, which, in turn, benefited the charity. What can you give? On the sales floor, your gift may be a brochure, a pen or a high quality key fob. The other idea to keep in mind is effort in a gift. If I’m showing customers motorcycles on the show room floor, I pull them out of the lineup and then leave them out while working with this customer. Why? They look around and may think to themselves, “Man this guy is really working for me!” And I am. Then they may give me more time and attention or, perhaps, their business! 10. Present your most extreme offer first. How do you dramatically increase the likelihood of your success? Present your most extreme or expensive item first. Why? Because the customer may say yes, and when they do that’s the clear coat on the paint job. And if they don’t, then you can retreat with your next package. This is called concessional reciprocity. Cialdini tested this on the streets of Phoenix. His research assistants asked passersby, “Would you like to be a chaperone on a day trip to the zoo for our group of juvenile delinquents?” As you may imagine 83% of people said, “No.”

The next groups of passersby were asked, “Excuse me would you like to be a big brother or big sister for a juvenile delinquent in the Phoenix area? It’s a two-year commitment which requires at least four hours every other weekend.” People were aghast. Two Years! Four hours! No. And when the people said no, the researchers simply asked, “Really, well then how about being a chaperone on a day trip to the zoo?” Over 60% said, “Where do I sign?” 11. Highlight exclusivity, leveraging the principle of scarcity. If you have a particular product or service not available anywhere else, highlight that exclusivity. It may be a model motorcycle, a special used bike or a service. No one else does at home trade evaluations in our area. We do. 12. Use an evidence binder with third party comments; this leverages social proof. When you can show how other customers have beneﬁtted from your products and services this can have a dramatic effect. Get testimonials from customers, use third party articles from the media and keep examples of paid GAP and ESP claims. 13. Use Loss Language. As you move from more expensive to less expensive items with customers, use what experts call “loss language.” People are much more driven by what they stand to lose versus what they stand to gain. So when you describe a less expensive item, describe what beneﬁts will be lost. Some people have suggested that this isn’t a quality method because the customer hasn’t purchased anything yet, therefore, they literally haven’t lost anything yet. I disagree. We are talking about the customers’ future state. If they choose a lesser item they are losing the

potential protection of the larger package. 14. Hey, all the kids are doing it! Point out other customers who have taken advantage of what you’re talking about. Talk about how many people purchased a certiﬁed preowned motorcycle from your dealership. Talk about how many have beneﬁted from your extended service plan. Talk about how many customers purchase your prepaid maintenance plan. Talk about how many employees in your dealership have taken advantage of your offer. 15. Consistency. Do what you say you’re going to do. If you want to have a great, long, successful career as a dealership manager, you need to do what you say you’re going to do. If you promise to help the customer perfect their title, help them. When the customer

pays off his motorcycle early and is due a prorated refund on backend protection, help them get it. If you promised to be available after the sale … you get the point. There is an art and science to persuasion. Understanding Cialdini’s six principles and the above 15 ways to apply them to your finance and insurance office can yield huge returns to your customers, your dealership and your career. t An award-winning author, toprated trainer and founder of Peak Dealership Performance, Mark Rodgers holds a master’s degree in adult education and the National Speakers Association Certified Speaking Professional designation — only 500 people in the world have this coveted recognition. Contact Mark@ PeakDealershipPerformance.com to improve your performance.

www.MPNmag.com February 2010 39

Lessons LEARNED

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BY ROD STUCKEY

EASY STREET’S STILL CLOSED You’ve Gotta Work It To Make It In The New Economy

n recent days I’ve heard an excessive media buzz about the end of the recession. This “escape from the recession” and “recovery in 2010” message is one that has been grossly exaggerated. Speaking of exaggeration, I was one of the fortunate dealers who owned and operated multiple stores during the boom years, and it wasn’t always peaches and cream back then, as the picture is now often painted. We certainly had our fair share of challenges during those thriving times as well. Challenges included aggressive OEM programs leading to excessive inventory levels, which created extreme price cutting from competitors, all of which formed signiﬁcant troubles in holding adequate margins. We regularly dealt with sales managers who couldn’t implement a trafﬁc log and follow up with unsold customers to save their life. Salesperson turnover was

always a pain. We had parts managers who didn’t control OBS inventory and office managers who conveniently happen to get sick every time the floor checker showed up. We, of course, had primadonna technicians whining every time the wind blew a different direction. We had to watch warranty, co-op claims, and other receivables like a hawk so thousands of dollars weren’t squandered. And, yes, we still had that small percentage of pesky unreasonable customers that suck loads of time and are impossible to satisfy. Oh yeah, and I can’t forget (no matter how hard I try) how cash flow would get tighter than Dick’s hatband in the off season. Ahhh, the good ole days … Although the opportunity of the boom era was significant, there were still very few dealers stock piling cash under the mattress in their off-shore yacht, as evident by the industry’s recent loss of thousands of dealerships. The

40 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

fact is, retail is damn tough in good times and bad, thus furthering the need for vigilant improvement regardless of the market. Certainly, more waste and sloppiness can be afforded during a strong economy, but now to successfully transition into the emerging economy w will require more savings and precision. I’ve been following a brilliant economist, trend spotter and New York Times bestselling author Harry Dent Jr., to get his take on the financial forecast for the months and years ahead. My impression of what I’ve studied so far is that easy street is indefinitely closed for repairs, and picking the right detours will be crucial to reach your final destination. I’m not trying to throw a wet blanket on the New Year — far from it. The basis of Dent’s “How to Prosper in a Downturn” philosophy is that by understanding the fundamental trends that drive our economy, one can gain leverage, success and financial gain in the coming months and years. Now, let’s go back to the less waste and more precision point mentioned earlier. I often refer to this waste as hidden marketing assets. These are assets that are already being paid for, yet often underutilized, such as your employees, facility merchandising, DMS system, customer database, telephone systems, CRM, website, etc. There’s still a lot of meat left on those bones. Additional waste often comes in the form of negligent advertising and marketing decisions. Old marketing tactics such as TV, radio and newspaper must be replaced with more precision by a direct ad to your specific target

audience. Although it’s been repeatedly proven that it costs 14 times more to get a new customer than to get a past or present customer into the door, the “gotta get fresh customers” mindset is still prevalent in most dealers. I recently had a client contact me who participated in our “12 Days of Christmas” marketing campaign to tell me about a letter he had received from a previous customer. Unfortunately, she notiﬁed the dealer to remove her from their mailing list as her husband had been killed on a bike that was purchased from the dealer back in 1999. As I began to console this dealer, he stopped me. “No, Rod, do you know what this means? It means that I’ve gone 10 years without ever reaching out to my past and present customers. For 10 years I’ve been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars looking for new customers while ignoring those who have been most loyal to me and are most likely to come back and spend more!” This was a very keen observation by my client. Regardless if the media and politicians say the recession is over and recovery has begun, we’re moving forward and you must actively invest by strengthening your skills. By cutting waste and increasing precision you can get a GPS signal pointing right to easy street. t Having owned and operated four dealerships in the Atlanta market, Rod Stuckey knows firsthand how hard it can be to get targeted dealer information, so he founded Dealership University. His monthly column gives dealers the lessons they need to learn to be more successful.

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Final Deadline: February 15, 2010 MPN and Mark Rodgers’ Peak Dealership Performance will recognize individual top performers with cold hard cash! This year’s categories are: • Motorcycle Sales • Parts and Accessories • Finance and Insurance • Service • Riding Gear

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Visit www.mpnmag.com or www. PeakDealershipPerformance.com to tell us how you or your teammates

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5(*,67(5 12: Get a FREE Test Ride

dazzle your customers.

.COM www.MPNmag.com February 2010 41

Practice Lessons WHAT YOU PREACH

LEARNED

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

BY ROD WILLIAM STUCKEY DOUGLAS LITTLE

RIDICULOUS REGULATIONS What is Your Customer Supposed To Believe?

‘S

o wait a minute ... what you’re telling me is that this 50cc motorcycle is not available for my 7-year-old son?” asks the customer. “That’s right,” I reply. “But the 50CC from that manufacturer is okay for my 7-year-old?” “Yes sir.” “And you’re telling me that this 50cc motorcycle is only for riders 13-years-old and older?” “Yes, that’s what I’m telling you.” “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” “Legally, I’m not allowed to agree with that statement, sir.” What I couldn’t tell this customer was that when government gets involved with things, there is suddenly no room for common sense. Sure, the average size for a 13-yearold would make a stock 50cc motorcycle’s handling become fairly dangerous. Of course, the government doesn’t account for the dangers of riding a machine that is too small.

Instead, they account for the lead content of the machine in parts like spoke nipples and battery terminals, which could be licked by any child at any time. Honestly, if your kid is licking spoke nipples, a little lead ingestion ain’t gonna make things too much worse. However, because the government decided to not exempt motorcycles and ATVs from the lead toy ban, manufacturers were forced to ﬁnd ways to retail the millionsof-dollars-worth of product already out the door. After all, we’re not talking about dollar store junk here, we’re talking about machines that cost $1,000 or more. That interest adds up quickly for a dealer and even more quickly for a manufacturer who is covering interest for thousands of dealers. Interestingly, different manufacturers handled this problem in different ways. Some scrambled to hire scientiﬁc companies to perform expensive lead tests on their machines.

42 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

T was problematic since This every toy manufacturer in the galaxy was scrambling to do the same for literally thousands of SKUs all through a few testing companies at the exact same time. Gridlock doesn’t begin to describe it. In fact, there are several manufacturers who have pulled 50cc models from their websites as if they never existed. Others manufacturers took a page from the history textbooks and got creative. Here’s a historical example of what I’m talking about: At the beginning of the space race one of the obvious problems we faced was the ability to write in a zerogravity enﬁronment. If you’ve ever tried to write with pen upside down, you know what I mean. After investing more than a million dollars in research and development, American scientists came up with a pen that featured a pressurized barrel, which forced the ink to the tip. Faced with the same situation, the Russians simply decided to use pencils. So, some OEMs simply sharpened their pencils to deal with the lead situation. If they couldn’t take the lead out of the pencil, they’d just take the pencil out of the lead. The problem was really very simple; there was a ban on machines for children under 12, so they changed the age rating so that all youth ATVs were for children over 12. So we now ﬁnd certain vehicles from certain manufacturers suitable only for children of a ridiculously old age group. I wish that we could agree with our customers who say that these restrictions are stupid, but we don’t want to be liable should the customer’s kid start sucking spoke nipples. Honestly, the entire “agebased” restriction on any ATV or motorcycle is unrealistic. Personally, I know 12-year-old

kids who are over 6 feet tall and left 150 pounds in the dust long ago. These kids have absolutely no business being restricted to a 90cc anything. So, how do we better serve the youth? How do we ensure that what we’re selling is reasonably safe for them to ride? The answer is as simple as a video game: Give kids a simple reaction speed test, testing the speed at which the kid hits the brakes or steers around obstacles thrown his/her way. Then we could combine the results with the kid’s individual size to see if they are a good ﬁt for a speciﬁc sized bike/quad. The test would be supervised by the parents and the salesperson, and the results would be electronically posted, attached to that kid’s name and product registration. That way, the parents feel comfortable about the kid’s ability to ride his/her new bike/quad, and the dealership and manufacturer are off the hook for liability purposes, and the kid just got a virtual rider training course all in one. Basically, you let a kid play a simple video game, tell him not to lick his machine and everyone can go away happily and safely. And furthermore, we won’t have to dance around the fact that obviously ridiculous regulations just seem to the customer as though they were meant to be broken. t Columnist William Douglas Little writes from experience, having built a multi-line dealership from the ground up. His store, Unique Powersports, has earned accolades for excellence in retail sales, community involvement and customer satisfaction. Little’s debut book, Mexican Bowl Fishing, was released in 2008 and is available at www.WilliamDouglasLittle.com.

Web SAVVY

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BY PEGGY OLSON

GET THE WORD OUT Tool your website to promote new products

et a fresh start on making your website work for you in 2010! It’s important to take the time to review your website and ask yourself how you can improve your website today. Winter is a perfect time to gear up and promote new vehicle products, and it’s a good time to move last year’s inventory by offering some competitive sales. February is also the start of show season and manufacturers will be showcasing new accessories, parts and apparel. Your website is the face of your dealership, and as consumers start to research all of the latest and greatest in preparation of riding season, you’re website is going to be a key tool for consumer research on new products. In preparation of the 2010 riding season, take advantage of the manufacturer’s and product distributor’s promotional tools this year. You don’t have to recreate the wheel when announcing the hot new toys and products for

2010. Pay close attention to what the manufacturers are pushing this season, and make sure you’re website is setup to provide customers with valuable information on the new must-haves at your store. Also, announce what’s coming soon to your dealership and be speciﬁc on when it will be available. What you put into your site is what you’ll get out of it. Take inventory on what’s worked in the past and don’t be afraid to try new things on your website to help engage your customers in wanting more. Every dealer wants to be proﬁtable and sell more products, and it starts with having a website that’s up-to-date, helpful, informative and fun. Have you heard of viral marketing? Online you want new product information spread from one person to the next. When announcing new product information on your website, you want to spread the word to all your customers and provide ways for your current customers

44 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

to transfer the information to their friends and family. A new product announcement is newsworthy, and if you display some excitement on your w website when announcing new product information, your news w will travel fast. Below are some keywords to use in your web marketing campaigns when announcing new products or services. u Coming to “ABC Dealer” this spring! u Just Arrived u A Must See u Limited Edition or Limited Availability u FREE is one of the most popular and responsive words in the world of internet marketing (beware of its use in e-mails, however!). u Stop In Today u Don’t Miss Out The list of possibilities is endless! You know what your customers want. Make sure you help them by communicating to them through your website, sending out an e-newsletter, and, if you’re setup with a social networking site, posting comments. Think about transforming an area of your site to showcase new products or to house product reviews. It can start with your homepage, and you can link customers to speciﬁc sections of the site for more details. Nothing irritates a customer more than making them work to ﬁnd additional information on the product you’re heavily promoting on your website. Provide the steps in order for customers to buy product online or inquire within the dealership. Just remember

that your website is a sales assistant, and the goal is to get customers engaged so they stay on your site wanting more. Here are a few recommendations on ways you can promote new product on your website: • New product placement on your website. Announcing new product that is available at your dealership or online can be done using your homepage. Utilize your homepage to direct customers to the e-commerce section of the site where new product is available to view and buy online. Don’t overload your homepage with all new product details. Provide a promotional image that grabs the customer’s attention to want more. • Setup a manager’s picks or product review section of the site. When customers are researching new product online, they’re going to be looking for suggestions and recommendations. Offering a special is not the only way to get customers in the door to buy new product. Educating your customers on some of the new product that’s available is a very effective way to bring customers into the store or persuade them to buy that item online. You are the expert, so be the expert and help your customers out. Make their buying decisions easy by providing your own personal recommendations. You don’t have to select every new item, but I would suggest that you highlight at least 10 items on your site. Just remember, it’s not about the hard sell. Sell the customer on the beneﬁts of

Check the Online Resource Center

owning the new product you’re recommending. •Offer in-store seminars on new product. An instore seminar where your managers can discuss new safety features on the new product you have available is also a great way to get your customers interested and excited. I’ve seen dealers offer free seminars in the past on new product and new safety gear. They created an inviting and educational experience that, in return, informed the customers’ buying decisions. I recommend offering one seminar right before spring. Be sure to utilize your site to promote all of your events. There are many different marketing tactics when promoting new product on your website. Stick to what works and utilize your website marketing tools to help spread the word that your dealership has exciting new product available for online purchase or at the dealership. Send out an e-newsletter, post comments about new product on your social sites, setup your homepage for success and make sure to educate your customers on the must-haves of the season. Gear up your website for riding season and have fun selling in 2010. t

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See page 50 for more information about this issue’s featured suppliers.

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Peggy Olson is the president/ owner of Duo Web Solutions. She has over eight years of experience helping powersports and marine dealers get more out of their websites. Learn more about Olson and Duo Web Solutions at www.duowebsupport.com. www.MPNmag.com February 2010 45

Essentials Gear Gore-Tex and Velour Alpinestars Outfitted with Gore-Tex, insulated with velour, and designed to offer the protection of leather, Alpinestars’ new WR-V Gore-Tex gloves keep hands dry, warm and protected in miserable weather. –––––––––––––– Sure Sellers: • Accordion stretch panels on top of fingers and thumb • Padded knuckle and palm protection • Triple closure at wrist for a perfect fit: thin Velcro adjuster on top of wrist, wide Velcro adjustable wrist flap wrapping around outer wrist, and a wide tab with PU tab end adjusts inner-wrist fit ––––––––––––––––– Retail Price: $129.95 ––––––––––––––––– For more info: Alpinestars 2780 W. 237th St. Torrance, CA 9050 www.alpinestars.com

Time-Tested Hoodie Xtreme Xtreme offers its 2010 “Since ‘91” zip-down Hoodie. The black heavyweight cotton/polyester hoodie features the custom “cut and sew” Xtreme pattern with pouch pockets and a small zippered key pocket. –––––––––––––––– Sure Sellers: • “Xtreme” raised logo application over silkscreened artwork on the front • Large stitch pattern “X” logo with a small embroidered “Xtreme” logo on the back • Rust colored fabric with contrast silkscreened “X” logo inside the hood –––––––––––––– Retail Price: $89.99 –––––––––––––––––––– For more info: Xtreme Designs Inc. 6965 El Camino Real, Suite 105 #538 Carlsbad, CA 92009 (760) 431-7444 www.xtrememx.com

46 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

New Graphics Zox Helmets Zox has released new graphics for its cruiser, street and off-road helmets. Pictured, we have the 2010 Alto DLX cruiser lid blazoned with the new skulls and barbs-laden Execution graphic. –––––––––––––––––––– Sure Sellers: • Revolutionary thin EPS liner • 3-snap shorty visor and ear protector included • Net weight: 2.0 lbs. –––––––––––––––––––– For more info: NHJ Powersports 4141 W. 126th St. St. Alsip, IL 60803 (800) 826-0001 www.zoxhelmets.com

Essentials P&A Rearsets Gilles Tooling The VCR line of rearsets is the newest addition from Gilles Tooling. They are completely adjustable and available with a standard or GP shifting pattern. Precision machined by European craftsmen, they should turn heads on the racetrack. –––––––––––––– Sure Sellers: • Carbon ﬁber heel protector • Rolling toe piece on gear lever • Double ball-bearing gear and brake lever –––––––––––––– Retail Price: $570

–––––––––––––– For more info: Gilles Tooling 21, Am Scheerleck Wecker L-6868 Luxembourg 352-267893-45 www.gillestooling.com

Gadget Charger Brookshire Innovations LLC Brookshire Innovations offers the Eklipes, a waterproof, cell phone and GPS unit charger, distributed by WPS. –––––––––––––– Sure Sellers: • Includes a waterproof fuse and SAE dual pin connector • Compatible with most 12-volt devices, like radar detectors and d heated clothing • Sold as a dealer display pack (including display, header card and d poster), reﬁll 12-pack or individually –––––––––––––– Retail Price: single unit, $19.95 –––––––––––––– For More info: Brookshire Innovations LLC 502 Giuseppe Court, Suite 7 Roseville, CA 95678 (916) 786-7601 www.brookshireinnovations.com

Windshield d Slipstreamer Inc. nc. Slipstreamer’s BMW K1200LT series of replacement windshields improves on the looks and aerodynamics of the stock shield. They are direct replacements, making installation easy. –––––––––––––– Sure Sellers: • Manufactured from 3⁄16-inch Lucite aircraft quality clear acrylic sheet • Available in stock height or with an extra 2 inches • Choice of clear or smoke tint –––––––––––––– Retail Price: clear, $112.95; smoked, $129.95 –––––––––––––– For more info: Slipstreamer Inc. 10820 Mankato St. NE Blaine, MN 55449 (763) 780-9757 www.slipstreamer.com

www.MPNmag.com February 2010 47

HD Sportster Kit Legend Air Suspension’s exclusive Gates Kevlar Air Spring technology is now available for ‘86-’03 Sportsters with the LX786. Sellers: Sure S in black or chrome ﬁnishes • Available Availla modiﬁcations necessary • No m mo Standard kit includes two Legend Air shocks, on-board • Stand d compressor, rider-friendly black handlebarair co o mounted control, mounting hardware, solenoid valve mou un and an a full color instruction guide. a For More Info: Legend Air Suspension, 1820 Samco M Road, Rapid City, SD 57702; (605) 737-4200; R www.legend-airride.com www.lle

Luggage Rack Drag Specialties offers a strong and durable d bl lluggage rack k ffor ffull ll dressers. d dressers Sure Sellers: • Crafted from chrome-plated steel and billet aluminum • Rubber contact pads to protect the rack’s ﬁnish • Rack dimension of 10 x 6 ¼ inches Retail Price: $259.95 For More Info: Drag Specialties, P.O. Box 5222, Janesville, WI 53547; (800) 222-3400; www.dragspecialties.com

Gel Seat Pads Comfort Max Gel Pads by American Motorcycle Specialties are designed to offer comfort to riders of every bike and style of riding. The viscoelastic molded gel eliminates pressure points, absorbs vibrations and relieves back aches. Sure Sellers: • Cut-out section eliminates painful pressure on the tailbone and helps your spine relax • Rubberized maximum grip bottom prevents the pad from sliding off the seat and does not require a permanent strap • Comes in stretch vinyl or genuine sheepskin Retail Price: $69.95-$124.95 For More Info: American Motorcycle Specialties, 2944 Salmon River Circle, Westlake Village, CA 91362; (800) 710-7237; www.amspecialties.com 48 8F February b 2010 www.MPNmag.com MPN

DEALERS WANTED

EXPERIENCE LEGENDARY BUSHTEC PERFORMANCE

Six great models & over 65 accessories available.

See us in Indy – Booth #6241!

All dealers of Bushtec Performance Sport Trailers enjoy: • Strong margins on the best trailer made. • Hassle-free communications with a company that has an excellent reputation for service and quality. • Peace of mind knowing you are selling customers one of the safest, best-handling trailers on the road. “Manufacturing the best performing trailers on the road will always be our goal. Our new model, Entourage, demonstrates that. For 27 years, the Bushtec team has delivered the best products and service. And in the future, I promise that will continue.”

Andrew Preston, General Manager

Become a dealer by March 15, 2010, and receive a free hitch! No other motorcycle trailer offers the total package of rider benefits for your customers. • Exclusive air ride adjustable suspension means no bouncing or swaying. • Lighter weight wheels and “run flat” motorcycle tires deliver better handling. • Superior fit and finish insures longevity and higher resale value.

• Customer-first service backed by a 3 year warranty and a “not happy until you’re happy” Bushtec team. • Inspired designs with customized options to create a trailer to meet most travel and cargo needs.

Visit www.bushtec.com or call 423-562-9900 for more details about joining the Bushtec Dealer Network.

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Quickly locate an advertiser in this issue with the list below: A&J Cycle Salvage ............................... 50 Adaptiv Technologies ........................... 50 Amrep, Inc. ........................................... 45 Barnett Tool & Engineering ................. 19 Bushtec Manufacturing & Sales Inc. ... 49 Cardo Systems Inc. .............................. 27 Clarke Manufacturing Co..................... 50 Continental Tire ................................... 31 Dealership University........................... 41 Exceed International/Hot Products ..... 50 GS Battery (U.S.A.) Inc. ........................ 26 Handy Industries LLC .......................... 26 Helmet House Inc. ..............................8-9 Helmet House Inc. ..........................12-13 HJC Helmets ........................................ 29 J&D Walter Distributors Inc. ............... 31 K&L Supply Co. .................................... 51 McCarthy Distributors LLC .................. 39 Mustang Motorcycle Products Inc. ...... 50 National Powersport Auctions........32-33 NextStep Computer & Software Inc. ... 30 Parts Unlimited ...................................... 3 Parts Unlimited .................................... 37 Peak Performance Business Group .... 41 Pecard Leather Care Products ............ 30 Powerlet ............................................... 50 Rick’s Motorsport Electrics Inc. .......... 50 Sudco International Corp. .................... 52 Tucker Rocky.......................................... 5 Tucker Rocky........................................ 11 Tucker Rocky........................................ 35 Tucker Rocky........................................ 43 Vance & Hines ...................................... 25 Western Power Sports Inc. .................... 2 Western Power Sports Inc. .................... 7 Western Power Sports Inc. .................. 16 Western Power Sports Inc. .................. 22 Z1 Enterprises, Inc............................... 50 50 February 2010 www.MPNmag.com

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