Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/772602
www.PowersportsBusiness.com NEWS Powersports Business • January 23, 2017 • 3 HOTNEWS CONTINUED FROM COVER Incomplete applications will not be considered. The application deadline is April 15, 2017. Responses to all questions are related to the 2016 calendar year. Power 50 dealers will be honored at the fifth annual Power 50 Awards Dinner, set for Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio, during AIMExpo. The application can be found at www.powersportsbusiness. com/power-50. MAG RETAIL GROUP TO COMBINE ONLINE RETAIL OUTLETS Motorsport Aftermarket Group's Retail Group will com- bine Motorcycle-Superstore. com into J&P Cycles in 2017, resulting in dozens of layoffs from Superstore in the upcom- ing weeks. For now, Motorcycle- Superstore.com will continue to allow customers to buy PG&A. Customers eventually will be directed to jpcycles.com. This business transaction, expected by many, is the lat- est since the 2014 merger of Tucker Rocky Distributing and MAG. RECESSION DRIVES POLARIS, CFMOTO DEALERSHIP OUT OF BUSINESS Alaska Powersports and Marita Sea & Ski, a longtime dealership in Anchorage that most recently carried Polaris and CFMOTO units, has closed due to the recession there. The dealership sold ATVs, side-by-sides and snowmobiles. The dealership at one time had 32 employees, but that number had dropped to 10 prior to its closing. BARNEY'S CELEBRATES 70TH ANNIVERSARY Barney's Motorcycle and Marine is celebrating its 70th anniversary with a vintage bike display at its St. Petersburg, Florida, location. Customers voted for a "Best in Show" award, which was announced Dec. 17. All They say everything is bigger in Texas, and this is certainly the case for National Powersport Auctions' new facility in Dallas. The world's largest provider of powersports vehicle remarketing services has moved to a larger facility in Dallas, which dealers were scheduled to experience first-hand at the inaugural NPA auction in Dallas on Jan. 13. "Bigger, but more importantly, better," said NPA Dallas general operations manager Jeff Stalder. "With more than 140,000 square feet under one roof, our new facility in Flower Mound exemplifies NPA's gold standard of powersports auction facilities." The new location can accommodate 2,000 motorcycles, ATVs, side-by-sides, personal watercraft, boats, trailers and RVs, and houses expanded meeting rooms, offices and condition report sta- tions like NPA's other operations in San Diego, Atlanta, Cincinnati and now Philadelphia. "We have enjoyed doing business in the DFW area, and now with 40 percent more square feet to work with, this is a win-win for everyone," said Jim Woodruff, NPA's chief operating officer. "In addition to a larger warehouse and more state-of-the-art office and customer space, there are more condition report bays and vehicle preparation areas to process vehicles with greater efficiency. This allows us to offer greater volumes to our custom- ers while posting vehicles online sooner for dealers to 'pre-shop' before an auction." Other benefits for the new building include being a dedicated, stand-alone facility with more convenient, major street access than the former Dallas location. "The new building is closer to the airport, near Bass Pro Shops and has plenty of parking and load- ing area," Stalder added. "NPA Dallas opened 12 years ago as NPA's third facility and the time had come to take it to the next level," Woodruff said. "We opened Dallas in 2004 to allow our dealers in Mid-America to more easily participate in powersports auctions. Throughout the years, hundreds of thousands of vehicles have rolled through our lanes and we are excited to continue the journey in the new facility." NPA LAUNCHES NEW FACILITY IN DALLAS NEWS 4 ... 2016's top-read stories FINANCIAL NEWS 8 ... ThunderRoad Financial, EBR team up OPINION 11 ... Online at PowersportsBusiness.com 11 ... From the Editor PSB: FOCUS 2017 Outlook 14 ... Dealers' top 2017 concerns 16 ... 2016's OEM and PG&A MVPs 17 ... Dealers' hopes for 2017 ATV/UTV 18 ... Polaris adds new off-road models 20 ... UTV growth leads to plant expansion MOTORCYCLE 23 ... AMA objects to national monuments 24 ... Cobra Moto debuts all-new CX65 PWC 28 ... PWC sales grow in November SOLUTIONS 30 ... Mark Mooney 30 ... Guest column: Dave Koshollek 31 ... Guest column: Jim Jabaay SNOWMOBILE 32 ... FXR Racing announces medical team 32 ... Ski-Doo clinics for women riders AFTERMARKET 34 ... Hot Products INSIDE MTA adds national sales manager MTA Distributing has named Lewis Hill as national sales manager. Hill brings more than two decades of powersports industry experience, most recently at Tucker Rocky Distributing. Hill has experience in sales, sales manage- ment, account management, business develop- ment, marketing and website development. In addition to owning his own factory representa- tion business, Hill has held management posi- tions at Global Motorsports, Motorcycle Stuff and most recently Tucker Rocky. "I'm extremely privileged to accept the posi- tion of MTA national sales manager," Hill said. "The owners and senior management have a long heritage in the powersports industry. I feel their core values and dedication align most closely with mine. Together we share a deep commitment to powersports dealers and manu- facturers we serve." "We're excited that Lewis has joined our team, and we're looking forward to his leader- ship skills and experiences in helping MTA attain our growth goals for the future," said Greg Blackwell, president of Corona, Cali- fornia-based MTA LLC. "Lewis will play an important role in growing our current offering and launching newly acquired brands, through our expanded shipping locations." PSB Dealership adds digital sign for more exposure Uke's Harley-David- son in Kenosha, Wisconsin, knows firsthand that location can make or break a retailer. Situated just off Interstate 94 between Milwaukee and Chi- cago, Uke's hit the jack- pot and benefits from 78,600 vehicles driving by the store daily. Recently though, highway improve- ments soured this sweet location. The highway near the store was raised five feet, and a wall was built, which made the old signage too low to be easily seen and obscured it altogether from one direction. At the same time, the speed limit was raised to 70 mph. "We had to do something to upgrade our sign and make us visible again," said owner Keith Ulicki. "I wanted to add a digital sign, so we could change out the messages and capture the atten- tion of passing motorists." Uke's replaced their old fluorescent sign cabinet with a bigger, taller cabinet featuring a double-sided Watchfire 16mm digital display. The new pylon sign is 45 feet tall, 15 feet taller than the previous sign. The sign was designed by Michael's Signs of nearby Racine, which also completely reconditioned the building signage, includ- ing refacing and retrofitting a large set of "UKE'S" channel letters from neon illumination to LED illumination. "This is a gorgeous dealership. Once we started planning for the new pylon sign, we knew we needed to spruce up the other signage to keep pace and make it more energy efficient," said Steve Prochaska of Michael's Signs. In addition to showcasing bikes, the new digital sign is used to advertise open houses, special events, training classes, a rental program, and time and temperature. The message center has the ability to showcase video, which Uke's plans to do. "It's incredible how easy it is to change a message," Ulicki said. "Our sign was installed on a Friday, so it was important for us to get messages up for the weekend. Within two hours, we had six messages up. Everyone I talk to in the motorcycle industry tells me that floor traffic is down. Since we installed our new signage, we are to the plus side." three stores — St. Petersburg, Brandon and Brooksville — held a customer appreciation day with free food and drinks, store-wide holiday sales, a free commemorative Barney's T-shirt and giveaways. Also on Dec. 17, there was an open house in the museum in the upstairs section of the St. Pete store, with 70 years of motorcycling and racing memorabilia. DEALER: BURGLARS 'DUMBEST CRIMINALS' HE'S EVER SEEN Two men have been arrested after they were seen attempting to break down a wall with a sledge- hammer at Honda of Melbourne in Florida. The two men, identified as Lamarcus Roberts Anderson and Laress Leon Nelson, have been charged with grand theft, burglary, possession of burglary tools and resisting arrest without violence, according to News 6. "Crime is probably not a good career path for these guys. They take a sledgehammer to beat a side of a building. They're kind of bumbling idiots," The dealer- ship's owner AJ Hiers, told News 6 they were the "dumbest crimi- nals" he's ever seen. CALL FOR SPEAKERS OPENS FOR 2017 POWERSPORTS DEALER SEMINARS @ AIMEXPO Powersports Business is now accepting proposals for edu- cational presentations from potential speakers at the 5th annual dealer training seminars at AIMExpo. The Powersports DEALER Seminars @ AIMExpo are set for Sept. 21-22 in Colum- bus, Ohio. The new NPA location in Flower Mound, Texas, will accommodate 2,000 units. See Hot News, Page 6 Uke's Harley-Davidson in Kenosha, Wisconsin, combatted a highway redesign with a 45-foot tall digital sign.