Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/274927
PSB FOCUS 16 • March 17, 2014 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com This issue: Power 50 Next issue: V-twin House of Harley creates off-season sales with Indoor Bike Show BY LIZ KEENER MANAGING EDITOR January doesn't offer much in way of excite- ment for Milwaukee-area motorcyclists. With snow, ice and salt on the ground and frigid cold whipping through the air, it's unlikely many bikers, if any, set out on two wheels during the first month of the year — especially this year. So to spur sales and get customers think- ing about riding season again, House of Har- ley-Davidson hosted its 11th annual Premier Indoor Bike Show Jan. 24-25 at the dealership. The show is purposefully hosted each year dur- ing the weekend between the NFL's champion- ship games and the Super Bowl. "Just all around it's a great traffic builder in a very cold time of year, and I think it gives peo- ple something to do to remind them there will be life after winter," House of Harley president John Schaller said. The event features 25-30 motorcycles on dis- play, along with local vendors, from motorcycle- and non-motorcycle-related companies alike. And though the show has been going on for more than a decade, it's always evolving, with this year's event offering a new Showcase class for builders who wanted to show their bikes, but didn't want to complete for the cash and prizes awarded to category winners — including House of Harley employees. The dealership's new P&A manager also helped the dealership bring in new bikes never seen by show attendees. "We really enjoyed a lot of fresh, new entries this year, which was exciting, and we had bikes coming in that we'd never seen before," mar- keting manager Sarah Maio said. Bikes are judged and awarded prizes in categories including: Stock Bagger, Modified Bagger, Pro Class, Trike, Antique, Swing Arm, Rigid Frame, Barn-Find and Lowrider Bicycle. This allows anyone from the at-home builder to the professional builder to compete side- by-side. House of Harley allows any make or model in, with this year's show including a Ural and Indian among the Harleys and others. FOOD, DRINK AND VENDORS Among the vendors were a home improvement company, a custom bike painter, an apparel company and a riding club. Food and beer were also sold. The vendors, Schaller says, add to the draw of the event and bring more people in the doors. "I think people are happy and in a good mood," he said. "There's smiles; there's beer, and with the vendors, depending on what you're looking for and who the vendors are on those days, it creates more opportunity for people to see stuff." Bands also play each night, with Reverend Raven and the Chain Smokin' Altar Boys tak- ing the stage Friday night, and Spoiled Rotten closing the event on Saturday. The Indoor Bike Show lasts two days for a See House of Harley, Page 24 All makes and models of bikes, created by at-home builders and pros, were welcome, including this Indian and a Ural. House of Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee, Wis., hosted its 11th annual Premier Indoor Bike Show Jan. 24-25 in an effort to boost winter sales. HOGS OF WINTER 1 - 8 0 0 / 8 4 8 - 6 2 4 7 w w w . p o w e r s p o r t s b u s i n e s s . c o m NEWS: Marshall to make its AIMExpo debut . . . . . . PAGE 9 ATV: Polaris officials on the new ACE . . . . . . . . PAGE 32 CYCLE: Husqvarna opens a new U.S. HQ . . . . . . . . PAGE 38 SNOW: Michigan dealer sees growth season . . . . . PAGE 40 New president for Kawasaki USA Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) announced that Masafumi "Masa" Nakagawa will succeed Takeshi "Tak" Teranishi as president of the company, effective April 1. Nakagawa, who spent six years at KMC's Irvine, Calif., headquarters in the late 1990s, will transition to his new position when Teranishi, who joined KMC in 2009, leaves to assume the presi- dency of Kawasaki Motors Corpo- ration Japan. Nakagawa, the new KMC presi- dent, joined the parent company, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) in 1977, after receiving a degree in economics from Kyoto INSPIRING SUCCESS THROUGH MARKET INTELLIGENCE Snow time Yamaha releases its 2015 snowmobile lineup, including three SR Viper M-TX models. SEE PAGE 40 HOTNEWS MVP St. Paul Harley-Davidson developed its own customer MVP program to capture loyalty. SEE PAGE 17 Indian summer New Indian Motorcycles dealers look forward to their first full riding season selling the brand. SEE PAGE 36 Company leans heavily on R&D while also improving dealer relations BY LIZ KEENER MANAGING EDITOR With a thud, a Bell Moto-9 dropped from more than 10 feet in the air onto a metal base. Everyone in the room knew it was coming, but the sound still drew a cringe from many as a Bell test lab engineer demonstrated one of the many tests that the company's helmets are subjected to before landing on dealers' shelves. Bell recently hosted a variety of industry media at its Scotts Valley, Calif., facility affection- ately known as The Dome. In addition to execu- tive offices and colorful displays of Bell products across all of Easton-Bell's lines, The Dome houses an impressive R&D facility, complete with three linear impact machines, two rotational impact rigs, a high-speed camera, vacuum-form machines, an injection molder, a variety of 3-D printers, a woodshop, a metal shop, a paint shop, a miniature wind tunnel, the Advanced Concepts department and more. INTENSIVE R&D The testing demonstration and visits to other areas of The Dome were part of an effort for Bell to once again start talking about safety and the R&D that goes into developing helmets that are focused on safety first. Since the early 1990s, helmet companies have kept relatively quiet about safety. In the '90s, the U.S. became particularity litigious, with many bringing lawsuits against any hel- met company that claimed to be the "safest" or "safer" than any other brand. Those suits — even the ones that resulted in the helmet com- panies' favor — hit the industry hard, as each brand had to spend massive amounts of money on lawyers, court costs and more. But now Bell and other helmet companies are again beginning to talk about the efforts they go through to make sure the helmets they develop are going to be able to protect riders in a variety of crashes. Though its still shying away from the "-er" and "-est" qualifiers, Bell is sharing more about its testing, which puts every helmet through intense rigors during development and as each batch of each style comes out of the factory. "Comprehensive testing has been the Bell standard for 60 years, ever since we developed See Bell, Page 6 New Tribeca store location teeming with target audience BY MARJORIE KLEIMAN AKA SHADOW CONTRIBUTING WRITER EDITOR'S NOTE: Harley-Davidson of New York City celebrated its grand opening, and Powersports Business got the inside scoop on the new store via its sister publication, Thun- der Press. Thunder Press North Edition editor Shadow spent some time with John Maguire, the general manager and parts manager, and owner/dealer principal Avi Jacobi during a VIP event at the store on the corner of Broadway and White in Tribeca the night before the New York City International Motorcycle Show. Shadow reports that H-D of NYC in Long Island City, Queens, will remain in its current location and will do all service work on bikes PSB: FOCUS Power 50 SEE PAGE 16 Urban hipsters? H-D of NYC hits its mark See H-D, Page 4 See Hot News, Page 3 March 17, 2014 • Volume 17, Number 4 • $3.99 Bell focuses on safety at all speeds (Left) This Moto-9 hel- met is used by Bell's test engineers when studying Snell, DOT and ECE impacts. (Right) Bell test lab engineer Alex Szela prepares to perform a linear impact test on a Bell Moto-9 helmet at the company's Scotts Valley, Calif., facility. General manager/parts John Maguire, president/general manager Asaf Jacobi and service manager Jim Maguire welcome guests to Harley-Davidson of New York City's grand opening in Tribeca. MASAFUMI NAKAGAWA P01x09-PSB4-NEWS.indd 1 3/5/14 11:29 AM