Becoming a motorcycle dealer?

[FJRider]

I am a negative bitter wanker.

I think a few have noticed already ..

It seems abundantly clear that OP (if not engaged in a troll of EPIC proportions) does not have the ability to "write a bomb proof plan" because he just doesnt have the baselines.

THAT was clear in his first post ... he came on this site asking advice ... ???

Dunno: OTT much?

Nah ... nail on the head stuff ...

[DODO``]

You know something. I am not even going to bother reading the rest of this thread. What a bunch of negative, bitter wankers you lot are!

You can be successful at anything if you want to and are prepared to work fucking HARD!

My ex and I started a motorbike shop in 1980. I was still 19 (just) and he was 22 or 23. We had a vision. We had nothing but a few thousand dollars in savings (for our first home) a ute (A60 Austin) and some hand tools. The bank did not support us, a lawyer advised us not to do it, and our wonderful accountant saw us as a couple prepared to give it a go.

It was HARD! REALLY, REALLY HARD! I worked a fulltime job Monday to Friday, then I made sandwiches/waitressed at a café (in todays terms) Sat/Sun. That meant starting at 5am to make sandwiches etc and working to maybe mid day. Then I came back to the Roadhouse and waitressed till close. To this day I am proud of my short order cooking skills. The tourist buses used to stop at our Roadhouse (café).

Please never, ever complain about long hours to me. Everything that we earned went back into our bike shop. It was amazing times!

It was back in the day where you could run your debtors 90 days (expected) and your floor plan finance bailed you out one or two times....

You can achieve ANYTHING if you want it badly enough. Just be prepared to work harder than you thought you were able to. Have a real conviction you CAN DO IT!

Have a plan, make it a good one. Make sure you are confident you can do it. Failure is NOT an option! Get professional support that also backs you.

Never, ever listen to the naysayers. NEVER! It is your dream afterall.

Be prepared (good business plan required) to fail. Have a back up plan.

Believe in yourself.


PS: My ex and I did an amazing job building the bike shop, we made good money in the end. We sold it for a profit, when it suited us to sell it.

Hey DODO``, give it friggen heaps if that is what you want to do. Do your homework, write a bomb proof plan and stick to it. Ignore the negative wankers that cant make any money from their own businesses!

GIVE IT HEAPS!

Thanks mom haha . Yes you are right, one word that kept popping up in my head was "bitter" reading some comments. Constructive & harsh advice is one thing and being bitters and plain dick another. I'm mature enough to know what to listen and what not to. I guess this sort of things will be one of the things I will need to learn / deal with.
Or it could've been my entire mistake asking this question here in KB! Haha
Oh and thanks for the inspiration.
I've got more than enough info / knowledge from this thread now thanks for those of you actually meant it.
Cheers all Ill update phase 2 in my journey soon.

[Mom]

Lol, that still doesn't explain why he is your ex because he sounds so great in your comments.

Why he is my ex has nothing to do with this thread, and is also none of your business.

[skippa1]

One word of warning about working full time in what was your hobby is that any passion you have for motorbikes will be beaten out of you until one day the passion will be gone. one of the reasons I don't have a bike at present.

This right here is the truth

[sharp2183]

I agree with Mom here actually. He could make it work if he works hard enough.

But shit, why work 80 hours a week, mortgage your house, lose your weekends etc for the CHANCE to earn less than he does now?

Better to cut down his hours and work part time in a bike shop. All the enjoyment, none of the risk.

[F5 Dave]

It is possible that kiwi motorcyclists aren't the best people to have as customers. The number of threads on KB whinging about various dealerships would appear to support that supposition.

Best point of this thread.


to that end I'll start early and avoid the rush.

"Dodo motorcycles ripped me off

I bought a bike from these guys and even though I falsified the finance papers so might have been slightly been later with payments and crashed the bike on the test ride the mechanic didn't fix it properly and I crashed again and the warranty claim took too long but they ripped me off.

dont ever buy a bike from these guys."


so there you go.

anyway you sound like a smart guy if you are an architect. But clearly you are the sort of person who will selectively take only the advise they want to hear. Even free legal advice from HDC. So there's no helping you.

the Gay shop might be a good idea though. "Harley's Hondas and Chaps of Sydney". Can start as a hangout coffee shop selling 70s biker caps and vests & move on from there. Live your dream.

[Katman]

Best point of this thread.


to that end I'll start early and avoid the rush.

"Dodo motorcycles ripped me off

I bought a bike from these guys and even though I falsified the finance papers so might have been slightly been later with payments and crashed the bike on the test ride the mechanic didn't fix it properly and I crashed again and the warranty claim took too long but they ripped me off.

dont ever buy a bike from these guys."

Well now we know you're lying.

He doesn't have a mechanic.

[Mom]

Was your ex a mechanic? otherwise involved in the industry?

He was a biker, raced a bit, had worked in a backyard workshop that worked on british bikes. I used to hang there with the 1%ers. No formal qualification in anything. He sold carpet at one stage. Before we started the shop he was working in forestry and then repairing hay balers. I was a nurse with no commercial experience. We both rode bikes for transport.

We were offered an opportunity and made the decision to give it a go. We borrowed $100K on a debenture over our stock. Our first house bought some 4 years later cost $22K so that will give you an indication of what a risk we took. We got some really good advice and we followed it to the letter and refused to fail. Because of our age and lack of any experience the bank would not even support us.

I still hold that if you want to succeed in something in life, you will succeed if you plan for it and work hard. I dont see how being in business in this day and age is any different to 30 years ago. Fuck we went through the farmers putting their cheque books away and interest rates in the high 20's%. We once got to the point where we were planning to close the doors and walk away it got so bad, we planned it to the last $ so we would not lose anything, and kept working hard to keep our heads above water. We NEVER gave up and only sold up when it suited us to do so.

[Katman]

I dont see how being in business in this day and age is any different to 30 years ago.

The 80's had the highest bike registration figures that New Zealand has ever had.

It was also before the advent of the internet - which I'm sure you're aware has greatly affected bike shops profits.

[Katman]

I would have to agree....

I'm not sure quite how I feel about that.

[Murray]

I'm not sure quite how I feel about that.

Jeez take a positive comment when you can!!

Is that the real Katman because hes starting to make sense (aside from the personal digs)??

[pritch]

I have mentioned this before but it seems timely here.

When I first became interested in bikes the shops were different, they were in the main street and they were smaller, much smaller.

In the case of the one with which I'm most familiar, the owner was the mechanic, the parts man, he did the office work, he was the salesman, he was the workshop foreman in so far as there was one apprentice or mechanic. He had two agencies: AJS, and later the then newcomer Suzuki.

Many years later still under the same name but with different owners, in a different part of town: a team of mechanics, a parts guy, two or three in sales - the owner and one or two others, and two in the office - Mrs owner and one other. These guys were also buying management/efficiency expertise from an outside source.
There may additionaly be a service receptionist and a workshop foreman at various times.

In the event of hard times occurring the owner in the first example was better equipped to weather the "dry spell". The bigger operations have bigger outgoings and therefore need a lot more money coming in. It seems to me that the bigger operation can get into trouble quite quickly if there's a slow down in the economy.

The suggestion to go rural only is interesting. I think it's the farm bike sales that keep the local bike shops in business. There are some Honda dealers that just do farm bikes. The Blenheim Honda dealer had an interesting setup: the building was divided in two, one end sold bikes, the other end sold chainsaws. The two would seem complimentary in a rural service centre?

[Katman]

Jeez take a positive comment when you can!!

[Katman]

In the event of hard times occurring the owner in the first example was better equipped to weather the "dry spell". The bigger operations have bigger outgoings and therefore need a lot more money coming in. It seems to me that the bigger operation can get into trouble quite quickly if there's a slow down in the economy.

It's true that a small business has a far greater ability to ride out tough patches.

That small business still has to generate a certain profit margin though.

The margin in new (or used) bike sales alone will never be enough to maintain even a tiny operation.

[Murray]

have a nice day!!