Posted on 07/12/2015 10:16:56 AM PDT by martin_fierro
I saw my buddy Al in a café, having lunch alone and sat down with him. He sells clothing and accessories in a multi-line (Triumph and Italian) motorcycle shop. You pass by him and are greeted by him on your way to the showroom or service department. He mentioned to me long ago that you could tell what a person rides when you see him walk in the door. Is that true?
“Oh, yes,” he said. “You can tell. “A Moto-Guzzi customer is older, gray hair, heavier-set, rides by himself, comes in alone. Guzzi riders are different from riders of other brands. The bikes are good but not fast. You don’t buy them for performance but for uniqueness. “A Triumph guy is either a really young, hipster kind-of guy, or he’s a bit older and having a midlife crisis. I just got divorced, my wife wouldn’ t let me have a bike, I got rid of everything. I need a bike."
They want to be free and a Triumph is a symbol of freedom. “We see that with every brand, but most often with Bonnevilles, Thruxtons or Scramblers. The guy, maybe late 40s, early 50s, wants to be a rebel again. I wanna be free, I wanna be young, I want a bike like the one I rode in high school, y’know? “A Ducati guy is f lashier. He wants everyone to know he has a Ducati. He’s got the watch, cappuccino set, neck warmer, baseball hat, cuff links, shoes, socks... everything you could possibly put on. Sometimes those guys are actually Italian, or they fantasize about being Italian. “Ducati riders definitely ride faster than the others. They get more speeding tickets. “Aprilia customers are often younger, more open and free-thinking. They’re looking for something different. Very few Americans know anything about Aprilias. They haven’t been exposed to them.
“You know, you don’t just want to sell a guy a bike. You want to make a customer for life. And you don’t make anything on a new bike. Sometimes we lose a little money to sell one. There’s this thing called flooring.. .
“We don’t own all those bikes on the sales f loor. The bank does. Monthly, someone comes in and reads the VIN numbers on all the bikes we have, and we pay what is basically rent...on all of them. Until they’re sold.
“A bike that’s been on the f loor for six months is a money pit. So people can get really good deals on certain models at certain times. Doesn’t mean that what they buy is not a great bike. Maybe we ordered too many, summer’s gone and we realize we have eight of what was supposed to be the new hot bike, but they weren’t as hot as we thought. We have to sit on them all winter.
“Lots of people walk in and automatically want a discount. They immediately want to talk about money off. We have to say, slow down, we don’t even know what you want and you’re demanding a discount.
“If they’ve just bought a bike, they imagine they’ve made you wealthy. You’re going to give them all the clothing and everything at cost.
“I’ve noticed that the more well-off the person is, the more discount they ask for or pretty much demand. I’ve had people argue and beg for five more percent off when I’ve already given them 20%, and they leave and get into a Ferrari. I don’t know why that is.
“You can tell that money doesn’t make people happy. My richest customers are the bitchiest. I don’t want to be harsh, but that’s the truth. The happiest customers walk in, figure out what they want, pay full price and don’t haggle.
They realize that we have all these expenses. We have to have a place for them to try stuff on, we have to have inventory, sizes for them to try on, health care for the employees...
“A ll that continues in the off-season when we don’t make anything at all. Really there’s only about three months a year when a motorcycle dealership makes money. During riding season. Rest of the year you’re trying to keep the doors open, waiting for riding season again.
“The guy who is not demanding, the nice guy, is always gonna get taken care of and benefit from all possible discounts. I’m talking about the guy who comes in and hangs out on his day off, who brings the service department some beer once in a while.
“He’ll see the best of everything, service in the shop, bike sales, everything. We’ll all take super care of him, because we like h i m.”
I said goodbye to Al and bought his lunch. I confess I like to be the guy who is welcomed by the shop employees when he walks in. I’m thinking I should show up with beer once in a while during the year, not just at Christmastime.
The 500 singles were dubbed one-lungers. These things had huge torque.
Been a lot of bikes since then, and that one was not all that memorable due to it's faults, nostalgia notwithstanding.
Let’s see. I’m 66, retired, married to the same woman since 1977, not dumb enough to think that I can be young again.... I guess I’m not supposed to own a 1050 Tiger. It’s a great touring bike no matter what some parts guy thinks.
Though I like the old bikes I’d never get one unless I had a place to display it. I rode a 1970 Yamaha 650 a few years back. I was reminded of just how bad those bikes were compared to today’s. Pretty bikes. But rely on a 60s Triumph or BSA? Never. They are better in memory than reality. And my memory still has those times I had to thumb home and get a pickup truck.
I know a guy who had a Maserati. He can barely make the payments, spends the rest of him money on flash. Gets the girls... until they discover that he doesn’t have a pot to p1ss in outside of the fancy impressive toys.
My first car was a 1936 Packard 120 and my friend had a 1936 Indian Chief formerly owned by the local fire department and ridden by the Chief. The Indian was darn near as long as my Packard!! Both beautiful and today I consider works of art.
I’ve always been a Yamaha guy. I’m actually considering buying an FZR 1300 this week.
I miss riding.
Great Bikes through the sixties and seventies the Japs rewrote the book though.My 1st bike was a 150 Honda Dream with those swooping fenders, wish I still had it.
Nice & simple. Me likee.
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