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V-Twin Expo shows industry moving forward

Dealer attendance increases, vendors step up branding

 

Anyone who wanted to gauge the strength of the American V-twin marketplace needed only to take a few steps inside the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati. Küryakyn and Rinehart Racing battle in similar performance aftermarket segments, and their booth designs stole the show upon entering the exhibit hall. A longer walk to the back saw HardDrive Parts, the new V-twin distributor from Western Power Sports, making a splash in its Cincy debut with a double-decker setup that attracted a steady stream of visitors — and new dealers.

And for those who couldn’t make the journey: It’s alive and well, thanks.IMG_8494

“The V-Twin show is a niche show, but it’s the largest niche in the powersports industry,” said Brian VanKoevering, PowerSports product manager for Design Engineering, Inc. “The narrow focus allows me to concentrate and show products that will specifically benefit the V-twin dealer. We had some recently launched products to show off, so it worked well. On the supply-chain side, it allows buyers to connect with the pulse of entire V-twin industry in one weekend.”

That pulse on an unseasonably warm February weekend was witnessed by the throngs of dealers in attendance on Saturday. In the end, the two-day show, with 20 new exhibitors on hand, combined to see dealer attendance increase by 8 percent, according to show producer Jim Betlach.

“The V-Twin Expo continues to be the backbone of the V-Twin market,” National Powersport Auctions marketing director Ryan Keefe said. “It provides all segments of the business an opportunity to interact and create new connections to grow the industry.”

Attendees mostly described their business situation as “cautiously optimistic” and noted a more stabilized market compared to the not-too-distant past.

VanKoevering, for example, noted that the emergence of Victory and Indian has allowed aftermarket companies to branch out, offering new product designs and performance add-ons.

“Plus, we’re seeing the international markets continuing to have great demand for quality American brands,” he added. “Look at the export growth The Motor Co. had last year. These customers want the same quality aftermarket parts they see in the magazines, so there is a huge opportunity there.”

A double-deck, but no bus

HardDrive, displaying about a dozen of its exclusive brands, made its presence felt in a major fashion with its two-story booth. The stream of dealer sign-ups that were being handled on the upper deck was steady all weekend, according to national sales manager Ronnie Wehr.

“It’s been really good to be here,” Wehr said. “For those that didn’t know us, they were happy to see that they had another option in a distributor. We’ve had quite a few people come by and tell us we were the talk of the show, so that was nice, a great compliment.”

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HardDrive vendor Fox debuted its entry lineup into the touring marketplace with its Street Performance Series, the brand’s V-twin-specific bolt-on suspension upgrade.

“This is a new market for us,” Fox’s Jason Smith said. “We’ve had some activity in the street market with café racers, but this is our first real push into the V-twin market.”

The show attendance gave Wehr and his colleagues an extra boost heading into the kickoff of the riding season.

“We’ve been busy all day long,” he said. “It’s really surpassing my expectations, I have to say. One of our employees has been signing up dealers for a long time in the industry here, and she said she didn’t remember ever signing up this many dealers in one day. We gave out backpacks at the beginning of the day, and by noon we went through 600 backpacks. We brought 750, and we had to save some for Sunday. And I didn’t think we’d get through 250.”

Giveaways from Fox, Firebrand and Michelin, among others, kept dealers intrigued and milling around the booth.

New brands, new booth

Küryakyn wowed attendees with its impressive booth display, showing off a dealership display wall full of products from its legacy brand in addition to its performance offering, Crusher, and its new premium brand, Bahn, which was launched at the show.

An inspiring mix of architectural design and built-in video displays, along with an effective traffic flow pattern, created a steady stream of dealers. Crusher offered a show special that allowed dealers to buy six products and get one free.

All Bahn accessories start as premium-grade forged aluminum, and are then precision machined with distinctive features that contrast smooth chrome or black anodized “tuxedo” finishes, free of names and logos. Bahn products are available for Harley-Davidson and Victory applications.

“Dealers are really excited about what we’re doing with the core brand of Küryakyn,” president Holger Mohr said. “We’ve had a lot of great feedback about Crusher. It’s created a good industry buzz. People are excited about Crusher and Bahn, which helps Küryakyn and our dealers attract a different customer, looking for a more premium product.”

The major investment in the booth also has proved worthwhile, as parts of it were used during the IMS tour.

“Dealers have really appreciated the look and feel we’ve created with our booth,” Mohr said. “We really want to make sure we have a strong position in the marketplace, and make sure the image is reflected. We need to represent the brand the right way, and I think this booth does that well.”

The ability for staffers to show dealers a wall full of Küryakyn product also helps tell the brand’s story.

“We want dealers to know that this wall makes money,” Mohr said as he pointed to the slatwell. “It’s a money-maker wall.”

Betlach, meanwhile, reported that exhibitor renewal rates for the 2016 V-Twin Expo, set for Feb. 6-7 at the Duke Energy Center, are “well ahead” of last year.

2015 V-Twin Expo Awards

Performance Product of the Year

Cobra Engineering — Power Port Exhaust

Accessory of the Year

Leatherworks Inc. — Genuine Leather
Single-Sided Swingarm Bags

Value Product of the Year

Alloy Art — Strong Arm FL Fairing Support Brackets

Tech Product of the Year

Vance & Hines — Fuelpak FP3

Audio Product of the Year

Hoppe Industries — Batwing Fairing for Softails

Cruiser Motorcycle of the Year

Indian Motorcycle — Indian Scout

Custom Production Motorcycle of the Year

Arlen Ness and Victory Motorcycles —
Victory Ness Magnum

Motorcycle of the Year

Harley-Davidson — Road Glide Special

Industry Leader of the Year —

J.A. Lacy, CEO of Motorsport Aftermarket Group

Lifetime Achievement Award —

John Andrews, Andrews Products

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