| Author | Message | ||
     Tnxbrider |
I'm very interested in your feedback. What else can we do? more stuff, events, rides, race support? No promises that I can build it... but let's dream of a better world for a moment or two. T - Bumpus Harley-Davidson & Buell | ||
| Bobup |
Love your Collierville location...now build one closer to me..... LOL...you asked | ||
| P_squared |
Open shop here in the DFW area. You asked. | ||
| Clarkjw |
Pressure Buell to release a full fairing kit designed by an Italian Convice Buell to burn '09 data on a '08 ECM without hassles WSBK! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
More private track days at NSS sponsored by Bumpus HD. Folks are happy to pay, but it would be nice to have a smaller local group of folks you know. Better promotion of your tuning services. I have no idea what you guys can do. How about step two for Rider's Edge including advanced riding school. It would be sweet to organize a local smaller scale riding school for folks who want to move from just being a rider to one who has some really good riding skills. Online parts catalog hosted on your website. Access to race parts. | ||
| Chadhargis |
I'll cover a few things that you're doing VERY well, then hopefully offer some suggestions (although you do a damn fine job so that will be tough!) I'm surprised I'm going to type this...but here goes. I actually ENJOY vising a Harley shop. For several reasons. 1) Staff...the staff is friendly. I love talking with the gang down there. Even this guy Tom, who supposedly runs the place, but he looks more like a kid in a toy store to me. Always smiling and stuff...looking like he actually wants to be there. Very rare to find in a motorcycle shop. 2) There's always hot coffee on those cold days or some cold drinks when it's hot. Even movie theater popcorn if you choose. Cost for these?? Zero! Just good old Southern hospitality. 3) Service bay is a "drive in" affair. No getting off your bike, walking in, telling someone you're there, then going back out to fetch your bike. You ride up to the doors, they open, and you ride into the air-conditioned comfort. 4) Buells are front and center. Walk in the door, and there they are. All in a pretty row along with a good selection of shirts, helmets, gloves, etc. Even a sweet Buell video playing on a nice flat panel LCD TV. 5) I've even been there when there is a band playing, and food to eat. Again...no charge. 6) Tom is often seen at the track, and I've had a lot of fun dueling with him at track days then enjoying a cold beer with him afterward. He's a rider...not just a guy who bought a Harley dealership because he thought it was a good investment. All of those things make Bumpus a unique shop. Nothing else like it really. But notice I've mentioned nothing about having actually bought anything. Shame on me. I have bought some oil filters and bits and pieces...and I'd buy more maintenance items there if it weren't a 75 mile round trip from my house. Go figure that there is NO Buell dealer in Nashville....the capitol city of Tennessee. Sheesh! A guy has to make money...right? So I'm thinking to myself...what can *I* do to help. I enjoy having a quality dealer like Tom around, but I'm not in the financial position to buy a new bike right now. I don't really have a bunch of money burning a hole in my pocket. But...I do stand in front of about 400 or so new riders each year as an MSF instructor, and many of those people see what I ride to class on. Most times it's my Buell. Many of them also plan on buying a Harley. So, I tell them to go check out Bumpus. I don't know how many do...but I'm hoping at least a few of them do. Someone has to pay for the cups of coffee and handfuls of popcorn I've consumed. LOL!  I have always believed the way to be successful is to focus less on the dollars and more on the people. If you serve your customer, the money will be there. A few suggestions I have: 1) Fill the void on here that was left by Dave Stueve. He worked at Appleton (WI) Harley/Buell and was the Jedi Knight of Buell sales. The guy was a walking encyclopedia of all things Buell. He offered a "Fly & Ride" program where he would offer a discount on the bike, arrange a trip for people to fly to Appleton, then go on a ride. After the ride...they, of course, got to ride it home. The ride even consisted of oil changes and such for the new bikes. Now..if you've ever ridden in Wisconsin...you know it's not the riders paradise we have here in Tennessee. Can you imagine an "Fly & Ride" promotion that took people up to the mountains via twisty back roads? Deal's Gap. Cherohala Skyway. Richard Russell Rd. Wolf Pen Gap. And get there by riding out highway 85 and highway 116 coming back highway 30. People from the flatlands would pee their pants. On top of this promotion, he knew (somehow) what bike everyone had. I could email him saying, "I need a set of plugs", and he'd send me what I needed. And it would be the correct part. He kept my credit card info on file, so I didn't even have to fool with that. Parts would arrive in a couple of days. He gave BadWebbers a discount, so I never even asked how much it cost. I seem to recall him mentioning that he sold a quarter million dollars of PARTS in a year. Wow! He was the place to go if you needed any parts, or needed to know what parts you needed. He left the dealership to open his own archery business. Heck, I considered taking up bow hunting just to be able to continue doing business with him. 2) Most non-HD/Buell folks don't really know much about Buells. Most cycle rags compare Buells to race replica bikes and such with which the Buells can't compete (on paper). To sell Buells, you have to not only serve the loyal Kool Aid drinking Buell nation, but get the word out to other riders who don't understand the Buell philosophy. I suggested to a local dealer who sponsors our MSF program, that if they wanted to sell more bikes, that they should loan out a demo bike to one of the instructors for the weekend. Students get breaks, and on those breaks, they love to talk bikes. No matter what bike I'm on, then ask me questions. Especially the Buell, since it's so different looking. Now...picture this....a Buell parked beside the range with a Bumpus dealer tag on it. And an instructor willing to brag on it, and how great the dealer was to let them test ride the bike for the weekend since they had to teach an MFS class. Humm...that would convince me to take a look at that shop if I were a new rider, and it would build relationships with the instructors that stand in front of all of those students each week. Now...where can you find such instructors? Well, what about across the street at Sloans? I can give you a few names of Buell riders and Buell friendly people who teach for Mid-Tenn and LearnToRide (at Nashville Tech). 3) Find riders to review products for you. New exhausts, GPS devices, gear, helmets, custom dyno tunes, etc. Have them write up reviews, complete with pictures of the install and how it works, and post them on here. Think globally...not locally. Whatever product you sell, you have to be able to reach the masses...so the ease of install piece is the key. If someone buys an exhaust or wants to flash their ECU with a custom tune, then it has to be easy to do. A turn key solution is a must. Obviously you can't dedicate staff you're paying to do this work, but an enthusiast would do this "work" for free. And since they aren't tied to the dealership, they'd give you honest feedback. 4) I don't know how legally bound you are by Harley/Buell regarding accessories, but there are some GREAT "farkles" people have come up with on this site. Jeremy (Ft_Bstd) found a low cost voltage monitor. Someone else came up with a clip that keeps the clutch cable pulled out of the way of your gauge cluster called the "Bazootie". I've seen tool tubes, various mounts, HID upgrades, etc. Broker a "group buy" on these items and offer them for sale here. You can also make some scratch on the installation of these items. I like to see dealers, as well as those who post anonymously from the factory, on here. I've ridden so many other brands of bikes that were purely supported by online forums. Dealers and the factory fought the customers. I recall a topic when I had my FJR1300 regarding valve ticking. Yamaha denied it existed, and there were people chronicling their fight with the manufacturer. I kept thinking, "How stupid...Yamaha HAS to know about the internet right? Just fix the guys bike and make him happy." They finally did, but not until he had every single FJR rider listening for the valve tick on their own bike. If they'd have just fixed it the first time out, things would have been much better. Pennywise and pound foolish I say. Keep up the good work. When I hit the lottery, I'm coming to buy that red CR with the high bars on it! | ||
| Chadhargis |
OH!! Good one! I've been interested in doing a riding skills workshop. I'm more than happy to teach it. I've learned from Reg Pridmore, Ed Bargy, and a few talented control riders at track days. I'd be thrilled to do a session on body position, traction, bike "feel", braking, throttle control, etc. A friend of mine (who has done instruction for Keith Code) put a class on like this. It was great. All done on the road, with video review over dinner at the end of the day. GREAT!! | ||
| Doughnut |
Rider's edge: 2-up. I have never had an issue riding, but the idea of someone on the back really worries me. | ||
| Chadhargis |
I don't ride 2-up much, so I'm not the one to assist you. But I have a friend who rides 2-up on a clapped out Suzuki Bandit 1200 with shot suspension, messed up brakes, and bald tires that I can't catch when it's just me. Now HE'S the guy to ask about riding two up. | ||
| Ccryder |
Chad: What's a "farkle"? Hmm, I might know where 25 or 26 of them are on my bike. When I moved down from BG I was amazed that there was a dealer that had something going on every weekend (or at least it seemed like it). If you really want to see someone that enjoys his "job", watch TNxbrider bar-b-q up a batch of burgers or chicken on the industrial sized griddle or grill. He loves to cook and smooze with everyone and you can tell he is having fun. It would be nice if BRAG still existed. We had BRAG chapter in EVV and I directed it for 3 out of 4 years. We had a core group of 7-10 and would have rides and such. Once BRAG went away and we got absorbed by HOG, we lost our identity. The BRAG riders and H-D riders were there for different reasons, and that was the issue. I don't know if it was just that dealer or what. Bumpus seems different. Whenever I'm at Bumpus I get a lot of H-D riders asking me some great questions about my Buell. Anyone else feel the same? BTW, my 1125rt has over 25 farkles (my ST1300 I stopped counting farkles at 50). Well one suggestion would be to get Lee Parks down for a Total Control session. http://www.leeparksdesign.com/ I have never taken one of his classes but know many who have and they RAVE about them. I would sign up for one if it was in middle TN. I'll just bet you could quickly fill the class. Time2Work Neil S. | ||
| Chadhargis |
I've seen Tom work the grill. I'm not "worthy"!  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The best look was the one that Barker, Chad, Drewpy (friend from another board) and I got coming out of Bumpus a couple of weeks ago. Barker is in his red leathers and mohawk helmet, Drewpy was in his Blue race leathers, Chad was in his teal and hi-viz aerostitch, and I was in my yellow leathers. The vest and patch crowd couldn't figure out what to make of us. It was beautiful! Tom, I'm assuming that you are inviting all of your current HD customers to the demo truck event? I'd love to continue to break down the barrier between HD and Buell. I'm sure there are more than one HD rider who could be convinced to ride a Uly. Not trying to do Dave's job, but I LOVE to see an HD rider who is interested in at least hearing about Buells. Tom, is there anything WE can do to help you at the Demo Event? | ||
| Chadhargis |
I'm with ya Fatty. Sales folks are great, but you won't find anyone more enthusiastic than, well....and enthusiast. I always enjoy going to the motorcycle show and hanging around the Buell display to answer questions from people who know NOTHING about Buell. The folks working the display are typically tired of standing for hours, and are ready to leave work, just like I am when I'm at work. I'd be glad to lend a hand during any events. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I moved this to Quickboard. I thought it might get some better visibility. Speak up guys. What ideas do you have? (Message edited by ft_bstrd on February 20, 2009) | ||
| Steve_mackay |
The vest and patch crowd couldn't figure out what to make of us. It was beautiful! Go to a HOG meeting dressed like that. Me in my red/black leathers, and the wife in her pink/black leathers at a HOG meeting got quite the looks Brewcity Thunderbikes is sponsored by Hals in New Berlin, and has been part of their sponsored HOG chapter after BRAG had folded. So some of us attend their HOG meetings. | ||
| Aldaytona |
Get a picture taken with the GEICO lizard?  | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount? If you can find someone to fill the place Dave Stueve did with Appleton, you'll do good. |
