Motorcycle & Powersports News May 2011 : Page 33
mechanical stuff,” advises O’Hanlon. “A 750 Honda is a history lesson. It’s a design that hasn’t changed dramatically over the last 40 years, and it’s what turned America on to in-line fours.” “Is the bike something that is familiar to you?,” says Bator. “For example, if you al-ready work on Kawasakis, a vintage Kawasaki isn’t going to be a real challenge, but I would send a bevel drive Ducati or a 1929 Hender-son to a specialist.” Dennis Magri, owner of San Francisco Vin-tage, a primarily British motorcycle repair facil-ity, provides guidelines for a shop owner interested in taking the plunge. “You need to charge for diagnostic work so that the customer can find out what exactly is wrong with his bike. If the bike does not run, write your work order to read, ‘Diagnostic and attempt to get running.’ Suggest a designated period of time, say, four hours. Add, ‘Estimate will be revised.’” Second, he advises you to keep the bottom line in mind. “Do not create a work order that approaches the value of the bike,” says Magri. “When it comes to low value vintage bikes, be careful to do the minimum to get it running and identify problems.” Third, Magri says to be sensitive to the customer’s budget. “Limit each work order to keep it affordable.” Charles Barnes of TripleTec suggests, “A lot of vintage bikes need a lot of work. I work out pay as you go plans with my customers. They give me $500, and I do $500 worth of work, and then stop until the customer sends me another payment.” Lastly, help the customer create a list of priorities. “People have dreams and aspira-tions,” Magri explains, “But you, as the dealer, have experience. People often have little idea of how to prioritize-they don’t know what their priorities should be. I tell my customers it is more important to have a reliable motor-cycle then to have a racer or a show bike. It’s better in the long run to create a hierarchy of what is needed to keep the thing running.” For the Love of the Bike “You have to love it,” says Barnes. “While you are not going to make a $100,000 a year doing it, vintage is steady. And vintage bikes draw customers for your new bikes.” “If you are looking for ways to make money outside of the box, classic bikes are a great suggestion,” concludes Glenn Bator. “Get a bike, and use the restoration process to train your people. Put the bike on the dealership floor, get sources for parts, put the word out and people will come to you.” t motorcycleproductnews.com May 2011 33
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