I've got a buddy who owns a small shop. He was looking at picking up KTM but the cost was too high. I told him to look at picking up Husqvarna. He looked into it and it was possible. He thought he would call a few Husky dealers and get some info. He told me today that he called a bunch of dealers and 8 of them were dropping Husky. Needless to say he's not to excited anymore. What's going on? Later
I am seeing this everywhere actually. Just seems like alot of consolidation is happening and the dealers who where on a razors edge margin are going under and the bigger guys are buying them out. And of course Huskys profit margin arent anything close to say a jap bike.
On the same flavor, Malcolm Smith in Riverside CA picked up a smaller Kawi dealership this spring and now has those brands on the floor. Now carrying everything pretty much.... Including Husqvarna, Husabergs,Aprilia, Ducati, Most All of the Jap Brands (except Honda?) and always KTM T
Utah and colorado lost their dealers all within the last year or so. There might be one left in Colo, not sure. I wish I could start up a little dealer!
It might have more to do with dealers having a real hard time selling bikes in this sagging economy. Add to that husky is still a "strange" brand to most and not a high volume seller for anyone but the real good established husky shops like Bills or Halls. It's a very tough biz right now and husky is still a relatively small entity here in the USA.
In the last two years, in the San Francisco Bay area, a large market for motorcycles, the following shops have gone under: Santa Cruz Harley Santa Cruz County BMW The Santa Cruz area Honda/Kawasaki dealer The only dealers left in the SC area are a Ducati shop and Moore & Sons, which is primarily a KTM shop, but also carries Husky, Beta, GasGas and Zero. OTD Cycles closed up their two or three shops in the Bay Area. Modesto Ducati closed (also a Husky dealer) and these are just the ones I can recall off the top of my head. It's tough all around and Husky isn't a mainstream brand, so it can be difficult for the smaller dealers. No matter the brand, do your local shops a favor and shop local! Avoid buying off the internet. You might save a couple bucks, but having a local resource is invaluable. They need our help. Let's show them what membership in the Motorcycle Brotherhood really means - that you always stop to help a fellow rider in need.
I had no idea the Modesto shop closed. Ouch. Yes buy local when you can, at LEAST give your local dealer a chance to give a price, and factor in all of the costs when not buying from your local dealer. I've seen many people type on the internet how much they save without realizing all of the costs such as paying local sales tax when registering a bike shipped to them.
Well said. And in a world with a bad economy, only the fittest will survive and you better be a darn good salesman and bend over backwards to do it!
I understand about buying local, however I would rather drive 11 hours to a reptable dealer who stocks the parts I need. etc..
Well, yes. Just because a dealer is local does not automatically mean that is the best place to buy a bike. But it would be nice to at least give the local guy a chance, if not, they may not be around in the future. Keep in mind the bikes occasionally need things like iBeat...
I understand, and have given some local dealers my business, however I always seem to get let down, and I do not have time to wait for parts. But I certainly support and like keeping things local if I can and I also DO NOT shop at Walmart!
