Bohn's Cycle in Pittsburgh, PA is for sale

bummer to see another dealership go, especially after Honda of houston announcing its closing last month. Not a good start to 2018 for dealerships...

It's a tough business out there. The local shops are dying and being replaced with Megastores. The car business is the same way. One dealer buying up 20-40 stores to control the entire market area. Sad but that is the way it is now. I don't think it's healthy for either business to have one company control every franchise in the area.

True story. Lithia Auto group out of Oregon just bought 2 of the 3 biggest Auto groups in western Pa. One had 11 locations the other had 8, bringing Lithia's total number of physical dealerships to somewhere in the 150 range. Not sure why anyone needs that amount of headaches. I have a hard enough time staffing ONE store with qualified,quality personnel .

That really sucks. I remember them when they were THE Husky shop in the Pittsburgh area... and beyond. Not the greatest location to get in and out of but they ruled back in the day. I wonder where it will all this downsizing will lead us

Keep in mind---Bohn's is for SALE . Not necessarily closing. The business,inventory and property is available to any adventurous soul that wants to give it a shot , they haven't sold out to a Mega Dealer. Not that I'm aware of.

Mike- you are correct ,Bohns was the go-to Husky shop, but Lojaks were right in there as well. And Lojaks just re-introduced Husqvarna back a year or so ago (after a 30ish year hiatus) to complement their Yamaha line. There's nothing like the service of a small town dealership that's owned and run by racers .

Wow this is random to come across on here. I grew up in Brookline and went here a lot when younger.

Originally listed 8/1/2014.

OldPro277 wrote:

Keep in mind---Bohn's is for SALE . Not necessarily closing. The business,inventory and property is available to any adventurous soul that wants to give it a shot , they haven't sold out to a Mega Dealer. Not that I'm aware of.

Mike- you are correct ,Bohns was the go-to Husky shop, but Lojaks were right in there as well. And Lojaks just re-introduced Husqvarna back a year or so ago (after a 30ish year hiatus) to complement their Yamaha line. There's nothing like the service of a small town dealership that's owned and run by racers .

Last time there was a thread in here about dealers and pricing I seem to remember a lot of experts chiming in about how to run a dealership. Perhaps one of them will step up to the plate and show everyone how its done.

OldPro277 wrote:

Keep in mind---Bohn's is for SALE . Not necessarily closing. The business,inventory and property is available to any adventurous soul that wants to give it a shot , they haven't sold out to a Mega Dealer. Not that I'm aware of.

Mike- you are correct ,Bohns was the go-to Husky shop, but Lojaks were right in there as well. And Lojaks just re-introduced Husqvarna back a year or so ago (after a 30ish year hiatus) to complement their Yamaha line. There's nothing like the service of a small town dealership that's owned and run by racers .

Old Pro.... Agreed. Lojak's had/have a great shop... as well as riders. I remember racing hare scrambles against them in the mid to late 70's. I never had a chance!! Those guys were FAST. Good times though.

F150Motocrosser wrote:

Man, I just randomly came across this and am totally bummed about it! Bohn's Cycle, a family owned dealership in Pittsburgh since 1944, is for sale. $189,900 buys the building, the business, parts inventory and equipment. http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/2015-Saw-Mill-Run-Blvd-Pittsburgh-PA/5776071/

I was proudly born and raised in Pittsburgh. When my father was in high school in the 70s, he'd to go to Bohn's for parts for his '74 Husky 125. Ron Bohn won gold for the USA ISDT team in 1973 along side the likes of Dick Burleson and Malcolm Smith.

The Pittsburgh area and the surrounding region in general is rich in moto history and enthusiasts; much of which passed through the doors of Bohn's Cycle at some point. Another sad sign of the times, I suppose

Does Trump know about this?

F150Motocrosser wrote:

Man, I just randomly came across this and am totally bummed about it! Bohn's Cycle, a family owned dealership in Pittsburgh since 1944, is for sale. $189,900 buys the building, the business, parts inventory and equipment. http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/2015-Saw-Mill-Run-Blvd-Pittsburgh-PA/5776071/

I was proudly born and raised in Pittsburgh. When my father was in high school in the 70s, he'd to go to Bohn's for parts for his '74 Husky 125. Ron Bohn won gold for the USA ISDT team in 1973 along side the likes of Dick Burleson and Malcolm Smith.

The Pittsburgh area and the surrounding region in general is rich in moto history and enthusiasts; much of which passed through the doors of Bohn's Cycle at some point. Another sad sign of the times, I suppose

BobbyM wrote:

Does Trump know about this?

Lame Bobby. Really lame.

Man that seems super cheap if it includes all the inventory.

500 Mike wrote:

Old Pro.... Agreed. Lojak's had/have a great shop... as well as riders. I remember racing hare scrambles against them in the mid to late 70's. I never had a chance!! Those guys were FAST. Good times though.

Mike, yep, Ron and Joe were ridiculously fast woods guys. I was one of the few that raced strictly moto for them back in the day. Their nephew Eddie went on to win I believe 9 National GNCC championships and was elected into the AMA Hall of Fame last year. Crazy fast gene pool. Did you do any D5 moto stuff?

OldPro277 wrote:

Mike, yep, Ron and Joe were ridiculously fast woods guys. I was one of the few that raced strictly moto for them back in the day. Their nephew Eddie went on to win I believe 9 National GNCC championships and was elected into the AMA Hall of Fame last year. Crazy fast gene pool. Did you do any D5 moto stuff?

I did do some D5 MX. High Point, Appalachia Lake, Keystone Raceway, Murrysville MX, Rocky Ridge among others I can't think pf right off. Not all were AMA tracks. This was '73 - 77 probably. I was a mid pack C rider. I had a lot of fun but never was very fast. I lived and breathed MX even after I stopped racing for a lot of years. Not nearly as much now but I still follow it. Haven't been to a Pro race to spectate in a long time though. Used to attend Steel City and High Point religiously. Lost a lot of interest once the 4 Strokes took over.

That is an incredibly low price. I would imagine that gets you an independent shop w/o franchises.

My company is looking into that Guntown cycle den. Check us out on eBay. Lowest prices and always free shipping.
http://stores.ebay.com/Guntown-Cycle-Den

500 Mike wrote:

I did do some D5 MX. High Point, Appalachia Lake, Keystone Raceway, Murrysville MX, Rocky Ridge among others I can't think pf right off. Not all were AMA tracks. This was '73 - 77 probably. I was a mid pack C rider. I had a lot of fun but never was very fast. I lived and breathed MX even after I stopped racing for a lot of years. Not nearly as much now but I still follow it. Haven't been to a Pro race to spectate in a long time though. Used to attend Steel City and High Point religiously. Lost a lot of interest once the 4 Strokes took over.

Very cool. All places I raced . Did all 125A, never raced a 250 until 1979. Retired from racing before the 1980 season. Broke all my ribs twice ,punctured lungs,blah blah blah. Wasnt ever quite the same.

How about HotShoe park in Prospect? The east coast version of Glen Helen . and there was Freedom Acres , Country Springs and my all time favorite Penny Hollow Park. So many great tracks within a 50 mile radius back then. I can think of at least 6 or 7. Now its only one . Damn shame.

OldPro277 wrote:

Keep in mind---Bohn's is for SALE . Not necessarily closing. The business,inventory and property is available to any adventurous soul that wants to give it a shot , they haven't sold out to a Mega Dealer. Not that I'm aware of.

Mike- you are correct ,Bohns was the go-to Husky shop, but Lojaks were right in there as well. And Lojaks just re-introduced Husqvarna back a year or so ago (after a 30ish year hiatus) to complement their Yamaha line. There's nothing like the service of a small town dealership that's owned and run by racers .

500 Mike wrote:

Old Pro.... Agreed. Lojak's had/have a great shop... as well as riders. I remember racing hare scrambles against them in the mid to late 70's. I never had a chance!! Those guys were FAST. Good times though.

OldPro277 wrote:

Mike, yep, Ron and Joe were ridiculously fast woods guys. I was one of the few that raced strictly moto for them back in the day. Their nephew Eddie went on to win I believe 9 National GNCC championships and was elected into the AMA Hall of Fame last year. Crazy fast gene pool. Did you do any D5 moto stuff?

I raced with the younger generation of Lojaks. Eddie Jr and a few others. I believe Ed's grandson still races. I can't remember his name though. Ron Bohn was still tearing it up a few years ago when I ran D5 and AWRCS. I believe he was in the vet or SR class. The good old days. I love getting on here and seeing names i recognize.

agn5009 wrote:

I raced with the younger generation of Lojaks. Eddie Jr and a few others. I believe Ed's grandson still races. I can't remember his name though. Ron Bohn was still tearing it up a few years ago when I ran D5 and AWRCS. I believe he was in the vet or SR class. The good old days. I love getting on here and seeing names i recognize.

Yep, Ryan Lojak is the youngest of the fast Lojak's. All good eggs. Ron and Joe finally retired a little while back and sold to Eddie Sr., and they are still humping. My daughter just bought her husband an 18 YZ450F for Christmas from them. Probably our 20th from them over the years. Highly recommend. Just really nice to buy race bikes from a "race" shop,not just a "bike" dealer.

kzizok wrote:

That is an incredibly low price. I would imagine that gets you an independent shop w/o franchises.

you can't just buy into a franchise out of the blue. there's an extensive vetting process these days.

OldPro277 wrote:

Very cool. All places I raced . Did all 125A, never raced a 250 until 1979. Retired from racing before the 1980 season. Broke all my ribs twice ,punctured lungs,blah blah blah. Wasnt ever quite the same.

How about HotShoe park in Prospect? The east coast version of Glen Helen . and there was Freedom Acres , Country Springs and my all time favorite Penny Hollow Park. So many great tracks within a 50 mile radius back then. I can think of at least 6 or 7. Now its only one . Damn shame.

OldPro... Sounds like some tough injuries. Punctured lung can't be much fun. I did race at HotShoe. I remember trying to walk that track and when we came to that downhill I thought, I'm not sure I can do this!! It was much easier on the bike but was was still a steep one. Did several races at Freedom Acres. Had a 125cc Penton at that time. Never raced Penny Hollow though. Lot's of great memories from those days. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Life and racing seemed so much simpler then. Oh well, I still enjoy keeping up with MX and SX these days but its definitely not the same. I can remember waiting impatiently for the new Dirt Bike and MX Action magazine to show up each month and waiting a week or 2 sometimes for Cycle News to come out with the results of the last national. Instant gratification these days. It is a shame about the tracks but time marches on as they say.

We just bought out 1st load on NOS from them today.... more to come, check us out stores.ebay.com/Guntown-Cycle-Den

GTCD15317 wrote:

We just bought out 1st load on NOS from them today.... more to come, check us out stores.ebay.com/Guntown-Cycle-Den

Wow! Thanks for the heads up. Hey, any chance there's any Bohn's Cycle merch of any kind in there?? Even a just a sticker or something?? This was my dad's go-to shop in the 70s, and I'd really like to get my hands on some kind of momento for him...

I assume the lot you bought is a mixture of allllll kinds of stuff?? What manufacturers / eras ??? Thank you sir!

I'll keep an eye out, we still have another load to get out of there still, we got alot of good stuff. This load pretty much was all 60-70s... that hp box in the middle is full of pistons, about 40 per row....Hell of a score. We have a couple more area dealerships lined up also. This stuff will start hitting our store tomorrow.

GTCD15317 wrote:

I'll keep an eye out, we still have another load to get out of there still, we got alot of good stuff. This load pretty much was all 60-70s... that hp box in the middle is full of pistons, about 40 per row....Hell of a score. We have a couple more area dealerships lined up also. This stuff will start hitting our store tomorrow.

Thank you my friend! Man, I could spend hours rummaging through old inventory like that. If you don't mind me asking,do you just keep your ear to the ground about dealerships who plan to close their doors, then approach the owners about making a deal for the inventory?? Looking forward to seeing the new items you ad to your ebay store

As someone who works in finance, I can tell you that a lot of the problem has to do with new financing guidelines. Synchrony bank and a lot of others have raised their standards as far as credit scores go for people wanting to finance. If you want to finance a motorcycle these days, your credit score has to be 675 and above. It’s sad, but a lot of people do not have credit scores that high. You can finance a car with a 550 score.

A lot of this has to do with theft. Way more thieves out there these days. And people who get their bikes stolen stop paying for them if they aren’t recovered.

Another reason has to do with no regulation from the Manufacturers. Since the birth of the internet, a lot of companies regulate the businesses that sell their product. I know Trek bicycles does regulate. If your local shop is selling a Madone for 8500.00, but you see it at another dealer online for 7,000.00, you can’t order it. They aren’t aloud to ship. The bikes are in store pick up only. If Honda, Kawi, and others would do this, it would help the smaller businesses. I’m guilty of it as well. When I bought my 01, 03, and 05 Honda’s, I drove 4 hours north because I got the bikes almost 1100.00 cheaper.

It’s sad because I always enjoy the mom and pop dealerships and customer service better than the super stores.

I didn't know about this. What a shame.

F150Motocrosser wrote:

Thank you my friend! Man, I could spend hours rummaging through old inventory like that. If you don't mind me asking,do you just keep your ear to the ground about dealerships who plan to close their doors, then approach the owners about making a deal for the inventory?? Looking forward to seeing the new items you ad to your ebay store

We just keep our ears open, work out connections and usually, like in this case show up in person with a load of cash to discuss.