Posts
219
Joined
6/21/2016
Location
Pitt, PA
US
ferg722
1/8/2019 6:56am
1/8/2019 6:56am
Edited Date/Time
1/10/2019 10:33pm
Lame. Hoping it doesn’t become a trend around here or anywhere..
https://www.wtae.com/article/police-investigate-burglary-at-moon-townsh…
https://www.wtae.com/article/police-investigate-burglary-at-moon-townsh…
I'm surprised dealerships in Pittsburgh are able to stay afloat with the decline in local moto racing and aging demographics and such.
If dealers are giving bikes away and mail order is stealing part and accessory sales, how long will local shops stick around?
The Shop
This is one of the oldest regions in the country by demographics. How many 70 year olds are ripping around in side by sides or R1s? The town where I am from has the same median age as Japan, which is the oldest country by demographics.
But Donovan, I will go on record ,as I've done many times , that the Moto crowd in our area is a dying shell of its former self. Even as short as 10 years ago the A gates were nearly full (well at least 20-25 ) now you're lucky to have 5 . They even have got to the point where they have combined the 250 A and B classes and call it the "AllStar class" because they couldn't get enough guys separately, and even THAT class usually has less than 10 guys on the gate. other classes have similar weak turnouts, with the exception of the 250C class which still gets a decent gate. But the woods racing segment (AWRCS) have come on strong in recent years and they get a helluva turnout compared to the Moto side of things.
But all that being said, the dealerships are making whatever profit they are from the quad/SXS crowd. I've been good friends with the Lojak boys since the mid 70's and they've always said that there is almost zero profit on the race bikes, every racer expects to be a "sponsored" rider,lol, so the dirt bike sales are basically just turning dollars. The profit comes from the 4 wheel crowd and the accessories that they buy.
Pit Row
My brother is a longtime Polaris/Kaw/Suz dealer here. Sells a shit ton of SxS's and to a lesser extent quads.
He sells mx bikes because he has some loyal customers, me included that still ride moto. Plus he's still into and loves mx.
But he would be the first to tell you there's no money in mx bikes. Riders expect to get them for damn near cost, then order most of their parts and gear online.
Say what you want about the SxS and quad guys ( we have a Kawasaki Teryx), but they buy lots of add on accessories and parts. Plus they keep the service dept busy. lol
For a small town, mostly rural dealer that's where the money is. And trust me it's a tough business.
Effing thieves.
I think the culprip is the changing demographics and younger people having other things to do.
A lot of employers do not want to pay people well enough to cover living expenses and have enough left over to moto.
I've gotten into mountain biking because it is so darned affordable. I even rode today. Cost: maybe a half gallon of gasoline and some chain lube.
People need to have the money and places to ride for moto to continue on.
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