PowerSports Business

May 1, 2017

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6 • May 1, 2017 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com long-term mentorship. As Levatich said during the call, "My 17-year-old son took Riding Academy, and the comment that instructor made to the entire class at the end when they had all passed, he said, 'You know, you're now qualified to ride around in a parking lot.' So there's a lot more learning that has to go on to be confident and enjoy riding on the road." However, Harley-Davidson is looking to change that by enhancing the program over the coming years. "When people graduate from Riding Acad- emy, we still have a lot of great conversion, not only to new motorcycles, but into whether it's a used motorcycle or a smaller cc motorcycle, a lot of them do enter the sport. But there's certainly a good number of them that don't," Anoop Prakash, director of U.S. marketing and market development for Harley-Davidson, told Powersports Business. "So what we're trying to do at Riding Academy as we go forward is really focus on helping that person beyond getting their license and now continue that journey to get that confidence level up, so that they can really adopt the sport." DEVELOPING LIFETIME RIDERS Converting Riding Academy students into motorcyclists has been a challenge dealers have been working to overcome as well. And they do so in a variety of ways. Many start the relationship building immediatley, offering a dealership tour before the classroom portion of the Riding Academy begins. "Our dealership is dedicated to the course. The entire dealership gets involved," said Lisa Brogdon, Riding Academy manager at Myers-Duren Harley-David- son in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "Students are taken on a tour of the dealership, so they can feel like they are a part of the dealership before they even finish the class." Cole Harley-Davidson in Bluefield, West Virginia, offers a 45-minute dealer- ship tour for each class. Tour highlights include a stop in the MotorClothes area, where students learn about riding gear and participate in an activity during which they get sized up for the appropriate gear, and a session in the ser- vice department, where the service manager answers any questions. "It would not work if I did not have the cooperation and the teamwork from other employees. They have really bought into it and are very supportive of this class," said Lisa Horne, Cole Harley-Davidson's marketing director and Riding Academy program manager. When each Riding Academy course con- cludes, the staff at Cole Harley-Davidson is also helpful in reaching out to the students. "Each department will follow up with them, ask them how their experience was in class first and if they have any questions and if they can help them. And then I obviously follow up with them, especially those who may be interested in going forward with a bike purchase," Horne reported. She also offers a refresher ride around the training course for students who took the class late in the season and didn't have time to practice over the winter. With its family focus, Myers-Duren Harley- Davidson strays from the hard sell, but the dealership still follows up with students after their course. "Afterwards they're of course contacted by the dealership and checked on to see if they got their M endorsement on their license, if they would like to come in for a bike fitting," Brogdon said. As a safety incentive, Myers-Duren offers a gear discount to students before and after the course. The instructors check-in with the stu- dents after the class as well, and once a year, the dealership offers a Riding Academy reunion for everyone who has completed the course over the past 12 months. The reunion has become so popular, as have the Riding Academy courses, that the dealership is considering hosting two reunions per year. Riverside Harley-Davidson in California has to adhere to strict California Motorcyclist Safety Program standards when it comes to following up with students. However, once students opt in to dealership communication, staff assists with whatever the students need. "We focus on just being there for them no matter where they are in the journey. If they want to test ride different bikes, or ask a ton of questions about the different models or they just want to hang out with us, we encourage that. Each rider has a different experience in mind, and we strive to fulfill each custom expe- rience the best we can," said Kristen Kunzman, marketing director for The Motorcycle Com- pany, the dealership group that owns Riverside Harley-Davidson. Riverside Harley-Davidson is known for having more than 100 events per year at the dealership, so over the course of their Riding HARLEY CONTINUED FROM THE COVER See Harley, Page 7 Cole Harley-Davidson in Bluefield, West Virginia, follows up with students after they finish Riding Academy. The dealership also offers group rides to graduates, so new riders can become comfortable on the street.

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