“A fix for their bottom line” |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2011 10:54 PM PST Don Jones of Strokerz, a service and custom-bike shop, doubles his staff during Bike Week. (N-J | Jim Tiller) Zach Moltere, a shop tech at Strokerz Custom Motorcycle Development in Daytona Beach, works on a custom chopper Monday. (N-J | Jim Tiller) DAYTONA BEACH -- Whether it's Bike Week or spring, local motorcycle repair and service shops love March. "We do about 25 percent of our business for the year during March," said Dennis DaCosta, service manager at Destination Daytona Harley-Davidson. "We do a lot of business just before, during and right after Bike Week." Area motorcycle shops are doubly blessed. Bike Week attracts an estimated 500,000 bikers over the 10-day event. And spring weather comes early here with local bike riders eager to enjoy the sun and cruise the open roads long before their Northern counterparts. Both sets of riders need a service shop when charging systems fail, brakes need replacing or for regularly scheduled service. "March is the jump start to our busy spring," said Don Jones, owner of Strokerz, a service and custom-bike shop a block west of the Beach and Main street intersection. "It's an indicator of how the rest of our year will go as people get their toys out of the garage and recover from the holidays." Jones estimated 15 percent to 20 percent of his business is done in March with about 80 percent of this week's customers being Bike Week visitors. "A lot of people trailer their bikers down here, and, so, while they are here, they have a regular service done or need a new battery or a small repair," Jones said. DaCosta sees much the same thing at Destination Daytona. "You would think that if people are coming to Bike Week from out of the area, they would have their bikes worked on back home before they get here, but that's not always the case," he said. "Destination Daytona is someplace to come to and see the new models and have some fun. Having some service done here is an 'excuse' to come out here so they can walk and look around." The two shops, located in different Bike Week-heavy event areas, get so busy they each hire additional technicians to handle the extra workload. DaCosta temporarily hires 10 Harley-Davidson certified master mechanics from other dealerships in Colorado, Georgia, New Hampshire and Virginia. The dealership pays for the mechanics to travel here and their hotel rooms for 10 days. "When we hire them from other dealers, we know what kind of employees they are and what work they can do so we don't have problems," he said. Jones doubles his staff to four with two temporary hires for Bike Week, he said. Other shop owners pay their regular mechanics overtime to handle the additional work. "I have guys that have been here awhile, and so I give them the extra work rather than bring someone in who may not be fully trained and doesn't know how we do things here," said Carl Morrow of Carl's Speed Shop on Beach Street. "If we get too busy, we refer people to other shops instead of having them wait. The idea is to get them back out riding and having fun as quick as possible or they may not want to continue riding or coming back to Bike Week." Bike Week crowds also attract many temporary vendors selling bike parts and accessories from tents throughout the area. Destination Daytona permits about 25 on site. "A lot of people come here (during Bike Week) to have things done to their bikes," DaCosta said. "They buy chrome and other accessories and have them put on by the vendors." Few of the temporary set-ups are doing basic motorcycle repairs and services and are little threat to local service shops, Jones said. Although Florida provides nearly year-round motorcycle riding weather conditions, local riders still mark Bike Week as a major event in the lifestyle. "Bike Week carries with it a great excitement, not just locally, but all over the motorcycle riding world. It's huge," DaCosta said. "When I was living in Connecticut, even if I could not get down here, I was determined to ride that week no matter where I was. It's like that all over, and so motorcycle shops benefit from that all over." Rick Chrismon opened Chrismon's Cycle Repair in Bunnell about five years and sees little direct business benefits from Bike Week, but a significant indirect boost." "If I depended on Bike Week, I'd starve. It's the local people I see in the grocery store each week that keeps me busy," Chrismon said. "I would say my business is up 30 percent from this time last year. I think people are just tired of staying home. I've worked 27 straight days without a day off to handle the work." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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