Features

Sept. 22, 2008 – Aftermarket Digest

Parts Department Employees Using Online Course

Shoei University Online, an extensive online training course for dealers’ parts departments, has been successfully educating hundreds of dealers during the past four months, Shoei Safety Helmet and its exclusive U.S. distributor Helmet House recently announced.
“This online extension of Shoei’s industry-leading live dealer seminar program has offered comprehensive helmet product information and helmet selling skills training that has been key to our continued sales growth in the United States,” said Shoei Safety Helmet President Hiro Mizushima.
“We feel this is yet another example of why Shoei is the No.1 selling premium helmet in the United States and the world. We are very pleased with the launch of this online seminar and feel it is the state of the art for the helmet industry.”
Shoei University Online is offered through Dealership University at www.dealershipuniversity.com. Shoei University Online offers qualifying dealer parts managers video-driven courses covering both Shoei research and development and manufacturing processes as well as overviews of each Shoei helmet model. A second course covers helmet selling skills that are based on lessons learned from the top-selling Shoei dealers around the country.
Participants can start and stop these online courses at any time so they can learn at their own pace and schedule. When the coursework and tests are successfully completed, qualifying dealer parts manager participants earn themselves a free Shoei prize as well as a completion certificate. Additionally, they are entered in a monthly drawing to win a free Shoei helmet.

ADP Lightspeed’s Locator is Utilized by 150th Dealer

ADP Lightspeed announced it has added the 150th dealer to utilize its Parts and Major Unit Locator after launching it just three months ago.
Additionally the number of searches using the Parts and Major Unit Locator system now exceed 4,000.
The locator system in the LightspeedNXT Dealer Management System represents an innovation in inventory management by leveraging the world’s largest powersports dealer network, which contains more than 3,000 dealerships.
To use ADP Lightspeed’s Parts and Major Unit Locator, dealers simply post their inventory on the network and let other dealers find the vehicles and parts that customers are searching for.
“It certainly is working for us. We have dealers calling in and buying parts. We even got rid of some of our old parts,” said Bob Todd, parts manager at Steve Seltzer Honda in Altoona, Pa. “Because of the success we’ve had with it, I told a bunch of dealers we work with that they needed to load the locator too.”
The locator feature virtually eliminates the challenging situation of not having what customers want in stock. Now dealers can easily search other dealers’ inventories for bikes, ATVs, PWC, snowmobiles and parts that not only can generate revenue by creating new sales, but also improves customer satisfaction, turning the dealership into a one-stop shop for all vehicle and part needs.
“It’s a very good tool to have for customers that have immediate needs for a product,” said Ken Scalise at Nicholson Enterprises of Ann Arbor, Mich. “We also use it (the locator) to check for parts within our different stores. If it’s not in stock we always search to see what’s out there.”
Dealers on NXT will have the ability to use the Parts and Major Unit Locator once they install SP 3, the current release. Searching the inventory is a free service. However posting inventory is an additional monthly charge. Posting dealers will be identified for nightly automatic data pulls. The entire process of searching and posting inventory is seamless for dealers, by integrating all activities within LightspeedNXT.

Custom Chrome Names New Media and Events Manager

Custom Chrome has hired an industry veteran, Kurt Peterson, as its new media and events manager.
Peterson’s initial focus will be on public and media relations, advertising, event and market presence and market research, according to a company press release.
Peterson comes from S&S Cycle, where he served as sales manager. Prior to S&S, he worked for American IronHorse, Drag Specialties and at the retail level in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., area.
“We are determined to assemble a small but highly experienced and knowledgeable management team at Custom Chrome,” said Steve Veltri, vice president of sales and marketing. “The appointment of an industry insider such as Kurt to this important role is significant. It shows that we mean business and that serious industry professionals are coming to acknowledge that.”
In the release, Peterson expressed his excitement at joining the Custom Chrome team. “This is an exciting time for my family and I,” he said. “I learned a lot during my years at S&S and hopefully brought a few things of value to their organization along the way.”

SuperTrapp Announces Exhausts for Harley Models

SuperTrapp Industries has introduced 40 exhausts that will fit the Harley-Davidson 2009 models.
The models fit the Road King, Road King Classic, Street Glide, Road Glide, Electra Glide Standard, Electra Glide Classic, Ultra Classic Electra Glide, Night Rod Special, Night Train, Softail Custom, Fat Boy, Softail Deluxe, Heritage Softail Classic, Sportster 883 Low, Sportster 883 Custom, Nightster, Sportster 1200 Low and Sportster 1200 Custom.
Products for Dyna and Rocker 2009 models will be available soon.
In addition to its signature tunable disc diffuser exhaust systems, SuperTrapp manufactures the Kerker brand of exhaust systems, Road Legends Series, which is designed by master bike builder Paul Yaffe, and TC Racing exhausts, which is designed by master ATV engine builder Tom Carlson.
For more information, go to SuperTrapp.com.

U.S. Patent Awarded to Underwater Lighting Company

OceanLED has been granted a U.S. patent for its LED underwater lighting products.
The patent has enabled OceanLED to own the rights of using optical collimators with LEDs for underwater lighting. A collimator placed over an LED uses internal reflection to intensify the light by more than 500 percent, very similar to the principle of a lighthouse, the company said.
The U.S. patent is the last of a series of patents that OceanLED has been granted, adding to many others including European, Middle Eastern and Australian patents.
OceanLED’s most popular product, the Amphibian range, has been designed with a unique linear shape, versatile enough to be mounted onto any transom.
Visit the OceanLED Web site www.oceanled.com for more information.

A Preview of Germany’s Upcoming Motorcycle Fair

A unique family event will be taking place from Oct. 8-12: INTERMOT – International Motorcycle and Scooter Fair. Whether it’s naked bikes, sports bikes, cruisers, scooters, quads or ATVs, chrome and paint rule in the Cologne exhibition halls. In addition to enjoying the presentations of around 1,100 exhibitors, with many new products making their debut on the world market, visitors can join in the activities in the outside area or watch breathtaking shows.
For more on INTERMOT, see www.intermot-cologne.com. PSB

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