Feb. 11, 2008 – Three-wheelers: A growing niche

By Neil pascale
Editor
One element of the on-road motorcycle that appears to be growing is the three-wheel market, a segment that is reaching out to the aging rider as well as an all-together new consumer.
Powersports Business spoke to several of these companies, those not only in the traditional and seemingly growing trike market but those trying to break in new vehicles, from Can-Am with its roadster to Thoroughbred with its Ford-driven Stallion. Here’s an update on a handful of three-wheel companies.

Lehman Trikes
It’s not difficult to see the South Dakota manufacturer experienced rapid growth in 2007, even if the publicly traded company does not release retail sales reports.
Its most recently released financial report shows a 42 percent increase in revenue for its third quarter compared to a year ago. Plus, its sales of more than $5.9 million in its third quarter exceeded its second quarter, which historically has been the manufacturer‘s strongest quarter.
“That 42 percent is some part indicative of what is happening to the motorcycle rider demographics,” said Ken Hines, Lehman Trikes’ vice president of business development and customer support.
Hines is referring to the aging Baby Boomer demographic that has begun to either shift away from motorcycling or looked for an alternative to their cruiser or touring bike.
“We’re getting a huge number of them now that are deciding to go with a trike,” Hines said. “And let’s be real honest — when Harley-Davidson announced they were going to build a trike, they legitimized the trike as a way to continue to have fun.”
Lehman Trikes has four OEM relationships, including one with Harley. Thus, its dealer network is spread out among Harley and metric dealers as the company also has partnerships with Victory, Honda and Suzuki.
Expecting that aging demographic to look elsewhere for its riding pleasure, Lehman spent at least $1.5 million to enlarge its South Dakota facility. With that project all but over, Hines says the company now has the capability to expand production threefold. While Hines would not disclose the company’s sales percentage growth, he did say he expects 70 percent of the company’s dealers to increase their orders for the coming year, with the remaining 30 percent either holding their orders at last year’s numbers or pondering whether to increase this year’s orders.
The growth comes not only from the mature rider segment, but from first-time riders, who Hines believes have looked to this segment thanks in part to the Pit Boss, the company’s joint project with Victory that provides a more modern looking trike. Plus, the segment’s female ridership “is building faster in trikes than it is in motorcycling,” Hines said.
To help those new riders, Lehman began funding rider safety training. In the fall it announced a relationship with Evergreen Safety Council, a provider of trike/sidecar safety training. With every new trike, Hines says Lehman will be providing a portion of the rider training costs plus has introduced a safe riding booklet and video for new consumers.
The company also will be paying for Evergreen safety staff to teach Lehman dealer personnel how to become rider instructors for new trike buyers.
“We felt it was our social responsibility to make sure folks were properly trained,” Hines said.
Besides rider safety, Hines says the company has addressed customer satisfaction, profitability, production and supply chain goals in the past year.
“Last year we did pretty darn good across the board. So guess what we did this year?” Hines asked in reference to the company’s 2008 goals. “We upped the ante on quality, we upped the ante on on-time delivery, and we upped the ante on customer satisfaction metrics. Obviously we upped the ante on produced units.”
To deal with the expected rise in business, Hines said Lehman could increase its North American dealer base this year from approximately 100 to 125.

Can-Am
The manufacturer of the three-wheel Spyder is set to announce the second phase of its vehicle rollout in late February.
Can-Am had initially planned to release the unique Y-shaped vehicle over a three-year period in North America as well as overseas. But the North American rollout was moved up six months because of consumer demand, officials have previously told Powersports Business.
Which parts of the United States will receive the Spyder in the second phase of the rollout will be announced in late February.
Production on the Spyder began this past October.

Thoroughbred Motorsports
The Texas manufacturer, which also owns Motor Trike, is seeking to double its dealer network during the next year, company officials said in an e-mail interview with Powersports Business.
Thoroughbred has developed a trike, called the Stallion,that features an automatic transmission and a 2.3-liter Ford engine.
Company officials say they had discussions with many automotive and motorcycle companies in search of a power plant, but Ford had the right product and commitment. They note the Stallion will now be able to plug into any diagnostic machine at any of the approximately 4,400 Ford dealerships across the United States.
Thoroughbred expects the Stallion (MSRP $29,999) to attract two key consumer groups: the touring rider, who likely is riding a Gold Wing or even another type of trike, or consumers who have never purchased a motorcycle before. In fact, company officials believe the latter group will make up to 60-65 percent of the Stallion’s sales.
Thoroughbred began production on the Stallion late last year, delivering the first vehicles in December. In late November, the company had 24 dealers but was hoping to double that in a year’s time. Company officials say they were not leaning toward either a metric or Harley-Davidson dealer, but rather one that “understands the two-wheel market is stagnant and who realizes we offer a product that opens a whole new frontier or customer base for them.”
Dealers do not have to order a set number of Stallions to begin selling the product, but do have to make a $100,000 buy-in, which is refunded after they have sold 100 units, note Thoroughbred officials. That buy-in ensures the long-term commitment that the manufacturer is seeking from its dealer base.
GE is providing financing for both Stallion dealers and consumers, say Thoroughbred officials. Company officials also say they would market the Stallion at rallies, in magazines and on TV.

Cirbin Motors Corp.
A Canadian company that showed off a unique three-wheeler at the V-Twin Expo last year is expecting to start production on a slightly different version of the vehicle this year.
“The vehicle you saw last year at V-Twin Expo was a prototype for marketing research. We used it to get customer feedback, and we then came up with the V13R, which is a lot different and represents what the customers have asked for,” said André Morissette, the president of Cirbin Motors, a private company based in Quebec.
The V13R features the same engine — a Harley-Davidson liquid-cooled, V-twin Revolution — as the vehicle that was displayed at the Expo.
Morissette says the company is currently in the process of getting its California Air Resource Board certification and expects the vehicle to be street legal for all 50 states by this spring.
The company refers to the V13R and its $49,999 MSRP as a “reverse trike,” with two wheels in the front and one in the back. It features fiberglass body panels and billet wheels.
“Our target audience is primarily the men who want to have a unique and very distinctive ride,” Morissette said. “Whether you are a car buff or a motorcycle buff, this vehicle is about personality and originality.”
Morissette says the company currently is in negotiation with approximately 10 dealers across the United States. “Some are high-end motorcycle dealers (Harleys, Big Dog, Boss-Hoss etc.), while others are luxury car dealers,” he said. “We are looking to establish a network of about 20 dealers in the first year.”