Longtime cruiser aftermarket suppliers enters new segment
INDIANAPOLIS — Saddlemen, a longtime manufacturer known for its cruiser applications, is entering a new market segment: the sport bike arena.
The Rancho Dominguez, Calif.-based manufacturer has recently introduced a line of seats for a number of popular sport bike models and will follow that with a new line of luggage for the same riders.
“We’re going to make a statement that we are a sport bike-oriented supplier,” Tom Seymour, Saddlemen’s president, told Powersports Business at the Dealer Expo. “So luggage that changes the way you look at luggage and seats that change that market as well.”
Besides adding a new, more stylized logo to its sport bike product, the company is making no other changes to its business model in tackling the new market. Monroe noted the company will continue to be exclusively distributed by Parts Unlimited.
Saddlemen’s first foray into the market is a seat that has a channel down the middle of it, a feature that hits both design and comfort elements. “One of the most dominant visual things you see on the bike is the seat,” Seymour said. “So we knew we could do some things that would change the look of the bike by simply changing the seat.”
For more on Saddlemen’s new segment plans, see an upcoming edition of Powersports Business.