Ode to Adventure

The fog is lifting, the mist is thick
Light breaks through, it's source cosmic

Vehicles bustle by, amidst the highway
An ominous purr heard far away

Lights switch on, music plays louder
Chrome shines bright in the early morning hour

Engines revv; hear them roar
The thrill of the sound that rocks your core

Our doors unlock, the people appear
No more waiting, the season is here

So come one, come all, come have some fun
The time is now at Adventure Harley Davidson!

Dirt...

There is dirt falling from the sky. Ok, you got me. Not dirt per se, the exact definition is crystalline water molecules frozen around a small particle of dirt. That's right, snow people. Snow. But it's gonna take a lot more than some snow to keep true Harley riders down. No, they are still out, still riding. The only exception being they appear less like actual human riders and more like michelin-man-esque piles of gear, but hey, as long as you can swing one leg over the bike, you're good to go!!

The irony of the snow is not wasted on the motorclothes department, as we got our first shipment of SUMMER PRODUCTS in! So, as we scurry about, putting out the brand new skirts, tanks, jeans, and blow-out vests, the snow falls in drifts outside our walls. That's ok, never fear. We won't ever let a few flakes of snow ruin our good time. This is Ohio, snow in April is nothing new. So, we will just continue to ignore it, wear our new summer line of clothing under approximately 7 to 8 layers of clothing, and get our hogs on the road!!

Chelsea McIntyre
Motorclothes Associate

GOLD BAR & SHIELD AWARD!

Wow, we did it again! I got a text message at 10:59pm from our District Manager at Harley-Davidson that said "You won, Adventure Harley-Davidson is a Gold Bar and Shield Circle of Excellence recipient." This is our second year in a row winning Gold Bar and Shield. Winning the first time was difficult, winning two years in a row is monumental. You see, Gold Bar and Shield means you are recognized as one of the top 25 Harley Dealerships in the country. Out of almost 700 dealerships, this is a great honor, as many dealerships have never won.

When Franscene and I bought the dealership in 2003, we had many goals. Build a new facility, be the dealership of choice for our customers, employees, and the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. We also wanted win a Gold Bar and Shield award. Bar and Shield is a measurement of your customer satisfaction, employee training, sales performance, facilities, and overall dealership efficiency. You don't win Gold Bar and Shield by yourself. You win it with the hard efforts of a lot of people.

Winning Gold B&S to me is confirmation. Confirmation that our plan to take care of our customers and employees was correct. Confirmation that we have the RIGHT people. Our dealership team from the Managers, technicians and service staff, sales departments, administrative, marketing, and the people in the back you never see, is loaded with GREAT people. We know to be recognized as a Gold B&S dealership that many people had to support the effort and pull in the same direction. We also know that many loyal customers and HOG chapter members who support us and volunteer at our events had to step up to help us win. These people have worked side by side with us as we have worked to make this a great dealership.

We are very proud as a team of this accomplishment! But, we also know this is recognition of last year's performance and that we have set a standard that our customers, fellow associates, and the Motor Company expects from us. We don't take that lightly and we will do everything we can to perform even better this year for our stakeholders; our customers, employees, and the Motor Company.

So if you are reading this we thank you, because you in some way contributed to our success and we recognize and appreciate that!

Mike Davis
Dealer Principal

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung. Sprung right from the area. The teaser warm spell we had for about two weeks is making us all a little bitter, while offering some hope for the future. The stream of giddy customers, however, has not slowed. Good old Ohio weather keeps us all on our toes, and makes gearing up for riding an interesting situation. Thank goodness Harley Davidson does really well with coming out with extremely versatile gear, for those days when it starts out at 12 degrees fahrenheit and shoots to 90 by noon. (Anyone who's lived in Ohio a while knows this is not that big of an exaggeration). We always have a wide range of jackets, and a fifteen minute long spiel I won't get into on here, but will gladly tell you in store. (Consists of explaining some of the many features of our jackets, with large gestures and an excited tone that just can't be conveyed via text, so I won't ruin it. Just ask me in store.)

The changing weather also makes merchandising/dressing mannequins/maintaining sanity a feat as well. We try to keep the clothes most relevant to the season right up front, so they're easier to find. (It was once suggested we should hide them, and print up treasure maps, but people were finding it difficult to follow the little white rabbit down the yellow brick road....) But, lately, the weather has been throwing us into a frenzy, trying to decide what people need at any given hour of any given day. We recently flipped our entire department in hopes of making it easier, and certainly succeeded in confusing our employees. Now, upon entering, you will find the men's section is right up front, riding gear in the middle and women's/children's in the back. This sort of streamlined the shopping experience. You will also notice the ever-moving, ever-changing mannequins floating around the shop. These poor beings are poked, prodded, adjusted and get a complete outfit makeover every 2-3 weeks. Their existence is one of being dressed, undressed, and dressed again, with the sinking feeling of only being appreciated for their torsos. Right now, you'll find some of our dark custom line donning the mannequins by the customer lounge, and for the mannequins by our F&I offices? Rain suits! (In case you ever wondered or needed to know, legs and arms make wearing rain suits infinitely less complicated.) So, your next visit by, please take the time to check out our mannequins. They are desperate for your attention, and the only happiness the have in life is showing off some sweet Harley Davidson Apparel!!

Chelsea McIntyre
Motorclothes Associate

Ladies Garage Party!

Ladies Garage Party. Three words that don't instinctively go together. But when executed correctly, those three words become an awesome learning experience introducing women into the world of riding. This past Wednesday, Adventure hosted a Ladies Garage Party with nearly 70 women in attendance!

The night began with delicious appetizers from Dante's Pizza and Pasta House, immediately followed with all the fixings of a chocolate fountain. Chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered peanut butter cookies, chocolate covered marshmallows...let's be honest, what's not to love?

After appetizers and dessert, every woman in attendance had the opportunity to have her photo taken on a yellow '09 Screamin' Eagle Fat Bob. Some chose to have individual photos, and some with friends. The photos were put into custom Adventure photo frames and passed out for the women to take as souvenirs, along with the other items in the "goody bags" given out to attendees at the start of the evening.

After photos, the real fun began. The women were separated into 5 groups as they traveled through our 5 fun and educational work stations. The first station was all about how to pick up a dropped motorcycle. Cathy G, one of our service writers, along with our Service Manager Jim demonstrated the correct technique while answering questions and talking through the process. After reading the post party surveys, this station was the heavy favorite for the night.

The next station was in the Motorclothes Department. Margie, our Motorclothes Manager, along with her staff, talked with the ladies about the proper gear when getting ready to ride. Each woman also got a one-on-one consultation with one of our Motorclothes associates and a personal shopping experience.


Next was the Custom Chrome station. Two of our favorite Ladies of Harley members, Jackie and Barb, brought in photos and showed the women how they customized their own bikes. Barb talked about how she customized her 2005 black cherry Softail Deluxe. And Jackie has done it twice! First with her 2006 glacier white Softail Custom and most recently with her 2008 olive pearl Crossbones.

After that, the women moved on to the Rider's Edge station, led by our Operations Manager Sarah. Sarah talked about her experience taking the class and how 3 years ago, it gave her the confidence to now ride her 2007 colbalt blue and white pearl Softail Deluxe. At this station, we also signed up quite a few women for our summer classes!

The last, but certainly not least, station was the Bike Sales station. This is where the women got to actually sit on the bikes, start them up, and get the engine going! We set up our giant fan to blow in their faces giving the illusion of the open road.

Overall, the women seemed to have a fantastic time. Of course it doesn't hurt that we ended the evening with over 20 door prizes and shopping time! So to recap, Ladies Garage Party are 3 words that may not SEEM to go together, but they sure make for one heck of a party!

Nicki Snyder

Marketing Manager

*NEW* Bluetooth Enabled Helmet!

Adventure is a highly appropriate name for this venue. Not a dull day in the bunch, and it's all because of our customers and the product we get to sell. This past weekend, it was my job to sell Harley's next big thing: Bluetooth technology for your helmets. Some of you are nodding your head right now, trying to contain your excitement, and others are shaking your head in utter confusion wondering why anyone would want blue teeth and what that would have to do with a helmet.

To those confused, let me start from the beginning. Bluetooth is basically a hands-free/wire-free way to talk on your phone or listen to MP3's (Layman's terms: music). Have you ever seen the people walking down the street or in the mall, seemingly talking to no one/themselves/their invisible friend? There are two possible explanations: a.) They are crazy. Steer clear. b.) They most likely have a bluetooth in their ear. It looks like a tiny headphone that usually wraps around one ear, and will sync up with your phone or MP3 player so you don't have to have the hassle of holding a phone up to your face or getting yourself hopelessly tangled in the wires of headphones. For awhile we've had the convenience of bluetooth technology, but wasn't able to use it whilst on the bike, for lack of the available system and headphones. Well, fear no more.

Harley Davidson now has it's own bluetooth system! It's basic function is not different than any other bluetooth. What makes it special is that it can be installed in your helmet, so you don't have to risk your life and everybody else's to make/receive a phone call or listen to music. The basic premise is two headphones that velcro to the inside to the helmet, a velcro mic for full face helmets, and a stemmed mic for half or 3/4 helmets.

The system is sold with both full face and half helmet set ups, so no matter what you have, you're covered. The bluetooth comes with it's own clip, and just clips to the outside of the helmet, and simply plugs into the headphone/mic combos. You simply sync up your bluetooth capable device and go! What's even better, is we also sell a converter. This will make any non-bluetooth capable device.....well, bluetooth capable!! This would include older versions of cell phones, cd players, even a walkman if you please! This is a really sweet set-up, and proof that Harley is keeping up with the times! Next step, how to communicate to mars.........

Chelsea McIntyre
Motorclothes Associate

That Saturday Feeling

I love Saturdays. I know what you're thinking. Most people love Saturdays because they get to enjoy the day off from work. Not me. I love Saturdays because I get to work. No you didn't read that wrong. As many of you may know, at a Harley-Davidson dealership, Saturdays are basically the culmination of everything we strive to be. The enthusiasm is palpable. Hundreds of people stroll through our dealership on the 6th day of every week, each with his (or her) own purpose. Some are browsing the showroom floor, making plans for that perfect set of wheels that sits in front of them. Some are looking for the perfect gift in our Parts or Motorclothes Departments. And some come just to hang out in our customer lounge sharing stories with other riders. Whatever the reason, whoever the person, everyone gets to enjoy free food and coffee and participate in a dealership activity. Today that activity happens to be a drawing for a $250 gift card. There is no better way to brighten someone’s day than to greet him or her at the door with a friendly “hello” followed by “how would you like to win $250”? It’s a quick way to make friends. :) The best part about Saturdays here at Adventure is the positive aura our customer’s bring in with them. The excitement is in the air and everyone shares the same passion. A simple “ready to ride?” can take two strangers from having never spoken before to instant friends. That's why we call our customers family. Family is about trust, loyalty, and enjoyment. So if you haven't joined the Adventure family already, you don't know what you're missing. Don't believe me? Come visit us on a Saturday and I'll guarantee you'll leave with a smile. I love Saturdays.


Nicki Snyder
Marketing Manager