Giving Thanks

It is easy for us to get caught up in the things that are not working right or the things that could be better. However, I know that I am blessed. This year has been a great one and as it gets closer to Thanksgiving I am reminded of how good I have it. I am healthy, my family is too. I work at a cool Harley-Davidson Dealership where the employees are good to one another. The managers treat each other and customers with respect. I hope as you read this that you also have reasons to give thanks.

Fall Rides

It has been a beautiful couple of days here in Tuscarawas County. The leaves are just starting to change and soon they will all be changing into the crisp colors of fall. Fall is a great time to ride in our area. The trees will be brightly colored and there are many places to stop and shop or grab a bite to eat. Many people come to our dealership as a stop on their tour of the area. We have hot coffee and popcorn in the customer lounge.

48 ways to win a 48 sportster!

I don't know if you have heard but Adventure Harley-Davidson is giving away a 48 Sportster this September. There are 48 keys that people can win. Then on September 24th everyone who has a key has a chance to start the bike! And the person who starts it wins! If you have not been into the dealership on Sat. you need to come and enter for your chance at a key!

REVVVVVV UP!

So I've been talking to our F&I Business Managers Tom & Janet about some of the products we offer, trying to educate myself a little better about the Finance office. They started telling me about this new REV UP program that I definitely think is worthy of sharing. Basically, at any time, not just when you purchase a motorcycle, you can opt in to this program and get over $2,700 in offers and services for the next three years! There are so many valuable offers included in this package, but the ones that stand out to me are the FREE 1,000 mile service, FREE 5,000 mile service, and FREE 10,000 mile service. You're going to have to get these services done anyway, so wouldn't it be nice NOT to have to pay for them when you do?

And that's not even close to all. Check out all these offers that are included in the REV UP program:


Pretty awesome, right!? For more information on this awesome offer, please call 330-364-6519 and ask for Tom, Janet, or the Finance Office. You won't be disappointed!

:) Nicki

Rider's Edge...What Other People are Saying...

I know I've written about our Rider's Edge New Rider Course on multiple occasions, but this time I wanted to let you know what our PARTICIPANTS are saying! We received some great reviews after this weekend's class that I thought were worth sharing. Here is our great group of riders and instructors from this past weekend:

Thanks to Jon and Candy for teaching this class! It seems the students really enjoyed your insruction. Check out their feedback...

"Well insructed class. Good emphasis on key riding skills and developme. Helped develop good riding habits and get rid of bad ones!" -anonymous

"Instructors were very considerate and caring in our progress and safety. Watching the instructors demo ride was helpful in showing proper form." -anonymous

"It was a great time and learning experience. I believe they saved my life." -James

"The instructors were always helpful in tips and teaching. Along with always having a positive attitude toward the riders." -Chad

"Great way for a beginner to get a proper instruction to build upon. Great way for an experienced rider to get rid of bad habits. Learning your weak points is invaluable." -anonymous

"I enjoyed this class very much. I had no knowledge how to ride a motorcycle and was taught many things. From getting on a bike, starting a bike, to all the basic maneuvering of the bike. Once I get a bike, I'm looking forward to getting on the road!" -Mary

"This was an awesome learning experience skill wise and educationally. Our class, in my opinion, had the best instructors. They were very patient with their students and sincere in helping us have the necessary and fundamentally sound skills for safety." -Brent

"The Rider's Edge course gave me a feeling of confidence and security to ride. The class offered valuable knowledge and safe riding procedures. The instructors were experienced and knowledgeable, but most importantly they were patient and helpful in correcting mistakes and poor riding habits." -anonymous

"It was awesome to take! Having never ridden before I feel more secure by building positive good skills correctly from the start! I realy recommend this class to ALL riders!" -Renee

"I liked the course. It was informative and VERY well explained. I learned many good things that I plan on practicing and using in my future as a bike rider. -anonymous

"Class work and range work were great. Instructors we great as well." -Steve

WOW! Every single person left positive feedback. And this was just one class! Stay tuned for more classes to come. And if you need some words of encouragement...here ya go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaIvk1cSyG8

If he can do it, so can you!

:) Nicki

We Went HOG WILD...again!!

We just wrapped up our 8th annual HOG WILD party last Saturday and man was it a success! After all this rain and gloomy weather, out popped an 80 degree sunny day! It was absolutely perfect. We had our 4th annual Charity BBQ contest that raised over $3,300 for 5 local charities. A HUGE thank you goes out to HOG Heaven in New Philadelphia for donating the pulled pork and making sure they were here all day to replenish it. And congratulations to Big Brothers Big Sisters who were our big winners this year!

Our parking lot was PACKED with vendors and people. Over 1,300 people graced us with their presence in the 7 hours we were open and everyone had an amazing time. Here you can see the New Philadelphia High School Softball Team that was providing pop/water and chips to all our customers:

And here you'll see Jess from MyMuseum working her magic. She did TEN tattoos on Saturday. That's impressive for 8 hours. Talk about booking wall to wall! If you want more information on how to contact Jess or MyMuseum, visit http://www.mymuseumtattoos.com/.

As always, we had an enormous sidewalk sale with up to 75% off end of season merchandise. Let me tell you...that brings people in. We opened at 9am and I swear we had a line at 9:02. Ok, maybe not THAT quickly, but pretty darn close.

We also had a pre-owned bike auction that went great! We sold everything from bikes to trailers to horse saddles (yes you read that right). If you'll recall, if we don't have to feed it, we'll take anything on trade. So we do aquire some odd items here and there.

For more photos, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/adventurehd. Overall we couldn't have asked for a better day. And what a great way to "officially" kick off the 2011 riding season with NO RAIN! Now...if we could just get the rain to stay away.

Ride Safe!
Nicki :)

Live on the EDGE!

Rider's Edge that is :) Have you heard about our Rider's Edge New Rider Course? It's a Harley-Davidson sponsored course that allows you to get your motorcycle endorsement in just 4 days! The class is awesome, trust me. I took it in 2008, but we'll get to that. Let me first tell you a little bit about how the class works.

It's a four day class but it feels much faster than that. The first two days are spent in the classroom (at our dealership) just learning about the bikes, the dealership, and the safety guidelines to riding in general. You will have 2 certified instructors to walk you through every step of the way. The classes run from 6-9pm to ensure that even if you work, you still have time to get to the class. Then the real fun begins.

On Saturday you spend the day RIDING! You start by walking the bike (a 492cc Buell Blast) and move all the way into 3rd gear by the end of the day. Your instructors teach you tips and tricks having to do with safety to ensure you're well prepared for your riding test the next day. On Sunday you'll spend the majority of the morning learning more manuevers and practicing everything you have learned in the past three days. Then, after you are well prepared, you will take your riding test. With all the one on one training you've received, it's not too tough - I passed! And at the end of all this fun, you'll all come back together on Monday night for a pizza party at the dealership and to receive your endorsement...yeah!!

So here's the deal. I took the course back in 2008 without ever having driven a stick shift car. If you asked me what a clutch was, I would have looked at you like you had 4 eyes. But, I felt 100% comfortable from the very beginning. Any pre-class jitters I may have had completely disappeared and I became a riding machine. Every bit of the course made me feel better and better about my abilities. I made some awesome friends along the way and had the experience of a lifetime. And now I have my endorsement! Here's me in all my glory right after passing the class...




Now that you know all about what the class has to offer, you need to be a part of it. Contact Deb Fishley, she's our Rider's Edge Program Coordinator and will be happy to tell you about our registration specials and class availability. Her contact information is: 330-364-6519 or deb.fishley@adventurehd.com. Or you can just swing by the dealership for more information. Here's our Rider's Edge website to give you a better idea of what to expect:
http://www.adventureharley.com/riding-classes.

Ladies, get off the back of the bike! Guys, get yourself endorsed! Contact Deb today. I'm so glad I did.

Nicki :)

What We're Up To...

Just because I know you were all wondering :) I did a quick zoom around the dealership and grabbed some photos to keep you up-to-date on the happenings of Adventure. First and foremost, it APRIL! Which means it's almost MAY! Which means it's almost SUMMER! Trust me, I share your excitement. And because that special season is just around the corner, every department in our dealership is gearing up for riding season. We've got some awesome events coming up and some even better specials! Here's a quick update from each department:

Bike Sales
Still rockin' it out! There's not very much time left on our 1.99% financing offer. So if you were thinking about making the move before...stop thinking about it! Come talk to one of our friendly (but not pushy) sales associates and get on that bike you've been drooling over. And don't forget, you can demo any bike, any day, any time. No questions asked.
Motorclothes
Margie informs me that the Summer apparel is coming in by the truckloads! We're working on getting it all displayed, but if you're ready to skip out on the rest of this Winter weather junk and get yourself a nice tank and capris - you know where to find us. We also just got this great shipment of kids apparel, our biggest selection ever! Now you can get your kids started off on the right foot...

Parts
In my last blog I told you all about our new H-D1 Factory Customization Station that we had just launched. Since then we are swamped with inquiries about how to build your own motcycle and we are LOVING IT! Trust me, this is one thing you don't want to miss. Take a minute and talk to one of our Parts Associates about everything the station has to offer! It doesn't just look cool, the content is pretty awesome:

Service
Now that you're all thinking about Spring/Summer, isn't it time to get your bike ready? Our Service Writers are working hard to get everyone in and out quickly so now is the time to schedule your oil change or Spring Maintenance. Don't wait because the minute that sun comes out, you're gonna want to be ready to hit the road. Ask about our monthly specials!
Elsewhere
IT'S RENTALS SEASON!! Check out our great Spring specials on our website at http://www.adventureharley.com/. Test ride a bike for a whole weekend with no strings attached, or just have some fun. And don't forget, we've always got hot coffee with all the fixin's.

Ok, so if I haven't given you enough reason to visit us yet, make sure you stay current with our upcoming events. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/adventurehd (over 16,000 followers!) or check out our website for updates. Now I'm excited just from writing all this. We hope to see you VERY soon and remember, ride safe!

:) Nicki

Adventure HD Is One of the First to Debut Exclusive H-D1® Factory Customization Station!

In February, 2011 Adventure Harley-Davidson in Dover, OH became one of the pioneers for the newest innovation in Harley-Davidson® Motorcycles with a brand new H-D1® factory customization station. As the newest element of Harley-Davidson® customization, H-D1® factory customization lets you create your very own custom motorcycle straight from the factory, selecting different wheels, seats, handlebars, paint and engine finishes altering the motorcycle for their personal fit, function and style.

Harley-Davidson launched a brand new 1200 Custom Sportster® for this customization process. The 1200 Custom is Sportster® to the core has a new look, offering a compelling combination of bold styling, nimble handling and the irresistible beat of American V-Twin performance. It features new wheels, a pull-back handlebar, a reshaped LED tail lamp, wide front end and chunk 16-inch tire for a proud stance that’s strong and contemporary.

The exciting new look of the 1200 Custom is just a starting point for this Sportster® model, because with the the H-D1® factory customization (available at Adventure), you can now also custom order the 1200 Custom in more than 2,600 combinations from the comfort of your home with the bike builder on www.harley-davidson.com or directly at Adventure Harley-Davidson.

You have the ability to view the bike you are creating as different options are selected on www.harley-davidson.com. A printed description of your bike can be reviewed at Adventure Harley-Davidson with one of our H-D1® trained experts where accessories can be installed to further customize the motorcycle before it is ordered. You can expect to be riding your new bike in as little as four weeks from the time an order is placed with Adventure Harley-Davidson.

These are just the newest elements of H-D1, Harley-Davidson’s comprehensive offering of customization tools, which also includes Genuine Motor Parts and Genuine Motor Accessory catalogs, the Genuine Motor Accessories Custom Seat and Custom Paint programs, the Chrome Consultant and Fit Shop advisors at Adventure Harley-Davidson , and more.

This new Factory Customization Station is taking Harley-Davidson® to a whole new level. This is truly the future of the brand and Adventure Harley-Davidson is honored to be one of the first to feature it. For more information on everything H-D1® has to offer, please call 330-364-6519 and asked to speak to one of our experts. You could be riding the custom bike of your dreams in no time at all!

FRESH FROM THE DEALER SHOW...

Ok, some of our management team just got back from the dealer show and they have our dealerships PUMPED UP! Let me first explain to you what the dealer show is. Every 6 months, Harley hosts a national show for dealers and select staff to all come together for the "what's going on at Harley" update. The show has everything from lectures from Harley's CEO and head executives, to merchandise for the upcoming seasons, the latest and greatest marketing campaigns, and of course this is where the newest Harley-Davidson models are officially launched.

This year along with our owners, the General Managers from both dealerships (Adventure and Mad River), the Motorclothes/Operations Managers from both dealerships, our CFO, and Marketing Manager attended the show. They stayed VERY busy with the product purchasing for 2011-2012, individual classes, and checking out all the new products and campaigns. But don't worry, they managed to find time for a little fun too. Here's the whole group (minus the wonderful photographer, Franscene, one of our owners)

Here are Margie & Jess after a LONG day of selecting what products to purchase to keep you (our customers) happy throughout the year!

And our Mad River ladies Jess and Jolene having fun with the wall art...

The coolest part of this year's show? The official launch of the H-D1™ customization station. For those of you who don't already know what this is... read carefully because this may be the coolest thing that Harley-Davidson has EVER OFFERED and Adventure is one of the first to have it up and running in our dealership:

http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Content/Pages/H-D1_Customization/h-d1_customization.html?locale=en_US&bmLocale=en_US

Overall, this was an amazing trip (of course the Orlando weather didn't hurt) and everyone learned new and exciting ideas for every department to bring back to our dealerships and give us a head start on a kickstart to season.

:) Nicki (you didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you!?)

We're BAAAAACK!

Did you think we forgot about you!? No worries, we've just been going through a few changes around here and we're excited to tell you about them! So first, my sincere apologies for leaving you hanging for the past 3 months. We're going to get back on a regular blogging schedule. Season is just around the corner and it's important to keep you updated on what's going on! So add our URL back to your favorites and let's get rolling.

Well here's what I can tell you. I probably won't be the one doing much of the blogging anymore. Don't worry...for good reason! I have accepted a new position within the company and am now the Human Resources Manager. Of course, that means we also have a new Marketing Manager. Let me introduce you to Erika!

(I stole this photo from her Facebook page, taken at the International Motorcycle Show this past weekend. She fits right in!)

Erika has an extensive background in art and graphic design and has an amazing marketing mind. She is a wonderful addition to our team and has done an amazing job in her first month in charge of our marketing plan. So...that being said, I will still be the one talking to you on our Facebook page the majority of the time, but Erika's voice will be heard much more often through our blogs/videos/marketing efforts. If you get a chance to visit our dealership, take a minute to welcome Erika to the team. We are excited to have her, and you all will be too!

So thank you for forgiving me for the lengthy break, but as I said, we're back and ready to roll into season! FORGET THE ICE, BRING ON THE WARM WEATHER!

:) Nicki