BY MADELYN HUBBARD ASSOCIATE EDITOR

“ Since I could push a broom , I was in the dealership or cleaning a bike ,” says John Resciniti III . His grandfather , John Resciniti , opened Motorcycle Mall in 1975 and his father , John Resciniti Jr ., began running the business shortly after .

“ I worked hand-in-hand with both my grandfather and my father at the earlier stages of my career and throughout my career ,” Resciniti says . “ It was probably the best education I could have received – in business and in life . It was the honor of a lifetime as well to grow up in the family business and to be able to work in it .”

Resciniti says his grandfather ’ s entrepreneurial skills are what encouraged him to study entrepreneurial studies in college . To help support his family , his grandfather worked as a kid , earning a penny every two weeks until he began changing tires at Sears when he was 13 . He then forged his age so

he could join the military . While he was in the service he rode Indian Motorcycles , and “ From there , the rest is history ,” Resciniti says .

Resciniti started at the dealership in 2003 , working and bringing new brands into the dealership while he completed school and college . “ In college , I would do about 18 credits a semester and about 35 to 40 hours of work [ at the dealership ] a week . I was the best roommate my roommates never had ,” he laughs . He began running the business and working full-time in 2007 .

The original Motorcycle Mall was in the same location for 37 years , then in 2012 , it was relocated down the street to a 108,000 square foot facility in Belleville , New Jersey . The dealership originally sold Indian Motorcycle , then took on Honda and Kawasaki . Since then , about 15 brands have been added under the dealership ’ s roof .

Resciniti says that completing his father ’ s and his grandfather ’ s legacy is important to him . His grandfather ’ s goal was to have multiple locations , so Resciniti says he is working to meet this goal within the next couple of years .

Because we have such

a solid team , for some of

the people that may want to

continue to grow with the

organization , [ the expansion

gives them ] the ability to and

rewards those people and

gives them a lifetime career

with a corporation that ’ s a family

business and puts the value

on them .

EXPECTATIONS FOR 2024 “ 2024 is going to be an exciting year ,” Resciniti says . This spring , he hopes to acquire a new building . “ Because we have such a solid team , for some of the people that may want to continue to grow with the organization , [ the expansion gives them ] the ability to and rewards those people and gives them a lifetime career with a corporation that ’ s a family business and puts the value on them .”

He expects a year of high volume and says it will be important to pay attention to margins and to good processes . And he says as an election year , there is uncertainty as the election date approaches . “ Fortunately , looking at our seasonality , it comes at our slower time of year in the last quarter . However , you will get some uneasiness around that time depending on interest rates . We saw the rates stay the same recently , so I don ’ t know that there ’ s any hesitation , but as the season comes , you start to see some discounting of rates . Hopefully , that will give some buyers a little bit of relief and hopefully

they ’ re not still buried from some prior credit issues … ”

He says his ultimate 2024 outlook is optimistic . “ It ’ s a fun sport , a great recreation and it is an alternate means of transportation with electric and hybrid vehicles coming into the marketplace … There ’ s a lot of excitement still around our market . We have a great opportunity for growth in not only on-road but off-road , side-by-sides and watercraft . Having inventory is going to help . It will help people ride more and prices should reflect that as well .”

Resciniti says he doesn ’ t have a magic ball to forecast this year but predicts the best he can using methods he learned in 20 Groups .

OFFERING A CAREER He serves on the Dealer Advisory Board for Honda , and served on the DCC for Kawasaki . He is also certified in every brand sold by the dealership .

“ Nothing motivates a man more than to see his boss put in an honest day ’ s work ,” Resciniti quotes . Hey says employees respect him when he leads by example and he must exemplify doing the “ little things ,” like picking up trash , sweeping the shop , putting parts away or making sure units are clean . “ That family feel and me being here every single day from bell to bell , first one in and last one out , it makes all the difference .”

The business originally sold Indian Motorcycle and now carries about 20 powersports brands .