16 • August 2023 • Powersports Business

FROM THE EDITOR

INSTA TIPS

Is your dealership capitalizing on the top-of-mind marketing ease that Instagram offers ? Did you come up with an ideal way to showcase your customers in an effort to help spread the word about your shop and its employees ? If so , let us know . Powersports Business will highlight Instagram posts from a variety of dealerships in upcoming editions of the magazine .

Dealerships featured all follow the Powersports Business Instagram at @ powersportsbusiness . All posts featured will be photo or video in nature , with content from Instagram Stories not considered for this piece .

Got an Instagram tip that works at your dealership or one with which you do business ? Feel like raising the collective industry tide ? Let us know at mhubbard @ epgacceleration . com .

I ’ ve only visited Milwaukee a couple of times . On my first visit , I was covering a women ’ s ride that a former colleague hosted to celebrate 100 years since the 19th Constitutional Amendment that gave women the right to vote . It was a smaller group , but

BRENDAN BAKER they visited the Harley-

Davidson Museum and did some activities there . During this visit , the grounds were largely empty , so we could walk around and take it all in . By comparison , the 120th Homecoming was like going to another planet .

Driving the nearly 500−mile trek to the birthplace of Harley was enlivened by several rolling groups of motorcyclists making the same trip along I−80 / I−90 . It was almost as if we were being escorted to the home of the Motor Company . Every rest stop was full of bikers on their way to the Homecoming .

We arrived that Thursday night and checked into our Airbnb in the city ’ s suburbs of Wauwatosa , very close to the Milwaukee Mile Speedway and Fairgrounds . We couldn ’ t find any hotels close to downtown , so we chose the Airbnb route . It was a great little neighborhood tucked away on the west side , and the little downtown business district had an Italian restaurant and a good coffee shop . What more could we ask for ? Our host at the Airbnb was awesome , too . She was friendly and gave us snacks . She even gave us some electrolyte drink mix to replenish ourselves after the Green Day concert on Friday .

As we made our way into the city on Friday , we stopped at Bastille Days , which was at a little park within walking distance of Veterans Park where the concerts were being held . Lots of good French food , vendors , and trinkets were for sale , along with several stages for music . They even had a giant replica of the Eifel Tower in the middle of the park . But we didn ’ t stay long as we were heading to the concert venue by 1 p . m . when it opened ( at least that ’ s when we thought it would open ). Looking at our schedule of events , it looked like there would be several sideshows to see at Veterans Park before the concert started . It turned out that the show didn ’ t open until 2 p . m ., and it was hotter than the sun with very little shade .

CONCERTS & VETERANS PARK The music headliners were Green Day and the Foo Fighters , who performed in front of sold-out crowds . Over 80,000 moto and music enthusiasts gathered at the park over the weekend . I ’ ve seen the Foo Fighters but had never seen Green Day , so this was a special show besides all the Harley happenings . I was excited to see Social Distortion ( I have seen them several times before ) but they pulled out and were replaced by The Cult , another band I hadn ’ t seen . In addition , Nitro Circus put on a thrilling freestyle motocross show , and the Ives Brothers Wall of Death & Ball of Steel had big crowds gathered around . Matty Matheson hosted a Burger Build Off on Saturday , where the tattooed chef , actor , author , and restauranteur created the ultimate burger in a head-to-head cookoff .

HARLEY-DAVIDSON MUSEUM Activities kicked off at the Harley-Davidson Museum grounds on Thursday with Bike Night and continued through the weekend . According to Harley , 73,000 bikes were lined up on the museum grounds and on Sixth Street over the four days . Frankly , it felt like twice that many . Harley estimated that 130,000 attendees enjoyed food trucks , Boonie Bike races , motorcycle displays and demo ride opportunities with LiveWire , and Stacyc electric vehicles , the Division BMX Stunt Show , custom and vintage motorcycle shows , and musical entertainment . Again , it seemed like double what they estimated . The museum grounds were literally jammed-packed with motorcycles and Harley fans . It was a sight to see ; it was all Harley ’ s besides the food trucks .

MOTORCYCLE PARADE The event ended on Sunday with the 120th Anniversary Parade , winding through Wisconsin Avenue to downtown Milwaukee , ending at Veterans Park . Harley says 7,000 motorcycles participated in the parade , but we were already on the road making our way back to Ohio . If only Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders were there to sing to us .

DEALERSHIP EVENTS Six Milwaukee-area H-D dealerships hosted events and entertainment . Dealerships that participated included House of Harley-Davidson ( Greenfield ), Milwaukee Harley-Davidson ( Milwaukee ), Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson ( Thiensville ), Uke ’ s Harley-Davidson ( Kenosha ), West Bend Harley- Davidson ( West Bend ), and Wisconsin Harley- Davidson ( Oconomowoc ).

Everywhere we went , we saw Harley dealership t-shirts . H-D says that more than 100 countries were represented , and we witnessed several of them judging by the shirts we saw . It was a great weekend for Harley and their fans , and it appears that there ’ s still a lot of demand for their products . But if the bike thing doesn ’ t work out , perhaps concert promotion will . To top it all off , Harley CEO Jochen Zeitz announced that the rally will become an annual event starting next year . We may block out that Airbnb again next year .

WILKINS HARLEY-DAVIDSON @ wilkinshd

Followers 6,036 Wilkins Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Sales of

Barre , Vermont , has truly gone above and beyond to take care of its customers . The dealership recently shared a post with the caption that reads , “ Flash Flooding . If you are in an area where your

Harley is likely to be damaged by flooding , DM us here and Wilkins will send a truck to your home . Store your motorcycle until things dry out . Free of charge .” The comment section was filled with responses thanking the dealership and complimenting its first-class customer service and support . It ’ s great to see a dealer taking these steps to help out its community !

RIDENOW POWERSPORTS TALLAHASSEE @ ridenow . tallahassee Followers 1,004 We ’ ve said it before , but we ’ ll say it again . Videos are a great way to stop a scrolling thumb . Ridenow Powersports Tallahassee in Florida recently shared a quality video of an employee highlighting the 2023 Honda Talon . Part of the caption reads , “ Come with us for a walk around the 2023 Honda Talon , this thing ’ s just begging for someone to unleash it on their favorite trails !” The video provides a great reference for customers who want to see inside the UTV and learn about some of its features . Try something new and draw a customer into your front doors by posting an informative and attention-grabbing video .

MOON MOTORSPORTS @ moonmotorsports Followers 1,253 It ’ s important to share who makes up your team so customers feel connected . Moon Motorsports of Monticello , Minnesota , is sharing the personality and interests of its employees by posting what they ride to work . Part of the caption reads , “ Meet the Moon Crew RIDE EDITION ! Our machines are just as much a part of the team as our people , and now that you know the team , let ’ s talk about their rides ! First up , a ride with as much personality as its owner , our Parts Manager , Lindsey . “ Don ’ t worry , be purple ” is basically Lindsey ’ s life motto , and her 2014 Harley- Davidson Dyna Street Bob is no exception .”