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Powersports Business • November 2023 • 25

PCP Motorsports was opened in 1972 by partners Don and Darlene Bajurin and Doug and Carel Cohler .

The California dealership took on Honda , KTM , Husqvarana , and GasGas after absorbing a dealership in 2021 .

so I , as a manager , can see what ’ s going on in a department ,” he says . “ It ’ s a little more detailed than a profit and loss statement from your accounting software . You can really pinpoint where the weak points are .”

And as an owner , he shares that these practices are necessary to produce growth . “ If you don ’ t have to compare your business and you ’ re just in your own little bubble , you don ’ t know if you ’ re doing good or not ,” he says . So , he encourages dealers to get involved in a 20 group , compare sales and processes , and make commitments to improve .

“ You go to these meetings and roundtable and talk about numbers , and you have to make commitments – two or three things you ’ re going to change when you go back to your dealership . You make commitments in front of the group and at the next meeting you need to answer to those , and that ’ s where the accountability comes in ,” he says .

PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH PCP Motorsports is coming up on its fifth year as a Kawasaki Gold Ichibon dealer , ranking the dealership within about the top 25 Kawasaki dealers in the country , according to Bajurin . He shares that the dealership is consistently in the top 25 for Yamaha and Suzuki as well .

The dealership also took on Honda , KTM , Husqvarna , and GasGas after absorbing a dealership in 2021 . During Covid−19 , the combined 36,000 square foot facility provided plenty of space for the brands while inventory was low . “ As that inventory is starting to stack up now , it ’ s getting really tough around here ,” he says . “ We ’ re going to need more space , so that ’ s something we ’ re going to need to address here in the short term .” He shares that the current PCP Motorsports facility will either be expanded , or the dealership will be relocated in the near future .

PCP ’ S E-BIKE CUSTOMER In 2019 , PCP Motorsports began carrying Specialized e-bikes . “ At that time , they were looking for a way to expand their business and they figured motorcycle dealers were next because we deal with more high-priced vehicles . We have more means to capital where the bike shops have a little tougher time with them ,” Bajurin says . “ We took a chance on that and got involved with Specialized and we also brought on Giant , which was another bicycle brand .”

He says that Specialized e-bike sales were slow at first , but after Covid−19 took effect , the dealership sold out of its e-bike inventory almost immediately . “ They generated good profit ,” he says . “ We sold maybe 30 or 40 bikes , then we ran out and couldn ’ t get resupplied . We were kind of empty on bicycles by the end of 2021 .”

In early 2022 , large bicycle shops in the area pushed to remove e-bikes from motorcycle dealerships . “ I feel that we were kind of squeezed out at the time and they couldn ’ t supply us with bikes anyways ,” he says about carrying e-bikes . “ We got caught up in some politics of the movement of the industry I think .”

So , while PCP Motorsports no longer carries e-bikes , Bajurin got to know the market . “ We did get some bicycle only people in here , but a majority of them were customers that we already had that were motocross and off-road riders ,” he says . “ They did tap into that market by bringing them into the [ motorcycle ] shops . That ’ s what they were trying to do and that did work . I ’ d say 70 percent of the people who bought them from us were already dirt bike and off-road enthusiasts .”

He shares that e-bike prices were fairly high – at times surpassing the MSRP of a 450 dirt bike . “ I have heard that they ’ re bringing the prices down on these things ,” he says . “ I think the market is saturated right now , so I don ’ t know what the future of e-bikes is in the motorcycle dealership going forward .” But he shares , “ If I still had Specialized , I ’ d be selling them to this day . But the [ e-bike ] market has cooled down .”

LOOKING AHEAD AND NAVIGATING CHANGE

According to Bajurin , the e-bike market isn ’ t the only market that he is seeing decelerating . “ A concern to me and a lot of dealers right now is , we ’ re slowing down ,” he says . “ There are challenges on the horizon . I think a lot of the challenges we ’ re going to see are going to be in 2024 .”

He shares that unit sales and total profitability are dropping compared to 2020 and 2021 , during Covid−19 , and the economy is beginning to resemble pre-pandemic times . He is focused on interest rates , managing inventory , and keeping flooring costs down in preparation for the unknown .

He also shares that managing the business in a fluctuating industry is easier with the dealership ’ s great management and great employees . And he has learned that these two aspects build upon themselves . “ Everybody is pulling in the same direction . That ’ s the culture that we have here ,” he says . “ We ’ ve been doing this a long time and it ’ s taken a while to get there , but once you do get all the key people in place , it makes it a lot easier .”