22 • October 2025 • Powersports Business www. PowersportsBusiness. com

CONFERENCE

The results are in, and the people have spoken— for the third year in a row, Simply Ride has won gold in the Star Tribune’ s 2025 Readers’ Choice award for Minnesota’ s Best motorcycle dealership.

Simply Ride— which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year— is the largest dealer and buyer of pre-owned motorcycles in Minnesota, carrying all makes and models. It also recently became a Yamaha dealer, carrying new Yamaha motorcycles, ATVs, and side-by-sides.

Minnesota’ s Best is an annual, audiencedriven contest put on by the Minnesota Star Tribune, where readers nominate and vote on their favorite local businesses. This year’ s win marks Simply Ride’ s third gold medal in a row.

As one of the largest and most recognizable motorcycle dealers in the state, general manager Tim Hammond says Simply Ride tries to stay in the public eye, and accepting awards keeps the dealership in the spotlight. In addition to being recognized three straight years by its community as the state’ s top bike shop, it’ s also been honored within the industry, including a two-time Powersports Business Best in Class award winner.

“ It’ s nice to be well-known in the powersports community. But consumers are the ones buying bikes. So being voted No. 1 motorcycle dealership, in my opinion, means a bit more,” Hammond says.“ That’ s the best kind of advertising. Word of mouth.”

Not just customers, but also Simply Ride employees nominate and vote, which speaks strongly to employee satisfaction, something Hammond says is the heart of Simply Ride’ s success. The positive atmosphere is contagious and carries over to the customer, creating a climate conducive to successful selling.

One way Simply Ride gauges the overall temperature of the store’ s environment is through bi-weekly surveys. These anonymous surveys are handed out to each department, allowing staff to speak freely, helping management know what levers to pull to keep employees— and ultimately customers— happy.

Right: Owner Brian Cox, left, and, general manager Tim Hammond. Bottom-right: Hammond, center, and his team at Simply Ride celebrate their third consecutive Readers’ Choice awards for best motorcycle dealership in Minnesota.

“ We want people who want to work here,” says Hammond, who admits that the line separating employees from customers is often blurred.“ I would say half of our employees are previous customers … Actually, the entire sales team are all previous customers.”

Hammond says the dealership will continue to go for more Readers’ Choice awards, saying the most difficult thing with winning is keeping the news a secret until publication.

“ The hardest part is not letting everyone know the hard work paid off. But once you get to share the announcement, it’ s a really great feeling,” adding that the dealership wants to continue stacking awards.“ Let’ s see how many we can get. We’ re trying to break the record.”

Powersports Business’ s Accelerate Conference will feature a session designed to help dealership owners plan for one of the most critical phases of their business lifecycle: succession and exit.

The Morgan Stanley Stanek Haack Group will lead a general session titled“ Securing Your Legacy: How to Maximize the Value of Your Business and Build Your Exit Roadmap.” The presentation will focus on strategies dealers can use to understand the true value of their business and prepare for a successful transition— whether that’ s a sale, succession, or other long-term plan.

Building a dealership takes grit, vision, and resilience, but for many owners, the majority of their wealth is tied directly to the business. According to the Exit Planning Institute, as much as 80 – 90 percent of a small business owner’ s net worth is concentrated in their company and its real estate. Too often, owners only get a clear picture of that value when they’ re already facing a transition, which can limit their options.

The session will give attendees insights on how to:

• Gain a deeper understanding of dealership valuation.

Morgan Stanley Stanek Haack Group’ s expertise aims to provide clarity and actionable strategies for a successful succession and exit.

• Identify steps to maximize enterprise value ahead of a sale or succession.

• Create an actionable roadmap for ownership transition.

• Protect and transfer wealth in a way that supports family, employees, and community.

For dealers thinking about the future, or even those just starting to consider their long-term plans, Morgan

Stanley Stanek Haack Group’ s expertise aims to provide clarity and actionable strategies to ensure your hard work continues to pay dividends well beyond the showroom floor.

Key insights:

• Most owners’ wealth( 80 – 90 %) is tied up in their business and real estate.

• Understanding true business value early creates more options for succession or sale.

• Actionable steps can maximize enterprise value before transition.

• Protecting and transferring wealth supports families, employees, and communities.

Tip: Start planning sooner rather than later; early preparation can make a significant difference in your exit outcomes.

ACCELERATE ONLY THREE MONTHS AWAY! Powersports dealers are invited to join industry leaders in Orlando for the annual Accelerate Conference— three days of strategy, education, and networking designed to help your business grow. Powersports dealers will benefit from a dedicated track of sessions and dealer-focused programming, plus the chance to connect across industries. Register now to secure your spot in Orlando!