By Chris Officer | Associate Editor
Near the shores of Lake Ontario, the village of Sodus, New York, is the perfect backdrop for outdoor recreation, and Peake Powersports provides the small-town community with the quintessential form of fun and excitement.
Peake Powersports has its roots in the auto industry and is an extension of Peake Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat. The owner, Thad Peake IV, purchased the Chrysler store back in 2016. Peake IV’s son, Thad Peake V, has served as general manager since the store first opened its doors in 2022.
The two dealerships operate in the same building, an old historic cheese factory. Peake IV recognized an opportunity to sell powersports in the Sodus area and first tried to get involved in 2019, but faced challenges picking up brands due to the pandemic. Kawasaki was initially interested, but Peake was forced to sit on the sidelines since the OEM had production paused.
“It wasn’t a no, it was just a not right now,” Thad recalls.
A few years later, still trying to get its foot in the powersports door and Kawasaki still on hold, Peake was introduced to Mahindra Tractors, which was looking to sign on new car dealers.
After signing on with Mahindra, a dealer friend suggested the store look into bringing in this up-and-coming brand, CFMOTO, which Peake would eventually add. After the pandemic eased, Kawasaki began manufacturing at pre-pandemic rates again, and Peake picked up its third brand.
Thad recalls the initial plan was to sell two or three tractors a month, and when Kawasaki became available, maybe put an ATV in the corner. But the demand from Covid put Peake in a position to expand the business even further.
“Covid kind of jolted the industry, and everyone was buying powersports,” Thad says. “So within a year we went from no powersports brands to Mahindra tractors, Kawasaki, and CFMOTO.”
Everything came so fast, and the dealership wasn’t prepared to sell all the inventory it was being delivered.
“We couldn’t even sell the Kawasaki motorcycles we were getting shipped. We didn’t have an inspection station, because we weren’t a motorcycle dealership yet. We had them, and we were ready to go, but we couldn’t sell them for about three to four months.”
Inventory soon outgrew the capacity of their auto dealership, so they expanded its showroom space by taking out the connected NAPA Auto Parts store to make room.
Today, Peake Powersports now carries seven brands, keeps about 180 units on the showroom floor, and sells roughly 350-400 units annually. Located in Central New York, Peake serves a range of enthusiasts looking for various machines — primarily dictated by New York’s four seasons. Thad says about 40% of the units sold are motorcycles, with around 30% in the UTV or ATV category, and the rest falling under tractors, PWCs, and dirt bikes.
Peake’s motorcycle brands don’t include some of the bigger names; he’s had success selling CFMOTO, Moto Guzzi and Aprilia, machines that aren’t as well known, but have a strong following. Thad does recognize the currently strong UTV market and the category shift toward comfort, capability, and value. But in order to make a stronger push into the UTV segment, first the right personnel need to be in place.
“It all comes down to who you have in your sales team and what they like to do. Right now, the ladies that we have are super enthusiastic about motorcycles, and that’s what gets them excited,” he says. “We’re actively looking for that person who loves side-by-sides. But that’s been a little tough to find. For us, it really depends on who we have driving the bus in the sales team.”
Not just experience, but passion is a prerequisite to be a part of the Peake team, and having the right technicians in place is equally important.
“If you’re going to buy a vehicle, you’re going to see my service department all the time. So we make sure you’re comfortable there. We make sure you know who you’re talking to. And we make sure you trust us. Service is where the relationships are maintained. Sales is just where it starts,” Thad says. Coming from an auto background, Thad also weighed in on the main difference between selling automobiles and powersports, which he says comes down to a motivation factor. Customers need to buy a car. That’s not entirely true when it comes to powersports vehicles, where, in most cases, customers want to buy.
“The only big difference between auto and powersports is you’re going from a need-based industry to a want-based industry,” he says.
That fundamental element changes the sales approach. Transactions are less stressful, and sales-customer interaction is predicated on establishing a relationship, rather than generating a sale.
“Build trust, figure out what they’re after, give them a great show, and then get down to the numbers,” Thad explains. “In powersports you need to recognize that the customer who comes into the store doesn’t necessarily need anything that you sell.”
In addition to major units, some pre-owned inventory and fixed operations, Peake also runs an in-house insurance brokerage, Peake Insurance Agency. And it doesn’t just deal in auto and powersports products, but also life, home, and even pet insurance. A benefit of having its own insurance brokerage under the same roof as its dealerships, Thad says, is the ability to turn around coverages the same day, even on the weekends. Insurance brokerages are often closed on Saturdays, a prime-time selling day for dealers.
“We’re open on Saturdays. Nobody wants to wait [after the weekend] to ride this thing that they’re spending so much money on.”
Another perk Peake offers is a free golf simulator that’s offered as a courtesy to its customers.
“We are an E-Z-GO golf cart dealership. What do people do with golf carts? Well, they golf.”
And that’s what it’s about at Peake Powersports. It’s not just about the transaction, but the experience. A Peake experience that the dealership strives for by creating fun and memorable moments, not painstaking transactions you get at need-based businesses like auto dealerships.
“You’re selling fun. You might as well walk into a dealership, have a good time, and not feel pressure or obligation to buy something,” he says. “We sell that feeling. We sell that excitement.”
Located in Central New York, just a few miles from Lake Ontario, Peake Powersports stands out for its exceptional customer experience, but it is far from the only prominent powersports dealership in the region that caught our eye.
In August, as part of promoting this year’s Big East Powersports Show, held Oct. 3-4 in Syracuse, New York, Powersports Business visited close to a dozen dealerships around the surrounding area and came away impressed by the region’s strong powersports presence.
In all, PSB spent two days and traveled about 500 miles through Central New York, going as far West as Rochester and as far East as Rome. We caught up with some old friends such as Adventure at Burritt’s, located in Oswego, which will be manning the Arctic Cat exhibit at Big East, and Wheel-A-Way, located in Fulton, which is overseeing this year’s CFMOTO booth.
We also stopped in on the dealership formerly known as Empire Powersports, where we learned the store is now part of Maddie’s Motorsports’ family-owned dealership group that has six rooftops in Western and Central New York. This year, Maddie’s will represent the Ski-Doo exhibit at Big East.
But it wasn’t just all familiar faces on our New York trip; we also stopped by Moto-World in Utica, and met with ownership for the first time. Moto-World is a major player in the used market and is one of — if not the largest — pre-owned powersports dealers in the Northeast.
PSB would like to give these Central New York region dealers a shoutout for having such a wide range of machines, brands, and enthusiasts that exemplifies the passion behind the powersports industry.
Nominations have officially opened for the 2026 Powersports Business Honors Awards, which recognizes individuals and dealerships that are showcasing exemplary work and raising the bar across the industry.
This year’s Honors Awards will be especially exciting, with winners being celebrated at the 2027 AIMExpo in Orlando, Florida, on March 3-5.
The categories include:
Women With Spark
Rising Stars (Under 40)
Best in Class Dealerships
The Women With Spark award honors outstanding female professionals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and impact across the powersports industry. These women are recognized for their dedication to advancing their roles, fostering positive change, and inspiring others within their organizations and communities.
The Rising Stars award honors rising professionals under 40 who are already making a major impact — whether in dealership operations, customer experience, digital marketing, service efficiency, engineering, or tech innovation.
The Best in Class Dealership award highlights dealerships that excel in key areas, including sales performance, finance and insurance (F&I), marketing, operations, community service and customer engagement.
All nominations are due by Jan. 1, 2027. Recipients of Rising Stars, Women with Spark, and Best in Class Dealership awards will be recognized on stage and invited to an exclusive cocktail reception during the PSB Accelerate Conference at AIMExpo.