The Independent Motorcycle Aftermarket

American Bikers Journal volume 38 #1 – By: Bob Kay

It has been about a year and a half since I have been campaigning to protect the rights of independent motorcycle shops and custom bike builders. My big issue is our right to own, repair, and modify our motorcycles. The next big issue of concern is the ability to choose the type of power plant we prefer to power our motorcycles. There seems to be a lack of empathy when it comes to understanding the seriousness of these threats to our culture and way of life. If you want to better understand the threats we face as bikers I suggest you go to imamembers.org and view the John Deere video.

When you search right to repair legislation online you will learn the importance of the need to access tools and parts, the ability to buy replacement parts at a fair price, have access to the newest software to service electrical components, access to repair manuals and anti-retaliation laws that prevent manufacturers from voiding warranties if you utilize an independent shop for you service needs. You will also see that owners of tractors, medical equipment, household appliances, and a myriad of other equipment owners besides motorcyclists are concerned about their right to repair something they bought and paid for. The point is we are not the only industry fighting this battle and we must push pro-motorcycle legislation through now with the upcoming anti-regulatory regime coming into power. The John Deere video illustrates the extreme nature of a manufacturer’s point of view to accomplish profitability and control their consumer base. If you watch the entire video, you will note that we have been able to stop Harley Davidson from voiding our warranties but there is still a ton of work to do to protect our rights. If we allow the manufacturers to control our bikes after we purchase them it will be a matter of time before independent shops will be forced out of business. While I can not confirm the estimates that we have lost 7,000 Independent motorcycle shops over the past 10 years I can verify we have lost 60% of the independent shops in our area. Where are you going to take your 10-year-old or older bike for repairs if there are no independent shops? While I am not a big fan of electric motorcycles, I do recognize they are not going away and they are more susceptible to manufacturer control than internal combustion bikes which brings me to my next concern, the right to choose the type of power I want between my legs. Of course, my preference, and that of 99% of the people I talk with is internal combustion. The truth of the matter is modern internal combustion engines are so much more efficient and clean running than ever. My biggest problem with electric vehicles is the mandates that say I have to own and use them. Worse than then that are the states that want to limit my ability to buy my internal combustion vehicles and, in some cases, trash them because they won’t allow me to use them in their state.

A number of shop owners are not aware of these pending anti-motorcycle laws or feel none of these types of changes could really happen. California with its California Air Resources Board (CARB) is leading the way to eliminate internal combustion power and 16 other states have now decided to follow their example. I have attended 2 Meeting of the Minds, interviewed multiple shop owners, and talked to individual bikers from Daytona to Sturgis about the threats to our culture and the ability to maintain our motorcycles. Some feel the motorcycle organizations that represent the manufacturers will protect our rights because we buy their motorcycles. While they may fight to exclude motorcycles from emission standards, they will never fight for our right to repair, modify, and build motorcycles the way we want. The truth is most manufactures would prefer the world that John Deere has created for their consumers where they control your entire motorcycle ownership experience. We can’t forget that motorcycle manufacturers have a responsibility to profitability for their board of directors and stockholders which means they will voluntarily comply, leaving us without our preferred choices. What will happen to the motorcycle aftermarket parts manufacturers, at best there will be a lot less of them. Will the motorcycle manufacturers tell you what kind of seat or other component you can buy because some type of sensor is attached?

I don’t know how far they will go but I do now is our time to prevent them from taking control of our lives and eliminating our culture is now. You can help by going to imamembers.org and joining so we may fight another day and preserve our bikes, our culture, and our way of life. We need every independent motorcycle shop, every custom bike builder, every aftermarket parts/ accessory manufacturer, every home garage builder, and everyone who does their own motorcycle maintenance to join and support the Independent Motorcycle Aftermarket today.