The Independent Motorcycle Aftermarket

Bob Kay & Fredric Harrell

A few weeks after the 2024 Meeting of the Minds, IMA member and aftermarket business owner, Tara Pierce reached out with the idea of using the MRF and IMA 2025 legislative agenda and a motorcycle industry expo as a catalyst to bring together industry influencers for an introduction, or in some cases, a re-introduction to the MRF and IMA.

Tara pulled in MRF members Penny Osiecki and Marilyn Stemp, then reached out to Bob Kay and Fred Harrell to help with the orchestration of the meeting. A “biker friendly” venue was found and Cornish Pasty Company, a food and drink establishment, proved to be just the spot.

While Tara and crew worked on RSVP invitations, Bob formulated an eight-point agenda addressing everything from a historical overview of the MRF working with and for the motorcycling aftermarket to the MRF and IMA’s legislative agenda. Choosing a date that coincided with the motorcycling industry exposition, eighty invitations were sent targeting known industry influencers. By mid-January, the RSVP rate was close to fifty percent, which created pre-event anxiety that the venue was not large enough. Cornish Pasty stepped up and was ready to expand the space if necessary.

With a dedication that can only come from “true believers,” Tara, Penny, and Marilyn kept fires lit and reinforced the commitments to attend with periodic updates to potential attendees. Bob orchestrated the mechanics of the event by cleanly honing the agenda. MRF lobbyists Rocky Fox committed to attend and together everyone worked on the event presentation and handouts. The packet — a seven-page MRF/IMA-centric presentation that included the agenda, presenter’s bio/information, MRF “Top Ten” 2025 legislative agenda, flyers for Bikers Inside the Beltway and Meeting of the Minds 2025, along with a sponsorship deck, and the MRF’s welcome to the 119^th Congress – was concise and targeted to the audience.

With a slight case of unspoken pre-event jitters, the group met early and waited patiently as last-minute details were covered. Although the meeting was scheduled to start at six o’clock, many attendees showed up early and spent the time renewing long friendships with Bob.

Opening the meeting with thanks and welcoming remarks, Bob then pulled no punches telling the audience why they were invited and why the IMA and MRF are important to their business interests and the future of motorcycling.

Segueing from Bob’s presentation, Fred covered a brief history of motorcyclists’ rights activism and how the MRF has always had the backs of riders, builders, aftermarket manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, the audience was then presented with Rocky’s update from Washington and the importance of ongoing grassroots activism. From the sidelines, MRF “Club Dude” Russell Radke joined the group and even used the opportunity to solicit MRF membership from a club member who strayed into the meeting.

Returning to the mic, Bob continued with the theme that now is the time for the aftermarket industry to stop giving lip-service to those protecting our industry and start joining the efforts with their membership in the IMA and MRF.

Long-time industry supporter, Grady Pfeiffer, opened the Q&A session with an inquiry about how well the MRF and IMA work with other organizations and how those organization support the MRF’s efforts on Capitol Hill.  With a straightforward reply that the IMA works with the MRF because it is the only motorcyclists’ rights advocacy group with full-time representation on Capitol Hill and Bikers Inside the Beltway is more than a “fly-in” for a photo op on the steps of the capitol, the questions continued with emphasis on getting more involved.

With the cross section of builders, manufacturers, distributers, and retailers filling the room, and Bob’s relentless hammering that this may be our “last chance” to protect our future, and how their financial commitment is essential to getting the job done, the formal meeting ended but informal conversations continued well past the meeting’s end.

Attendees were receptive to the message. Follow-ups will continue with thanks and reminders of their verbal commitments to join the IMA and MRF and attend Bikers Inside the Beltway. With a fifty percent RSVP and a few walk-ins, the meeting was a preliminary success.  The real measure of success will be the number of companies and individuals who join the IMA and MRF because of this meeting.