The Independent Motorcycle Aftermarket

By Bob Kay

The Independent Motorcycle Aftermarket, formed from a need for legislative unity and direction within the aftermarket business community, is dedicated to adding value to our experience on two wheels, and works to promote, protect and preserve motorcycling. It is about making a difference beyond ‘making a buck.’ It is about those of us in the motorcycle aftermarket having the backs of our long-time and new customers while working with the Motorcycle Riders Foundation to ensure the future of motorcycling.

The IMA is not just about bikes, parts, and accessories. The motorcycle aftermarket includes apparel, parts manufacturers, builders, bike show promoters, vendors who complete the rally experience and individuals who just like to work on their own bikes. The fight to protect the aftermarket industry is real. Without the aftermarket our culture and freedoms would be in danger of being cancelled in the name of environmental and societal “progress.” Without the ongoing contributions the aftermarket industry makes to our culture and freedoms, everything from innovation to rallies would be slow tracked through the OEM legal teams. The independent aftermarket industry is essential to the future of motorcycling.

Most people will never ride on a two-wheel motor driven vehicle. However, for those of us who understand and ride, there is an appreciation of the value-added experiences from businesses that share the passion. Most independent dealers had ridden for years before they started a shop to cater to the needs of like-minded bikers. They wanted and appreciated the personal relationship they cultivated with their customers. They take the time to find out what and why you ride. When you are a customer of an independent dealer you become part of their biker family. Yes, they are usually focused on a specialty area like custom builds, performance, or routine maintenance, but once you are part of the family, they won’t send you away because your bike is older than ten years or try to sell you stuff you don’t need. Independent dealers are the backbone of our culture supporting our lifestyle because it is theirs too.

The more developed aspect of our industry involves the parts and accessory manufacturers and distributors that sell to our independent dealers. Many of these companies started out from an enthusiast’s idea of how to do something better or to fill a void the OEMs did not see. Companies like Trask Performance, D&D Exhaust, Hofman Designs, Killer Klown, Shadley Brothers, Main Street Moto, Bikernet, Cycle Source, Motorcycle Dealer Magazine, and A Bikers Garage, have not forgotten their roots and remain faithful to the custom bike culture they serve. Yes, all of these Independent Motorcycle Aftermarket member businesses would disappear without riders and our life would be an underground struggle without them.

I have not included the Original Equipment Manufacturers because they have a different agenda than the aftermarket industry. They are responsible to their board of directors and shareholders, certainly making them more likely to often quickly voluntarily comply when it comes to government regulations. I do not begrudge their profitability; I am concerned when their desire to dominate market share removes them from the supporters who have helped grow and enhance their bottom line.

Motorcycling is about individuality. It is about turning an off-the-floor motorcycle into a personal statement. It is about a collective culture of enthusiasm. It is about performance enhancement. It is about all these similarities that differentiate motorcycling from the automotive world.

Since 1987 the Motorcycle Riders Foundation has long taken the fight for motorcyclists’ rights to Washington, D.C., as the only nationally recognized group representing street riding motorcyclists with full-time representation on Capitol Hill. Now, with the advent of the IMA, that effort is expanded to include the motorcycling aftermarket. The 2025 Bikers Inside the Beltway demonstrated the MRF’s commitment to the motorcycling aftermarket and the ongoing support of the Right to Repair and Modify legislation, among others.

Thank you for your MRF and IMA membership. Please encourage your local aftermarket motorcycle business to join the IMA and your riding acquaintances to join the MRF as well.