Ride West BMW Newsletter  |
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| January 2010 - New Club Room, Slide Shows, Labor Specials & Seminars...See details below. Plus help us welcome Dave Preston to our team!
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| Greetings!
Do you belong to a motorcycle club but need a great location to hold a meeting? Do you have an idea for a seminar or clinic but need a place to present it? Well....we just added a new "Club Room" upstairs to provide just that. We can easily seat 30 and we even have a full digital video setup for your use, plus there is a complete kitchen so how about a clinic and a "pot luck!"
The best part...it's FREE!
We are setting up a separate schedule just for Club Room activities so please let us know what you have in mind. Call us at 206-527-5511 and ask for Dave Preston, our new Manager of "Team Ride West", or email Dave at team@ridewest.com so that we can reserve our new Club Room for your event.
Sincerely,
David Swezey
General Manager - Ride West BMW
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Current Events - Quick list
For all the details, check out our Event Calendar - Click Here
We're frequently asked about our upcoming events, so here's a brief list for the next couple of months - Note: We have limited seating and reservations are required for most of our events so please call to reserve your spot.
- FREE Saturday Morning Seminar - 8am Jan 2nd - "Why Don't They See Us?" Presented by AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame journalist, David Hough More Info
- Rider Perception Clinic - FREE Club Room seminar. Sat Jan 9th at 10am.
These free interactive seminars concentrate on improving your ability to truly "see" what's really going on, on the road around you. Presented by Pacific NW Motorcycle Safety. More Info
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Slide Show - Thursday Jan 21st 7pm - "Griptwisters Tour of the Olympic Peninsula" $10 per person. Please call to reserve your seat More Info - Club Room Seminar - Saturday 30th, 10am - "All Things GPS, Everything You Need to Know to Purchase, Use, and Maximize your Investment in a (Garmin) GPS Receiver" Presented by Mike Paull, guide for Globe Riders. Seating is limited to the first 25 to register so please call to reserve your spot. More Info
February
- FREE Saturday Morning Seminar - 8am Feb 6th - "Peak at upcoming events - SR and beyond!" Presented by Tom Mehren from Sound Rider. More Info
- Rider Perception Clinic - FREE Club Room Seminar. Sat Feb 13th at 10am. These free interactive seminars concentrate on improving your ability to truly "see" what's really going on, on the road around you. Presented by Pacific NW Motorcycle Safety. More Info
- Slide Show - Thursday Feb 18th 7pm - "Central America Motorcycle Adventure" $10 per person More Info
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David Preston joins Ride West BMW!
Stop by and welcome Dave
Many of you have already met David Preston on a ride or at an event or show, or you have listened to him emcee the awards presentations at Ride West, or you may be familiar with his articles in Sound Rider magazine each month. He will be coming on board with Ride West BMW on January 5th, so drop on by and say "hello"!
After a 31 year career as an English teacher in the Lake Washington School District, David retired from that career and began a second one in motorsports with a new position with Cycle Barn. For the past ten years he has represented Cycle Barn at countless events, led hundreds of rides for Cycle Barn riding club members, hosted his own call-in radio show for three years, announced race events, published "Motorcycle 101," a book guide to new riders or those coming back to the sport, and created hundreds of columns, articles, newsletters, press releases, ad copy, etc. He has been... busy. During his time at Cycle Barn he managed to ride over 400 different motorcycles of all descriptions.
To save some money over the cold winter months, Cycle Barn laid off David in early December. In short order, he met with Ride West owners Keith and Ann Thye and Ride West GM Dave Swezey, and the decision was made to bring him into the Ride West family.
His official job title is "Manager - Team Ride West", and his e-mail address is team@ridewest.com He expects to be up and running at full speed very quickly performing a myriad of tasks. Among them will be a focus on increased ride opportunities for customers - on BMWs and all other brands. You can expect to see more events and seminars on the Ride West web site, and possibly even a daily "blog."
Says David; "What a surreal month. I was not expecting to be laid off from Cycle Barn, and I have tremendous respect and affection for owner Jim Boltz. Times have been tough for everyone in the motorcycle business the past few years, and for this opportunity to come along so quickly is just more than anyone could have expected. I am thrilled with the potential of this new adventure, and will probably be hanging around Ride West over the holidays in anticipation of a truly exciting 2010."
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BMW Promotions
More great ways to save on your next bike!
Our website is now linked to the latest BMW Promotions, although it still may take a couple of days after the first of each month for BMW to upload them, so be sure to check back.
For great ways to save on your next BMW CLICK HERE
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8100 Lake City Wy NE
Seattle, Washington 98115
206.527.5511
888.527.7433
Hours:
Tue - Fri 9am to 6pm
Sat 9am to 5pm
Service opens at 8am
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Useful Quick Links
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MSF Training:
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New "Social Network" links
- Videos from BMW of North America
- Ride West is on Facebook
- The BMW EXPLOR Rider Community
- News from BMW of North America
- ADV Rider - Worldwide Adventure Rider Forum
- The NW's Ultimate Motorcycling Resource - Sound Rider
- BMW WebEPC onlin parts lookup Click Here
- GlobeRiders - Motorcycle Adventure Touring Company - Click Here
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- Free Service Loaners!
- Free Coffee!
- Free Doughnuts - every Saturday!
- Free Earplugs!
- Free Wireless!
- Free Trip Planning!
- Free Demo Rides - ask us about an extended demo ride!
- Free Used Bike Inspection - with every trade or consignment!
- Free 30 Point Inspection - with every service!
- Introducing FREE Seminars
- and a new "Club Room"
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This months current Service Labor Specials
Oct - Feb...All BMW "Airheads" including Vintage BMW's and pre '94 K Bikes - 30% off Labor
Oct - Jan...All non BMW models - 20% off Labor...Yes...we service most brands!
Jan...20% off all "oilheads" R bikes - 94 and newer
What are you waiting for...make your appointment today and start saving!
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The fine print: *This offer may not be combined with any other offer, This labor and parts special available on select BMW bikes only. Labor special valid only with appointments scheduled during monthly special. Parts savings only available on parts sold to repair orders. This labor and parts specials do not apply on warranty, insurance repairs, accident repairs, or sublet repairs. | |
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Reminder New Seminar Series - They're Free! - All riders and brands welcome!
November through April - First Saturday of each month at 8am.
 Beat the winter blues by joining us the first Saturday of each month at 8AM from November through April for our FREE educational seminars. Each session will be between 60 and 90 minutes in length, plenty of time to get wired on coffee and doughnuts!
We'll provide the coffee and doughnuts, seating is limited so sign up early, and as many of you may have heard (or better yet, learned by attending our events), we usually offer something a little extra for those that attend...hmm...what will it be this time?
January's Seminar: Jan 2nd at 8AM
Topic: "Why Don't They See Us?" If you allow another vehicle to knock you down in traffic, the first thing you'll hear after the grinding noises stop is the driver saying, "Are you all right? I didn't SEE you." Of course, motorcycles are harder to spot among other, larger vehicles, but there are some real psychological reasons why motorists have "selective" vision. We will explore how humans view the surrounding environment, and how a driver judges the speed and distance of an approaching motorcycle. We will conclude with suggestions for how a motorcyclist can increase the chances of being noticed by other drivers in traffic.
Presented by: AMA Hall of Fame journalist David Hough
Call 206-527-5511 ext 13 to reserve your spot.
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What's new in the Parts Department
Featured Products
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from all of us in the Parts and Apparel department!
We usually use this space to talk to you about exciting new items, promotions, sales, and other things we hope will interest you. But for this newsletter, I wanted to take a moment to simply thank you for your patronage, your support, and your friendship over this past year. Its been an interesting one to say the least, both in our personal finances and in the motorcycle industry in general.
We know we're not the only place you can get your parts and accessories, so we're trying harder than ever to give you the best value for your hard-earned dollar. Between the wealth of BMW parts knowledge, personal experience across a broad range of riding styles (and budgets), competitive prices, and open, honest communication, we feel strongly that we've got the best parts and apparel team we've ever had.
If for some reason we're not meeting your expectations, or you have suggestions for further improvements we can make, please feel free to speak to myself or Bill Niwa, the apparel and accessories manager. It may sound cliché, but you are the reason we do this, and your thorough enjoyment of your motorcycle is our primary goal. Thank you for a fantastic 2009, and here's to an odometer-spinning, mile-eating, grin-inducing 2010 for all of us.
Thank you,
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Tech Tip of the Month
More winter riding tips for your bike.
I hope all your holidays were happy, and that your motorcycles are continuing to run well, even through the colder, wetter winter months.
Things have not been going so well for my poor battery. It seems the cold snap has put quite a strain on the old lump of lead. It's better now that things have warmed up a bit, but a new one is definitely in my future. How's yours doing? If you have to keep putting that charger on every couple of days rather than every couple of weeks then it's only a matter of time before it'll take more than a charger to bring your cycle to life. If you haven't been braving the cold and rain be sure to charge that battery every couple of weeks to prevent it going dead over the winter months. Your motorcycle does draw current when it's turned off especially in this new age of control-unit engine management and on-board computer systems.
If you're sure you aren't going to ride anytime soon you could even go the extra step and disconnect your negative battery cable to stop that extra discharge from your motorcycle's systems. Occasionally the sun does come out and that impromptu ride is much more enjoyable if your cycle starts without a fuss!
Mark Eddy
Service Manager
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A message from our owners:
Hurray...it's a New Year!
Phew! We finally got 2009 behind us. And although the year had it's bright spots,  particularly from a personal perspective, from a business standpoint we are not disappointed in seeing it fade into the distance. It was a tough year in the motorcycle industry. By mid-2009 the revenue shortfall for motorcycle dealerships compared with last year was above -40%, and as a consequence many dealerships closed their doors. You probably know of a few within our marketing area that are no longer with us. Those that remain have done what is necessary to keep operating, including paring down the employee count, reducing inventory, eliminating every unnecessary expense (including, unfortunately, some advertising), and anything else that will save dime.
But things are improving, albeit slowly. In November the national decline in revenue shortfall compared with last year fell into the high teens. So this definitely is improvement. And the majority of dealers responding to a recent survey in "Motorcycle Industry" magazine indicated that they were optimistic about further improvement in 2010. At Ride West we definitely fall into this category.
Actually, our business was not hurt as much as most this past year. Our revenue was down under 10% from the previous year which put us in substantially better shape than most of the other dealers in our region. And, our new bike sales in 2009 were above 2008. The reason for the revenue shortfall was that people were not buying all of the "stuff" (helmets, jackets, gadgets, etc). that we normally see with new and used motorcycle sales. And we can thank our "substantially better than industry" performance to our customers. Most motorcycle brands were, and continue to be, hurt by the credit crunch---the customers buying those brands could not get financing. Our customers either have good credit, or they did not need it as they paid cash for their purchases. What a wonderful situation for us to be in.
As mentioned, we are definitely optimistic about 2010. We have done our cutting and slashing and are looking to begin a strong growth pattern. This is fueled in part by the economy apparently beginning to flatten (and hopefully increase); the fact that we have new models being introduced this year, including the S1000RR, and the improved R1200GS, R1200 GS Adventure and R1200RT; and that we have identified areas of growth within our market that appear to have opportunity for us. In short, our success is totally attributable to you, our customer base.
Thank you for your wonderful, continuing support. Ann and Keith Thye
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| $200.00
Referral
Coupon! |
Need a quick $200 bucks? Print out this coupon and bring it in with a friend, neighbor, co-worker, heck...even a total stranger, on their first visit, and if they purchase a new BMW, from Ride West BMW, then will give you a $200 Gift Card or $100 cash, which you can use in any department. You can use this coupon as many times as possible but you can only get one gift card per sale. So let all your friends know that BMW makes a motorcycle that meets everyones needs, style, and adventure, we even have a bike that gets 70 MPG, has heated grips and ABS standard, and that is only $8165* Did I mention.....we have a zero down option and you can get 90 days to first payment on approval of credit with BMWFS! (Lets see....ride all summer without payments...where do I sign!)
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| Offer Expires: March 31, 2010
*Includes freight but excludes dealer handling, tax, title, and licensing | |
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