A taste of new offerings
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, JAN. 24-25—Every year, motorcycle aftermarket parts distributor Tucker puts on its Dealer and Brand Expo for dealers to attend and plan inventory, events and marketing while meeting and networking with other dealers, brand representatives and Tucker’s sales executives. Attendees can also take advantage of dealer seminars that focus on topics like social media, merchandising and how to market to the consumer.
This year the show moved from Frisco to Fort Worth, giving the company a larger venue. Complete with a red carpet entrance and Tucker employees’ personal bikes on display, this year was already looking to outdo 2018. Tucker packed the house with brands like Nolan, National Cycle, Burly Brand, Memphis Shades, Cobra, Bridgestone, Roland Sands, BikeMaster, Le Pera and so many more. Once the doors opened the floor filled up with dealers and their sales reps and it was time for me to go on the hunt for some cool new products. This year it seems like there are so many new products out that it is a bit overwhelming so I want to tell you about a few that caught my eye.
Let’s start with one of the more important accessories in my personal gear: helmets. Nolan was there this year showing off awesome new helmets. One new helmet in the Nolan lineup is the N70-2GT. Nolan’s N70-2GT takes everything I thought about modular helmets and throws it out the window. Labeled as a “touring crossover” helmet, the N70-2GT lives up to that designation with its sleek design, matte black color option and internal retractable sun visor. The helmet was right up my alley. On top of that, it is a fully modular helmet that has six different possible configurations making it great for the New Jersey riding season with its constantly changing weather conditions. It was so easy to transition from a full-face helmet to a 3/4 helmet that I can’t wait to get my hands on one. I have already pre-ordered mine, so don’t wait too long.
After visiting Nolan I went to see what my friends at Burly Brand have going on. After riding the last 1,000 miles or so on a Burly seat, I was hoping they would have some luggage to accompany my trips on the Sportster. I am not a huge fan of a completely dressed Sportster so I have been looking for something like a tail bag or sissy bar bag. That is when I saw the one thing at the show that I just had to have, a new Burly Brand Sissybar Backpack. It is made with their proprietary Dark Oak Wet Waxed UV-treated canvas and features three different carrying options: a side grab handle for use as a duffle bag, two tie-down straps to secure it to most sissy bars, and (the best part) hidden backpack straps. On top of that, it has properly placed leather to improve its weather resistance, high-quality snaps and zippers and an “Anti-Flail Snap System.” Best of all, though, it is priced under $160.
Right around the corner from Burly Brand, my eye caught a glimpse of what looked like a new seat style from LePera. LePera is known for making phenomenal seats and the new KickFlip and Sprocket styles fits the mold. The KickFlip is a super aggressive-looking two-up seat that is made to fit just about every current model of Harley while the Sprocket is the solo option. LePera wasn’t just out showing off their new style of seats though. They were also there to talk about all their custom seat options. Not everyone knows that LePera, family owned for over 40 years, actually focuses as much of their business on custom seats as anything else. You can create a custom seat with them for just about any style cruiser and you can customize everything from the gel in the seat to the leather or exotic skin materials, to the color of the stitching.
I continued to hunt and peck through the stacks of brands at the expo and couldn’t believe how many new things are available now. The custom bike market is really taking off and the Tucker expo was just a taste of what we can anticipate throughout 2019. Of course, I could go on and on for days about all the great new products available, but I simply don’t have the time or the room. Plus what would you have to read next month?
