Ned-Air2Air
2nd Oct 2008, 03:14
Always wondered where Red ended up. He was a cool character to deal with.
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Sep. 21--ROANOKE -- Mike Redenbaugh rode a motorcycle for the first time when he was 9 and loved it. He still does.
Now the former Bell Helicopter chief executive has both hands on the handlebars of a new motorcycle service business that he thinks could gain speed as more Americans gravitate to driving on two wheels.
Redenbaugh and another Fort Worth bike buff, Bob Kay, formerly an executive with American IronHorse, opened A Bikers Garage at 101 Travis St. in Roanoke this year.
Borrowing from ideas embodied in retail auto-service businesses like quick oil-change centers and tire stores, A Bikers Garage is a one-stop shop for motorcycle owners to get fast maintenance and simple repairs.
It's the first of what Redenbaugh and Kay believe could be a chain of stores.
It didn't take long after his dismissal from Bell Helicopter in January 2007, Redenbaugh says, for his thoughts on what to do next focused on his lifelong passion for motorcycles.
"I'm a gear head," says Redenbaugh, 49, an aerospace engineer by training whose idea of relaxation includes dirt-biking and, in recent years, going on cross-country motorcycle road trips with the wind in his face. "Cars and motorcycles have been interests of mine since I was a young kid."
Redenbaugh began talking to motorcycle dealership brokers. He was introduced to Kay, who had been chief operating officer of American IronHorse Motorcycle Co., the Fort Worth cycle manufacturer, and before that vice president and general manager of Tucker Rocky/Biker's Choice, a motorcycle parts and accessories company.
The two men hit it off and began exploring business opportunities. They decided one little-tapped niche in the world of the motorcycle business was clean, capable and fast service centers not affiliated with manufacturer-backed dealers. Besides dealers, other competitors include small repair shops.
"The dealers are focused on sales. We're focused on service," Kay said. Eighty percent or more of the work that comes in the door at the Roanoke shop is completed the same day.
The shop works on all brands of cycles. It stocks or can procure all brands of parts and accessories.
It's a potentially lucrative market. About 25 million motorcycles are operated in the U.S., Redenbaugh said, a market niche that seems bound for growth.
By contrast, Jiffy Lube, Firestone and Pep Boys stores duke it out for slices of the billions of dollars consumers spend each year on the 250 million cars and trucks Americans own.
Amid sky-high gas prices, many recreational bikers are parking their cars or trucks and dusting off the motorcycle for day-to-day transportation. "We're working with a lot of customers who have had their bikes in the garage for two or three years," Redenbaugh said. The shop has a trailer for picking up immobilized bikes to bring them in for repairs.
After they developed a business plan, Kay and Redenbaugh leased the 7,500-square-foot Roanoke building and spent a ton of their own money turning it into a combination retail store and service garage. The sparkling-clean service bay has several lifts so mechanics can work on bikes comfortably and conveniently.
There's a parts desk, just like an auto-parts store. Tires and racks of equipment are on display, along with accessories and biker gear from a variety of manufacturers. It's a clean, attractive store, with couches and a big-screen television. Motorcycle pictures and memorabilia decorate the walls.
"We wanted to make it a place people feel comfortable at, make people want to come, to bring their families," Kay said.
The business opened in late April, and it's going well. Initial sales results "are consistent with our business plan," Redenbaugh said, although some of the initial ideas have been tweaked or discarded.
Kay is active in the day-to-day details of the store's operations, with Redenbaugh doing more behind-the-scenes work, including running the company's Web site. It's a labor of love for both men. Redenbaugh owns two Harley-Davidson cycles. Kay owns several bikes, including his first Honda from his youth.
After a 25-year career in the aerospace industry, at AlliedSignal, Honeywell and then Bell, Redenbaugh says he's enjoying a lower-pressure job and not having to worry about directives from corporate headquarters.
"Working for yourself has all kinds of benefits."
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Sep. 21--ROANOKE -- Mike Redenbaugh rode a motorcycle for the first time when he was 9 and loved it. He still does.
Now the former Bell Helicopter chief executive has both hands on the handlebars of a new motorcycle service business that he thinks could gain speed as more Americans gravitate to driving on two wheels.
Redenbaugh and another Fort Worth bike buff, Bob Kay, formerly an executive with American IronHorse, opened A Bikers Garage at 101 Travis St. in Roanoke this year.
Borrowing from ideas embodied in retail auto-service businesses like quick oil-change centers and tire stores, A Bikers Garage is a one-stop shop for motorcycle owners to get fast maintenance and simple repairs.
It's the first of what Redenbaugh and Kay believe could be a chain of stores.
It didn't take long after his dismissal from Bell Helicopter in January 2007, Redenbaugh says, for his thoughts on what to do next focused on his lifelong passion for motorcycles.
"I'm a gear head," says Redenbaugh, 49, an aerospace engineer by training whose idea of relaxation includes dirt-biking and, in recent years, going on cross-country motorcycle road trips with the wind in his face. "Cars and motorcycles have been interests of mine since I was a young kid."
Redenbaugh began talking to motorcycle dealership brokers. He was introduced to Kay, who had been chief operating officer of American IronHorse Motorcycle Co., the Fort Worth cycle manufacturer, and before that vice president and general manager of Tucker Rocky/Biker's Choice, a motorcycle parts and accessories company.
The two men hit it off and began exploring business opportunities. They decided one little-tapped niche in the world of the motorcycle business was clean, capable and fast service centers not affiliated with manufacturer-backed dealers. Besides dealers, other competitors include small repair shops.
"The dealers are focused on sales. We're focused on service," Kay said. Eighty percent or more of the work that comes in the door at the Roanoke shop is completed the same day.
The shop works on all brands of cycles. It stocks or can procure all brands of parts and accessories.
It's a potentially lucrative market. About 25 million motorcycles are operated in the U.S., Redenbaugh said, a market niche that seems bound for growth.
By contrast, Jiffy Lube, Firestone and Pep Boys stores duke it out for slices of the billions of dollars consumers spend each year on the 250 million cars and trucks Americans own.
Amid sky-high gas prices, many recreational bikers are parking their cars or trucks and dusting off the motorcycle for day-to-day transportation. "We're working with a lot of customers who have had their bikes in the garage for two or three years," Redenbaugh said. The shop has a trailer for picking up immobilized bikes to bring them in for repairs.
After they developed a business plan, Kay and Redenbaugh leased the 7,500-square-foot Roanoke building and spent a ton of their own money turning it into a combination retail store and service garage. The sparkling-clean service bay has several lifts so mechanics can work on bikes comfortably and conveniently.
There's a parts desk, just like an auto-parts store. Tires and racks of equipment are on display, along with accessories and biker gear from a variety of manufacturers. It's a clean, attractive store, with couches and a big-screen television. Motorcycle pictures and memorabilia decorate the walls.
"We wanted to make it a place people feel comfortable at, make people want to come, to bring their families," Kay said.
The business opened in late April, and it's going well. Initial sales results "are consistent with our business plan," Redenbaugh said, although some of the initial ideas have been tweaked or discarded.
Kay is active in the day-to-day details of the store's operations, with Redenbaugh doing more behind-the-scenes work, including running the company's Web site. It's a labor of love for both men. Redenbaugh owns two Harley-Davidson cycles. Kay owns several bikes, including his first Honda from his youth.
After a 25-year career in the aerospace industry, at AlliedSignal, Honeywell and then Bell, Redenbaugh says he's enjoying a lower-pressure job and not having to worry about directives from corporate headquarters.
"Working for yourself has all kinds of benefits."