Most industry events are big trade shows where you get talked at all day and everyone is trying to sell you something. DealerConnect is the opposite. It is dealers sitting across from dealers, trading real numbers and real fixes, in a room built for it.

I have been to every DealerConnect since the beginning, and it has a different feel than the big shows. More intimate. More real. This year it runs September 19 to 21 at the Hilton in downtown Columbus, Ohio, presented by AppOne, and it is the biggest one yet.

I sat down with two people from the NPDA, the National Powersports Dealer Association. Tigra Tsujikawa is the Events Director who builds DealerConnect every year. Steve Gotoski just joined as Membership and Marketing Director after over a decade at the AMA. We get into what the event is, what you will learn, and the real reason a dealer should make the trip.

What we cover:

• Why the NPDA is the missing third leg of the stool: the MIC serves the OEMs, the AMA serves the riders, and the NPDA finally represents the dealers who connect them
• What the association does behind the scenes so a busy dealer does not have to, from FTC advocacy to legislation that could hurt your business
• Why every dealer belongs, from a one-person shop to a 300-employee group
• What DealerConnect actually is: education and networking built by dealers, for dealers
• What a day looks like: the schedule, the meals, the AppOne welcome reception, and why the moments in between the sessions matter most
• 20 sessions this year, double the education, covering sales, employees, finance, AI, succession planning, pre-owned strategy, and dealership culture
• The brand new FTC compliance session and why it is the most timely one on the agenda
• Why the room is intentionally intimate, and how less noise means more real conversations and better takeaways
• The NPDA partner ecosystem: insurance, financing, training, and legal partners who get powersports and are there to help, not just sell
• The honest logistics: how to plan your trip and why DealerConnect is worth the time out of the store
• The week-stacking angle: the Harley-Davidson dealer meeting starts the day after in Milwaukee, so DealerConnect ends early to make it easy to hit both
• The education workbook and post-event QR code so you can catch the sessions you miss
• You do not have to be a member to attend, plus a special this year: buy a DealerConnect ticket and get membership for $99
• The big beautiful bill win: how the NPDA helped get a tax write-off for financing interest on American-made powersports vehicles
• Where to register and why the hotel block closes August 28th

Use code MotoHunt20 for a discount on registration.

Service and accessory dealers, contact [email protected] or Tigra directly about a special registration built for you.

Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit⁠

Register for DealerConnect 2026: ⁠https://www.npda.org⁠

Connect with Tigra Tsujikawa: ⁠[email protected]

⁠Connect with Steve Gotoski: ⁠[email protected]

⁠Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry/⁠

Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit⁠

MotoHunt for Dealers: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

Here is what matters in powersports this week, and what each story actually means for your store.

The Dealership fiXit Rundown cuts through the headlines and tells you how the week's news lands on your floor, in your service bay, and in your next conversation with a customer.

This week's rundown:

• Yamaha is ending in-house side-by-side production in the US after the 2026 model year. What that really means, why it is not the same as quitting the category, and how to talk to your Wolverine and Viking customers about parts, service, and warranty

• Why your 2026 Yamaha side-by-sides on the floor right now might be the last in-house units ever built, and how to tell that story to a buyer

• Polaris reveals its 2027 lineup: a 275 horsepower RZR Pro R Boost, a brand new air-controlled CVT called Numatix that cuts cabin noise up to 40%, and a $6,999 Sportsman 500 that covers the budget buyer

• CFMoto's new X-Force: 154 horsepower for under $24,000 and why the value brands are not the joke they were 10 years ago

• Sea-Doo rumored to push its top skis to 350 horsepower for 2027, and why the current 325 units are where the value is sitting right now

• New motorcycle sales up 1.9% through Q2 per the MIC, and what a cooling but growing market means for how you sell the back half of the year

• Sonic Automotive's powersports arm is on fire, up 53%, and what big money buying into powersports means for what your store is worth

• BMW spy shots point to an M 1300 GS, the first M badge on its flagship adventure bike, and why a halo bike drives showroom traffic

• An Italian firm claims a 2.5 billion euro bid for Ducati while Volkswagen says it is not for sale, and the one line to know if a customer brings it up

• KTM recalls Husqvarna and GasGas dirt bikes over a front brake defect, and how to turn warranty work into traffic, trust, and a possible sale

• Plus DealerConnect 2026 is coming to Columbus, and why this dealer-to-dealer event is worth the trip

NPDA Dealer Connect 2026 discount code: MOTOHUNT20

Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit⁠

Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry/⁠

Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit⁠

MotoHunt for Dealers: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

The rule everyone was scared of got struck down. The enforcement did not. And the people who watch this closely believe powersports dealers are next.

Anne Gambardella is the General Counsel and Executive Vice President at the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. She has spent years helping dealers navigate advertising and pricing compliance, and she came on to break down exactly what the FTC wants, what it is going after, and what a dealer needs to do about it this week. In plain English, with real steps you can take at your store.

This one is tactical. We get past the headlines and into what actually has to change on your website, your third-party listings, and even your salespeople's social media posts.

What we cover:

• Why the CARS Rule getting struck down did not make dealers safe, and how the FTC enforces one dealer at a time under its existing authority
• The core rule in one sentence: the most prominent price in your ad has to include every fee except government charges
• What actually comes out of the price, only tag, title, and registration, and what has to stay in, freight, setup, and doc or processing fees
• Why the low-advertised-price game that has run for 30 years is now the thing that gets you flagged
• How rebates work now: you can list them, but you cannot pull a rebate most people do not qualify for out of the advertised price
• The 97 warning letters, what they really mean, and why a dealer who did not get one is not safe, just not on the list yet
• Why this is not really a new rule in many states, and how it may already be illegal where you operate
• The powersports reality: freight and setup fees the dealer did not create but still has to include in the price
• Why "call for price" is not the loophole dealers think it is, and how lying on the phone is still a deceptive practice
• The social media trap: how one salesperson posting a price can become an advertising violation for the whole store
• Why your price has to match everywhere, your site, third-party listings, and social, and how to document your pricing updates
• The trust numbers that prove customers want this: 86% worry about hidden fees, 76% do not trust dealer pricing, 29% walk to another dealer over price doubt
• The real cost of getting caught: penalties north of $50,000 per violation, plus state action, franchise risk, and reputation damage
• Why transparency is a competitive edge, not a loss, and the exact three moves to fix your pricing this week

Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit⁠

Learn more (VADA, FTC resources): ⁠https://www.vada.com⁠

Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry/⁠

Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit⁠

MotoHunt for Dealers: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

Get $20 off your Dealer Connect 2026 registration with code "MOTOHUNT20"

The week in powersports, made for dealers.

This week: Harley says dealer profit should double off its Back to the Bricks plan, powersports used values are running about 10% over last year, Polaris raises its full-year numbers, the NPDA pushes to fix the freight and setup fight, why 20 groups are still a dealer's best edge, and a Honda CBR600RR recall you should know. Plus quick hits on SEMA, e-bikes, a Royal Enfield drop, and Harley's 2026 Deadwood.

🏍️ Brought to you by MotoHunt. Grow your store: https://dealers.motohunt.com

📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dealershipfixit

🤝 Connect with Jacob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry/

🎧 Follow the show so you never miss a Rundown.

Most hiring conversations start too late. They start with where to post the job. This one starts three steps earlier, with whether you even know what you are hiring for.

We brought two powersports recruiters together for this one, and they come at it from opposite sides of the table.

Jaye Sanders is a Talent Partner at Dream Team Referrals and Managing Director at Powersports Listings on the M&A side, so she sees how your team affects what your store is actually worth.

Kevin Vaughn, who goes by Elvis, just founded Coreline Search, and he was a General Manager at House of Harley-Davidson until a few months ago. He has been GM at three different dealerships and came up from the sales floor all the way to the top seat.

Between the two of them you get both sides. Kevin speaks for the dealer who has to make the hire. Jaye speaks for the person deciding whether to take it. It gets honest, it gets a little spicy, and it is packed with things a dealer can act on this week.

Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit⁠

Connect with Jaye Sanders (Dream Team Referrals): ⁠520-850-0236

Connect with Kevin "Elvis" Vaughn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elvisvaughn/

Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry/⁠

Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit⁠

MotoHunt for Dealers: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

This one is a throwback and the lessons apply to every dealer principal and owner listening.

Tristan Wright is a business coach from Australia known as the Business Sherpa. He is not from the powersports world, and that is exactly why this conversation is valuable.

Tristan built his first company to seven figures by his mid-twenties, then lost it all, over $200,000 in debt and his marriage along with it. He took ownership, rebuilt the business, systematized it so it did not need him, and sold it. Now he helps other owners climb their own mountain.

In this conversation, Tristan makes the case that the principles holding a dealership back are the same ones holding back any business, and that the owners who win are the ones willing to step outside their own industry, step away from the daily grind, and stay open-minded enough to change.

What we cover:

• What a Business Sherpa actually is and why every owner climbing a mountain needs a guide who has been to the top
• Tristan's story: seven figures by 25, lost it all by 27, and the ownership mindset that turned it around
• Why letting go of ego and arrogance is the first step to growth
• The 90-day rule: why Tristan will not coach a client unless they commit to four days fully disconnected every quarter
• Why running at 60 to 70% all the time is what happens when you never step away to recharge
• Why working on the business matters more than working in the business
• The trap of the owner who will not delegate the mundane jobs and stays stuck because of it
• Why 20 groups and masterminds help, but are not enough on their own
• Why so many dealers do not dream big enough and just aim to match the shop down the road
• The real difference between open-minded and closed-minded owners, and why it determines who succeeds
• Why what worked in the past will not carry you forward, and why growth requires discomfort
• The one or two dealers in any market who already look outside the industry and are pulling ahead because of it

Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit⁠

Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry/⁠

Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit⁠

MotoHunt for Dealers: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

This one is a throwback and the lessons still land hard.

Michael Jones Sr is a master technician out of Charlotte, North Carolina, with a couple of decades in the automotive world before he gave it all up to go twist wrenches on motorcycles.

He spent about ten years across nearly ten different powersports and motorcycle dealerships, and he came on the show to talk about something a lot of people in this industry feel but do not say out loud: the passion has slipped, and it is costing dealers money.

In this conversation with, Michael makes the case that passion and professionalism are not soft ideas. They are directly tied to how profitable a service department is, how loyal customers become, and how a dealership stands out when everyone is pushing the same metal.

What we cover:

• Why passion starts in the employee parking lot and how to spot a disconnect
• The gun store comparison: why every employee there knows their product and why motorcycle shops often do not
• How employee burnout and social media scrolling quietly drain the profitability of a service department
• The parts-guy-at-the-bench workflow that saves the mechanic time and makes the shop more money
• Why the 10-year-and-older rule is a mindset, not a fact, and what dealers miss by turning that work away
• Pulling back the curtain: why engaging service customers in how things work builds loyalty and repeat business
• Why so many younger customers have never been around machines and how dealers can bring them in
• Michael's own story as a customer and the service manager who always tells him what is next
• Why texting a customer the owner's manual PDF beats hoping they read the paper copy
• The professionalism gap that separates a confident dealership from one that gets caught flat-footed
• The Chrome Mafia story: how one independent shop built a riding culture that a four-brand, 30-year dealership could not match
• Why getting 30 to 40% of your staff riding changes everything

Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit⁠

Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry/⁠

Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit⁠

MotoHunt for Dealers: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

Jeremy Coon sells around 1,200 pre-owned motorcycles a year out of a single store in Wildwood, Florida. No new franchises. No floor plan. No dealer fees. Just a used-bike machine he built from the ground up starting at 23 years old.

In 2026 he took over a second location in Fort Myers and tripled the store's sales in his first 120 days. He went from 19 units a month to 70.

This is one of the most honest, tactical conversations we have had on the show. Jeremy does not hold back. He walks through how he sources at volume, how he prices to turn, why he refuses to charge dealer fees, and what actually changes when you go from one store to two.

If you sell used, want to sell more used, or are thinking about opening a second store, this one is a roadmap.

What we cover:

• Why pre-owned is a full-time job with no truck dropping off new bikes every week
• How Jeremy sources 1,200-plus bikes a year and why trades and street buys beat the auction
• The stat that says it all: 1,200 bikes sold last year, only 5 bought from the auction, about 30 sent to it
• Why chasing the auction is where a lot of dealers go wrong on fees, freight, and bikes they never even ride
• Buying right: why he makes his money the day he buys the unit
• The 20,000-mile rule his full-time buyer is not allowed to break
• How the market shifts under you: nobody wants the bike today that everybody wanted three years ago
• Pricing to the real market and why NADA is always chasing behind the actual selling price
• Why a bike sitting 30 days is devaluing every single day and wasting your ad spend
• The no dealer fees philosophy and why it is a marketing weapon when everyone around you piles on fees
• The buy here pay here lever most dealers do not have, and the $1.5 million on the books bringing $30,000 a month in interest
• We Sell Fun: how a real riding culture turns into a sales and marketing engine
• Why customers drive two hours and pay full price to buy from a store that feels like family
• The blueprint approach to building a team that stays 16 to 19 years
• The honest story of acquiring a 25-year-old dealership and taking it from 19 to 70 bikes a month
• Going from pure pre-owned to running Piaggio new-unit franchises with Vespa, Aprilia, and Moto Guzzi
• Why watching your expenses and floor plan is the number one thing that keeps a used operation profitable
• His honest advice for any dealer thinking about opening a second store

Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit⁠

Connect with Jeremy Coon: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-coon-b5107a289/⁠

Lucky U Cycles: ⁠https://luckyucycles.com⁠

Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry/⁠

Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit⁠

MotoHunt for Dealers: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

Chase Vance has a resume that is almost unheard of in this industry. He started on the parts counter in 2008 and worked his way up through every single seat in the store. Sales, finance, general manager, regional director, managing partner, and then National Director of Business Development at RideNow Powersports, the largest dealer group in the country.

He recently stepped into a new chapter as Director of Operations at the Zia and Lonestar Powersports Group.

This is one of the most complete career conversations we have done on the show. We pull a lesson from every seat Chase has held, get into what actually breaks when you scale a dealer group, and have an honest talk about growth, burnout, and building a career you can sustain in this industry.

If you are trying to climb the ladder, build a team, or grow a group, this episode is a roadmap.

What we cover:

• The one thing Chase wishes he knew on day one behind the parts counter
• Why the parts department is about problem solving and personalization, not just handing someone a battery
• The CARE framework: Create A Rare Experience, and why it is the ultimate retention tool
• How to compete with Amazon and RevZilla through human interaction and the art of the follow-up
• Why the toughest thing Chase had to learn was the CRM and the discipline of follow-up
• What separates a good salesperson from an average one, and the Ken Griffey Jr. lesson about mastering the basics
• Why new salespeople fail when they try to get too cute and cut corners
• The F&I lesson: you have to know and believe in the product, and why packaging beats a laundry list
• Why the needs assessment matters more than product penetration in the box
• The biggest shift moving from one department to running the whole store: time management and selective urgency
• Why departments cannot operate in silos and how sales sells the first one but service sells the next four
• What breaks when you scale from one rooftop to many and the power of a 30,000 foot view
• Why standardizing your tech stack matters, and how MotoHunt across a group lets operators phone a friend
• The honest advice on scaling: if your store is broken now, a second one will only stack problems
• Why being able to step out of a store is the real telltale sign of a well-run dealership
• The candid story of stepping out of operations and why Chase calls it a step forward, not a step back
• The Clay Wallace philosophy: master the job in front of you, be a student of the job ahead, be a teacher of the job below
• Why the number one thing blocking your growth is not having your replacement ready
• The mindset for a long career: keep the little kid excitement every time you put the key in the door
• Chase's work with Veterans Xtreme Adventures and why it matters to him

Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit

Connect with Chase Vance: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-vance-7685b4148/

Veterans Xtreme Adventures: https://www.vetsxtreme.com/

Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry/

Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit

MotoHunt for Dealers: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

April was the top. May confirmed it. Now we are heading into the slide that always bottoms out around August. The question is whether your used inventory is positioned for it.

Mike Murray from National Powersport Auctions is back for our pre-owned market update, and this one matters because we are at the turning point in the season. We walk through the May data, compare it to where we were in April, and get into exactly what dealers should be doing right now with the bikes sitting on their lot.

This conversation goes deeper than the numbers. Mike makes the case for why dealers are too fixated on book values, why the actual selling price tells a truer story, and how to think about a trade you take in today as a unit you might still own in September.

What we cover:

• Why April was the high water mark and what the slide into August actually looks like
• How values can be up year over year and softening month to month at the same time
• The book value problem: why dealers fixate on JD Power and why the real market often moves faster than the book
• Why a clean late-model R6 can sell for thousands over a brand new one, and what that teaches about pricing to the market instead of the book
• Where Black Book and NPA's own value guide fit into the picture
• Why early June auctions in San Diego came in stronger than expected and what that says about dealer confidence
• The fuel price wildcard and whether it is actually moving metric cruiser demand
• Domestic cruisers: still the leader, but the price to book story versus the actual dollar story are very different
• The $4,000 spread between a clean Harley and a rough one, and why condition and miles matter more than the book
• Metric cruisers: why the small May uptick is probably a flash in the pan
• Sport bikes: bouncing around the peak, why dealers who follow the niche are crushing it, and why you cannot have too many
• MX cooling off and why product mix and cleanliness drive that number more than demand
• ATV: the standout still climbing, and why used side by sides finally hit their stride
• Side by side: the seasonal flattening, the regional differences, and why cabbed-out luxury units hold value
• The inventory turn framework: the 0 to 30, 60, 90, and 120 day buckets and why Mike built them aggressive on purpose
• The real cost of holding a unit: how a $10,000 bike costs around $356 a month and nearly $2,900 over 90 days once you add opportunity cost
• Why an 18% gross over 12 months might actually be a 3% loss
• Proactive pricing: how to get ahead of the softening market instead of chasing it down
• The exit strategy: NPA Direct Buy, consignment, and why you should never wish a wholesale unit into a retail customer

Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit?si=xGw636a89UUDAK20⁠

Connect with Mike Murray (NPA): ⁠[email protected]

⁠NPA Market Reports: ⁠https://www.npauctions.com/cp/npa-market-report⁠

Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry⁠

Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit⁠

MotoHunt for Dealers: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠