Most powersports dealers have some form of reinsurance in place. Most of them have no idea what is actually in it.

Gene Silas has been in the industry for over 30 years. Jeff Barron has been at it for 26.

Together they run Brightline Dealer Advisors, one of the largest broker firms in the United States and they spend their days helping dealers understand what they actually own in their F&I back end and how much of it is quietly walking out the door in fees they have never seen.

They recently did a webinar with the NPDA that generated a ton of questions. So I brought them on here to go even deeper for our audience.

What we cover:

• Why most dealers look at only one number on their reinsurance statement and miss everything else
• The walkaway, retro, CFC, and DOWC structures explained in plain English — and how to know which one fits you
• Products that can go into reinsurance: service contracts, tire and wheel, paint and fabric, GAP, and ancillaries
• Why GAP should usually be kept separate from your service contract reinsurance position
• The hidden fee problem: ceding fees, loss adjustment expense, and premium tax that come off the dealer's bottom line before they ever see the money
• The side-by-side comparison that could be costing dealers $50,000 to $60,000 a year depending on volume
• Why all fees should be visible in the admin fee and what "below the line fees" actually means
• The A account vs the B account in plain English — and why moving money to the B account as fast as possible matters
• How dealers can borrow against their own B account money and pay the interest back to themselves instead of a bank
• Capital gains vs ordinary income: the tax difference that can mean 18 to 20 points on millions of dollars
• The risk triangle: why reinsurance is not a set it and forget it situation
• Early claims and multiple cause of loss: what it looks like when a service contract is being used as a recon tool
• The disappearing deductible strategy that keeps customers coming back to your service bay and protects your book
• Why you need claim override controls and exactly who should have them
• The nine questions every dealer should be asking their current reinsurance provider
• Gene's AI tip: how to use ChatGPT or Claude to find every fee buried in your dealer agreement in minutes
• What a real advisory partner looks like vs someone just managing their own book through you
• Gene's FTC prediction: powersports dealers have 12 months or less before enforcement starts — and what to do about it now
• The $54,000 per violation reality and why 97 automotive dealers have already faced it

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

Connect with Gene Silas (Brightline): ⁠[email protected]

⁠Connect with Jeff Barron (Brightline): ⁠[email protected]

⁠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

If you have heard of SEMA but always thought of it as a car show, this episode is going to change that.

SEMA — the Specialty Equipment Market Association, just announced a dedicated Powersports section at their 2026 show this November in Las Vegas.

We are talking about 153,000 total attendees, 70,000 professional buyers and decision makers, and 2,600 accredited media and content creators. And now powersports has its own dedicated home inside of it.

I sat down with Tom Gattuso, VP of Events at SEMA, and Mike Ausec, SEMA's Industry Sales Director for Powersports and Lifestyle, to break down what this means for dealers, OEMs, and the industry as a whole.

What we cover:

• Why SEMA describes the show as an "industry homecoming" and what that means for powersports
• The ORBA acquisition: why SEMA is now fighting for land access and motorized recreation rights at the state and federal level — and what that means for a dealer in Florida, Arizona, or Montana
• Why powersports was always in SEMA's DNA but is only now getting its own dedicated platform
• The West Hall location and why placing powersports next to trucks and off-road is a strategic decision — not just a real estate one
• Outdoor demos adjacent to the West Hall and what it means to actually experience product instead of just seeing it on carpet
• What product categories are already confirmed: OEM representation, hard parts aftermarket, gear and apparel, lifestyle, EV, overlanding
• Why 60% of SEMA attendees are at the owner or GM level — and why that makes the show worth the trip
• The New Product Showcase: 1,700 to 2,000 products in one place, open at 7:30 AM before the floor opens
• How 60% of people who visit the New Product Showcase discover a company they had never heard of before
• Toyota's Scion side-by-side concept reveal at SEMA that generated 1.4 billion impressions in 24 hours
• The education component: 90-plus sessions including powersports, off-road, overlanding, social media, and dealer growth
• SEMA Fest: music and motorsports event for consumers that opens on May 4th alongside buyer registration
• Why the future of trade shows is shifting toward Gen Z and millennial buyers and how SEMA is building for that now
• What dealer registration looks like, what hotel options are available, and what opens on May 4th
• Why you do not need to be a SEMA member to attend — and what membership actually gets you if you do join
• Mike's honest take: powersports has needed a platform for the last 10 years and SEMA has the infrastructure to deliver it

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

SEMA Powersports: ⁠https://www.semashow.com/powersports⁠

Connect with Tom Gattuso: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomgattuso/⁠

Connect with Mike Ausec: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeausec/⁠

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

Co-op money is sitting in your OEM portal right now. Some of it expires in May. Some of it just got easier to claim than it was last year. And some of it you might not even know you have access to.

Sarah McVean Brown is back for our annual OEM co-op update and we went through every major brand, back to back, to tell you exactly what changed in the 2026 guidelines, what got easier, what stayed the same, and where dealers are leaving the most money on the table.

Sarah spent 13 years as Chief Marketing Officer at Freedom PowerSports, has been navigating OEM co-op programs for over 15 years, and is one of the most knowledgeable people in this industry on this specific topic.

If you missed our first episode together, click here: https://youtu.be/MQzKQ23e-Ls?si=CsuFDVhen8KBBFi7

This one is the update. Brand by brand.

What we cover:

• Why not all co-op is created equal and what that means for a dealer carrying four or five brands
• The big 2026 trend: OEMs are pushing digital and video content harder than ever
• BRP is the first OEM to reimburse for the actual cost of content creation, up to $125 per video
• TikTok is now an approved claim outlet for at least three major OEMs in 2026
• Honda: more dollars per unit, TikTok added, SEO now reimbursable, MotoHunt is now an approved Honda agency
• Polaris: still 98% the same year over year, but the PFED program has some real problems Sarah breaks down
• Why the Polaris Plan for Every Dealer promotes the Polaris brand, not yours
• BRP's Advertising Builder Program gets a B grade vs Polaris's C to C-minus
• Kawasaki: one of the stricter programs but their co-op team is actually one of the best at working with you
• Yamaha: lowest reimbursement rate at 40%, but 70% if you use their approved agencies, and Yamaha Marine is a completely different program
• Harley-Davidson MDF 2026: now even easier than last year, new and used covered, two simple claim categories
• CFMoto: no denials ever, co-op expires May 7th, most dealers have a ton left to spend
• Indian Motorcycle: separating from Polaris but still in the same portal, says they do not do Google Ads but Sarah has gotten plenty approved
• Suzuki: steady, on cruise control, nothing radical here
• Q3 and Q4 planning: the co-op expiration calendar every multi-line dealer needs
• The three steps to get started if you have never filed a co-op claim in your life
• Free co-op tracking template available on request

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

Connect with Sarah McVean Brown: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmcvean/⁠

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

Here is a number that should bother you. Only 38 out of 100 powersports dealers replied to an online digital lead in a recent study. That means the customer who just spent weeks researching, comparing, dreaming, and finally hit submit on your website is probably getting nothing back from you.

This episode is from the NPDA Partner Series webinar, hosted by Mark Sheffield of the National Powersports Dealer Association. I joined Chris Yeloushan from Rollick for a front-to-back breakdown of what actually happens when a customer clicks on your inventory, submits a lead, and waits to hear from someone.

Spoiler: most of the time, they wait forever. And then they buy from the first dealer who shows up.

This is one of the most practical, numbers-driven conversations I have had on digital lead handling, follow-up strategy, and what separates dealers who are winning online from the ones who are still flying blind.

What we cover:

• Who the modern powersports buyer actually is and what they have already done before they ever submit a lead
• The five Google Micro Moments that map the customer buying journey before they contact your dealership
• Why 60 to 80% of buyers do not purchase the exact unit they originally inquired about and what that means for your follow-up
• The Pied Piper ILE 2026 data: half of all powersports leads go unanswered and the industry average ILE score is 44 out of 100
• A dealer with 100 leads and a great process will outsell a dealer with 500 leads and no process every time
• The five-step Day One response playbook from the birth of the lead
• Why you only need to be bad to be better than most of your competition
• What call-to-action buttons actually convert best on a VDP page (and which one is broken on almost every dealer website right now)
• Why showing room floor photos outperform both factory images and photo booth shots for lead generation
• The 36% increase in close rate that Rollick saw from dealers using automated email nurture versus those that did not
• How to shop your own dealership with a fake Gmail and what you will find when you do
• Why the fifth, sixth, and seventh follow-up email can outperform the first autoresponder
• Pricing transparency and the out-the-door price debate with data from thousands of Dealer Spike websites
• NPDA membership and what 400-plus member dealers are getting for $395 a year

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

Connect with Chris Yeloushan (Rollick): ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-yeloushan-b078b55/⁠

Connect with Mark Sheffield (NPDA): ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markjsheffield/⁠

Learn more about the NPDA: ⁠https://www.npda.org⁠

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

Five straight years. No meaningful progress.

That is the headline from the 2026 Internet Lead Effectiveness study published by Pied Piper Management Company. More than half of all web leads sent to powersports dealerships receive no personal response within 24 hours. The dealers who do respond well sell 50% more units from the same leads.

Fran O'Hagan founded Pied Piper in 2003 after spending years inside the dealership world at Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar Land Rover. His team has been measuring how powersports dealers respond to web leads since 2011 and publishing the results every year since. He is also a lifelong motorcycle buyer who stopped counting at 100 bikes.

In this episode, Jacob sits down with Fran to break down the 2026 ILE study, what the data means for dealers right now, and what the top performing dealers are doing differently than the other 87%.

What we cover:

• Why the industry average ILE score has been stuck at 44 for five straight years

• The two things every dealer can do this week that will immediately move the needle
• Why having a CRM does not make your response better unless you have the process to go with it
• How Indian Motorcycle has held the top spot four years in a row and exactly what their dealers do differently
• Why AI is not the shortcut most dealers think it is and when it actually helps
• The Ken Garff story: a 90-store dealer group that finished dead last, called Pied Piper angry, and became a top three performer in one year without any training
• Why the phone call is still the highest converting response path by a wide margin
• What happens to your leads after 24 hours (spoiler: it almost does not matter anymore)
• OEM accountability and the misleading dashboards telling dealers they are fine when they are not
• Service department lead response and what is coming next from Pied Piper

If you run a dealership or work for one, this episode will make you look at your lead inbox differently.

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

Connect with Fran: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/franohagan/⁠

Learn more about Pied Piper: ⁠https://www.piedpiperpsi.com⁠

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

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

Sponsor: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

The floor is behind us. Wholesale prices are climbing. Dealer sentiment is the most optimistic it has been in years. And if you have 100-day inventory sitting on your lot right now, you need to hear this episode before it gets worse.

Mike Murray from National Powersport Auctions is back for our second market update of the year. Mike has been in this industry almost 19 years and spends his weeks on the road visiting dealerships across the country. He brings real-time data, real dealer feedback, and a straight answer on where the market is going in the next 30 to 60 days.

We cover the full February 2026 NPA market report segment by segment, talk through what clean actually means in the auction world, and spend serious time on where dealers should be sourcing used bikes beyond the auction floor.

What we cover:

• February 2026 wholesale pricing by segment: domestic cruisers, metric cruisers, sport bikes, dual sport, MX, side by sides, ATVs, PWC, and marine

• Why domestic cruisers up 6% and sport bikes up 9% over the prior 90 days is not just seasonal noise
• The metric cruiser correction and why down 9% year over year is not a panic situation
• MX up 22% year over year and what that number actually means when you back it out to price to book
• Side by sides: the underdeveloped market that is quietly becoming one of the best margin plays in used
• PWC and marine up 23% and 24% sequentially and why NPA's growth in that category is driving the numbers
• The dealer confidence shift: three used to one new retail ratios and what that tells you about where the industry is going
• Service department acquisition: why dealers buying two to three bikes a week out of their own bays are the ones winning on margin
• Offensive trade strategy: if a customer asks whether you take trades, Mike says you already failed
• Private party and street sourcing: what motivated salespeople should be doing when they are not closing deals
• NPA's condition scoring system explained: how to read the difference between a cosmetic 70 and a mechanical 85
• The free NPA trade inspection template every dealer should be using or stealing
• Lender confidence: what financing institutions are watching and why the stability in used values matters
• The 30 to 60 day call: where prices are heading, when to move aged inventory, and why 100-day units need a plan today

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

Connect with Mike: ⁠[email protected]

⁠Learn more about NPA: ⁠https://www.npauctions.com⁠

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

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

Sponsor: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

Two powersports podcasts in one room. Jacob Berry from the Dealership fiXit Podcast sits down with Max Materne and Danny French of The Dealer Lab for an unfiltered conversation about what it actually takes to run a dealership in today's market.

What comes out of it is one of the more honest dealer conversations you will hear this year.

What we cover:

• The post-COVID reckoning: why dealers who forgot how to grind are getting crushed
• Pre-owned as its own brand — and why it has to be treated that way
• How MotoHunt started as a manual spreadsheet process at RideNow and became a commercial product
• Using your service department as an acquisition engine for used inventory
• The DMS repair order integration that puts a live shopping list in front of your sales team
• Dealers pulling 15-16 additional trade-ins per month from their own service bays
• The future of dealerships: digital-first salespeople, transparent deal-making, and what gets left behind
• AI in the dealership: where it helps, where it hurts, and why human touch still wins in powersports
• Why training has to come before software — and why software alone never fixes a broken process

If you are a dealer, a GM, or anyone trying to figure out where this industry is headed, this one is for you.

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

Connect with Max: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-materne/⁠

Connect with Danny: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-french-76236790/⁠

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

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

Sponsor: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

Lou Pedler didn't start in software. He started at the parts counter. From parts associate to parts manager, service manager, and general manager across multiple rooftops, Lou spent years living inside the dealership before transitioning to the software side, first with Zios, then DX1, and now ZiiDMS.

In this episode, Lou and Jacob dig deep into what dealerships are actually getting out of their DMS, and more importantly, what they are leaving on the table. Most dealers only use 50-60% of what their DMS can do. The dealers who unlock the rest? They sell more, waste less, and run tighter operations.

What we cover:

• Why the DMS should be the nucleus of your entire tech stack
• The most underused features in dealership management software
• How to use your DMS as an intelligence platform, not just accounting software
• RFID physical inventory — how to count $250K in parts in under 15 minutes
• Multi-rooftop dealership challenges and how ZiiDMS handles them
• The customer data goldmine sitting in your DMS right now
• AI and where dealership software is headed in the next 2-5 years
• Rapid fire: the one report every GM should pull on Monday morning

If you run a powersports or motorcycle dealership and you're not fully leveraging your DMS, this episode is the reset you need.

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

Connect with Lou: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lou-pedler-21486b37/⁠

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

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

Sponsor: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

In this throwback episode of the Dealership Fix-It Podcast, I’m joined by Mike Shaug, founder of Premier Online Marketing, for a deep dive into PPC and paid media strategy built specifically for Powersports dealerships.

We break down:

• Why paid search still outperforms “list it on a marketplace and hope”

• How to structure campaigns around inventory-level intent

• How to avoid wasted spend from broad targeting and irrelevant queries

• How to use first-party dealer data to find more buyers (and re-market service/gear)

• YouTube strategy: skippable vs non-skippable, video length, and funnel placement

• Why ad copy relevance + landing page alignment matters more than most dealers realize

If you want more leads that actually convert — and fewer clicks that waste budget — this episode will help.

Listen to More Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3N9lzfg ⁠Further Episodes Apple Podcast: ⁠https://apple.co/43FoanX ⁠Interviews YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit ⁠

Connect with Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-shaug-80925920/ Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry ⁠Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit⁠Sponsor: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠

Jacob Berry joins the Moving Metal crew for a real conversation about what dealers are facing right now in powersports.

We cover the state of the market, why used motorcycles are moving faster than new in many segments, how dealers should think about sourcing pre-owned inventory, and what separates strong operators from everyone else.

They also get into dealership marketing, customer retention, ride events, vendor expectations, and why the best dealers are selling experience instead of chasing a race to the bottom on price. This is a tactical episode for motorcycle and powersports dealers that want to sharpen their strategy and improve performance in 2026.

We post weekly updates, so make sure to subscribe and follow us. If you have any suggestions or want to chat with us, do not hesitate to leave a comment.

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

Connect with Pack:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpack-rel-mmg/

Connect with Prokupek:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-prokupek-69b26b140/

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

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

Sponsor:
https://dealers.motohunt.com