Sometimes less really is more , especially where words are concerned . As someone who will always try to use 100 words where ten will do (" speak less , say more "), those present were no doubt presently surprised that I managed to bring my acceptance speech home in just three minutes . My basic message was a simple thank you - thank you for the friendship that underpins the motorcycle industry , and thank you to the Sturgis and wider riding community for " allowing me to make my home in your world !" The occasion was the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame ' Induction Breakfast ' where a number of worthies - Bob Kay , Tom Seymour , Bill and Karen Davidson , Carlo and Emma Lujan and Ben Hardy of Captain America and Billy Bob fame - had their contributions to our eco system recognized , honored and recorded for posterity . Then there was also me . There goes the neighborhood ! Such honors are the sorts of things that happen to other people and that I get to write about . Okay , okay , I know I am no " shrinking violet " ( love that phrase - can ' t believe I ' ve managed to work it into the magazine !), I realize that modesty and humility are not the first words that come to mind when people think of me ( selfknowledge is a wondrous thing , right ?), but honestly , I remain shocked , honored , yes , most definitely humbled , but above all ? Thankful to those who , in a moment of madness , a moment of weakness , decided that my contribution to the market deserved recognition . The day before the ceremony I had been asked to sum-up what ' Sturgis ' meant to me , what I thought of when the word is used , and what I thought the Rally meant to riders . Easy . Friendship . One word , but a million moments of togetherness , thoughtfulness and opportunities to renew friendships , make new ones and remember old ones . If it were ever possible to add the number of days that the millions who have been to Sturgis have spent there since its inception , then it no doubt would indeed add to millions of days of people ' s lives - to say nothing of the memories revisited and shared year-round . In my case , the moments I was fortunate enough to share with so many wonderful people at the Rally this year certainly will be treasured memories . As for the medallion I received , is it cast aside into the smelly darkness of a sock draw , discarded and unloved ? Nah , not a bit of it - it is hanging proudly above my desk as I write this and will always act as motivation and inspiration . Our recent trip was a double header - business and pleasure . For the first time since I first went to Sturgis around 1990 , we took off and toured the magnificent sights of Montana and Wyoming , before heading to Wisconsin for the first Drag Specialties and Parts Unlimited NVP Dealer Expo since February 2020 at Louisville . What a show it was too ! It ' s no secret that we are living in unpredictable , changing , challenging , even dangerous times , but hasn ' t it always been thus ? To a greater or lesser extent ,
for one reason or another , the times have always been unpredictable , changing and challenging , potentially dangerous even , but this feels like a ' Perfect Storm ' of out of control variables - with nobody in the pilot ' s seat , no instruction book , no maps and no certainty whatsoever . We could be on the threshold of mega recessions ( we here in the UK certainly are ), or we could find that the supply chain issues fix themselves quickly as we move towards a new season in which supply and demand will live in perfect harmony . We could find that energy supplies and costs bankrupt the whole of mankind , or we could find ourselves headed into new eras characterized by infinite supplies of cheap energy . We could wake up one morning and find plague and pestilence , poverty , hunger and the four horsemen of the apocalypse on our doorsteps , or maybe wake up to find that it was all a Steven King novel and that everything will , after all , come up smelling of roses . The true outcome will , of course , be somewhere between the two . It has always been a fine line between dystopia and utopia but , fortunately , if there is one thing we have learned , it is that neither will happen and that , Vladimir Putin notwithstanding , we will ultimately be saved . Who knows , we may even find that we can still ride our existing motorcycles - if somebody would just pull their finger out and start getting honest about the advantages of synth gas . The ' vibe ' at the Drag Specialties Dealer Expo wasn ' t one of outright denial , nor was it of blind optimism . Vendors and dealers are realistic about the challenges we face and about risks that surround us daily at this time . However , everyone we spoke with was also realistic about the opportunities - they may not be flowing our way like milk and honey , but they are out there and the universal cry of the wild to find them , no matter how hard it may appear to be , was impressive . Everybody has concerns , of course they do , everyone also has opportunities . Consumer confidence may be balanced on a knife edge , but for the time being enough people are still spending more than enough for us to be able to keep the lights on . The structural challenges that I have addressed in recent months - such as consolidation , availability of investment capital , R & D budgets , head counts , materials and component shortages and the other well documented roadblocks - can ' t be wished away , but for so long as there is no umbilical cord between them and demand , then there are opportunities . Following a slew of Half Year fiscals from everyone like Harley and Polaris , through to the Japanese four and European majors such as KTM , BMW , Ducati and Piaggio , the overwhelming message is that while we can ' t meet demand , at least there is still demand there despite the widespread belt tightening that all specialty markets in all national markets are inevitably seeing . Just as being succinct isn ' t ( generally ) my strong suit , neither is patience - but we need to know more about which way the chips will fall before we are able to ' housekeep ', so in the meantime , thank you to LeMans for the opportunity to get back on the horse !
Robin Bradley
Co-owner / Editor-in-Chief robin @ dealer-world . com
4 AFTERMARKET MOTO DESIGN - SEPTEMBER 2022 www . AMDchampionship . com