A Rebound Year For Connecticut Dealers

Only the closely held bottom lines tell the story, but 2014 appears to have been a rebound year for Connecticut dealers, and presumably those in all of New England, from an observer’s standpoint. Unlike recent years when dealerships were disappearing at a regular rate, the year that’s just ending saw two additions, a major upgrade and a consolidation, and a promise of future growth in 2015.

Hamlin Cycles opened in early May at 44 Grassy Plain St. (Route 53) in Bethel, CT. Owner Jim Hamlin had hoped to secure both the Triumph and Moto Guzzi lines, but only snagged the latter. New bikes began arriving early this month.

For 2015, here’s hoping he quickly upgrades what is a sorely  inadequate website.

Getting a new and fourth location in South Windsor, CT was Max BMW. It joined existing stores in Brookfield, CT; Troy, NY; and North Hampton, NH.

Getting a major upgrade in late February was Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson in New London, CT. It quadrupled its size to 55,000 square feet when it moved into a former Coca-Cola bottling plant on Bank Street.

“The Day” newspaper reported that owner Mike Schwartz paid $550,000 for the property and turned it into a showplace.

Experiencing a less successful revival was Burt Ives Honda on Route 66 in Columbia, which dated back to 1931. Kenny Ives bought the store from his father in December 2013 and spent nearly five months remodeling it. His goal? “Just do the best we can – stay in business and pay the bills,” he said.

That didn’t happen, though, and by fall Ives had closed the dealership and consolidated the Honda line at his other store, Chaplin Kawasaki in Chaplin, CT, which became Chaplin Motorsports.

In Massachusetts, the year began with Indian of Westfield quietly opening is doors at 962 Southhampton Road (Route 202/10), and quickly changing its name to Indian Motorcycle of Springfield.

Acceptance of the revived Indian brand was so strong that by year’s end owner Dennis Bolduc had revealed plans to open a second Indian dealership in Middletown, CT. He’s targeting an April opening for Indian Motorcycle of Middletown.

As always, there was some brand shuffling. EBR entered the market and garnered some dealers in the region. Spitzie’s in the Albany, NY market surrendered Triumph.

(All pictures by RIDE-CT / RIDE-NewEngland, with the exception of the Mike’s Famous picture which was culled from the dealership’s Facebook page.)