Dave McMahon, Executive Director of the NPDA, was invited to attend the North Carolina Motorcycle Dealer Association's Annual Meeting March 1-2.
President Chris Brewer, an NPDA Member and Owner of Brewer Cycles, presided over the meeting at the always-inviting Aloft Hotel in Durham.
“It’s smart business to come to the NCMDA meeting,” said Van Paul Etheridge, Eastern Regional Director of the NCMDA and an NPDA Member who has owned Cyclemax in Wilson for over a quarter century. “I was hearing about new laws and legislation that I should be hearing about, but I simply didn’t know about. It’s real easy to pick up a lot of best practices with other dealers and share our own things that have worked, just passing along information.”
Like many Dealer attendees, Etheridge flipped the calendar to a new beginning.
“We’re excited about 2025. We’re looking forward to an increase. Things are looking up,” he said.
Greg Couchois, Floor Manager overseeing Sales and Finance at Capital Powersports in Wake Forest, made his debut at the NCMDA Annual Meeting. Capital Powersports, an NPDA Member since 2023 thanks the support of GM/DP Kevin Dunn, figures to take another step forward from the 1,200 units that the dealership sold in 2024.
“The meeting was very enlightening,” Couchois said. “Very informative with lots of great takeaways and time well spent. I learned a lot from the marketing guys (Motorsports Marketing Group) and made some connections.”
Zach McKenna, F&I manager at Team Charlotte Motorsports, is another first-time attendee to the NCMDA meeting.
“I wanted to meet some new people,” he said. “We all have the same goal and want to help each other, build a better brand for all of us as dealers. I learned a lot about the different legislation, I liked hearing the different points of view. We all do the same thing, but there’s a lot of different ways to do it.”
Team Charlotte has big plans for 2025, said McKenna, a New Hampshire native who formerly was in sales at Naults Powersports & Marine. “We’re looking to crush what we did last year, and we’re on pace so far. We just take it one day at a time," he said.
Thanks to state associations like the NCMDA, the NPDA continues to tout and promote the benefits of non-profit state dealer associations. In fact, as part of the buzz being created in Durham by NCMDA Dealers about their dual support of the NPDA, North Carolina Dealers hopped online to join the NPDA. North Carolina is now the No. 3 state for Dealer membership in the NPDA, trailing only Texas and California.
With Brewer continuing to guide a highly successful NCMDA operation, NCMDA members have a valuable tool as part of their business operations.
“We had another really good turnout, about the same as last year with some new faces coming for the first time,” Brewer said. “This year we tried to have more breaks, a longer lunch, more networking time. That’s part of why people come — one of the biggest parts of it.”
Brewer shared several legislative updates from the General Assembly, including optional titling of ATVs and side-by-sides in North Carolina beginning Oct. 1, 2025. It’ll be a positive move for Dealers as they aim to do better business with their lenders.
Also, as of July 1, 2025, street-legal side-by-sides will be permitted on any highway with a posted speed limit under 55 miles per hour.
As for the shop itself?
“If I do what I did in 2024 I’ll be happy,” Brewer said. “2023 was a year that we’ll never see again. I think 2025 is going to be a reset year.”
NPDA Partners Torque Group, Rider's Advantage, ZiiDMS and Sheffield Financial also participated in the event as Sponsors.
Envious of the financial value of dealerships that reside in states with active state powersports dealer associations? Could you see you and your staff capitalizing on the camaraderie in your own state? Let's make 2025 your year to launch a state association. -Dave@npda.org for more information.
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