The Texas Motorcycle Dealers Association Annual Conference at the Lone Star Court hotel in Austin brought with it a celebratory mood thanks to the efforts of the NPDA and its lobbyist at the nearby Capitol, Royce Poinsett.
Poinsett and the TMDA Board of Directors worked with the legislature to increase the maximum documentation of up to $200 per contract. The new fee was enacted in September 2024. The passage took years to complete, according to TMDA President Trey Sralla of Eddie Hill’s Fun Cycle in Wichita Falls. As a benchmark, the new doc fee would equate to an additional $7,500 in revenue per 100 units sold.

Dealers who gathered for the conference noted that the passage of the doc fee increase was a testament to all dealers being in lock step with their support of the TMDA, and of their strength in numbers.
It’s with that idea of similar support nationwide that the NPDA was formed in 2021, and now has more than 350 Dealership Members.

The long-running annual TMDA event included a heavy turnout by dealership owners who are Members of both the TMDA and NPDA. NPDA Partners Find It Now GPS, Rider’s Advantage, Torque Group and ZiiDMS also had representation at the conference.
On Saturday, Jan. 12, early arrivals gathered for an informal Meet and Greet.
The Sunday conference started with breakfast, followed by introductions from Sralla.
Several highly informative educational seminars followed. The morning got started with a session on cybersecurity. Mark Sheffield (Woods Cycle Country), who sits on the Boards of both the TMDA and NPDA, followed with an engaging session titled “You Only Have to Be Bad in Order to Be Better Than 90% of Your Competition” that pulled insight and data from his role as moderator for 20 groups at NCM Associates.

“I enjoyed Mark Sheffield talking about following up on leads, and the lack of professionalism or quality that can come with those if you don’t focus on it,” said Jeff Rowan, owner of Action Sports in College Station, who described being “very happy” with his store’s 2024 performance. “The TMDA meeting is always just a good place to come to get caught up on legislation and other things you just might miss while you’re running your dealership.”
Speaking of which, keynote speaker Curtis Dubay, Chief Economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, presented a somewhat rosy outlook for 2025 growth, pending a host of potential outliers.

Company culture was next on the lineup, with HR specialist Diana Gwin.
The afternoon sessions included news from Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Assistant Chief Investigator Dara Benoit that beginning on July 1, 2025, powersports dealers in Texas will receive an inventory of metal license plates for units that require them. Dealership customers will later return to the store to pick up their tabs.
Representatives from the State Comptroller’s office provided updates on sales and use tax.

Sralla once again thanked the sponsors and speakers prior to the Board gathering for a meeting following the 2:00 p.m. adjournment of the conference. Some Dealers drove from as far as five hours away, providing them with ample to drive home following the meeting.
“This is your business and you’ve chosen to do this with your life. If you’re not attending TMDA, you’re missing a big portion of it,” Rowan added. “You can affect the direction it’s going with new legislation. Be involved in your business.”
While plenty of veteran TMDA Dealer Members packed the meeting room at the Lone Star Court, there was plenty for newcomers to learn, also.

Kevin Martin, managing director at MonkeyMoto in Argyle, made his inaugural trip to the TMDA Annual Conference alongside his General Manager James Gutierrez. After opening the MV Augusta single-line dealership location in 2017 and becoming the brand’s leader in unit sales a few years later, Martin has opted to expand his lineup. The store now also carries Triumph, Stark, Sherco and most recently added Moto Morini.
“We definitely wanted to make sure we came down to the TMDA,” Martin said. “When you’re selling one bike every couple of weeks, it’s a different business than selling 5-10 or however many bikes a week.”
With a sales team that is highly focused on customer experience due to the demanding MV buyer, the MV selling process is translating into an upper-level buying routine for customers seeking out other brands now being carried by the dealership.
“You have to know your stuff with the MV buyer,” Martin said. “So even for the brand-new people that come in, we’re able to offer them a higher level of support than you typically get with someone coming in to buy a $5,000 motorcycle. They just don’t get the amount of attention that they could or should because of the stresses of the typical business.”
MonkeyMoto will be carrying Triumph’s off-road lineup and has had to expand their employee lineup to bring in additional staff with off-road riding experience.
With various shifting tides at his dealership and in the retail environment, Martin said his time was well spent at the TMDA meeting.
“If it saves us one problem, it’s worth the time and investment,” Martin said. “It’s really easy to come here and listen and talk to anyone. You can find a way to save yourself $1,000 easily.”

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