what’s going on in seattle?

anyone got the juicy deets on these dealerships?

https://www.roadracingworld.com/new...nanced-by-failed-washington-dealership-chain/

 

VW and Ducati's, what a wonderfully terrible relationship. Both things I want nothing to do with!

 

ducati’s rock.

 

Hmm, were these financed Ducatis sitting on the showroom floors (I read that lots of bikes were being loaded up after the doors closed), or lots of defaulted sales?

 

Just another jackass that thought the powersports business was all roses and unicorns.

 

I know Howard, and I like Howard. But I know nothing about his businesses or his acumen with those businesses. I'm not surprised by this as his rise to dominance appeared to be rather quick after he first picked up Ducati of Seattle. His empire grew pretty quickly, and now it appears that it grew due to financing instead of sales.

Howard entered the scene like lots of other Microsofties, lots of cash and flash, but he's one of the few who stuck it out. He brought fancy new bikes to the track and raced them, hard. He raced AMA a couple of times (I believe he qualified on 848's in supersport?), but he was always a part of the scene with WMRRA and never put on the "Ducati airs" in the pits. Really good guy with gasoline in his veins.

Late edit: 20th place at Miller in 2011 on an 848 in Supersport:
https://results.amasupercross.com/xml/rr/events/R1115/ssq2ovr.pdf

 

I think we got more than meets the eye here.

The lawsuit claims that Crow and his companies failed to make some payments on the bike loans and have refused to voluntarily surrender the bikes, which served as collateral for the loans. The suit also contends that Crow “is out of the country, with no definitive timeline for his return.”

https://www.seattletimes.com/busine...-firms-owed-millions-of-dollars-on-new-bikes/

 

I know several people who have bikes there or who's friends have bikes there and this is going to get worse before it gets better......if it gets better.

 

I read on another m/c forum that several people paid cash for bikes and the dealerships closed before they could pick them up a week or so later.

 

Most of the microsoft employees I know that race, which is all of them from 2012 on, have been consistent club members. I don’t recall much flash by more than 1 or 2.

 

I'm thinking of the 2000 and up 'Softies, not much experience with the second wave. I guess I meant that the earlier ones that I was exposed to were a touch snooty to us lowly "one bike at a time" racers, or non-SV650 with all of the trimmings.

Or, my memories are hazy because the whole scene was new to me, and my perception of "cash and flash" is different than others. Regardless, Howard was nice to me, and it's unfortunate that this is coming up like this. I do know that I was 50/50 on buying one of their Altas that had a really great price, almost in my range. I would have had to finance a bit of it, but if I didn't have two other dirt bikes that I never ride, I would have bought one.

 

Seems odd that someone would get that leveraged with that much exposure based on local market share.

 

Nothing juicy, but Ducati is going to be selling bikes out of Lynnwood Motoplex now.

 

Another article:

https://www.seattletimes.com/busine...-firms-owed-millions-of-dollars-on-new-bikes/

 

That’s what I thought too.

Taking the high road and finishing up pending sales and orders instead of just walking takes a lot of character.

 

Is this a common thing? Pay in full prior to possession?

 

Ah. Well I'm broke and handy, so I'd be putting that stuff on myself. Plus, I like my shit when I pay for it.