We went by AF1 Saturday; the wife was surprisingly willing. She remembers previous experiences there, which were all positive.

When we pulled in, a guy (with an absurdly lifted Tundra) was loading up one of the smaller Aprilia sportbikes, which I apologize for not being familiar with. This was one of the RS660 or RS457 bikes, not one of the RSVs, which I am actually familiar with from previous ownership.

Conveniently, another rider was leaving on a nicely modified Scrambler XE with an exhaust, which I wanted to hear, so we lingered outside for a few minutes. My wife pointed out the Moto Morinis and the Guzzis on display. The Scrambler sounded fantastic with the Zard exhaust, so once he roared out of the parking lot, we went on in and were struck more by what we weren’t met with than what we were.

As we walked in, no techno or rap music was blasting us (nor was there country or Bob Seger ala Harley dealers). There were no flashing lights or faux sirens (this happened at a dealership in Houston, where I suppose running from the police is a more significant part of the sport; to each their own). Most significantly, exactly one salesman asked us if we’d like a bottle of water or anything while we looked around.
We said we were okay; we just hadn’t been in for a while, and he said, “Awesome. Throw a leg over whatever you’d like, and let me know if I can help.” Then he walked away.
As always, my wife was enamored with the Italian bikes, so we checked out the MV Agustas. They had a Lucky Strike-colored, Dakar-inspired LXP Orioli (I’ll put a picture below), which was cool.

I have a couple of local friends with MVs and a couple more in Japan, and while they are beautiful, they seem to have earned their reputation for unreliability and vaporware. We’ll see if the new ownership changes that because they are STUNNING.

So the Triumph section.

One whole side of the showroom is Triumph. Seriously, divide the 4000 (ish?) square feet of the showroom in half, and that is Triumph and Triumph accessories. They had five Scramblers of various trims and sold one while we walked around. A couple of street and speed twins, a cool but kitschy “Elvis T120 Bonneville,” and five or six 400X bikes filled up the back of the bike section, while the front gave three Tigers pride of place, next to the new 250 supercrossers, which had their own display with dedicated gear. Back by the clothes section there were a couple of Rocket IIIs. Somewhere in there was a Daytona, and a Street Triple.

Maybe 400-500 square feet in the back of the Triumph section was dedicated to Triumph gear, clothes, and bike accessories. They had a good bit of the Triumph-branded riding gear, which my wife always digs, and then some t-shirts, hoodies, heritage clothes, and various bike accessories.

They seem to be taking the franchise very seriously, so much so that my wife made an interesting observation about the showroom’s layout. When you walk in the front door, you can’t miss Triumph, as I said, fully one-half of the dealership to your right. To your left, the entire window on that side is MV Agusta. So wait, where is Aprilia? Well, they are in the center of the dealership, with many bikes, but they are pushed to the back corner. I wouldn’t say it’s relegated, as they had some Aprilia gear on display, some racing banners, etc, but it didn’t feel like the flagship brand it’s always been. I’m sure they are still numero uno, and it’s just a consideration of space, but it was interesting just the same.

AF1 has a modest showroom but a huge service department, which is part of why I think Ride Now is no longer the Triumph dealer.

Working as a technician in a town like this is a tricky business. The cost of living is high, most folks want their work done as cheaply as possible, obviously. If the service writers aren’t on top of their game, the techs are always waiting on parts, customer concurrence, etc. At a dealership as big as Ride Now, you’ll need a significant staff to stay on top of that, usually at least one per line, though sometimes you can merge the Japanese lines, as they are pretty similar in execution. Start adding up the numbers of what a monthly payroll looks like to keep the doors open and possibly turn a profit, and you quickly see why so many people have had negative experiences with them. There is no room to maneuver in the cost model.

The senior technicians in a line like BMW, a “Premium Product,” expect to be well compensated for their necessary comprehensive knowledge of the systems and intricacies. It’s one thing if the shop refuses to work more than five years old (which some do), but if you’re taking in old airheads and K bikes as well as all the new bikes with their sensors, systems, and ECUs, then the spread of knowledge required is crazy.

If I had to guess, with Triumph expanding its market presence and stepping up its product offerings over the next few years, Ride Now probably accepted that they wouldn’t be able to support a second “high-end” European manufacturer (I don’t know how involved they already are with Ducati next door) and chose to focus on the actual profit machine that BMW can be if it is managed correctly. Triumph and BMW’s systems don’t align the way Yamaha, Kawasaki, and, a lesser, Honda’s do, so there is no multi-line simplification there. You would need to expand into ANOTHER dedicated service department, or at least technicians, writers/estimators, parts folks, etc. For perspective, I went to Ride Now with my son one day to look at a Triumph for him, and the salesman tried to steer us to a BMW. No harm, I love BMW, but it was apparent there was more $$ in it for him and the dealership if we bought the Bavarian machine than the one from Hinckley.

AF1 has Aprilia, which has been without hesitation their “Halo” brand, and then a few others: Guzzi, of course, Moto Morini, and MV Agusta, all of whom have a tiny market share. Adding Triumph gives them a genuine two-line presence and lets them put real emphasis on a brand that deserves it. Locals can think back to when Lone Star was the BMW/Triumph dealer; each felt equally important when you visited.

I’m looking forward to where AF1 goes with it, in fact I’m going to swing by today just to take a lookie loo. I’ve been thinking about a Scrambler for a while…

If you’re in central Texas, I’d definitely swing by. They are all cool folks, always down for a chat, but they won’t harass you or ask you endless stupid questions like “What would it take to put you on this bike today?” They had cool stuff to look at, and if you are interested in buying a Triumph, I think they had at least one of every model. They carry a big selection of Motul, and other such chemicals if you use such things, and they have a lot of nice gear.