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the numbers.“We look at how much it’s going
to cost to make a part, the price point the
product needs to meet to appeal to the consumer,
as well as what is needed to meet costs
and profit, as well as to produce enough inventory
to have them in stock for what we predict
will be the life of the product,” says JP.
Küryakyn uses a variety of sources for
manufacturing, both stateside and elsewhere.
Certain manufacturers specialize in various
kinds of projects, so choosing the best manufacturer
to achieve Küryakyn’s goal is also part
of the mix.
Once everyone in the review cycle has
given the thumbs-up, the part goes to the producer.The
manufacturer gives Küryakyn some
tool-off samples (raw castings) to confirm
where the casting lines are placed, and to be
sure everything flows together as it should.
They also provide pre-chrome parts and samples
of the actual part—how it will look when
completed and chromed. Küryakyn uses these
samples to review them for tolerances, quality
and appearance. If everything is okay, they
release it for production.
Like every company in a competitive market,
Küryakyn guards its manufacturing techniques
as proprietary information. Suffice it to
say they’re not about to share any specifics as
to how they apply chrome to their various
products to give them that special sheen we
Gold Wingers love.
Installation instructions are written at
Küryakyn’s Wisconsin facility by the R&D staff,
who are also involved in designing each product’s
packaging. A lot of thought goes into
whether the product should be in a colorfully
printed box or in a blister pack for easy display
on a showroom wall.
As the production and package design
process is getting closer to being done, the
marketing department starts working on getting
the word out. Küryakyn’s Art Director,
Brett Link, designs various brochures to distribute
to Küryakyn’s 4,000 dealers worldwide.
Küryakyn’s catalog for Harley-Davidson
accessories comes out in January; their catalog
for metric motorcycles (with extensive products
for the Gold Wing), comes out a month
later. These are available directly from
Küryakyn for a nominal fee, and are also available
at many of the rallies the Küryakyn staff
attends. The company has two show trailers
that appear at many rallies, so keep an eye out
for them at a rally near you.
Magazine advertising is also essential to
getting the word out. For instance, have you
ever noticed the various Küryakyn ads in Wing
World These are usually the result of collaboration
between Küryakyn’s Marc Wolfram
and Wing World’s Sue L’Amoreaux. The number
of advertising pages to appear in a year’s
publication of the magazine is planned in
November of the previous year. JP decides
what products should go into each ad, and
Brett and his staff actually create the ads.
The product is manufactured, packaged and
stored in Küryakyn’s 100,000-square-foot
warehouse. Andy Kiska’s shipping department
sends the product to the Küryakyn dealers
worldwide.
Then consumers like Don Knobler will
read Wing World magazine and others, taking
note of the new parts in the advertisements,
or the local dealer will recommend these new
parts.
Küryakyn President Tom Rudd confirms
how his company works hand-in-glove with
the customer.“Most of the time, at Gold Wing
events like Wing Ding, we’ll send one of our
guys to work with one of our bigger dealers
like Neihaus Cycle Sales of Illinois. Every part
idea or modification to an existing part that
we’re asked to make by the customer, we
write down and prioritize our product list following
those suggestions.”
In recent years, some chrome and accessory
manufacturers have turned their primary
focus away from the Gold Wing to other markets.
But Tom says, “We are especially fond of
the Gold Wing motorcycle. It’s here to stay, it’s
a huge part of our business, and I can’t think of
any other motorcycle we concentrate harder
on than the Gold Wing. The Gold Wing is
either Number One or Number Two each
year for our product development.”
What does Tom think of the Gold Wing
customer “They’re true motorcyclists that
usually have a lot of years—a lot of experience
under their belts. They know pretty much
what they want. They’re a good market to go
after, and they’ve been very good to us, both in
my days with Drag Specialties and now at
Küryakyn,” he says.“I love the Gold Wing, and
we’re going to continue to develop new parts
for it every year.”
Speaking of his current staff at Küryakyn,
Tom says,“Oh, we’ve got the best of the best!
A lot of people from Drag Specialties followed
me over to Küryakyn, and we’ve gained several
new people since that are real motorcyclists.All
of our designers are motorcyclists, so
they understand what fellow riders are looking
for.”
It’s a satisfying business for Tom.“We don’t
so much build parts people need as much as
parts they dream of having.We leave the spark
plugs, the filters and the drive chains to other
companies.What we do is more fun—building
the parts people dream about.”
And Tom says Küryakyn plans to continue
valuing the dreams its customers share with
its staff.After all, it’s how new parts are dreamt
up by The Dream Makers.
●
C O V E R S T O R Y
A Texas
Treasure
Don Knobler lives a life full of blessings.A
successful real estate investor,
he devotes large amounts of his free
time as a Christian missionary.With his wife
Damaris—herself a successful pediatric
physician—Don travels far and wide to help
others and share the Gospel. He also heavily
supports local charities. Those fancy chaps
he’s wearing on this month’s cover photo
were purchased at a recent Cattle Baron’s
Charity Ball in Dallas. His long-horned helmet
was bought from a vendor near Devil’s
Tower, Wyoming, and Don actually wears it
while riding!
Continued.
May 2007 49