The Past Is Not What It Once Was

One of the more interesting tasks I’ve been given is the creation of a written history of the The Washington State Motor Sports Dealers Association. Formed in 1969, WMSDA needs a history section for the member web site, as the “first generation” of dealers who created WSMDA are either approaching or already in retirement. I’ve been collecting oral and written recollections from some of the “heavy hitters” of the era, and their fascinating tales of good and bad times, wild adventures and financial mistakes.

A big boost came from Pat Halstead, recently retired from a successful career as a lobbyist in Olympia for AAA, WSMDA, and other transport organizations. Pat has wisely retained most of the newsletters from the early days, and was kind enough to ride up from Olympia to deliver them on a spotless Suzuki Madura – and when was the last time you saw one of those? – complete with a flat tire along the way to make the ride memorable.

Reading through a couple of hundred newsletters (some of which were missing dates so care had to be taken to keep them in order) took me back. It’s clear that I have forgotten a lot of “how it really was.” If you have entered the world of motorcycles in the past ten years, it’s hard to comprehend how negative the societal view of our sport was back in the day. The current (mostly) positive view of motorcycling was definitely not the case back then, and a good portion of the credit for the positive change has to go to dealers back in the day, driven by passion more than business or common sense. They persevered and prospered against some long odds. Here are some annotated notes, readings, interviews, and my own experiences.

May 1970 – WSMDA’s first effort at lobbying for more off-road areas and a logical funding base from the state was an almost complete failure, but was celebrated as a good first attempt.

June 1970 – A drunk driver with equally inebriated girlfriend tried to run me off the road as I rode my Honda 450 – possibly set off by the stars and stripes peace decal on my helmet. Having intentionally shaved by my right leg with a half-inch to spare they cruised in front of me laughing while I pondered the wisdom of ramming their car with my bike. I was saved by a hero in a perfect 1964 Chevy convertible who roared into action and scared the drunks away. Typing this brings the thought that such perilous events were actually fairly common in those darker days.

Spring 1970 - Much bemoaning in the WSMDA newsletters of the loss of several off-road riding areas – an issue which unfortunately is still very much with us today.

1971 – The AMA announces a radical reorganization for improved response and member services – this has occurred periodically for 35 years! Having said that, anyone who is serious should belong to the AMA, and I do.

September of 1971 – An announcement of the availability to dealers of the free loan of motorsports films for the use of “mens’ clubs.” Isn’t that quaint?

September 1971 – A newspaper article from California touts an electric motorcycle!

1971 – A Seattle Times article decries the rise in motorcycle fatalities – sound familiar? A bit of research and logic shows that motorcycle registrations had increased 100% in the time span used, while fatalities had increased by 54% - so that the fatality rates were in fact falling. Sound familiar?

1972 – AMA launches a newly reorganized political effort.

1972 – I get married and we honeymooned on my new Honda 500 4 – the most exotic, fastest, and largest motorcycle I had ever owned. It had about 45 horsepower. Two people for five days on a Honda 500 4 - we were young and adventurous!

1972 – Better Homes and Garden magazine warns readers not to purchase “any of the thousand pound motorcycles capable of 200 mph.” I don’t recall any road tests of those. I’ve also not noticed any appreciable raise in the standards of reporting in the motorsports area by national publications since.

May 1972- Ann Landers expresses her firm opposition to all motorcycles and terms her position “irreversible.”

August 1972 – Ann Landers slams motorcycles again.

September 1972 – The dealers support Richard Nixon for President, fearful that George McGovern, if elected, would appoint Ralph Nader as head of the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. Now that would have been interesting!

Nixon appointed Joan Claybrook, who flushed a few hundred grand of taxpayer funds with a prototype “safety motorcycle” that steered with the rear wheel. The man that won the bid to build it, at enormous cost, based his proposal on the thesis that it would not work. He was right.

Fall 1972 – The state of Washington, lobbied by WSMDA, agrees to install signs to warn motorcyclists of sections of grooved pavement. Whatever happened to grooved pavement, by the way?

Fall 1972 – Yamaha obtains the rights to build the Wankel rotary engine.

November 1972 - Dealers are upset with President Nixon when he vetoes a bill to exempt businesses with fewer than THREE employees from OSHA standards. The point here is that in 1972 there were evidently many motorcycle dealers with fewer than three employees – when was the last time you visited one?

November 1972 – Rotary-engined models are expected from Suzuki, Yamaha, BSA, and Triumph, and in the automotive world from Mercedes Benz and General Motors.

1972 – Jim Pomeroy of Yakima becomes the first American to win a World GP 250cc MotoCross race, riding a Bultaco in Barcelona, Spain.

1973 – The first gas crisis – fuel hits $1.50 a gallon and long lines form at the pumps. At the time our only car was a 1958 Corvette with 12.5 to 1 compression pistons that struggled to attain 12mpg on the highest octane fuel I could find. Motorcycle manufacturers expected the sale of small bikes and scooters to increase – sound familiar?

1973 – WSMDA dealers lobbied against the mandatory headlights on bill, probably fearful of its effect on the marginal electrics systems of the time.

Mid-1970’s – Technology had evolved to where the WSMDA newsletter could include black and white pictures – and so every issue had a pretty girl in a bikini with a witty caption. By modern standards, the “bikinis” resembled tents!

1976 – Goodyear announced the first tubeless motorcycle tires.

1977 – We took some of the proceeds from a change of houses and bought, brand new, a 1977 Yamaha 750 triple, for $2017.00. It was the most exotic, fastest, and largest motorcycle I had ever owned. It had about 65 horsepower, and I rode it for the next 22 years.

2005 – The daughter of Ann Landers, (or is it Dear Abby) answers a letter from a daughter concerned about the appearance of her Mom and Dad, who now go everywhere is their “Harley” clothes. The response is that the daughter should be grateful that her parents are happy and have found such a wonderful, fun, and healthy lifestyle.

We now enjoy a cornucopia of motorcycles of fabulous design, many of which could have won world championships in road racing or motocross – totally stock, and we shop in dealerships with bright lights, friendly people, attractive displays, and more technology for less money than in any other area – go ahead, see how much a car with 100hp per liter and lashings of carbon fiber and titanium goes for these days. It always pains me to see Internet posting referring to “stealerships.” True, I have had a bad customer experience or two in my time, but I have never felt I was being intentionally ripped off.

Bad service, or (more often) indifferent service, is not stealing. Selling a product for the price the market will pay is not stealing. If being a motorcycle dealer is so easy, why are they relatively few and far between. Last, I have had the occasion to meet many of the dealer/owners in this area. I like some of them and not all, and vice versa, but one thing does stand out. They are all enthusiasts. That has not been my experience with previous forays into the world of car dealerships.

Here is some background on some people who made your passion what it is today.

In the early and mid 60's motorcycle dealers in Southern California were very competitive and did not communicate much with each other. They began to have meetings to discuss business, but also to get together socially and diffuse some of the negative feelings that arose from dealer and brand competition. These meetings worked very well and resulted in the formation of the California Dealer's Association.

Eldon Douglas was a partner with his father-in-law (Mr. Maynard) in providing both dealership and motorcycle rider insurance, and they were members of this group. They decided to expand their business, and Eldon moved to Washington to open a Douglas/Maynard Insurance Agency here in the later 60's.

Eldon noticed immediately that dealers in Washington had the same problems that had been at issue in Southern California and he had the thought that getting dealers together would work up here as it had there. At about the same time a lot of off-road riding areas being closed all over the state and dealers were panicking. Last, a new helmet law was a cause for concern. These were the catalysts for forming the original WSMTA – the Washington State Motorcycle Trade Association. WSMTA was formed in 1969. In 1980 the name was changed to Washington State Motorcycle Dealers Association, or WSMDA, and in 1995 the “Motorcycle” evolved to “MotorSports” for the current and future Washington State Motorsports Dealers Association.

To be less confusing, this report used WSMDA throughout.

Most of the early meetings were held at the famous Dog House restaurant off Denny in downtown Seattle - after a first few meetings at the Red Lion Hotel in Bellevue. Some of the earliest players were: Larry and Pearle Poitras, Bob and Val Budschat, Pete and Karen Wicken, Kenny Higgenbothem, Eldon Douglas, Marc and Dottie Anderburg, Jim Tenneson, Terry Saxlund, and a few others.

The actual association was formed in the fall of 1969 and the first ORV act was passed in 1971, mostly as a result of WSMDA efforts. The early WSMDA had all the normal officers, regular business meetings, and at least tried to follow Robert’s Rules of Order.

The meetings eventually ended up at the Dog House and some other bar type places, at night, where at times very little business occurred. When Jim Boltz, Pete Wicken, Burke Hinshaw, and Mike Leibold were presidents, most of the meetings were held at Andy's Diner for early morning breakfasts.

Larry Poitras was elected as the first president and held that position for six years. He was instrumental in growing the association and keeping track of legislation coming out of Olympia pertaining to the motorcycle industry. The second president was Jim Tenneson and then Jim Boltz, Peter Wicken, Burke Hinshaw, Mike Leibold for nine years, and Jim Boltz since.

In 1984 the W.S.M.D.A. realized that dealers needed some protection from manufacturers so that dealers could have a stronger say in the marketing of their products. Jim Boltz, Larry Poitras, Jeri Drager and others donated money and time and made many visits to Olympia to convince the legislature to pass our Motorcycle Franchise Bill. In 1985 the bill was passed and signed into law. The effort was very successful, but the governor at the time, Booth Gardner, did line item and paragraph vetoes that watered down the intent of the bill.

A few years later the WSMDA sued Governor Gardner. Most of his vetoes were reinstated after a superior court found his actions to be unconstitutional. In 2003 Jim Boltz and others introduced new franchise legislation to clarify the franchise law and were again successful in getting a stronger bill passed into law.

Backgrounds of WSMDA founders and presidents:

1.) Larry (Poke) Poitras – Poke was originally a musician playing clubs around the Bay Area. He ended up working as a “gunk brush “ (what today would be termed a “lot technician”) in the shop of Hap Jones – the famous San Francisco dealer. Poke moved to Seattle and opened his own shop up by Seattle University. In the 1960’s he was a dealer for BSA, Norton, BMW and Yamaha.

Poke dropped Yamaha and BMW in the early 1970’s and his shop was basically an enthusiast shop for British bikes and collectors. Poke was our first president and a real fireball. Some of the early meetings were not maximally productive – but they certainly fit the “getting to know ya’” theme of the early years of the association. That is not to say the meetings did not produce significant positive outcomes – such as initiating and passing our state ORV program.

2.) Jim Tenneson – Jim, over the years, was an entrepreneur on many different levels. Jim grew up in Seattle society, went to Yale, and was a business partner in the printing business with Terry Saxlund. Wanting to diversify their business interests, they bought the bankrupt University Honda in 1967 – from Gib Eaton. Gib, by the way, was one of the very first Honda dealers in America and reportedly turned down the opportunity to be the Honda importer/distributor.

Terry was a Seattle Cossack member in the 50’s. Although Terry had more experience with motorcycles, he also had more hands on experience in the printing business, so Jim took over the bike shop. A very young Jim Pomeroy was sponsored by University Honda and they helped him get his ride with Bultaco – for whom he was the first American to win a GP race – in Spain. Jim Boltz was their first parts manager and Pete Wicken the sales manager. Jim Pomeroy’s mechanic was Jim Knight, who is now the Service Manager at Lynnwood Cycle Barn.

3.) Jim Boltz – Jim Boltz rode a new 1961 YDS1 Yamaha in the Army while stationed in Northern Japan. In 1967 Jim transferred to the UW from Highline Community College to finish his BA degree in Accounting. Jim’s cousin is Terry Saxlund – University Honda needed a parts manager - Jim needed a job = Jim learning a lot as U Honda’s Parts Manager. Leaving U Honda to begin his (one year) accounting career in 1970, Jim opened Lynnwood Kawasaki in 1972 – in a barn. Today, the Cycle Barn Motorsports Group is headed by Gary Harper and consists of three dealerships north of Seattle.

4.) Pete Wicken – University Honda’s first, and only, Sales Manager. Pete bought the dealership from Terry Saxlund and Jim Tenneson in the late 1980’s – eventually moving it to downtown Seattle in the 1990’s. Pete has now sold the dealership to his son Tom and is working on retiring to his home in Baring – up on Highway 2.

5.) Burke Hinshaw – Burke managed the family dealership in Auburn for many years. Burke was the WSMDA president when Jeri Drager and others got the first WSMDA franchise act passed in 1983. Burke was an avid sportbike enthusiast and rode to many events on the West Coast with his “gang”. Burke passed away, way too young, in the early 1990’s. The Hinshaw Honda store was consistently one of the volume leaders in Washington.

6.) Mike Leibold – led the WSMDA for over nine years until he finally asked to have someone else run it. Mike held more meetings and followed a more structured format than any other president. Mike’s huge interest in off-road programs led him to champion many matters while president. Mike and his brother, Ed own Everett Powersports – one of our states leading volume dealerships. Mike cut his teeth in the motorsports business while working for Ski Hut Honda (now Tacoma Honda) in the 1970’s.

7.) Jim Boltz has continued to run the association since Mike Leibold retired from the Presidency.

Dave Preston is the “Public Relations guy” for the Cycle Barn Motorsports Group. His book “Motorcycle 101” is available from www.SoundRider.com. Buy a copy for yourself, and several for your friends! Comments and/or questions for Dave can be emailed to fanatic@cyclebarn.com or faxed to (425) 921-1765.