Mid-Life Riders Online

People in the Industry MANUFACTURER - DALE BERG, GOODRIDGE USA

Dale Berg recalled his earliest experience with motorcycles was when he rode an old rusty Honda dirt bike owned by his family. “This bike was kept at our cabin at the Colorado River along with our ski boat, dune buggy and other toys, but for me the bike was the best,” he explained. The first time he was allowed to take it out by himself was when he was about 14 and he said it was like someone had turned him loose. “I could barely ride at the time, but it was like heaven riding over the hills and across the trails,” Dale told us, “Something about just me and that old bike against the world.”

Today, Berg said he enjoys street riding and goes out riding every chance he gets. “I ride to work daily. When I am at home in LA, my typical Saturday morning is to get out and ride the Pacific Coast Highway,” Dale described, adding, “My favorite weekend trip is through the back roads of Orange County to San Diego for an evening of blues at the House of Blues, San Diego.” He told us every June he goes for a weeklong ride up north to visit his family and friends who live around the Sacramento area. Dale laughed, “I find it incredibly gratifying that several members of my extended family have now started seriously riding also.”
Berg said he first became involved in the powersports industry in 1990, when a friend of his was looking for help. He owned a small regional distributor and they specialized in high-performance hose and fittings and specialty bearings, described Dale. “My title was customer service rep. and I spent my next three years getting an education in how the industry worked and how to plumb high-performance vehicles,” he explained.
Three years later he was hired by Goodridge USA as a motorcycle product salesman, Dale told us, and, at the time, the company was starting fresh in the U.S., so his original duties included fielding incoming calls, data entry, customer service, developing new products, telemarketing and attending trade shows. “By 1998, we had grown considerably and I was promoted to national sales manager, which put me in charge of all sales for Goodridge USA,” Berg explained. His new duties included creating new sales opportunities, hiring and training staff, coordinating, attending trade shows and developing new products.
“In 2000, with sales booming and during an amazing run of growth, Goodridge was broken into three divisions and I was assigned the new title of national sales manager of the motorcycle division, where I am still happily employed,” he continued. Currently, his duties have remained pretty much the same, but they have been streamlined into focusing specifically on the company’s aftermarket motorcycle division.
Dale told us he enjoys being able to show up at work everyday in casual clothing and talking to the people with whom he has so much in common and who have the same passion for riding that he does. “My favorite though, is helping our OEMs develop new plumbing systems for their new models every year,” Berg said. He continued by saying he loves attending the big industry trade shows at the beginning of the year and seeing the new ideas and new opportunities presented at these shows. “These shows have always been extra special to me because everyone in the industry is represented and it’s great to see the familiar faces, meet new friends and close new deals,” exclaimed Berg.
Obviously, the biggest current threat to the industry in general is the economy, he said, but the biggest threats Goodridge USA faces are the struggling businesses who are becoming desperate enough to deep discount their products and compromise the market’s prevailing pricing tiers. On the other hand, the greatest growth potential for any company is to consistently design and develop original, high-quality products and introduce them to the market, Berg added.
“Be responsible with the products you sell,” he advised. Dale concluded by saying, “Fit and road test all products you sell on the models they are labeled for. Make sure your products comply with all applicable specifications. Use only distributors that demand you cover your products with a sufficient liability insurance policy.”