Brothers build international Harley business in Oceanside

By: SHANNON WINGARD - for the North County Times | Friday, April 6, 2007 8:42 PM PDT ∞

For brothers Bill and Mike Kennedy, running a business that sells Harley-Davidson motorcycles is like being paid to play.

Bill Kennedy, co-owner of Kennedy's Custom Cycles, said that the pair divided their business talents -- Mike is in charge of numbers and Bill is the public face -- to turn their passions for motorcycles into an international business.

The store, which doesn't sell new Harleys, typically has 50 motorcycles for sale, with models ranging from the 1950s to 2004.

The brothers first established a service and mechanical business in the early 1970s based in the garage of their mom, Phyllis Kennedy of Carlsbad.

Taking her advice -- "If you're doing what you want to do, then it won't be work" -- they opened Kennedy's Custom Cycles in 1986 in Oceanside.

Although the store initially sold Harley-Davidsons to local buyers, Mike Kennedy said that they had to expand their retail base abroad to increase sales.

Bill Kennedy said that with the increasing price of a Harley-Davidson -- from just under $2,000 in 1971 to approximately $20,000 now -- the baby boomer generation is their primary market. "The younger kids can't afford them," he said.

Because Oceanside has a handful of other shops selling Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Mike Kennedy said that he started paying attention to international currency and targeting dealers in the most prosperous countries.

These countries included Sweden, Germany and Japan, now the biggest market for the store.

Last month, the business sold 26 Harley-Davidson motorcycles: two locally, two elsewhere in the United States and 24 internationally to such countries as Norway and Japan.

Because export taxes are lower on older models, Mike Kennedy said, he matches the types of motorcycles, including the year and the model, with what international dealers want.

For example, he said Japanese retailers normally want Harley-Davidson motorcycles made no later than 1984 and Norway retailers prefer ones made between 1990 and 1999.

Since riding a Harley-Davidson is part of "a tough guy image," Mike Kennedy said, the motorcycles are always in demand internationally and he expects them to remain that way.

Another piece of their mother's advice -- "To help the community whenever you can" -- has also become a staple of the business.

The co-owners have organized a variety of events, such as November's "Big Cover Up," when donations of blankets and socks are collected for the area's homeless, and the Torches Across America Ride, a motorcycle trip that begins in Oceanside in early September and then arrives at Ground Zero in New York City by the Sept. 11 anniversary. He said participants are "few in number but mighty in spirit."

They also help organize the annual Officer Down Memorial Motorcycle Rally that will take place on May 12 in Oceanside. ÝÝÝ

-- Contact freelance writer Shannon Wingard at scwing711@gmail.com.

STANDOUT FACTS

Name: Kennedy's Custom Cycles

Owners: Bill and Mike Kennedy

Address: 3028 San Luis Rey Road in Oceanside

Phone number: (760) 967-5883

Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday

Established: 1986ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ

Services: Specializes in Harley-Davidson parts, sales and services

Number of employees: Five

Gross sales for 2006: $2.4 million

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