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We've previously written about how Iconic Motorbikes in Southern California has innovated to improve the experience of buying and selling motorcycles, especially rare or coveted classic performance bikes, and now the company is launching a new venture aimed at creating a greater sense of community involvement with the business specifically and with motorcycling in general.
Iconic is introducing a two-tier membership program that founder Adam Tromp says he hopes will build stronger community among motorcyclists, like what he enjoyed when he lived in Australia. "In America, I feel like we've lost sight of that," he said. "I want Iconic to be more than a dealership, more than an auction site, more than a shop."
At $450 a month, the upper tier of membership is obviously going to be limited to a fairly small number enthusiasts who have healthy bank accounts and are based close to the company's location in Southern California. But the other level of membership, which has been set up through Patreon, is more accessible, at $25 a month.
"I don't want to be the company that just caters to the wealthy," said Tromp.
So what does a membership provide? Tromp and his partner, Bike-urious founder Abhi Eswarappa (a third partner is Vic Branstetter, co-founder of the Hillstone Restaurant Group) said they have created a lounge area in Iconic Motorbikes' current home, a 15,000-square-foot hangar at Santa Monica Airport, formerly used by Harrison Ford. Top-level members will have access to the site, which has two pool tables and a poker table. One of the six service bays will be set aside for members' use, complete with two lifts and tools, if they want to work on their own motorcycles and have access to advice from Iconic Motorbikes' mechanics. They'll get discounts on service work, merchandise or long-term storage and access to MotoGP viewing parties, to weekend street rides or track days sponsored by Iconic that will provide a different experience, Eswarappa said, calling it "more of a gentleman's track day."
"For people who have special bikes, a lot of the owners of those bikes get nervous when they want to go out on something like a Honda RC30 and then they've got someone like myself on a $2,000 R6 project dicing it up in between them," he said.
Also still being developed is a rental program that would give people a chance to ride some of the classic performance bikes that are part of Iconic's inventory.
Of course in the near term, COVID-19 restrictions in currently hard-hit California will put a crimp on the idea of hanging out in the Iconic lounge among the cool motorcycles and racing memorabilia. But then the top tier of membership is never going to be crowded. And for the lower tier, those restrictions aren't really an issue.
The everyman option
Obviously, a membership program that costs hundreds of dollars a month is going to be limited to individuals with above-average means who live close enough to Iconic to be able to take advantage of the benefits. For everyone else, there's another kind of membership that will cost $25 per month through Patreon. For those supporters, Tromp and Eswarappa are planning weekly raffles. They plan to give away Iconic merchandise, such as T-shirts and hats, as well as motorcycle posters they plan to produce (Iconic has a photo studio in the facility for producing auction posts and has plenty of cool motorcycles to shoot) and other memorabilia. Iconic has also amassed a stash of swag, motorcycle parts they've obtained over the years as they've bought bikes, and sample goods from manufacturers that will also be raffled off.
"We'll have a steady stream of contests, such as polls and trivia," said Tromp. "We'll pick the best responses and winners will just have to cover shipping."
These members also get advance information about motorcycles coming up for auction, early access to Iconic events and free access to the facility once a month. Typically, Iconic allows visitors by appointment only (if you're buying a bike, for example) or charges an admission fee if you want to come in and gawk, like at a museum.
Of membership and privileges
Most of what Tromp has done since founding Iconic has been a reaction to having an unsatisfying experience and realizing it could be done better, whether that was buying a motorcycle to getting it serviced or participating in an auction. That's why, when he teamed up with Eswarappa to build the auction web site, providing a wide range of services was one of their main differentiating factors. Tromp gives the recent example of a customer who bought a Benelli Sei, the classic six-cylinder, had it serviced, flew in and rode the Pacific Coast before having some more work done by Iconic and then shipping the bike home to the Midwest. The new owner went home with a treasure trove of photos and memories, as well as a motorcycle, and that's what made the experience a lot more gratifying than just a typical sales transaction, Tromp said.
The new membership venture arises from the same idea that a better job can be done in nurturing community among motorcyclists. The membership concept has been done in the car world and we've seen aspects of it in the motorcycle world before, such as the DIY garages that also serve as a kind of clubhouse. The Iconic plan takes the concept to a level that's uncommon, if not unprecedented, in the motorcycle world, though.
Will it work?
"We've had people requesting this type of thing," said Eswarappa.
Now we'll see if those people come through.
Whether it succeeds or not, it's not the first innovation we've seen from the Iconic partners and probably won't be the last.
