The Emporia Gazette

February 14, 2012

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For Charles McNeese, moving his business, McNeese Customs, to a new location has provided an opportunity to shift gears a bit.

McNeese is in the process of moving his motorcycle operation from its original location at 11 W. Eighth Ave. to a bigger building at 622 W. Sixth Ave. The larger showroom has allowed McNeese to switch up the business to adapt to the slower economy.

In addition to offering used and custom-built motorcycles for sale and providing motorcycle maintenance services, the extra space has allowed the business to add a line of apparel.

“We’re offering leather jackets and chaps and vests; we’re offering a lot more to the consumer,” McNeese said. “You don’t necessarily have to own a motorcycle to come in and be able to find something. We’ve got T-shirts and all sorts of stuff.”

The business originally opened in 2006 in a small shop just off Commercial Street. Before that, McNeese said, he had been building custom motorcycles in the garage as a hobby for two or three years. After graduating from Emporia State University with a business degree, McNeese decided to put that knowledge together with his interest in motorcycles.

“As far as being a mechanic and being able to work on stuff and having the knowledge to run a business, I put the two together and this is what we came up with,” he said.

The custom bike side of the business always had drawn interest from motorcycle enthusiasts, but since the economic downturn interest in high-end motorcycles had dropped, McNeese said. A bike that would have brought in $35,000 three years ago would probably only bring in $25,000 now.

“If somebody comes in and says they want a custom bike, we’ll build it for them, ... but that side of it has definitely tapered off.”

To counter that dropoff, McNeese has focused more on used bikes for people who like to ride but don’t want to spend too much money. The extra showroom space has allowed him to bring in more used bikes than the old shop allowed for.

“Instead of having $60,000 or $80,000 wrapped up in three or four custom bikes, we’re taking that money and stocking up on used bikes,” McNeese said. “We probably always have anywhere from three to eight used bikes on the showroom floor at a time, so we’re rolling with the punches that the economy has thrown.”

The shift in emphasis from customs to used bikes has shown in the shift of the interest customers have shown. Before the slowdown, the shop would make and sell up to six custom bikes in a year, and only about four used bikes. Now, the shop is down to two custom bikes in a year and will sell from 10 to 20 used bikes.

“It’s one of those things where people still want the bikes, they just don’t want to spend as much money on them,” McNeese said.

And for a dash of flair, the shop will alter even the used bikes with its own custom touches.

“Everything that’s used, we put our own twist on it,” he said. “Maybe add some chrome or different exhaust or cool wheels or paint, just so we can get the cost down for the consumer but they’re still getting a bike that’s different.”