Jay Ridley, son of Ridley Motorcycle Co. founder Clay Ridley, announces that a newly formed company named Ridley Genuine Parts has acquired the stock of parts/fixtures/equipment from Ridley Motorcycle Company’s creditors after its bankruptcy filing at the end of 2009. The new company is headquartered in Oklahoma City, a few blocks from the original company, and has for 1st objective to help all Ridley motorcycle owners keep their bikes running by providing support, original parts, protecting their value. If successful at recreating a strong owners community, Jay Ridley, President of the new company, doesn’t exclude the opportunity of restarting the building of new models.
Ridley was founded in 1995 by Clay Ridley and launched an innovative motorcycle with CVT transmission design. In 1999, the company introduced the first fully automatic street/cruiser motorcycle known as the Ridley Speedster. The 3/4 scale motorcycle featured a nearly 600cc Ridley V-Twin engine, fully automatic CVT transmission, low 24 inch seat height, and weighed less than 270 pounds. The next innovation for Ridley was announced in 2003, when the company introduced its first “full size” automatic motorcycle, the Auto-Glide. Sales boomed with the arrival of new riders, men and women looking for a motorcycle easy to handle. in 2009, exhausted by poor sales due to the recession and by defending during 6 years a very costly lawsuit filed by Harley-Davidson and settled with Ridley losing the right to use the Auto-Glide name, Ridley Motorcycle Company filed on December 29, 09 a voluntarily petition under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.
At the same time, another company called “2 Wheel Ventures” in which Clay Ridley’s son Jay was President, launched a program to sell CPO Ridleys (Certified Pre-Owned) and to market custom parts available for its models. As it always happens in this situation, the question that many Ridley owners and former dealers were asking in my Blog was if the new company headed by Jay Ridley would honor their warranty. I guess that Jay Ridley’s plan has changed somewhat with the new company (or new name) Ridley Genuine Parts. Many Ridley owners are going to be very happy to be able to source new parts, but others are probably going to continue to ask for free original parts that were never replaced under the Ridley Motorcycle Company original warranty. Ridley Genuine Parts.
Parts is parts and what company’s ever stuck around after the fall, to make sure their customers could still ride their machines? That’s an M/C first,
A bunch of thieves!!! The father screws all his suppliers and then the son takes over and starts a new company. I would hope that no one supports this crook.
666: go you own a Ridley? Just curious where you got your opinion.
I have an ’07 Auto-Glide TT and have always had top-notch service from the company. Having talked with Clay about the situation about a year and a half ago, I know bankruptcy was not his first choice to salvage the company.
The absolute possible worse person that Clay could have put at the store front is Jay Ridley. Never trust this guy, and if he makes promises, make sure you get them in writing. These people have a lot of bones to dig back out of the grave if they hope to regain any trust. I don’t wish them good luck, because they still owe a lot of people a lot of money. Clay.. where are your senses.. Nobody liked your son even being vice president.. what the heck makes you think they’re gonna buy anything if you make him president? If I remember right.. Your son almost got his butt literally kicked by an
H-D dealer who didn’t like his smug college prep face. Sheesh!
wow, some harsh words here. My local used bike dealer has two nice rids. I thought about buying one for my wife in hopes she would learn how to ride. I thought forgoing the clutch might help her want to try but she still does not want to learn. I like yanking the clutch too much to buy a motorcycle that does not have one.
I think it’s cool you can still get parts for them even it I’m not an owner.
Sounds like the same basic game plan they had from last year.
Our company is a service dealer for Ridley in S.W. Florida and, needless to say, there are a lot of Ridley owners in our market area.
There never has been much in the way of dealer support from the powers that be at Ridley but, at least we can still get parts for our customers.
I can say that back in 04 I showed up unannounced one day at their manufacturing facility in OKC, Oklahoma and was met by their receptionist who was more than happy to give me the entire tour of their plant at the drop of a hat. I thought that was more than generous at the time since my company had not become a dealer for them until years later. She kept apologizing that she couldn’t get in touch with the main salesman at the time due to a meeting he was attending with Clay and Jay. I walked away from that visit impressed with the staff at Ridley being so gracious and considerate especially since I had no appointment and plant tours was not something they normally did.
After moving my company to FL. from upstate NY (seems a new upstart custom bike shop down the road from me got themselves on Discovery Channel) I decided that my company should at least be a servicing dealer for Ridley when a local sales & servicing dealer closed up. I’ve not regretted that decision only from the standpoint of keeping our customers happy. It definitely was not a decision based on profitability for our business. The profit margin on Ridley Parts is minimal at best comparatively.
In my opinion, if Clay and Jay plan on moving forward with their product as the economy improves, they need to develop a better dealer program and network with margins that the dealer can truly profit from. 70% of their bike sales where to woman. The fastest growing segment of motorcyclist in our country. They had a great product that catered to a niche market that no one else seemed to bother with then or since and, if you boyz (Clay & Jay) haven’t figured it out yet, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, they might want to reconsider a viable warranty program for the current Ridley owners if they expect repeat sales in the future.
I love my Ridley I AM SO GLAD THAT THERE IS A BIKE LIKE THIS LOTS OF LADIES WANT TO RIDE BUT DONT WANT TO HAVE TO SHIFT OR IT SCARES THEM THE THOUGHT OF IT. i S WAS SO GLAD TO FIND THEM I HAVENT HAD A BIT OF TROUBLE WITH MINE . IF EVERYONE REMEBERS HARLEY WENT THROUGH SO HAD TIME AND REP TOO. I LOOK FORWARD TO WEN THEY START MAKING NEW BIKE AND WILL MORE THAN LIKELY TRADE MINE IN FOR A NEWER MODEL, THE SERVICE IS GREAT TOO.
Capt. Phillips,
Where in SW Floridia are you? I love my 07 autoglide but need someone who can service.
Thanks!
The Indian Motorycle Dealer in Minnesota still has a lot of parts, and actually a lot of Ridley seats left, that Ridley stopped producing. Good bunch of guys over there. I think they still have one Ridley left, but Sadly they told us they don’t deal with the Ridley’s anymore because the son (Jay) had shared some of the dealers personal and business financial stuff with another dealer in new york. Great guys over there at the Indian Dealership though. Sad that someone had to blab about it to another dealer. These guys were great to work with and sold a TON of Ridley bikes before, but the Ridley’s never gave them proper credit it seems. The owner even told me that Ridley won’t sell them parts anymore to service the customers they had. Thats pretty bad because i wouldn’t want to take my bike to anyone else and won’t allow this dealer to service their customers because of Jay’s personal beef with the owner. I personally don’t know if I’d be wanting to buy a bike from the Ridley’s again if I can’t take it to the dealer I want to fix it. Sounds like they aren’t supporting who they should be supporting. Probably the guys that helped them get off the ground the first time around. Hey Ridley’s………… whats your response to this? None I’m sure. And their Silence should be an answer to a lot of the questions whether it be negative or positive remarks people leave.
You know I’m thinking “666” isn’t a disgruntled Ridley owner, but a disgruntled Ridley supplier that got screwed hard. He’s got every right to be pissed. They (Ridley) screwed over a bunch of people whether it was parts suppliers, machine shops, painters, chromers, powdercoaters, anodizers, etc.
Maybe if the “new Ridley” wasn’t run by a Ridley people might have a better feeling about all of this.
Ridley screwed a lot of people. I’m shocked they thought they would meet anything other than pure disregard and lack of respect for their attempt.
Chances are if you’re riding an 07 or later Ridley…there are parts on there that were never paid for by Ridley before that bike was sold to you.
They may have had a nice product, but their business practice was garbage.
What comes around goes around and I hope to see it come back and hit them in the face even harder this time. I know there will be a few of us waiting to laugh at them.
Sure would like to see Clay and Jay pop on and defend themselves instead of using the blog to get a “feel” for what people really think of them.
I am not professional, but if I understand the comments above by the pros, Ridley didn’t pay some vendors before going bankrupt, had these parts taken as collateral by probably the bank that was owned money. Then the new Ridley parts company bought back at a discount the collaterized parts and now is trying to resell them for profit? Business as usual…
Apology. While doing some maintenance work, we deleted by mistake 2 comments by readers Bozak & Wiz. These 2 readers can repost their comments. Sandra.
All of the posters here. We were a supplier to these crooks. When things got slow they asked us to work with them which we did. Continued to send product and get minimal payments but thought that we all work together to survive. Well they screwed us and now have the parts back they never paid for and want to present them selves as an upstanding company. Both the father and son are thieves and were in this together. Everyone in the industry needs to shut these guys out and make them go away again but PERMANTLY
Well, Cyril what do you think?
The idea of full cruisers with automatic transmission can go a long way. Problem is that tyou can’t screw a lot of vendors without consequence when you try to emerge again as a new corporation. I don’t think we will ever see again new Ridley motorcycles being produced. But the idea has legs for a correctlly funded corporation managed by competent and honest people.
Sandra, I thought maybe you had enough of my rants so I couldn’t post no more. But since I can here we go; I checked into being a Ridly dealer years ago because of the aspect of the automatic tranny. I have been helping handicapped people get back in the wind for over thirty years now [ever since my wife became paralyzed from the waist down from a scooter wreak in Austin,TX, built her an all-hand controlled Harley Shovelhead trike] and have since been building trikes and offering other devices/controls to allow them to expierence the joy we all love so much. The problem with the Ridly was the limited amount of power for trike applications, kinda a pooch! If they step up the CC’s and torque maybe they might work. Wiz
There is Never going to be a Bunch of Happy M/Cyclists when the Factory shut’s its Doors. The facts are People are not going to get paid. These are the real World effects of being in Business Today and the last 5 Years. I think that if there is a need for the Product, and People want to Buy them, the Factory need to Build them, Fix them and then Accessorize them. If you are not going to pay your Vendor’s and Steal the Corporations money then that Sucks!! I just don’t understand what the Big Deal is, building a 700 cc Automatic? Honda did it with a 750 cc and only did it for 1 year. Just My 2 Cents.
666,
SO WAIT, they “screwed you” but you got all of your parts that they owed on back?!?! To me that is more like an investment that you broke even on, am I correct? You want to talk about being screwed, go talk to Phil Day at Daytec Frames about how bad Titan burned his ass back in the day ( I believe it was almost a million dollars) or how AIH SCREWED the floor plan company out of 600+ motorcycles which they stored in a warehouse about 4 years ago (2years prior to their demise)… Thats being screwed, not breaking even on the product.
I remember Clay trying to come off like some big “CHRISTIAN”. Slingin his thanks to God for what he had created… Sounds to me like he was following the work of the devil by all the people he screwed. And I agree with the MN’s.. Putting Jay up front while the cowardly Clay runs it in the backround is the worst possible thing they could possibly do. For Clay… Mr. Christian.. The good Lord GIVETH… and the good Lord TAKETH away… when you you start breaking one of the 10 commandments. Thou shalt not steal Clay… thou shall not steal.
conrad, NO we did not get the parts back. The son got the parts back. We just got screwed for thousands of dollars. It may not be millions but to us it was enough to get us in trouble. All that for trying to help these guys after clay ridley’s sob story. These guys are crooks and need to be shut down. It will only be a matter of time before they start screwing the retail buyers. It is how they do business
If there is anyone who would like to know the true story as to how Clay and Jay Ridley screwed their customers, vendors, and dealers, please call 651-765-9988 after January 25th, and we would be happy to explain A LOT of things that this company is doing wrong and illegal. We would be happy to answer to a lot of questions and doubts that you potential customers may have.
Art, I will call. Even though the courts closed this and we got screwed I would love to pursue getting these guys put out of business and even better charged with fraud!!
What fraud did these guys commit? I saw them on Corbins tv show. Seemed like stand up guys. Looks like bitterness. If they bought their stuff back at a public auction, did they out bid you?
Welch. Are you the dealer that Ridley had who was adopted in your late twenties by a native American lady so you could get some of the casino money to help pay for your store? I heard the story from the old dealer off flatbush ave in Brooklyn. That is hilarious.
Guys, I have a couple Kids that I am looking to have adopted from me! I don’t want anything, I promise.
Marty, the fraud of ordering a bunch of parts from loyal suppliers with the promise to pay while they new all along they were going to file bankruptcy. We even offered to trade for a bike but were told that they could not do that as someone else held the MSO’s. All lies and bull from the crooks ridley.
We did not get iout bid at the auction as we did not go. Pretty much a coincedence that the scumbag ridleys had the cash to bid and pay for these parts after the bankruptcy. Where was this cash before that could have paid the vendors? Or wasd this all the plan??THIEVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you businessmen? Do you know what bankruptcy is? I think we all want to avoid it. Someday the economy may bring one of you down too. And if you declare bankruptcy I can guarantee you that others will get burnt. It’s not something anyone wants to do to their associates. If your hoping American businesses go under then you must like the current economic situation. The more that go under and don’t try to come back the more your business will suffer. It’s a domino affect. If your in the motorcycle manufacturer supply business then you better be hoping that the manufacturers stay in business otherwise you’ll be even a bigger looser. Better hope that some of your big customers don’t go down. And if they did and you were about to loose your business because of it you would be hoping that they do come back. If you don’t you must not need customers. You probably made lots of money off Ridley in the years they were operating. And you know it, that’s why you just use 666 as your name. If they do come back with the great product that they offer you wouldn’t want to be cut out now would you.
Big corps like GM and Chrysler got bailed out by the government and Ford who didn’t was for their competitors help. Ford knew the effects on suppliers would eventually create even bigger problems for those that were left. Ridley was being sued by the giant Harley Davidson at the time. Even as HD was trying to stop Ridley they were protecting themselves from the economic woes by shutting down Buell. I would bet there are a few Buell owners and dealers that feel burned by this too. Little companies can rarely come back out of it, just try and get a loan or money from anyone after bankruptcy.
Ridley owners are glad to see Ridley trying to make a come back and are very thankful for the great support they are getting right now. I hope they start to manufacture again and if they do and are successful you’ll be right there trying to sell them the parts they need.
It’s been a bad couple of years for the American motorcycle industry and we have lost a few. Lets hope they all come back. Its better for everyone in the business.
666- I guess they did you a favor by not settling for bike. A friend did that one time and the bk judge made him pay cash for it to distribute money to the other creditors. Not a great situation to be in.
Funny “BIG M” … I mean Jay, even funnier that you don’t use your real name. Good “Story” about me though.
The Ridley’s had the money to buy the company back. They Used their Dealer from route 66 Ridley(Derek) to buy back the company for them, and the Derek sold it back to them (actually, It was Ridley’s money all along). Jay was at the auction, but when the bidding started, left the premisis.. After the bidding was closed, The Ridley’s bought it back from Derek, and then Jay was put in charge of two wheeled ventures, which they claim some lady owns, but really THEY own it, and run it. This was their sneaky crooked way of doing things so that they could keep the company, still operate it, but under a different name so that they couldn’t get sued by everyone they screwed over. Geez, this even sounds like Don Proudfoot from the old Titan Company.. Anything to get away with stealing, and screwing your vendors. Only thing is, they haven’t been put in jail …..yet. Just trying to help you keep your silver spoon college prep boy fed image intact. What the hell was daddie thinkin puttin you in charge. There’s more to this story, but I’ll wait to see what else people post.
Rod, Yes I do know what “LEGITIMATE” bankruptcy is. And it is very unfortunate. These guys ridley are just scam artisits. They continued to play a game on the suppliers while planning to screw them all along. If someday we are unfortunate enough to have to file bankruptcy I can assure you that a week before I will not be placing a bunch of orders so I can get them for “FREE”!!! THIEVES AND CROOKS THE RIDLEY’S. They belong in jail at the least.
Ridley should be questioned on the $200,000 they spent with a personal favorite past time.. NASCAR… Trying to make Ridley a household name, they spent Money they should have paid Vendors on a favorite past time of their own, just so they could get close to the people that drive the cars. That is money that should have gone to the people they screwed. $200,000 for getting the name RIDLEY on a Nascar… and you know what? No one cared… no one even remembers.. Huge blunder. Thats where your money went folks. All for entertainment for the Ridley’s
Art, I will call you after the 25th as per your post. I am going to try and press this issue if possible to get our money back. Bankruptcy is one thing but fraud is another…
I saw them on Corbins tv show. Seemed like stand up guys.
Hitler started off as a nice guy too LOL
they probably paid for that spot on that show…..i still like the corporate jet in their brochure …talk about an oxymoron of 2 products
Art for 200k what did they get ………their name on a bush car for 2 races??
1550tc,
I think they got their name on a car for about half a season.. but for sure not the whole season.. I think I still have the article. Either way, the racer that was a rookie that finish something like 27th place. All that for $200,000. I remember how they were talking about how much they loved NASCAR. That was vendors money they used. I know Jay and Clay are reading this thread every day. Funny how they don’t respond. They never do.
ALSO on “Jay’s” agenda is supposedly some 1400-1500cc automatic motorcycle currently being redesigned from the one they built in 2007 that they showed at the dealer meeting. When I spoke with Jay last year, they said they had big things coming up that I had no idea about. The 1400-1500 cc Automatic slipped from his mouth trying to prove they had SOMETHING in the works.. With who’s money?
666, I would be very happy to talk with you. It only takes a few people to speak up against fraudulent people to help those that work hard not get screwed over again by a father and son scam artist team.
Art
Art
Art,
I will contact you. If a few vendors can get together maybe we can stir things up a bit. I have a good connection with a bankruptcy attorney and am going to speak to him after we talk. If I can;t get my money back that we were screwed out of maybe just maybe we can cause the thieves a bunch of grief and what money they stole in legal fees. Better the attorneys have it then the con men jay and clay
Art all this yakking about a tranny and law suits ect….. it was a basic ski doo centrifugal clutch set up on a mini kit bike with who knows what for an engine.
They were also victims of the, my hauler is nicer and bigger than your hauler BUTBUT i really cant afford it or figured out what it really costs to own and run this rig.
I hope one day Keith Ball writes a book on all these, jump on the band wagon builders, parts guys, and tv hype builders guys that were around the industry from 2000-2007,,, id love to read all the bs stories!!
Readers, I am surprised and grateful to see the continued interest in our motorcycles. In 1995, my father and I started with a dream to build the ultimate ¾ scale motorcycle. Over the company’s fourteen year history our business grew exponentially with the help of our investors, vendors, the media, service centers and of course each and every Ridley Owner and Dealer. Like every other manufacturer, we began to feel the economic conditions change when lending requirements were tightened on retail buyers in 2007. Unforunately, we were not able to make the necessary changes to keep the business funded through these tough times. This left us with several significant liabilities that created a situation we could not overcome without a swift recovery in the market.
Through nearly all of 2009, Ridley Motorcycle was actively seeking a partner who could capitalize the company through a partnership or outright purchase of the company. Eventually, the closing of Ridley Motorcycle was forced by our primary lender, Midfirst Bank. Despite having taken them a buyer for the company who was willing to guarantee the company’s loan, the Bank refused our solution and chose to auction the company’s assets.
Our company was committed to making the dream of riding come true for thousands of riders. We combined a low seat height with a lighter vehicle weight and a fully automatic transmission in a traditional American motorcycle style to create the perfect easy to ride motorcycle. We knew when we started building our first model that it would not be for everyone. We purposely built each model so that it did not complete with any other motorcycle in the market. From the beginning every effort was made with good intentions to build a strong brand with an excellent reputation.
As the comments suggest on this blog, all of the company’s vendors took a hit. The average vendor was owed less than $400. We made every effort to stop ordering parts and even returned parts when we knew that we could not pay for them. Most of the vendors accepted our returns; however, some did not for obvious reasons. It was our newest vendors who we had not done years of business with that lost significantly. The owners of our motorcycles also stood to lose a great deal.
I am passionate about our product. I also regret the situation that developed that caused the company to close and ultimately file for bankruptcy.
Ridley Genuine Parts was founded after the bankruptcy to provide support for the owners of Ridley Motorcycles. We are offering original equipment parts and technical support so that these bikes continue to make the dream of riding a motorcycle come true for years to come. The relationship between RGP and nearly all of Ridley’s vendors is good. We have made arrangements with most of the original vendors to continue to have parts made and to purchase parts.
I appreciate everyone ‘ s responses both positive and negative.
666- Please call me. (877) 311-0008. Maybe we can work something out.
From MN with LOVE- Unfortunately my father only serves as a consultant for us from time to time. I wish I had his help; however, he has moved on to other projects.
Capt. Phillips- We appreciate your help. Margins are tight for everyone these days. We continue to push Owners to you at Beast Custom Cycles!
Lola, Jill, & Carol- Thank you for your continued support.
Minnesota Rider- The context of the conversation I had with the dealer in New York had to do with how Twin City Custom Cycles was doing so well. Instead of misleading him, I explained what I knew about the situation. You are right, we should have given Twin City Custom Cycles more credit and pats on the back. Unfortunately, Twin City is no longer servicing the Ridley’s with parts from RGP.
Zyon- Yes, the situation was not good. I too am not happy with the way things progressed; however, I am trying to make the best of this very bad situation. I am trying to make sure those Owners with several years of payments left to be able to enjoy their motorcycles. As long as we continue to support the Owners, I hope they continue to support us.
Scot- In a bankruptcy everyone loses, especially the vendors. It was a very frustrating situation. I am very grateful that nearly every supplier you listed continues to do business with us.
Robert Curtis- Unfortunately that is the situation. The bank was secured partially by the company’s inventory of $3mm plus in parts and nearly $1mm in motorcycles. Vendors were owed around $200,000 total excluding Midfirst Bank.
Ronnie- I agree. We found a growing niche of automatic riders. Its not for everyone, but it is perfect for new riders. And yes, I don’t expect the vendors to give us any terms.
Wiz- Thank for you your feedback. Our 750cc design was not intended to be a hotrod. More of an unintimidating cruiser. As suggested in a later post, I am working on something a little bigger.
Bigalyts- Yes, this situation has become more common in the last few years. We never intended to lose our business. Between my father and my family it was a total financial loss. And your point about Honda, the market is obviously very limited which allowed a small startup like ours to gain momentum. It would have been easier to have been a big clone bike, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as rewarding as helping all of these people realize their dreams of riding.
Art Welch- I appreciate your help in marketing and selling our motorcycles in Minnesota. I have learned a lot from our dealings. Over the past five years we have not and probably will not see eye to eye. We both grew our businesses and now I hear you have an incredible Indian Motorcycle dealership. Congratulations. I disagree that I have done anything illegal. Your information on the NASCAR sponsorship is incorrect. The terms of the sponsorship were never disclosed at the request of the Team owner. I am not a NASCAR follower, but I can respect their audience and marketing power. It was for three of the final race in 2006. Brad Keselowski was the driver. Your information about the Midfirst auction was also incorrect. I did not bid the parts personally, but was in the audience during the entire auction. I was surprised you did not attend.
Marty- Corbin’s show did a lot for Ridley. I wish it was still running. At the bank’s auction there were roughly 200 people. Only two people bid against us. One I did not know and the other was a local gentlemen who later told me he was going sell it all at swap meets. I was very surprise no one else bid on it.
Rod- Thank you for your comments. I am glad to see you understand the situation.