Tucker Rocky / Biker’s Choice To Merge With Motorsports Aftermarket Group

tuckerrockyThe official announcement was made yesterday afternoon. Tucker Rocky/Biker Choice (LDI LLC) has agreed to merge with Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG) owned by majority shareholder Leonard Green & Partners.

LDI LLC, the sole shareholder of Tucker Rocky / Biker’s Choice, will become the majority shareholder of the combined company. Leonard Green & Partners, L.P., the current majority shareholder of MAG, and other existing MAG shareholders will retain a significant minority interest in the combined company.

At closing of the merger expected to happen during the second quarter of this year. J.A. Lacy, President and CEO of LDI, will become Chief Executive Officer of the combined company which will operate under the Motorsport Aftermarket Group name.

Brian Etter will continue in his role as President of MAG’s branded product, media and online retail operations. Dan Courtney will continue as President of Tucker Rocky / Biker’s Choice.

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions

25 Responses to “Tucker Rocky / Biker’s Choice To Merge With Motorsports Aftermarket Group”


  1. 1 Lonny Spiva Mar 28th, 2014 at 9:17 am

    WOW !! Didn’t see that coming did we? That changes everything

  2. 2 Zen Mar 28th, 2014 at 12:15 pm

    Well maybe, just maybe they can use their now combined economies of scale and procure more made in America parts, clothing and accessories. I have a good River Road Vice jacket bought on clearance but the thing is made in Pakistan and I just can’t afford Fox Creek or Langlitz, etc. right now.

    There is a diminishing value of return when it comes to outsourcing and we have got to be getting close to that point.

  3. 3 Arie Mar 28th, 2014 at 2:24 pm

    I wonder if the MAG-owned copmanies will become exclusive with Biker’s/Tucker?

  4. 4 Industry guy Mar 28th, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    It seems that MAG has had some financial troubles in the past few years. Leonard green is probably ready to dump them. Enter LDI with lots of money to infuse into the company. Maybe it will help, maybe it won’t.

    Brick and mortar shop owners that are upset with price point Internet motorcycle parts companies please be reminded that after this merger goes through, tucker rocky / bikers choice will own J&P cycles and motorcycle superstore… Remember that when your customers tell you that they can get their parts / tires cheaper from places like these, or better yet show up to your shop with these parts for you to install.

    Interesting times to come!

  5. 5 Terence Tory Mar 28th, 2014 at 9:28 pm

    Zen,if motorcycle merchandising companies stopped importing Pakistani made clothing and boots,and parts from China and Taiwan they would have shut the warehouse door and turned of the lights,like yesterday.

    If you rode around in rags for a little longer,then you could have avoided buying imported clothing.

    Do you see the flaw in your philosophy?

  6. 6 Bikerdude Mar 29th, 2014 at 7:06 am

    Industry Guy, you must be thinking of Dennis Kirk that Lemans (Drag) owns and they vehemently deny.

  7. 7 Tim Mar 29th, 2014 at 8:36 am

    Industry Guy, FYI BikerDude is correct. Also if you bothered to read and search for more info you would find out that Tucker Rocky does not own MAG the parent company of Tucker Rocky does. They are setting this up as two companies and both have their own president. While MAM owns J & P and Superstore I would not expect any special favors to them (St least with the current Pres their has not been any in the past) This could be a great thing for All motorcycle dealer, more and more dealers have been switching from the competition to Tucker Rocky because of they way they do biz. Also before you criticize a company you probably want to learn more about how they have done biz for the past 100 yrs. I challenge you Industry Guy to find out how LDI does biz before you just whine. as far the the “netshops” their will always be “the we are the cheapest” as a coach to store owners I tell them that the best way to compete with the “netshops” is to provide great service. You must look at what you have control over, you cannot control the net, you can control you and your shop so change your shop to be better and they will come. At least the have for the 100’s of shops I have dealt with

  8. 8 Dr. Doom Mar 29th, 2014 at 8:48 am

    The manufacturer, distributor, internet reseller/discounter circle is now complete. Typing this in my best Darth Vader/Evil Empire voice. If I were a brick ‘n mortar dealer I don’t think I’d be to happy about this.

  9. 9 Catamini Mar 29th, 2014 at 9:13 am

    A corporation cares only about making a profit. The only way to increase sales and profit is to play several cards. It’s what they do. Playing the “dealers we love you card” with one hand, but selling retail at discount with the other hand. Lots of dealers offer NO service. These ones are going to disappear very fast when parts sales are going to shrink.

  10. 10 WheelerDealer Mar 29th, 2014 at 9:17 am

    Drag Specialties must be mad. Are they going to remove from their catalog Performance Machine. Progressive Suspension, Vance & Hines and all companies owned by MAG?

  11. 11 Brandon Mar 29th, 2014 at 9:22 am

    MTV killed the radio stars. Cyril killed the mc paper mags. Internet is killing bad mc dealers. Amen.

  12. 12 shanedrive Mar 29th, 2014 at 10:10 am

    internet-shminternet………..
    We only service bikes here. We keep bikes running or build performance into them. That’s what we do. Yep, sometimes I get a customer coming to me with parts they purchased on line. It is what it is. I still get the labor $$. No matter what the internet guys do, they can’t install products-period. If there’s a problem with said part, I get to throw it back at the customer and let THEM deal with exchange/replacement. Not my problem. Saves me the hassle. I also get to charge more labor doing the job twice! 🙂

  13. 13 Lonny Spiva Mar 29th, 2014 at 10:49 am

    ZEN, Langlitz Leather Jackets are simply the Best leather Jacket you can Buy! I have proudly owned mine for 22 year. Whats you skin worth?

  14. 14 takehikes Mar 29th, 2014 at 11:23 am

    want better products made in the US? Then pay for them. We Americans have become price whores. If you want quality pay for it and what is available for sale will change.
    these consolidations are never good for anyone except the guys doing it. Too many tangled web’s of financial interest in the aftermarket for anyone to be able to make head’s or tails of it.
    I find what I want and figure out how to pay for it, not start with a price point and then go looking. I also do not go looking on the web for the cheapest deal for an item and end up buying at many lcoations. I prefer to buy and deal with one or two vendors. Also I used to buy ALL my parts and supplied at the local Yamaha dealer. He always got me the right stuff and the pricing was very competitive. Yup he went out of business but not due to that, the parts and service departments were making money. New bike sales took them down and out.

  15. 15 KSW Mar 29th, 2014 at 4:34 pm

    WOW! indeed. As if another Private Equity failing at this is something new. After the MAG group buyout of Motorcycle USA/Cycle News they cut budget, staffing, coverage and the lot.

    I think it’s about time the Private Equity group of narcissists involved in the motorcycling world just go away. An industry built on soul and individuals doesn’t work in a world of Look How Much I Own and it’s all done with debt structure.

    Well Mr. Green, congratulations on unemployment, no health care and all you’ve done for us. Good Bye!

  16. 16 LarryC Mar 30th, 2014 at 12:36 pm

    Shanedrive, you have the right attitude regarding e-parts, if more dealers had the same attitude they would make more money and sleep better. E-commerce is not going away to say the least, deal with it ! KSW, nice try, private equity is here to stay and is becoming a bigger part of the MC industry. I am not real thrilled with it either but it is what it is and we have to deal with it. The automotive aftermarket went through this years ago and suffered some fall out, Mister Gasket comes to mind. It will all settle out but the day of the smaller mom and pop franchise is numbered I am afraid. Where are all of the small gas stations and independent auto repair shops now? I think that is a valid analogy that is looking true in our industry. It is very interesting times in the MC business.

  17. 17 KSW Mar 30th, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    LarryC,

    The problem with the private equity boys and I know a few and am related to a few. It’s play money.
    They make it doing what they know and then act as if they milk any cows tit they touch. Truth is, maybe 1 out of ten put what it takes into it the rest end in disaster.

    I’m not against PE, I’m against assholes who piss away money they never deserved in the first place taking out the innocent along the way. Unfortunately, we’ve not seen the real economic impact yet. We’re just covering up and passing the buck. History repeating itself is a fact and until there are real casualties its not over.

    I grew up during the ’60s. That kind of progress doesn’t happen with a bunch of debt strapped Americans complaining on TwitFace while they’re continually be forced to pay a fee for an ever increasing list of basic necessities. Somebody is going to have to get off there ass and start burning, destroying the 1% where it counts at there home and country club not a scathing tweet.

  18. 18 Terence Tory Mar 30th, 2014 at 8:43 pm

    KSW,The American dream,that by moving half way across the country, working long hours or studying hard will get you security and prosperity,is over. The American dream is now basically a lie. The Chinese dream has given thirty years of phenomenal growth.

    The thing that amazes me about people is they have been trained by the powers that be,to blame the victims of bad economic policy as “losers”,any equality in income as a threat to the “poor” and greedy,and high taxation socialist welfare systems where everyone benefits,as “theft from honest working people”. You been played,…………jack.

    The dog that eats the dog is running out of other dogs.

    Why people have not ripped the system up and started again,beats me.

    PE plays and capital zip around the world in days or even milliseconds now where it can make a quick buck. That reality is not going away any time soon. Old business structures are dead and gone.

    When I’m the King of the castle,things will be a little different.

  19. 19 A 1 MIKE Mar 31st, 2014 at 9:17 am

    SHANEDRIVE GETS IT..in 2005 if you walked in my shop (in business 18 years) with an internet purchased tire I would tell you “mail it back to the company that sold it to you and let them mount it for you” now..2014 I say…”sure let me mount that for you immediately” take their money and then tell them to please give me a call next time to try and match the price of the internet…you must provide service and tuning that cannot be done at home or through the computer or you will fail..the brick and mortar store model of just selling parts without service is going to fail…great service can never fail!

  20. 20 Jim Mar 31st, 2014 at 11:05 am

    For “Made in USA” leathers try Brooks. They’ve been in biz for 60 years and sell a great product at fair prices! They do custom and repairs also. They’re at Brooksleather.com.

  21. 21 Deez Nuts Mar 31st, 2014 at 11:48 am

    Um…mag owns J&P and Motorcycle super store. I remember a tr rep telling me about Denis Kirk I’m interested to see how they try to spin this.

    http://www.maggroup.com/retail-group

  22. 22 The Knowledge... Apr 1st, 2014 at 9:08 am

    Folks, this is what I KNOW…

    TR has been the “Go To” Distributor for years. The reason they have been winning is the way they do business. Any shop can order what it wants, when they want, get it delivered for free, and if they don’t like it, for any reason, TR takes it back, no questions asked! The other guys all have their minimums, which exclude small shops, or startups, they have annual thresholds, rules and regs out the yazoo, and if I buy something that’s the wrong size, or whatever, they charge the shop to take it back. Shops have been screwed too many times by the other guys, THAT’S why they choose to do business with TR. When times were hard, TR stepped up with their VMI program, offering product to Dealers that were cash strapped, so they had something on the shelves to sell… They didn’t have to put millions of dollars in products out into “questionable” dealers, they did it to HELP their customers and our industry. I know many Dealers that would be out of business today if it had not been for TR!

    I also KNOW (because I’ve met and talked to him) that JA Lacy, the Big Dog at LDI, TR’s owner, is a biker, and enthusiast, someone who rides and loves it; as is TR’s President Dan Courtney. LDI could have dumped TR back in 2000, when the company when into melt down. But they didn’t, they hung in there, supported the company, and pulled it back from the brink; which has been great for the industry. LDI is NOT a PE company, they are a family business, that chooses to be in our industry, and from what I can see, they have done nothing but make shops more money with less hassle. I’d rather see a family owned, enthusiast company own the MAG group, than a bunch of New York investors, looking to make a quick buck.

    Here’s what else I KNOW…. TR already distributes most everything MAG group holds, Performance Machine, Renthal, Mustang Seats, Progressive Suspension, Kuryakyn, Dragon Fire, Extreme Machine, and I think Burley too… They don’t have Vance and Hines, or Roland Sands… So, there will not be too much change there. For sure, TR will get V&H and RS, which as far as I’m concerned, will be good for us all… As those are pretty exclusive to PU right now… Competition is a good thing… And think about it… Would the new MAG/TR group want to lose the sales of all those brands to all the other distributors? No they wouldn’t!!! So, I can tell you now, that ALL the MAG brands will stay multi channel (although some smaller Distributors my lose them, WE will have more choice! Anything else would not make business sense!

    And…. TR (and everyone else) already sell to J&P and Motorcycle Superstore… And TR will not throw away margin they already have, by lowering prices. That too would not make business sense for TR or the MAG group… Remember, it is the overall margin that the now company will NEED in order to pay for the deal. What it may mean, is that J&P and MS will now carry more of the TR Brands. PU has owned (as we ALL know, despite their protestations to the contrary) Dennis Kirk for YEARS, and as a business model, they HAVE to maintain margin, so dumping the price makes no sense. I’ve already seen some TR brands being sold by Dennis Kirk, and the prices were not any lower than anywhere else, so what’s the difference now with J&P and MS? None… TR, PU, WPS, all sell to Internet Players… PU just happened to OWN the one they sold to. None of the Distributors can afford to alienate the Brick and Mortar Dealers, as the B&M Dealers are still 80% of the business done in our industry!

    So, things that will happen…

    TR/MAG will continue to sell everyone as they did before, including internet players… Just like everyone else.
    TR/MAG will have more brands to sell, and all the brands WILL be sold to multiple distributors… They can’t afford to do anything else…. And a good thing for the industry.
    TR/MAG will offer more of their brands to more Distributors, just like the MAG group does today. This may see FirstGear, MSR, Answer, T-Bags, ProTaper, QuadBoss, etc., offered to other players… It only makes sense to increase distribution.
    TR/MAG will have to decrease their costs, so there may be consolidation of “Back of the house” things, like HR, Accounting, purchasing, etc., where it doesn’t effect the Dealers, except with better costs on the products, making them more competitive.
    MAG products will now have access to another Distributor, who’s policies I like better, and who is spending money to make their warehouses more efficient, and get product to Dealers quicker, another good thing…
    If the goal of every Dealer is to provide more service to their customers, to fight against the internet players, then having TR/MAG products available through more than just PU, is a good thing!
    AND, TR has a Drop Ship Program… EVERY Dealer has the opportunity to set up their own Internet Division, utilizing TR’s Drop Shipments to fulfill their orders… Beat the Internet Players at their own game… Offer internet sales, AND installation and fitment, WITH TR’s no questions asked return policy!

    Dr. Doom…. I’m typing in my best Yoda voice…. “A good thing this is… More is good… More from better source is good… Distributor Competition is good… Service is good… There is no try… Only do!”
    :-))))

    I can only go by the history to date… TR has cared more about the Dealers than anyone else. Proven by their support of the Dealers when times we worse than hard. If they keep the same attitude, this will be a very good thing for Dealers, and the industry. I also know that TR/BC always tries to source Domestically first, before going overseas… But going overseas is sometimes the only choice, when we have lost much of our manufacturing base here in the US. We still need products to sell our customers… Regardless of where they come from…. We don’t make the market, we serve it.

    TR has grown by taking chunks of business from other Distributors hides… Because of service, and a Dealer First attitude. This is why they are also attracting more of the biggest brands in the industry, like GoPro, and Metzler and Pirelli, which recently came to them… We NEED a couple of strong Distributors, if we are not going to be dictated to by one… Which has been the case to date…

    That’s one mans take on it… Based on actual knowledge.

  23. 23 Jack Mehoff Apr 1st, 2014 at 11:35 am

    ^^^^ tucker rocky employee!! I’m sure that’s totally not based on the fact you get a pay check from them.

  24. 24 Fender Lizard Apr 1st, 2014 at 2:43 pm

    Hey Knowledge, how long have you worked for TR? Please be accurate when lumping “the other guys” together. Mid-USA Motorcycle Parts does not require monthly minimums, they do not have annual thresholds and returns are handled on a case by case basis.

  25. 25 RK Brent Apr 1st, 2014 at 4:19 pm

    The only reason we went to PU was because of the V&H. Glad we can bypass them altogether and get them soon from a better company, especially since Knowledge is my rep…

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