ne of the must-do events of the year for the leading retailers in the business is the Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialties Showcase. This year’s event kicked off on August 28th with a “Meet & Greet” welcoming reception at the company’s massive warehouse in Janesville, Wisconsin. This was a great time for attending dealers to rub shoulders with others in the retail business, as well as leading custom builders, sales reps, racers and other celebrities. The next day it was off to the Monona Terrace in nearby Madison for a full-scale industry trade show featuring exhibits from the leading suppliers to Parts Unlimited and its sister company Drag Specialties.

     For those of you that didn’t attend this year, the following pages can be a quick tour of the many activities that you missed. Also, check out the sidebar report on some of the extra-curricular activities.

The “Meet & Greet” reception at the Parts Unlimited warehouse was a great place to look up old friends. Superbike stars Jake Zemke (left) and Eric Bostrom with their favorite Parts rep, Tire Paul Anderson.

Lemans Chairman Fred Fox (left) welcomes key suppliers Butch Whittington, FMF’s Doug Muellner and Craig Peterson of ITP. Whittington is a manufacturer’s sales rep for ITP as well as other lines that Parts Unlimited carries.

Dealers attending the Showcase had a chance to talk with some of the key people that make and sell the many brands that Parts Unlimited distributes. A few new lines such as Akrapovic exhaust systems made their debut there this year.

Another first-time line at the Showcase this year was the Motorex line of lubricants and it will be in both the Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties catalogs in 2005. Chuck Ramage (left) is the Director of Operations for Motorex.

The Icon line of sportbike riding gear has quickly become one of the best selling lines in the motorcycle industry. Reports from stocking dealers are that Icon gear flies off the shelf faster than a sportbike on the back roads of Minnesota!

Chris Wall (middle) explains the Pirelli/Metzeler line to some attending dealers of the Showcase.

One great thing about a Parts Unlimited event is the mix of heavyweights you’ll see from both the business and racing worlds. From left are Fred Fox (Parts Unlimited), Ben Bostrom (Superbike & Supermoto racing), Jeff Fox (Parts Unlimited) and Sebastien Tortelli (Supercross & Motocross).

Looking like a proud papa with a new baby, Gabriele Mazzarolo flew all the way from the Alpinestars factory in Italy to be a part of the launch of his new Tech 10 boots.

Parts Unlimited’s National Sales Manager Lou Lopez (left) enjoys a moment with Hylton and Jennifer Beattie. The latter two drive thousands of miles each year to setup and manage the many Dealer Showcases and Hospitality events at the Supercross and other races for Parts Unlimited.

Parts Unlimited takes product knowledge seriously. Here reps Steve Dickenson (left) and Lee Holmberg discuss the features of a Smith goggle at the Parts Unlimited National Vendor Presentations (NVP) that followed the Showcase for dealers.

Bob Maynard presents the 2005 Thor line to the Parts Unlimited sales force. NVP is the place that the reps learn what’s in the new Thor line, what big names will be wearing it and where and how Thor will promote it.

No one goes hungry at a Parts Unlimited event!

Greg Blackwell, Parts Unlimited’s Vice-President of Sales, addressed the full sales organization during the NVP.

NVP is also a place to recognize success. Rep Greg Poe receives the coveted Moose #1 jersey from Dick Burleson for his outstanding sales of the Moose line.

The entire Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties sales team pose outside the Monona Terrace convention center in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. The state capital building can be seen in the background.

What a great event! You could watch the great duels on the track, or just kick back, eat dinner and tell war stories with your friends.

The attending dealers and other guests that came out to Fox Den Farms one of the nights were entertained on the MX course by a number of the racers who are sponsored by Thor and Parts Unlimited. In action were Ben and Eric Bostrom, Rodney Smith, Greg Albertyn, Michael Byrne, Sebastien Tortelli, Travis Pastrana, Scott Summers and others including these two guys: Chad Reed and Jeremy McGrath.

A fun event for some of the top Parts reps was a cruise on the lake hosted by FMF. Here Top Dog Parts rep Steve Dickenson (left) relaxes with FMF’s Doug Muellner. Robin Hartfiel photo courtesy of Motorcycle Product News.

Another event held during the NVP/Showcase weekend was the basketball tournament for Parts reps and vendors. In the top row (l-r) are Parts Unlimited’s Shawn Makarrall, and Alan Hovater; Donnie Weatherholt from Alpinestars, Parts Unlimited’s Mark Johnson, Todd Sheedy, Jeff Newth, Gary Cartwright, Tim Crowder and Ronnie Wehr. On the right is Terry “Too Tall” Vance from Vance & Hines.

The bottom row is from the left: Mike Faulkner, Gus Copoulos, Larry Hughes, Tony Tepedino, Rob “Mr. “Hustle” Buydos, Eric Brewer and Chris Hardie (all from Parts).

To “class it up,” Travis Wicks of Pro Circuit stepped in and sponsored the great looking jerseys this year. Rumors are that next year the winning team will play a championship game against a two-man team consisting of Jeff Fox and Michael Jordan.