 sk what year it is and, of course, most people will answer 2006. Except perhaps those who attended the Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties Dealer Showcase and National Vendor Presentations in late August. For them, it's 2007. The products are, in most cases, designed and in production and representatives of the leading suppliers came to Wisconsin to give the sales forces a first look.
Over the course of six days, the sales reps sat in on small group presentations of the many new products on their way for the next riding season. It was also an opportunity for your reps to get questions answered and problems solved.
For attending dealers, the LeMans warehouse in nearby Janesville was opened up for the annual "Meet & Greet" the night before the annual Dealer Showcase, a trade-only exhibition with all the top names in the business on hand.
So le me be the first to say "Happy New Year!" and here's a quick look at some of the highlights of the event...
The combined sales teams of Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties at this year’s NVP.
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The NVP and Dealer Show were held at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, just down the street from the Wisconsin Capitol Building.
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The Dealer Show was crowded all day with dealers and reps checking out the latest and greatest from all of the Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties vendors.
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Off-road legend Dick Burleson poses with his bike, gear and medal from one of his ISDE 6-Days wins. All this stuff was on display in the Moose booth…cool!
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The Sunstar “Top Gear” award winners (left to right) rep Dale Strope, Sunstar’s Cory Jonson, rep Mike Ego, rep Rich Attianese and Sunstar’s Mike Ivers.
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If you get it, you get it. If you don’t, you don’t…
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The Braking “Top Gear” award winners (left to right) rep Flip Page, Braking’s Cory Jonson, rep Dean Sweet and Braking’s Mike Ivers.
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Jeff Fox with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki riders Ryan Villopoto (left) and Ben Townley.
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Team Pro Circuit was out in full force at the NVP. From left to right are Jarrod “Boo” Suber, Kenny Sezaki, Mitch Payton, Nick Puoci, Ben Townley, Fred Andrews and Parts Unlimited’s Rob Buydos.
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One of the Parts Unlimited reps takes a closer look at one of AGV’s great helmets.
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Yoshimura’s Brant Russell (right) and crew at the NVP with a few of their great exhausts.
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The vendor presentations give the reps a chance to get their hands on some of the newest products available through Parts Unlimited. Here, a few of the reps take a look at a Yosh exhaust.
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One satisfied NVP customer!
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Ben and Eric Bostrom brought their new “Boz Bros” line to the NVP for the first time. Their philosophy of bringing a new, fresh look to some old school ideas makes for some cool looking products!
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Thor had a huge display area at the show, giving them room to show off a ton of their great products. Dealers seemed to really like Thor’s new 2007 line of gear.
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FMF’s Doug Muellner explains some of the finer points of the STM line, now being marketed through FMF and Parts Unlimited.
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The Alpinestars booth is always a popular stop for dealers and reps. Alpinestars is well known for developing top-quality riding gear and apparel.
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The Icon booth was packed with dealers and reps checking out the latest and greatest from this company that’s always on the cutting edge of fashion and innovation.
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Parts Unlimited had many of their top racers on hand to sign autographs. Here, Jeremy McGrath chats with a few of the dealers.
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Without question, Thor had the funniest and most creative presentation of the week. They put on a skit showing some of the “Do’s and Don’ts” of dealership displays and rep visits. Very cool!
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The weather wasn’t exactly cooperating for the Fox Den Farms BBQ, but that didn’t stop the boys from hitting the track!
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Jeff Fox and a very muddy Dick Burleson at the Fox Den BBQ. Dave MacDougall photo.
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Despite the weather, the Fox Den Farms BBQ was a great event! It gave everyone a chance to mingle and relax with some good food and drinks, while being entertained by the ATV mud battles on the track.
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