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BMW Motorcycles of Iowa City Moved

lee

Debbie's Servant
A friend stopped at the Iowa City shop the other day and he said the old Gina's building has a For Sale sign out front.
He said the bikes are now located in the Sun and Fun Motorsports multi brand shop down the street.
I don't see anything on the BMW Motorcycles of Iowa City website mentioning the move.
 
Iowa city

I talked to the owner and he said they are having trouble with the website.
Thanks
Steve from Iowa
 

Yep the owner owns both shops.
I'm surprised there's enough room for the BMWs.
My friend said the BMWs are on the mezzanine.

This link has pictures of the shop.
https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=e...hUKEwie77mswvXhAhUQ7awKHaU0Db4QoiowDXoECAsQBg

The narrow walkway doesn't look like a good setup when you want to check out a bike.
 
I am disappointed. Gina's was a great shop. This one looks not so much. Another great dealer down the tubes, perchance.
 
I am disappointed. Gina's was a great shop. This one looks not so much. Another great dealer down the tubes, perchance.

I'm not a big fan of shops with a lot of different brands.
I may ride over next month and check it out. If not in May we'll stop in during the Iowa Rally.
I wonder if everyone at both shops were able to keep there jobs.
 
I wonder if everyone at both shops were able to keep there jobs.

Probably not. My very limited experience with these 5 or 6 brand shops has been that they keep maybe one BMW tech who gets lost in the hustle of the multiple Japanese brands. Usually parts inventory is limited and most everything gets ordered so a one hour job keeps a bike hostage for several days.

That said I have had very good results dealing with at least two unlikely married BMW - Harley shops; one in Wisconsin and one in Colorado; and one good 3 or 4 brand shop in Washington.

There was a time when BMW NA (now BMW Motorrad USA) would not allow these multi-brand shops. Two brands maybe but even that was discouraged. Then deals like BMW-Triumph, BMW-Ducati, and even BMW-HD became allowable. Then the debacle of a few BMW motorcycle and BMW car dealerships emerged. A few were good, several were disasters for the motorcycle owners and riders. Now Gina sold in Iowa City and we get this. And Robert Krull and Peter sold Lonestar in Austin and now the franchise is like the one in Iowa City. Time will tell whether these deals work for the bike owner/rider. I'm am suspicious.
 
Probably not. My very limited experience with these 5 or 6 brand shops has been that they keep maybe one BMW tech who gets lost in the hustle of the multiple Japanese brands. Usually parts inventory is limited and most everything gets ordered so a one hour job keeps a bike hostage for several days.



And Robert Krull and Peter sold Lonestar in Austin and now the franchise is like the one in Iowa City. Time will tell whether these deals work for the bike owner/rider. I'm am suspicious.

The name has changed this week in Austin to the multi line dealer located on I-35 in North Austin. I still cringe if I need to ride to it due to location and lack of community feel. The last thing I purchased here was our Kawasaki Mule in 2007 prior to Lone Stars' sale and assimilation into the Woods conglomerate.


https://www.ridenowaustin.com/
 
I was in Iowa City the other day, stopped into the dealer; closed. Signs pointed to Sun&Fun down the street. Went down to see the new digs. Yep, BMW's up in the mezzanine. Yea, kinda sad to see the old dealer gone. Good to see that Iowa City gets to keep a dealership. I had a good visit, wish the new dealership success.:)
 
Just received an email saying they will have a open house this Saturday May 4th.

Open House.jpg
Come in this Saturday, May the 4th, and help us celebrate our Spring Open House and Sales Event!
There will be food, prizes and amazing deals on motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs and apparel.
You can also see our newly remodeled mezzanine showroom where we feature products from BMW, Triumph and Royal Enfield.
Come in and join the fun! Doors will open at 9 AM. See you then!!!
 
They have their own space up on the mezzanine. :)
Come to think of it, I can't remember the other brands. :scratch::dunno I'm totally clueless. Sad. But, they have BMW's.:thumb
 
They have their own space up on the mezzanine. :)

I think I've only been in there two times and I remember the mezzanine as a very narrow walkway.
The email mentions "remodeled mezzanine"
Do you remember if the mezzanine is still a narrow area?
 
Long term the mezzanine will not pass BMW muster for their franchise corporate look. But that said, I enjoyed the visit. In fact I may like the mezzanine look while it lasts till the dealership succumbs to the standardized corporate look. :thumb
 
Long term the mezzanine will not pass BMW muster for their franchise corporate look.

Sounds like the owner wants to build a new building on I-80 next to his Sun & Fun RV dealership. This is Tiffin exit #237 west of town.
The plan is to have a separate area for each brand.
It was nice weather yesterday so I rode over to check it out.
375 miles for a free sandwich :)
May Open House (6).jpg

May Open House (1).jpg

I visited with Jared the master tech and he said a couple techs, Joey the parts guy and Mitch the service manager are gone.

New BMWs are above the parts counter.
BMW & Triumph area.jpg

Upper BMW & Triumph area.jpg

Triumph is on the same level to the left in my picture.
May Open House (2).jpg

Triumph area.jpg

A little bit of everything on the main floor.
May Open House (3).jpg

They had the new little Hondas.
May Open House (9).jpg

On the way home I saw this sitting in a yard south of Knoxsville on hwy 14.
May Open House (11).jpg
 
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Thanks for the photos Lee. I guess that place is what one might call a "Mega-Dealer."

That final photo with the aircraft reminded me of a plane in which I flew when I was in the Navy in 1969. The Navy called it an "SNB," which the wags called a "Super Navy Bomber." I think it's a variation on the Beechcraft Model 18 (See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_18)

Nice that you had some good weather for the trip. I think we've had about two straight weeks of rain in Boston. To show how desperate I am for interaction with my RT, I'm going to sit down in the garage and polish my exhaust pipes this afternoon...
 
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