Kawasaki Triples Club

As many of you know, I took over the reins following the Stafford Show in October and thought it would a good time to give you an update on where we are.

After previously working as a designer in construction for 45 years, it has been a big learning curve for me. There was a lengthy handover period, while I picked Simons brain for a couple of months, and even now he is still helping me with the odd item. Thank you Simon for being so patient.

We have introduced some new products, including tab washers, Rubber Plug Cap Sets with Leads, more screws and fixings, A1/A7 wiring harnesses and more rear shock options. I have a big list of other products to introduce, but it all takes time, finding suppliers, obtaining samples and testing before they are then deemed good enough to sell.

One big frustration has been the lack of Accent ignitions. I inherited a waiting list of about 20 people wanting them which took three months to fulfil. All this resulted in me having to remove them from the website due to the amount of enquiries we were receiving. They will be back, but it will only be intermittent due to the fact that they are manufactured in such small quantities.

Another problem was that we cannot currently ship to USA and Canada. We are unable to obtain product liability insurance for North America, due to the high costs of claims and litigation in those areas. I tried, but no-one will provide a standard policy, so we would have to go to Lloyds for a bespoke policy, starting at around £3,000, which is more than the profit on US sales last year!
It is not mandatory, but as I was a sole trader it would only takes one claim to risk losing my house. We have now gone through the process of changing to a limited company, so we may revisit this market in the future.

My original idea was to buy the business so I could work part time and spend more time with grandkids and working on my own projects. Well that didn't work out as I work more hours now than I ever did. However, it is much more enjoyable work and hopefully as I get more organised it will become easier.

Thank you to all the customers and every one else that has helped along the way. Onwards and upwards

cheers
Tony Davenport

Well done Tony....will revisit the site when we return from drinks at pier bar Onwards and upwards for the business

Keep up the good work Tony!

Brilliant stuff Tony.

Well done

We rely on individuals like yourself who with flair and imagination, keep old boys and bikes going.

Many thanks.

Doc

Good work Tony.

Whole new working environment to change to Tony but your adapting well to the new challenge and more important really enjoying it
Like you said onwards and upwards

Congratulations Tony
Keep up the good work

Well done Tony for grabbing the baton. So easy to take shops/services like this for granted nowdays. Keep enjoying it.
Alan

Thank you for all the kind comments.

What I didn't add was that my Dad was hospitalised and diagnosed with a terminal illness after Christmas. We got him home, but it was a constant struggle to get things put in place. His surgery were useless. He had never seen his GP since registering there, and on getting him home they obviously hadn't even bothered to read his discharge notes before ringing to ask if he could go down to the surgery for a "follow up". He was bed bound on morphine!

He finally passed away three weeks ago and we had the funeral yesterday.

So sorry Tony, I know what you're going through, I've just lost my brother to cancer. Roll on spring and take this pain away.

My condolences Tony,take care and be kind to yourself.

Sorry to hear of the passing of your Dad Tony.

My father lost his battle last November,
At least you have the memories of the times you had with him and the family.

Aardvark

Like you a lot of us have been there and done that. Take comfort from family and friends. Try to remember that smile he has in the picture that the pain might have robbed him of and live in the knowledge that your dad is no longer in pain.

Sorry to hear your news Tony.
But well done with Triple Parts. Thank goodness someone who knows about these things has taken it on.
Wish you every success......which I'm sure it will be .