Yesterday Speedy and I zipped over to AZ Kawasaki-KTM-Trumph, our local Triumph Dealership, for his annual service visit. AZ-KKT is a short five miles from our garage which is very convenient. It's I've not ridden my 2019 Speed Triple RS enough this year to schedule my service by mileage so scheduled it by elapsed time. Last weekend when I rode, my display told me in no uncertain terms that I had 5 days left to service due. When I fired up my bike to head to the dealership, this was the display that greeted me. All caps--it all but yelled at me. Hey, I just missed it by a day or two. Cody Lee is a terrific tech that has done nearly all the work on my bike since I bought it just over two years ago. I'm always confident when Cody works on my bike as he treats it as if it were his own. Unfortunately for AZ-KKT's Triumph customers but fortunately for Cody, he just got a great job with Yamaha and will be moving to the South in a couple of weeks. He loves to fish so it looking forward to being near water and seeing green grass and trees again. I lucked out in that I squeaked my bike in for service with Cody just before his last day at work. He will be sorely missed! Thanks, Cody. When I arrived at the dealership there was a couple who had arranged to demo a Kawi sport bike and a Thruxton RS. Bruce, the salesman, told me that this couple does YouTube videos reviewing motorcycles and evidently make decent money doing it as a side gig. I asked the woman what she thought of the Thruxton--she said that loved it! No surprise there. I wonder if she'll go back and buy it. AZ-KKT currently has two of them, one with the faring and one without. She rode the one without but liked the "old school" look of the other. One of the highlights of this dealership is their popcorn machine. At least I consider it a highlight! Bruce mans the machine and keeps the corn coming. Not only does it taste delicious, it makes the place smell delicious, too. Pre-COVID they had a Donut Saturday every third Saturday but that's on hiatus for now. Bruce, bless his heart, has alway saved me an apple fritter. Here's Bruce firing up the popcorn machine. And I'm sure that it's no coincidence that the popcorn machine is located in the Triumph section of the dealership. Other forum members have commented on Triumph corporate's requirements for their Triumph dealers and the display area requirements. I'm sure it's daunting (not to mention expensive) but the end results are stunning, especially in comparison to the other brands' displays. Here are three photos at AZ-KKT, one each of the sections of the dealership devoted to each of the three primary brands they carry. TRIUMPH Although the Triumph display is beautiful, both the bike and the parts area, the "female" mannequin leaves a bit to be desired. Geez, those legs are skinnier than mine! KAWASAKI KTM There are even more KTM's than this. On the other end is a whole row of Duke's, some in each engine size in which the Duke line is offered. AZ-KKT is a terrific dealership. They take pride in the business, are super helpful and friendly, support community events such as DGR (and Donut Day!), and excellent service work including responding promptly warranty and recall issues. We here in Tucson are lucky to have such an excellent Triumph dealership. Thanks to each of the professionals at Arizona Kawasaki-KTM-Triumph!
Thanks for the well written and interesting article. That Kawi in front has a stunning aqua-blue. Apparently the suitcase type exhaust is becoming popular, probably because of emissions, but it looks ghastly. It's an industry trend to make the dealers also a destination. More traffic means more eyeballs on the new bikes and more sales. Long gone are the old school shops that would scowl at new customers and bark "What you want?"
I think I remember Bruce telling me that they sell more KTM's than Triumphs and Kawais combined, Andy!
Its actually the same as my local dealers Phillip McCallen (road racing legend) but on a much smaller scale. He sells Triumph, KTM, Kawasaki
I could spend hours chilling out there and looks a great destination! ps, only in america are people called cody!? Don't know of a single one in the uk!? Good luck cody and happy Christmas sandi t (and mr sandi t!) Ho Ho Ho etc!
It's interesting that your local dealer sells the same combo of brands, Andy. I wonder what if any connection is behind that. Or perhaps it's just a coincidence.
Thanks for the Christmas wishes. No Cody's in the UK? There are actually TWO Cody's at AZ-KKT. Or there were before Cody Lee's last day yesterday. Two Cody's out of seven male employees at that dealership. Ho Ho Ho to you, too, @Ducatitotriumph!
Don't know, but half the dealership is Triumph and the other half is split between KTM and Kawasaki. Very Similar looking setup, but much smaller
Another great write up. Wow a pop corn machine too, we only get free coffees at our dealerships. The KTMs look ace. My Triumph dealership used to also sell Moto Guzzi, but now only Triumph and their showroom would probably fit into a small corner of your one. Interesting to see.
Thanks, Wessa. I really like going to motorcycle dealerships whether in Tucson or elsewhere. When touring or doing longer trips, we always check out in advance where the H-D dealerships are and usually stop by to look around, take a break, ask for local recommendations, and maybe pick up a "souvenir" tee-shirt or two. There are so many things at dealerships that I find interesting in addition to the bikes. Gear, people watching, asking questions about what's selling, special events (well, not this year). But I primarily love the bikes. I can look at motorcycles all day. Just ask Mr. Sandi. It is really cool that we have such nice Harley and Triumph dealerships in Tucson and within ten miles of home. I'm grateful for that particularly when I read about how some forum members have to travel quite long distances to get to their nearest dealerships.
I know what you mean. I also like dropping in on different dealers. Only problem for me is I normally end up spending money
Philip McCallen what a guy he was fantastic to watch, the first person to win 4 TTs in a week, he was scary to watch, his record stood for some time until Hutchy 5 in a week and Micky Dee, Ireland seems to produce loads of great Road Racers, the Armoy Armada, now those boys could race, tragically some are no longer with us, but the young guns are still showing the way.
You may have heard this before, Wessa, but the saying goes that when you enter a Harley-Davidson dealership, the "H-D" really stands for "Hundred Dollars".
I miss going to Wags in Tucson. I liked getting the un-rolled crepes . Years ago my brother worked the parts dept. at the BMW dealer . They’re get a chuckle when I’d roll into town from NJ aboard my Valkyrie pulling a trailer . The Tucson mom& pop Honda shop did a damn nice emergency repair on my fork seals . Nice area . ......and Mt. Lemon’s a great ride .
@UpNDown Sadly, Wags is no longer in business. The BMW dealer, however, still is under the name "Ironhorse BMW". I have a couple of friends each of whom has bought a few bikes through that dealership. I'm sure they did chuckle at that Valkyrie with the trailer! The Honda shop is still there but Helen Musselman passed away just a few months ago or so at the age of 103. And, YES, Mt. Lemmon is a truly great ride!
Sandi T, what a superior post! It's a treat to get a look inside your dealership with your vivid descriptions...I think I can smell the popcorn.
