At work with Rick Goldbach

As told to Pilot writer Tom Shean

I became interested in motorcycles when I was about 24 and had traveled across the country on a bicycle. I enjoyed the trip and realized that I didn't have the time to travel to those places again by bicycle, so I thought I'd try a motorcycle.

I did a reasonable amount of research and wanted to buy one that would carry me where I wanted to go and limit my exposure to risk. I knew I could make mistakes, and BMW was one of the few at the time that had anti-lock brakes. That was back in 1992. I bought a new BMW 750 cc touring bike. It was a funny feeling to spend $10,000 on something that I didn't know if I'd enjoy, but that concern disappeared the day I rode it home. A friend and I had plans to drive across the country. We bought our motorcycles in January, and in August we headed out West. We traveled for two weeks through South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Montana and Colorado, and back.

After college, I worked for about a year as a design engineer at Newport News Shipbuilding in submarine design. Later I worked for four years as a design engineer at Compliance Engineering Inc., a division of Metro Machine Corp. in Norfolk. We developed a system for sandblasting and painting ships.

I thought for a long time that I'd like to have a bicycle shop. I talked to people who had bicycle shops, and they pretty much talked me out of it. They said it was a bad business idea, that there was no money in it.

Nobody had the opportunity to talk me out of having a motorcycle shop. BMW of North America and the local shop that carried BMW motorcycles parted ways, and I saw an opportunity. Like motorcycle riding, I chose to jump right in. It was the summer of 1996, and I sent a letter of interest to BMW.

Convincing BMW took time because I had no business experience whatsoever. Dealing with banks was new to me. Dealing with insurance was new to me. Dealing with the accountants and lawyers was new to me.

When I started the process, I talked to a bunch of motorcycle and auto dealerships in the area, maybe 20 or 30. I wanted to know: How do you set up a business? What records do you keep? Who keeps them? What employees do you have to have? Whether I was talking with the controller, the manager or the sales manager, they were all very helpful.

I found a building that met BMW's criteria, and I put the financing together. It took about nine months to get everything in line. But having an engineering degree does not prepare you for dealing with the public, and I realized I had no people skills. That was something I did have to learn.

Today our business is pretty evenly divided with about a third from sales, a third from service and a third from parts and accessories. I have a business card that says "Sales," but service is what I'm drawn to and what I'd like to be known for. It's a challenging part of the business. There's not much margin for error on a motorcycle.

I've taken a lot of trips, usually with nothing more than a destination planned. I've ridden in South Africa, in the Alps and in the Canadian Rockies a couple of times. I'll ride different motorcycles because I sell them and I want to know what they all do. A few years ago, my wife and I rode out to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah for its annual Speed Week, and we rode some of the faster BMWs. We did one run on the Salt Flats and left. My wife beat me. She had a speed there of 160 mph. I only did 156 mph.