Atlantic Coast Plating
June 14, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Chrome plating for your Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.
Guilty: Couple scammed Best Buy out of $41.6M
June 4, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
In one of the biggest corporate fraud cases in Minnesota history, an Illinois couple was found guilty Thursday of defrauding best Buy out of $41.6 million and failing to pay taxes on their ill-gotten gains.
Russell and Abby Cole, who owned and operated a company that sold computer repair parts to best Buy, systematically overbilled the Richfield-based retail giant for four years through an online auction program. Their company, Chip Factory, worked closely with best Buy insider Robert Bossany to conceal the fraud, the jury found.
Bossany received weekly and biweekly checks from Chip Factory between may 2003 and August 2007 as well as a Harley Davidson motorcycle and Yamaha ATV. He pleaded guilty in 2009 of one count of mail fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering.
Although both Coles were accused of sending Bossany checks and trying to cover up for it, only Russell Cole, 50, was found guilty of it.
Abby Cole, 53, started Chip Factory out of her home in 1988 when she was a single mother, and remained its CEO. she was portrayed as less involved in the day to day operations because she was busy raising the couple's two young children.
But the jury believed that both Coles created "fluff sheets" and "padding" in a concerted effort to avoid paying taxes on the money they made overbilling best Buy, which was Chip Factory's sole source of income.
The IRS estimated the Coles owed $3.3 million in federal income taxes from 2004 and 2007, including $1.8 million for parts Russell Cole sold on eBay.
The case was a victory for U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones, who co-chairs a nationwide, interagency task force created last year by President Obama to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole Engisch and William Otteson prosecuted the case.
Guilty: Couple scammed Best Buy out of $41.6M
Belt Drives Ltd.
June 3, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
One of the largest manufacturers of after market belt drives for the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.
Competition Distributing Co.
May 25, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
1905-29 Antique Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts.
For some Harley buyers, all roads lead to Milwaukee
May 24, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Posted: may 11, 2010 |(45) Comments
The Journal Sentinel's Rick Barrett is the proprietor of this blog for Harley enthusiasts and anyone else interested in the motorcycle industry and culture.
Edward Stewart, from Odessa, Texas, traveled more than 2,000 miles to buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Milwaukee.
Brooke Stiltner is coming this summer from Eagle River, Alaska.
These may seem like long road trips to buy a motorcycle, but some people insist on getting their bikes not far from the shed where bill Harley and Arthur Davidson launched their business in 1903.
Stewart flew in last fall to buy a 2009 Electra Glide Classic from the Milwaukee Harley-Davidson dealership. he stayed a night at the Iron Horse Hotel, visited the Harley museum, and toured the factory on Capitol Drive. the dealership paid for everything, including his airfare, limousine service and dinner at a local tavern.
While here, Stewart bought the $19,000 motorcycle, which he named Pearl. it was his first Harley, and he felt an emotional pull to come and see where the company's story began.
"Absolutely. I wanted to buy her from Milwaukee," Stewart said. "This was a birthday present to myself."
The Electra Glide's engine and transmission were made here, but the bike was assembled at Harley-Davidson's factory in York, Pa. some motorcyclists have taken a detour through York as part of their trip to buy a Harley in Milwaukee.
And there are people who travel to Goteborg, Sweden, to buy their Volvo automobile and to Bowling Green, Ky., to buy a Corvette and tour the factory there.
Stewart said he would have come to Milwaukee to purchase a Harley even if the dealership had not paid for his trip.
"For me, it was living out a dream," he said. "I had to do something like this."
After touring the engine factory, he also knows when "Pearl" was born: Oct. 2, 2008 was the date stamped on her.
And, yes, he will have a birthday party for the bike this fall.
The link
For many people, Milwaukee and Harley-Davidson are inseparable. Yet determined to slash costs, Harley recently said its Wisconsin factories could be in jeopardy if measures meant to cut $54 million a year in costs aren't successful.
It would be hard to imagine the iconic V-twin engines not being made at the Pilgrim Road plant, Stiltner said.
In June, she and a friend are flying in to buy a 2010 Heritage Softail Classic and a CVO Custom touring cycle from Milwaukee Harley-Davidson.
They will also tour the museum, the factory on Pilgrim Road, and see all things Harley before riding their new bikes home.
Stiltner could not find the motorcycle she wanted in Alaska. her choices, for the specific model and color she wanted, were bikes in Washington, California, Wisconsin and Mississippi.
She chose Wisconsin partly because it's the home of Harley-Davidson, but mostly because she liked the dealership.
"The dealership in Washington did not have that warm, fuzzy feeling to it," Stiltner said.
She and 37 other bikers from Alaska rode to Milwaukee for Harley-Davidson's 105th anniversary party in 2008. That experience helped convince Stiltner, a charter member of the Harley-Davidson Museum, to return and buy her 2010 bike in Milwaukee.
The connection, she said, tugs at her heart strings.
The average age of a Harley rider is about 46, compared with mid-30s for other motorcyclists.
For many riders, coming to Milwaukee on a bike born and bred here is part of their midlife game plan.
That was the case for Terry and Veronica Duncan of Suffolk, Va., who rode their 2003 Ultra Classic to Milwaukee for the 105th anniversary.
Veronica had just retired from the U.S. Postal Service, following a military career.
"It was now or maybe never," she said.
To Thiensville
Last week, Tracy Bauman flew here from Jefferson City, Mo., to buy a new Harley. it was the second time in two years he purchased a bike from Suburban Harley-Davidson, in Thiensville.
The Milwaukee area has more Harley dealerships than many urban areas of its size. where he is from, Bauman said, it's not easy to find a dealer with as many new bikes to choose from.
"And I like the way they do business here," he said. "You can tell when you are around people who are genuine motorcycle enthusiasts and aren't just trying to make a buck. I also enjoyed the (560 mile) ride home. Once you get away from the cities, it's all good."
It's probably not cheaper to buy a new Harley in Milwaukee, although you may be able to negotiate a better price because there are more area dealerships to choose from.
Milwaukee Harley-Davidson, the only dealership in the city, will pay a customer's one-way airfare here if they buy a bike from them. They also pay for a stay at the Iron Horse Hotel, tickets to the Harley-Davidson Museum, limousine service from the airport, and other perks such as dinner.
Altogether, it costs the dealership more than $1,000, depending on the airfare - which in Stewart's case cost $222.
In exchange, the out-of-town buyer pays full price for any new bike.
The profit margin would be "pretty skinny" on a $7,900 Sportster, but hopefully those buyers would come back when they're ready for a more expensive motorcycle, said Chaz Hastings, owner of the dealership on Milwaukee's north side.
Milwaukee Harley-Davidson aims to sell about 20 bikes a year through its fly-and-buy program.
The dealership recovers part of the cost by selling chrome accessories, biker clothing and other things often purchased with a new motorcycle.
The number of bikes sold through the program isn't large enough to hurt dealerships in other states, Hastings said.
Out-of-town buyers get a guided bike tour of rural southern Wisconsin. They also get a mapped route for their ride home.
Stewart got lost three times returning home but said he enjoyed every moment of the seven-day trip.
"If I had not got lost, I would have missed some beautiful scenery," he said. "I had a great journey home."
Chrome Harley Shifter Linkages
