The Dealer Lab

31 | Up your F&I game with Adventure Specialties

Adventure Specialty Agency on F&I Coaching, Retros vs Reinsurance, and Driving Dealer Profitability | Dealer Lab Podcast Max Materne and Justin Watson interview Haley Wright and Sarah Breen, founders of Adventure Specialty Agency, about helping powersports, RV, and marine dealers improve F&I performance. Haley and Sarah share their backgrounds at RPM One and Protective and how Adventure Specialty launched in November 2024 and has grown to nearly 100 dealerships. They describe ongoing weekly coaching calls, F&I logs, goal setting, and peer accountability to sustain results, define key terms like TO (turnover) and penetration rate, and explain how their dealer groups become self-supporting. The conversation details product strategy and participation programs, especially retro profit sharing and reinsurance, including how dealer cost is split between admin and reserves, how claims/cancellations impact payouts, and how pro formas guide dealer decisions. They also emphasize maintenance programs and integrating F&I with fixed ops to increase retention and profitability. 00:00 Profit Sharing Explained 01:33 Podcast Banter Reset 02:16 Meet The Founders 02:55 Haley Industry Journey 05:11 Sarah Dealership To Agency 07:16 F&I Coaching Weekly Calls 09:51 Logs Pen Rate And TO 12:21 Building Self Sustaining Groups 16:10 Scaling Accountability Programs 17:51 Choosing Service Providers 20:02 Retro Participation Breakdown 25:30 Reinsurance When It Makes Sense 28:55 Pro Formas And Expert Support 31:44 Retro Checks Are Real 33:02 F&I Low Hanging Fruit 34:22 Accountability Boosts Profit 40:44 Passport Process Culture 43:07 Maintenance Program Focus 45:08 Customer Focused Selling 48:05 VIP Programs And Events 50:31 In House PPM Liability 53:36 Reinsurance Risk Controls 58:35 Where To Learn More 59:15 Fixed Ops Mindset For F&I 01:01:48 Wrap Up And Thanks

30 | Rod Lopusnak: Triumph North America President & General Manager

Triumph North America’s Rod Lopusnak on Dealer-First Strategy, Community Events, and Growing New Riders Max Materne and Danny French interview Rod Lopusnak, President and General Manager of Triumph North America, about building a “dealer-first” culture and why dealerships must be community hubs rather than competing only on price. Rod discusses Triumph’s rapid impact in Supercross/MXGP and the brand awareness it’s driving, his background growing up in a motorcycle dealership and career across Suzuki, Tucker, and AMA Pro Racing, and how Triumph supports dealers through training, service fundamentals, and customer communication. They cover using AI to help frontline staff (not replace them), digital finance options with Sheffield, and how new products like the 400cc lineup and TXP 12/16 youth bikes broaden Triumph’s audience and lower average rider age. The conversation emphasizes service experience, staff retention, realistic event expectations, and focusing on market data and core basics to drive long-term loyalty. 00:00 Dealership Community Vibe 01:48 Welcome to Dealer Lab 02:13 Triumph Podium Breakthrough 04:57 Why Supercross Matters 09:05 Rod’s Dealership Roots 15:19 Dealer First Philosophy 19:33 Events and Store Experience 23:02 Service Excellence Basics 28:22 AI for Service Advisors 36:02 Digital Buying and New Riders 38:26 Triumph 400cc Strategy 43:14 Thruxton 400 Cup Idea 43:58 Why 400s Feel So Fun 45:38 Thruxton 400 Dream Build 46:40 Kids TXP Electric Minis 48:09 Brand Evolution All In 49:02 Dealer Margins Reality Check 50:06 Laddering Up Customer Loyalty 52:48 After Sale Gear And Service 54:37 Dealership As Community Hub 55:43 DGR Rides And Off Road Demos 59:29 Rebuilding Trust And Culture 01:02:30 Setting Event Expectations 01:03:35 Future Dealership Vision 01:03:57 Dealerships Need Identity 01:04:20 COVID Boom Then Bust 01:04:47 Community Hub Wins 01:06:33 Service First Survival 01:07:30 Future of Dealers 01:09:10 Know Your Market Data 01:11:39 Build the Cool Kid Club 01:14:30 Staff Investment Matters 01:18:07 Thailand Dealer Meeting Wrap

29 | Jayson Davis: NPDA Chairman & DP of PowerSports of Greenville

Jayson Davis (NPDA Chairman) on Capitol Hill Advocacy, PFAS Rules, and Uniting the Powersports IndustryMax Materne and Danny French interview Jayson Davis, Chairman of the NPDA and Dealer Principal of PowerSports of Greenville, about how motorcycling creates common ground across people and politics and about his path from riding an XR80 as a kid to working his way up from grocery bagger to dealership leadership. Davis describes learning finance processes, partnering with Doug Rudd, and his long-term commitment to improving the industry through NPDA. He highlights the importance of the MIC Capitol Hill Fly-In, detailing meetings with congressional offices and key issues including PFAS regulations affecting youth vehicles and gear, opposition to VIN-number requirements on motorcycle catalytic converters, leaving the definition of “motorcycle” unchanged, and addressing the cap on off-highway gas tax funds for the Recreational Trail Program. They also discuss growing cooperation between NPDA and MIC and promote NPDA Dealer Connect in September in Columbus, Ohio.00:00 Bikes Unite Everyone01:44 Man Cave Setup Tour03:11 Roots and Big Family04:27 First Dirt Bike Freedom06:32 From Loss to Dealership Life09:29 Grocery Bagger Stories11:49 Learning F&I and Scaling Sales15:24 Becoming Dealer Principal16:34 NPDA Leadership Journey21:43 Capitol Hill Fly In Overview24:17 PFAS and Policy Priorities25:34 PFAS Gear Phaseout Impact27:04 Kids Riding and Safety Habits30:53 Capitol Hill Fly-In Logistics33:27 Legislative Wins on Regulations35:46 Off-Road Gas Tax Trail Funding39:39 MIC and NPDA Unity42:10 Bikers Lobbying and Industry Givers49:19 Boosting Next Year Attendance50:13 Dealer Connect Event Details52:33 Sign Up and Membership Pricing53:53 Celebrating Wins and Wrap-Up

28 | Jamie Dewar: Legend Boats CEO talks AI

Reimagining Dealerships with AI Agents | Jamie Dewar (Legend Boats) with Max Materne & Danny FrenchMax Materne and Danny French interview Jamie Dewar, co-CEO of Legend Boats, about how AI, vibe coding, and agents are reshaping dealerships and manufacturer-dealer operations. Dewar explains Legend’s unique model as a manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, and direct-to-consumer retailer with four stores and a Canada-wide dealer network, and shares the company’s history from tires and RVs to launching the Legend brand in the mid-’80s. The conversation covers Dewar’s technical/business background, rapid prototyping of internal tools like menu selling/desking and brokerage-style workflows, and the challenge of integrating many small apps through shared data, with Legend using Salesforce as a backend and APIs, anticipating Salesforce’s Headless 360. They discuss an “agentic enterprise” future where humans manage agents that handle repetitive admin work, enabling staff to focus on customer experience, and Dewar outlines plans to rebuild the premium Vetta pontoon brand’s partner and customer experience using AI-built digital tools.00:00 Dealership Reimagined02:11 Meet Jamie Dewar03:10 Legend Boats Overview04:55 Marine Industry Challenges05:49 From Tires to Boats07:57 Culture of Pivots09:31 Jamies Tech Background11:11 Second Generation Leadership12:59 Vibe Coding Explained14:13 First Tools Built16:18 Integration Strategy19:58 Salesforce as Backend21:50 Headless CRM Agents25:00 Local Agents via Slack27:38 Beyond SaaS Interfaces32:37 AI Native Dealerships33:42 Build vs Buy Reality34:43 Agent Layer Over Tools37:27 Understaffed or Underleveraged40:13 Personal Agent Wins42:17 Rapid Prototyping Culture45:40 Quick Win Dealer Tools47:06 Scraping DMS for Quotes49:34 Data Quality and Trust50:00 Training Agents with Docs56:18 Task Based Agent Teams59:23 Vetta Brand Experience Rebuild01:01:37 Next Steps and Wrap Up

27 | Steve Radt: Norton Motorcycles USA CEO

Norton Motorcycles USA CEO Steve Radt on Bringing Norton Back to America, TVS Backing, and the Future of Dealer ExperienceSteve Radt, Norton Motorcycles USA’s first hire and CEO, discusses building Norton’s U.S. subsidiary from scratch (LLC, licensing, homologation, facility, staffing, and dealer strategy) and Norton’s plan to return to the U.S. market. He recounts his background in mechanical engineering, early Ducati roles, turning around and later selling Ducati/Triumph New York, and his work growing Polestar’s dealer network. Radt explains Norton’s revival under TVS, including $300M invested, UK-based design/testing and manufacturing in Solihull for the V4 Manx R, with additional production planned in Hosur, India, and details TVS’s scale, quality culture, and BMW contract manufacturing. He outlines a franchise-dealer approach, a planned U.S. launch target of November, a three-year/36,000-mile warranty, and a focus on reducing purchase/service friction through technology to improve ownership experience.00:00 Big Norton Ambitions01:42 Meet Steve Radt02:22 Norton NYC Backdrop04:23 Restoration Shop Culture05:47 Building Norton USA08:06 Jersey City HQ Plans10:30 Engineering Roots Ducati Dream12:25 Cagiva Chaos Typewriter Era15:25 Back to Ducati Consulting Rise20:47 Leaving Ducati Startup Detour22:03 Saving Ducati New York25:40 Mototainment Dealer Success27:02 NYC Parking Tickets Elevator29:51 Selling During COVID Surge32:52 Polestar EV Network Growth34:30 Why Return to Norton37:10 TVS Buys And Invests43:07 TVS Legacy and Halo43:45 Quality Roots and Kaizen50:19 Bus Line Origin Story52:14 Norton Leadership Bench55:02 Engineering Muscle in Bologna56:27 Manx R Launch Timeline57:21 Building the US Dealer Network01:01:39 Frictionless Buying with Tech01:05:48 Dealer Model and Norton Hub01:10:49 Factory Scale and Logistics01:12:12 Future Dealerships and AI01:30:05 Product Roadmap and Accessibility01:35:06 Closing Thoughts and Thanks