If you're a very hands-on type of person, chances are excellent that you've either heard or used (or both) the phrase "if you want something done right, do it yourself." Probably more than once, if we're being honest.
That's the story of Japan's BDS Auctions, which is the country's largest motorcycle auction house—but also, calling it just a 'motorcycle auction house' seems like a gross oversimplification. You see, this place doesn't only offer used motorcycles for sale, as both regular-degular bikes and premium offerings. Like you might expect, it also offers individual parts for sale.
But you might not expect that it actively trains and certifies motorcycle mechanics, in order to help fill a gap in the motorcycle industry at large. The more trained motorcycle technicians there are, of course, the more qualified folks there are who can fix all manner of motorcycles when they need it. To sweeten the deal, BDS also offers some nice perks for people who become members of the auction house, including access to what looks like a pretty amazing restaurant on the premises, in addition to bonus services offered on-site that include a spa and massage area, as well as a salon.
I don't know what kind of auction experiences you've been having outside of Japan, but I'm going to guess they probably haven't been like this. Am I right?
Anyway, why do I say it's an example of "if you want something right, do it yourself?" Because it was founded by a businessman who started his motorcycle industry career working for Suzuki for 10 years, back in the 1970s. Over that time, he saw serious gaps in the used motorcycle market, as well as areas where he very much felt there was room for improvement. He talks about that a bit here in an interview toward the end of this video.
While it was clearly a good opportunity for him, he felt, it was also an opportunity to make the industry as a whole better. Better for shops, better for customers, and better for everyone who loves motorcycles. By developing comprehensive, detailed, and standardized grading systems to assess the condition of the used motorcycles that come in, continually training up the next generation of mechanics, and also simultaneously working to enhance auction cataloging and bidding technology, all the different arms of the business are kind of heady to think about as a whole unit.
This is a bit of a deep dive video into the nuts and bolts of how BDS Auctions works, but it's really cool to see. Take a look when you have the chance if this is the kind of thing that's up your street.
