Johnny Pag is a Southern California-based bike builder who got his start in the custom world, but is now known for his affordable motorcycles that are designed in the U.S. and built in China.
While testing his Pro Street model, we sat down with Johnny to talk shop about his boutique business: how does his niche fit in the motorcycle market, how are his “Made in China” bikes received by die-hard domestic fans, and how does he plan on furthering his brand? Here’s a transcript of our Q&A session:
How did you go from building custom bikes to mass production?I came across a [Chinese-built] chopper-style scooter in 2002 and thought it was kinda cool... I thought it might be a good business opportunity to bring some scooters in, and sell them. The big bike stuff was doing well, but I needed some supplemental income, and that’s why I looked to the scooters.
I ran that business for a while and sold it, and while I was at the factory overseas (I do design work for my partners over there), I noticed they were working on a 250cc engine. They were putting them in police bikes and selling them to the local police departments, and I thought it would be really cool to build a full size chopper around that engine.
So about a year and a half later, after doing a couple more prototypes and testing, I brought my first shipment in and they were sold out before they got here; I knew at that point that it was a pretty cool market, something different, and that’s where it all started.
How much of your bikes are your design?
100%.
So you design everything yourself, and they build it there?
That’s exactly right.
How much back and forth is there? What can you change if you don’t like what they’re doing in China, or if you want to adjust something?
There’s a lot. I’m in China every four to six weeks. Sometimes it’s longer than that, but for the most part I’m there quite a bit. I use Skype a lot, because you’ve got the video conference stuff, and I can use that. But sometimes you hit barriers in translation and not being there, so you have to make those trips. As far as what’s built for me, it’s all under my control.
How many people work at your factory?
My factory has 600 people in it.
What do you say to the die-hards that say stuff should be built here, in the U.S.?
Those guys [laughs]… there’s not that many of them around any more. Well, there is, but you know, I have to remind people all the time that a lot of the stuff they’re buying and using on a daily basis isn’t made in the U.S.A.
U.S.-made products are great. There’s no way I’m going to knock that. But it would be ignorant for me to turn around and say that I don’t know that my shoes are made in India, my shirt’s made in China, and my hat’s made in Korea. I mean, that’s just kind of the reality of it.
You run into those guys, and some of the bigger OEMs like Honda, Harley, you name it, they do a great job—especially Harley—with “Made in the U.S.A.” branding. People like you and me know that not every single component on there is made in the U.S.A., but a lot of people don’t. I do battle that and there are always people who are anti-outsourcing, but I just kinda take it in stride. I remind them that hey, not everything’s made in the U.S.A. and that’s just kind of the way it is. And listen, if you want me to just build you a bike, I can.
Tell me a little bit about the momentum of the company; where you’ve been, where you’re going.
I’ll tell you that you know how the market is now: it’s in the toilet. I think the industry as a whole is down over 50 percent. I’d be lying if I turned around and said the economy hasn’t affected my sales, but at the same time I’m up over 180% through an average, through this year. The reason for that is that I make affordable bikes, and that’s what everyone is going for. They want affordable motorcycles, affordable transportation. My bikes fit in both those areas. They work as “transpo” bikes—bikes that are specifically designed as a bike that’s made for transportation. 65 miles per gallon, $3,400 price tag, that’s what they’re built for. Some of the bikes that are a little more expensive with a $4,700 price tag, they're built for style and looks. You were on that bike, and like you said, people would pull up and look at you trying to figure out what it is. I bet a lot of them don’t realize the bike’s only like five grand.
Is that price out the door, does my bike have any extras?
Your bike has the aftermarket mirrors, those are like eighty bucks or something. That bike out the door is right around five thousand dollars. It just depends—different states, different taxes. The one you rode isn’t California emissions legal [yet], but we’re hoping to have our CARB [California Air Resources Board] emissions certificates in 90 days.
What are your sales goals in terms of units per year?
I deal with other international markets. My partner overseas has rights to some of my stuff. We have a great relationship, where I do a lot of the design stuff and he has certain marques that he sells to, and I’m okay with that. I’m just looking for some sort of sustained, controlled growth.
I would like to expand my dealer base in all the countries I’m working in now, keep on putting on good dealers, weeding out the dealers that aren’t so good. That’s what I’m looking to do; expand slowly and just really be controlled about it.
How many dealers do you have, and what’s the customer experience like for people who buy Johnny Pag motorcycles?
We’re partnered with 120 dealerships in the U.S. I tell ya, some of the independent shops do really, really well, because here we’re focused on customer service. That’s our biggest thing. If you have a problem with your bike, one of my sales guys is on the phone every single Friday calling every single dealer, making sure, “Hey, do you have any bikes off the road? Do you have parts? Are you waiting on anything from us?” That’s kind of our big thing, making sure we’re servicing the products... (continued on page 2)
>>Click here for a 2009 Johnny Pag Pro Street Review<<
>>Click here for a 2009 Johnny Pag Pro Street Photo Gallery<<
