STURGIS, SD (08.21.23) – KENWOOD showcased the company’s expanding lineup of motorsports motorcyle products and the Audio Edge 6-member Team was under the tents completing installations during the the 2023 Sturgis Rally”s 10-day run August 4-10.
The Audio Edge Team rolled out of the company’s Nederland TX home on Tuesday August 4th for the 1380 mile journey to Sturgis SD. Owner Chris Hulin was behind the wheel of the F350 pulling a 24’ trailer filled with tools, accessories and supplies needed to complete installations on dozens and dozens of bikes at the Stugis Rally.
Team members Cody Gressett, James Duval, Nick Hayes, Mitchell Davis and Nathan Gonzales joined Hulin on the trip. Some team members hit the highway in a seperate vehicle. The trip took 2 days with an overnight stay in Wichita KS.
The 2023 Rally was definitely impacted by weather in a major way. Rains the first 2 days definitely slowed attendance and business as bikers don’t look forward to traveling hundreds of miles in the rain. Starting with Day 3 weather improved for a couple days, then rained and finished under a sunny sky.
During the Sturgis Rally several KENWOOD several staff members rotated on site. Scott Caswell, Tim Hill, Kelly McDaniel, Marcus Vasconcellos, Josh Bowen and Seth Halstead worked showing bikers product, doing demos and closing sales along with the Audio Edge Team that completed installations.
“This was our first trip to the Sturgis Rally and it was an amazing experience that we are planning again in 2024. We completed KENWOOD installations on dozens and dozens of bikes from 8 in the mornings until all jobs were done which was 11PM a few nights. We did a lot of 2 and 4 speaker installs and quite a few older bikes. The biggest job was probaby right at $4K. During the event KENWOOD had to have more product shipped in to complete jobs during the event” Hulin related.
The KENWOOD and Audio Edge teams stayed in a large, very nice rental house about 35 minutes ride from the Rally site.”We ate a lot of pizza and sandwiches from food trucks during the day and enjoyed dinners on the grill at the house. KENWOOD really took care of us” Hulin added.
Overall attendance at the 2023 Sturgis Rally was reported to be down a bit and weather was certainly a contributing factor.
Concluding Hulin offered “We are all very glad to be home. The crew at the store did a great job while we were gone. Sales were good in Nederand and we are getting ready to attend a few more bike rallies. Bike sales are a growing part of our business.”
The close to 3000 mile roundtrip to Sturgis ran close to 2 full 24-hour days of windshield time for the Team with the fuel bill approaching $3000. for the 2 vehicles.
Visit kenwood.com and theaudioedgeonline.com for more.
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