Kevin Alsop explains one step in the manufacturing process of a Big Bear Choppers bike build. The company builds the bulk
of its motorcycles in-house.
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A CONVERSATION WITH KEVIN ALSOP about motorcycle manufacturing tends to stray from the familiar terms of design and horsepower
into his take on international financial markets and the domestic real estate mess.
The discussion then moves from talk about commodities or the fall of the American auto industry to the particulars of lean
manufacturing and its effect on running an efficient corporation.
His is a cold, pragmatic view on the current state of the custom motorcycle market. He knows that as long as the economy is
in the tank, the custom business is going nowhere. Just take a look at what happened with American IronHorse for an extreme
example. And Big Dog doesn't look too healthy either.
Until things turn around — something he's betting will happen in spring 2009 — what's a company like Big Bear Choppers to
do?Alsop has an answer for that one, and he was happy to share it with the selection of dealers attending the custom OE's second
annual Dealer Summit in July. A collection of dealers gathered in Big Bear Lake, Calif., to test-ride three new models, get
the company lowdown and for a behind-the-scenes look at Big Bear's manufacturing operation.
High Design
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When we last left Alsop and his wife Mona after the 2007 dealer meeting, they were deep into a strategic restructuring that
leaned out its manufacturing work and tightened up its production times. The industry at the time was tight, and they needed
to run tighter.
Things today are no different. Alsop told dealers that BBC was using this slow time to reinvest in the company, establish
new dealer programs, hire top-notch employees, launch aggressive marketing programs, delve deep into new outrageous designs
and focus on staying strong so that when the economy turns around, Big Bear will be one of the first ones out of the gate.
"What we are doing and what we started doing a year ago is make it so that our corporation is profitable whether we sell
one bike or 8,000 bikes," Alsop says. As of last year, the company was on an upward trajectory but had to turn on a dime when
the economy took a dump. What saved him, he says, is the decision Big Bear Choppers made to only build to order. This would
assure that there was no inventory clogging up his pipeline or sitting on a dealer's floor racking up flooring costs.
It's all part of the lean manufacturing process he implemented. It means that of the 700 2007 models Big Bear built, there
are only about 50 spread out among 65 dealers.
It has also enabled the company to trim its production timeline so dealers can make drop-in orders. The company's order and
lead time has been cut to four to six weeks, from the previous eight to 12, says David Ryan, Big Bear's new general manager.
Alsop says that things are so much more efficient that a year ago he was building 50 to 60 bikes a month with 35 employees,
and now he's doing the same number with 13 workers. Next he plans to thin out his materials inventory by using a just-in-time
system, cutting down from the $700,000 he has in stock to a load that runs around $200,000. "It's the only way to fly. Otherwise
you'll just bury yourself," Alsop says.
This makes sense, being that Big Bear manufactures most of the parts it uses for its bikes. The remaining components like
the motor, transmission and electronics come from such vendors as S&S Cycle, Baker Drivetrain, Brembo and Wire-plus.
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