Business thriving at Valley V-Twin
in Indio

by Denise Goolsby
The Indio Sun
July 6, 2007

Six weeks ago, sales at Valley V-Twin motorcycle sales and service shop in Indio were pretty bleak.

Bikes - selling at a clip of about two per month - weren't exactly flying off the showroom floor.

Fast forward about 40 days and it's a whole different story.

"In six weeks, we've sold nine bikes," said Halle Fetty.

Fetty, who owns the business with husband George Fetty, said they're both surprised by the burst in sales.

"Unbelievable," Fetty said, shaking her head.

Gas prices may be motivating people to turn to two wheels for transportation.

"I think that has a lot to do with it," she said.

A lot of the buyers are first-time motorcycle owners, she said.

People are looking for something they can drive back and forth to work, that's cheap to run and they can have fun with on the weekend, Fetty said.

Valley V-Twin specializes in buying, selling and consigning used American motorcycles, including Harley Davidsons. They also sell new scooters and all-terrain vehicles.

The Fettys have owned Valley V-Twin since 2003. They originally opened on Perez Road in Cathedral City, but at that time, could only sell, not repair or service bikes, because of a deal they made with a neighboring motorcycle shop.

The Fettys agreed not to compete for the existing shop's service and repair business.

After a few years, they decided the location - they were tucked back away from the road in a big industrial building - and the inability to expand by offering other services, including repairs and maintenance, stifled the ability to grow their business.

"George always wanted to turn a wrench in his own shop," she said.

"I've always been fixing things," he added. They were eventually able to make his dream come true when they found a building in Indio that fit the bill.

They officially opened on Feb. 1, 2006.

Service and repairs now account for 60 percent of their business. They also sell biker equipment and clothing - including helmets, chaps and jackets - which help pump up sales volume.

From the moment they set foot in the city, they started raising money for local organizations.

About the time they were making the move, she saw an article in a newspaper about the Indio Police Department K-9 Unit's efforts to raise money to replace one of their dogs.

She said the grand opening would be a perfect time to reach out to their new community.

"I thought: 'Lets do something that benefits someone. Why not benefit the K-9's?'" she said.

The Fettys hold regular "Charbroiling for Charity" events at the shop for a variety of local organizations.

They have a soft spot in their heart for the K-9s.

"It's our pet charity," she quipped.

"If you have a business in the community, you need to support the community," he said.

He said it's also a way to familiarize people with the bike community. "To show the community that bikers aren't what they perceive us to be," he said.

"The mold we get thrown into is restricting and confining and stereotypical," she added. "It encourages us to shatter it."

The Fettys said their community involvement and their new location has played a role in the growth of their business.

Now they just need more space to grow.

"I wish we had enough room to consign everything. We outgrew this building the day we moved in," she said.