Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • September 24, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Stan Simpson Special to the Hartford Business Journal R ob Ruggiero rides his Harley- Davidson Dyna Wide Glide motorcycle to work every morning from East Hampton to Bloomfield. It's a 31-mile trek that he enjoys and, in terms of street cred- ibility, is good for business. He considers himself a member of a small fraternity in Connecticut — "motorcycle lifers" — who have made motorcycles their avocation and voca- tion. For the last 12 years, Ruggiero has owned and operated Speed Demon Cycles, a full-service motorcycle cen- ter on Blue Hills Avenue in Bloomfield. He has been riding a motorcycle since he was 11, when he and his motorcycle- enthusiast father fixed up a rundown 1979 yellow Yamaha YZ 100. Ruggiero, 45, has rarely had a time in his life in which he wasn't actively engaged in rid- ing, racing or servicing motor bikes. He loves the smell, the designs, the ingenuity needed to fix and repair them — and freedom of riding. He also loves the challenge of running a business in an industry that is in decline, and trying to stay relevant with a younger generation. U.S. motorcycle sales, which peaked in 2006 at over 1.1 million, have languished since the Great Recession below 600,000 per year, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council. "You have to love motorcycles to be in this business," said Ruggiero. "I love owning my own business. I love the respect you get by being a business owner. I love the neighborhood I'm in; and the other business owners (here). I can't see myself doing anything else." His affinity for the business, he admits, is a bit disconcerting. These days, there are fewer 11-year-old kids who enjoy riding motor bikes with their peers like Ruggiero did in Cheshire, where he was raised. After the economy tanked in late 2000s, the motorcycle business never bounced back. "There's not enough kids riding motorcycles,'' Ruggiero said, adding that technology and digital devices provide them other options to have fun. "The motorcycle industry is now Rob Ruggiero's Bloomfield-based, full-service motorcycle center, Speed Demon Cycles, is taking on a challenging environment in which fewer people, especially Millennials, are riding and buying motorcycles. HBJ PHOTOS | STEVE LASCHEVER FACES OF BUSINESS Motoring Ahead From mechanic to entrepreneur, Ruggiero turns motorcycle avocation into vocation "There's not enough kids riding motorcycles. … We have to find a way to reach Millennials and younger because we're all going to be out of business if we don't." Rob Ruggiero , Owner and Operater, Speed Demon Cycles

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