Motorcycle dealerships are set up in a similar fashion to most other retail stores. There is a distinct chain of command usually starting with an owner or general manager at the top of the pyramid and working its way down to various levels of full and part time employees. Many people who have a love of motorcycles have been able to find rewarding careers that allow them to work around a product they have a passion for.

Upon entering a typical motorcycle dealership, one will be greeted by somebody in sales. Being a salesperson in a dealership is not for everyone; it takes a certain kind of person. Salespeople in dealerships have to have an innate ability to close deals. The top sales people usually have an air of self confidence and are usually a bit cocky without being overly offensive. In many dealerships if the salesman can not close the deal, they will send in a more seasoned salesperson often referred to as the closer or floor manager to take a shot at putting a deal together.

Of course most people don't have enough cash on hand to just outright buy a motorcycle. This is where the finance department comes into play. Those who work in this department can pull a customer's credit and quickly determine which, if any, financing will work best. This process usually only takes a few minutes, and full loan approval is usually obtained in less than an hour.

Just like cars, motorcycles need periodic preventative maintenance such as oil changes. Also, like cars, occasionally one might break down. This is where the service department in a dealership comes in. There are various service related positions. When coming in for service, the first person a customer would see is the service writer. This person collects the customer's information including what needs to be done to or corrected on the motorcycle. Another position in a service department would be that of the mechanics. These are people who have gone to specialty schools to get trained specifically to work on motorcycles. Most have specific certifications which they have earned.

The parts department works hand in hand with the service department as well as directly with customers. A typical parts department employee must know how to read microfiche and have a basic understanding of the principals involved in how motorcycles work. Inventory control is paramount in this department because of the sheer number of parts which are often very small that need to be kept on location. Cashiers are usually considered a part of this department also.

While accessories and clothing are sometimes a division of the parts department, in larger dealership they have a department of their own. Accessories and clothing make up a major part of the profit margin for Harley Davidson, so those dealerships will almost always have a separate department, even with their own cashiers, just for this purpose. However, if you walk into a shop that sells only Japanese bikes, this will almost always just be a section of the parts department.

Many high end motorcycle dealerships and dealerships that are in tourist destinations have a rentals department. A rental agent in this department is responsible for taking reservations, filling out rental contracts and liability releases as well as insuring bikes are in the same condition when they are returned as when they left.

So there are a variety of jobs at motorcycle dealerships. Working in that environment is not for everybody; but for somebody that has that indescribable motorcycle obsession, it just might be the perfect place to work. The icing on the cake is that almost every motorcycle dealership offers a huge discount on products and services to their employees.