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Does it smell
like a bike shop?
Travels with
Guido
September 2025, by Guy 'Guido' Allen
Coffee and air-freshener seem to be
the scents of a modern motorcycle dealership. Shouldn't
it be oil and sweaty leather?
(Ed's note: this piece was originally
written in 2006 and we've now rescued it from the
archives.)
Not many people wander through bike shops looking for an
olfactory treat – maybe we should.
What ignited this line of thought was an
afternoon of contrasts. I’d just been up the road ordering
some bits for Mac the Valk (aka my 2001 Honda Valkyrie
Interstate) and went for a wander through a local Honda
dealer’s new showroom in Melbourne, Australia. Times are
good and the company has decided to splurge out and double
its floor space with a dedicated accessories shop. When
completed, it will look like a lot of new shops – very
modern retail design that’s intended to feel user-friendly
while showing off a broad range of kit to the best
possible advantage.
The fittings are all new, with subtle lighting, there are
big-screen TVs in house to keep people amused while
they’re waiting, and, all up, it wouldn’t look out of
place in any high-end retail environment. Welcome to the
modern motorcycle industry.
Half an hour later I was at the front counter of Union
Jack Motorcycles, which is closing its doors as a retail
outlet and switching over to business by mail order. I’d
spotted a book of classic road tests during an earlier
visit and had decided to grab it.
The shop is typical ye olde bike store -- a counter (or
barricade?) between the punter and the hapless sales
person, with an odd assortment of gear hanging off the
walls, then a door leading to the workshop, which is in
clear view, and resembles a mechanical cavern. You half
expect some mythical monster, in overalls, to shuffle out,
make strange noises, and wander back into its cave.
Owner Phil Pilgrim was mulling over the contrast between
his shop and some of the more flash jobs – something he
was well aware of. Talking of his customers, he commented
wryly, “I’m not sure they’ll miss me, but some of them
will miss the old-style shop.
“One bloke told me it reminded him of what shops were like
when he was a kid – you could smell the oil and grease
from the workshop. He reckoned he was going to come in and
get some photos.”
These days, a new shop is more likely to smell of
freshly-ground coffee than it is of oil. Though it begs
the question whether anyone will ever come out with a
motorcycle-specific air-freshener. Eu de Castrol R
perhaps? Essence of Burnout, perchance? Parfum Sweaty
Leathers for Madam?
Of course this is not the first time that the subject of
sensory stimuli and shopping has been explored.
According to a 2005 Washington Post article,
“Researchers have known for years that external stimuli
can subconsciously affect how eager we are to buy, and our
emotions can be enhanced or suppressed by our
surroundings. The impact of background music on shoppers
is well documented: loud rock music, for example, seems to
encourage quick decisions and impulse buys while softer
sounds keep people in the store longer. Lighting, too, can
affect buyer moods by making them feel better – or worse –
about the shopping environment.”
And yes, smell has been studied. As you no doubt read in
the Journal of Business Research, citrus is highly
recommended by one recent report, with the proviso that
the shop needs to be reasonably busy for it to work.
Crowds have their own smell and that’s part of the
required mix before someone feels compelled to flash their
credit card and demand a Wide Glide.
Then of course there is the old real estate trick of
having some bread cooking in the oven when your house is
opened for a showing, giving it that nice ‘homey’
ambience.
As I’ve very rarely made a decision to buy a motorcycle in
the actual shop, I’m stuffed if I know what smell works.
Usually the bright idea for the latest purchase takes hold
late at night after one too many clarets – so maybe
motorcycle retailers should ditch the scent dispensers and
install a bar.
Some day we might get to see virtual reality technology
moving in, where you get to take the bike for a ‘ride’
without leaving the showroom or perhaps even your own
home. That’s a thought – wearing a set of VR goggles while
they squirt the scents appropriate to the scenery across
your snout. Shall we track test the new toy? Loading the
software for a ‘lap’ of Phillip Island will be no problem,
but what exactly does fear smell like?
Maybe Pilgrim had it right after all. A hint of oil and
grease from the workshop will do…
(Postscript: sadly, that Honda dealer is no more. Union Jack
continues to flourish as a mail-order business.)
***
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