DEALER FOCUS
W
atson Motorcycles in Kumeu, near
Auckland, has just become New Zealand’s
newest Husqvarna dealership and they
look to be more than ready for it. Owner Mat
Watson has been in business as a workshop and
secondhand bike sales shop since 2005, and the
idea to have a franchise has always been there.
Mat explains, “It all began after years of gaining
experience in all corners of the trade. I started
Watson Racing as a small workshop at the back of
Total MotoX, which was owned by Shane Rice.
After a few years Shane wanted to sell up, so I
jumped at the opportunity to take over the whole
building. After for trading for a few years as
Watson racing we rebranded to Watson
Motorcycles to appeal to a wider audience,
reflecting the work we were doing and customers
we had. We’ve been going from strength to
strength ever since.”
Owner Mat Watson is a trade certified
Motorcycle Engineer and has a special interest in
suspension tuning and repair, as well as racing/
performance tuning services. As you might hope
from your local bike shop, it’s staffed with keen
motorcyclists. All of the staff ride – Mat has a 2020
Husky FC250, workshop manager Alex Bennett is
a Freestyle MX man with a 2019.5 FC450 Factory
Edition along with several KTMs, so he speaks
fluent ‘dirt bike’. Parts and accessories man, Jesse
Cairns wields a KX450F in local motocross races
and trail rides, so he too speaks fluent ‘dirt’.
The shop mainly stocks products from Motul,
Motorex, Husqvarna genuine, ODI, Oakley and
Acerbis, but the team is happy to get you any
accessory or product that you’re after.
While Watsons may not be a ‘big’ shop, it does
know what’s what when it comes suspension,
servicing and maintenance, general workshop and
farm bike servicing. Vege, KR’s publisher, has had
his BMW R100GS forks serviced there several
times over the past decade and is more than
happy with the work that’s been done – which is a
minor miracle in itself. They’re just as happy
working on road bikes as they are dirt bikes, and
know their way around quads too.
Watson’s workshop rate is $95 plus GST, which
seems like a reasonable rate these days.
Importantly, the lads will give you an approximate
costing for your job before they even start work
on it. And if any further issues or costs arise they’ll
get in touch to go through it with you, to make
sure you’re happy with it before going any further.
KIWI RIDER 23