Eddy Wright has returned from retirement to become the UK’s top seller of Royal Enfield motorcycles. The Shipley-based dealer set a new UK record for Royal Enfield sales in 2019, and has just opened a new showroom at the company’s sister branch in Tadcaster.
The new premises on Guardian Park are next door to the current Tadcaster store, which has been converted into a state-of-the art workshop. The new showroom will continue selling Royal Enfield, Keeway, SYM, FB-Mondial, used and classic bikes, plus clothing, parts and accessories.
In 2008, having been a dealer for 30 years, Wright decided to call it a day and retire. He spent two years fishing, playing golf and racing sidecars and then realised retirement was not as satisfying as he had hoped. So in 2010 he opened Eddy’s Moto in Shipley, West Yorkshire, retailing motorcycles that Wright first started out by selling, now known as classics. Then, with classic motorcycles proving increasingly hard to source, Eddy’s Moto was approached by Royal Enfield.
“It was a case of being in the right place at the right time,” said Wright. “Although I had done well with classic bikes, I could see that sourcing them was becoming more difficult, with buyers hoarding machines as ‘collectibles’.
“I was really impressed with Royal Enfield and its plans and saw that it would be up and coming in the next few years.”
Wright’s hunch proved correct. Royal Enfield sales took off in 2017 and last year Eddy’s Moto became the brand’s UK number one dealership for sales, although Wright is not revealing precisely how many, other than to say “more than 100”. “I’m a Yorkshireman,” he said, explaining his reticence.
Wright is celebrating the achievement by opening the second showroom, in Tadcaster, north Yorkshire. The investment was “a substantial sum”, he said.