Touratech-USA Opens East Coast Shop

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A look inside the Touratech-USA East retail shop which opened this May in Brookfield, Connecticut. (Touratech USA/)

Soon after it was founded in 1990 by German world travelers Herbert Schwarz and Jochen Schanz, Touratech became one of the first household names in the adventure motorcycle scene.

Schwarz, an electronic engineer, created the IMO-200T motorcycle computer in the late 1980s. The system recorded and displayed information typical of stock gauges today, such as trip distance data and ambient temperature, unusual at the time. The computer was built for personal use, but more and more of Schwarz’s friends asked for one, and the Touratech brand was born.

What would an adventure motorcycle shop be without adventure bikes on display? Two favorites, a BMW R 1250 GS and Yamaha Ténéré 700, are featured here, decked out in Touratech parts. (Touratech USA/)

Soon after launching, the company developed one of its most popular products, the famed aluminum Zega panniers that have been used by world travelers such as 10 Years on 2 Wheels author Helge Pedersen to Long Way Round stars Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.

Touratech has continued to grow, providing products for adventure riders around the globe. The Niedereschach company now has retail shops and distribution centers in 45 countries, including the US; Seattle is home to its main stateside offices, showroom floor, and distribution center.

However, many East Coast ADV riders noted the lack of a local store. ADV-specific gear needs to be toyed with before purchase, and obviously showrooms make this task simple for riders. Hands-on time is especially useful in the case of high-dollar items such as Garmin GPS units or Touratech’s Zega EVO pannier systems. And naturally, trying on apparel like a Klim Badlands or Touratech Aventuro modular helmet before buying makes purchases much easier.

So in May Touratech USA launched a second US location in Brookfield, Connecticut. Touratech-USA East is a useful location for East Coast adventure motorcyclists, only a few miles from the New York border.

“We’ve been considering opening a store on the East Coast for several years now,” Touratech-USA CEO Paul Guillien says. “With the growth in wearable products in the Touratech product range including helmets, riding suits, and gloves, it just makes sense to have a store where customers can try on gear. Another big reason is to make delivery times much faster for our customers who order online or over the phone. Riders also enjoy seeing and feeling the products in person and having longer conversations with our adventure-expert staff. With the strong growth in adventure motorcycles over the last few years, the timing was right for us to make this expansion to better serve our customers.”

The new Touratech retail location offers visitors the chance to try on Touratech's apparel and inspect the range of gear. (Touratech USA/)

The new location features Touratech’s latest products, including crash bars, skid plates, protection items, suspension, luggage, and GPS navigation units. Adventure motorcyclists can also shop other brands associated with Touratech, including Klim, Garmin, CruzTools, Backcountry Discovery Routes, Sidi, Rev’It, Ram, Butler Maps, and others.

The storefront, which has adventure motorcycling experts on hand to answer questions, doubles as a distribution center, which will reduce shipping times for those ordering from east of the Mississippi river.

Why Brookfield? Guillien says the Touratech-USA staff worked with experts to determine the location that provided the most value to East Coast adventure riders.

“We worked with a data analyst to create a heat map that illustrated our current customer sales on the east coast,” Guillien says. “We also conducted a customer survey to better understand how far people would be willing to drive to visit a Touratech store; most people indicated they would drive up to two hours. We targeted locations that were 90 minutes or less from the center of our sales heat map. Brookfield was an ideal location, close to the major population centers and with highway access from all directions.”

Besides a retail storefront, Touratech-USA East also doubles as a distribution center, which shortens shipping times to customers east of the Mississippi. (Touratech USA/)

When asked about any other potential US locations, Guillien says, “We don’t have plans for any more company stores, but definitely have grown the number of dealerships that stock Touratech products in the last five years. Our partner dealers can provide the entire product range to their customers and are a great resource for product installation services.”

For additional information on Touratech news and ADV blog content, visit Touratech-USA.

Store Location:

Touratech-USA East, Brookfield

67 Federal Rd.

Brookfield, CT 06804

Phone: (800) 491-2926

Store Hours:

Tuesday–Friday:  9:30 a.m.–6 p.m.

Saturday: 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

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