Cycle Maker’s Shares Go Vroom, Vroom

Shares of Bikers Dream Inc., a motorcycle maker that operates a chain of retail stores, more than doubled on Tuesday after a report of its move into electronic commerce hit the Internet, even though the Riverside-based company said its plans are “run of the mill.”

Individual Investor Online’s site (https://iionline.com) ran a headline early in the day saying that Bikers Dream was set to announce e-commerce plans this week, sending the company’s stock soaring. The shares closed up $4.28 at $6.84 on Nasdaq.

Chief Executive Herm Rosenman, who had told reporters about a month ago that Bikers Dream had hired a firm to design e-commerce services for its current Web site, said Tuesday he was “shocked, to be honest,” by the investor reaction.

Rosenman said he doesn’t consider his company’s plans to be anything “other than run-of-the-mill.”

The e-commerce services could be up and running by the end of February.

Bikers Dream, through its Ultra Cycles unit, makes heavyweight cruiser motorcycles. Rosenman said the company sells its bikes at about 65 authorized dealers. It expects to have made a little less than 2,000 units in 1998.

The company also operates a nationwide chain of about 35 superstores where it sells motorcycles made by other manufacturers as well as its own.