Lifestyle Cycles Meet the Team: Swede Karlsson

Swed Carlson—that’s the last name. Real name is Ulf, but nobody knows how to pronounce it, so Swed is why I go by. I’m the parts manager here at Lifestyle Cycles, and I’ve been here for 24 years, updating and maintaining bikes. We deal with various aspects of motorcycle maintenance and repair. A lot of people come in here for older bikes—shovels, pans, knucks—that they can't get parts for anywhere else. They come to Lifestyle Cycles for those hard-to-find parts.

It’s all aspects of Harley-Davidson. You can do so much with a Harley-Davidson: handle bars, seats, lighting, pegs, grips, mirrors—the list goes on and on. Between everyone here working at Lifestyle Cycles—Sparky, Mike in service, and Mike Weber—we have a deep knowledge of Harley-Davidson, from early models up to the modern Milwaukee 8s. That’s what sets us apart.

Customer service is key, and what makes customer service great is listening to people. A lot of people get whisked off in different businesses if they seem to not know what they're talking about, which very well might be the case when you buy a brand-new Harley-Davidson, never having been on one or ridden one. If you come to a place where they’re snobby about parts and motorcycles, they might brush you off. It’s very important to understand that not everyone knows everything about all this stuff. When people come in asking for parts and I’m not knowledgeable about their motorcycle, we help them out as much as we can and educate them. It’s very important.

We offer quality products with warranties and brand names that have been established. We also have customer service for manufacturers, so we can call and help customers out—that’s important. My boss, who I’ve worked for now for 24 years, is Junior. Junior’s real name is Mark. About 22 years ago, we also had a mechanic named Mark. One day, a gentleman came in and asked if Mark was here. I said, “No, he actually quit and went back to college.” The gentleman asked if he could leave a message, and I said, “No, that’s alright.” Two minutes later, Junior comes back, looks at me, and says, “What’s my name?” I said, “Junior.” He said, “Trick question. What’s my real name?” I said, “Mark.” And then Junior said, “Oh crap. Who was that guy?” Junior responded, “That’s my lawyer.”

But there are tons of stories. One of my favorites is about a customer I’ve known for over 20 years. You meet him outside of work too—at events, biker bars, stuff like that. It’s fun. A lot of people say they don’t want to talk business outside of where they work, but that’s not the case with Harley-Davidson. Wherever you run into people, it’s always, “Oh sweet, how you doing? Hey, I’m looking for this.” And I’ll say, “Yeah, you’ve got to stop by at work and we’ll figure it out.” All the customers are friends.

Oh, you’ve got to stop by. If you haven’t been here before, you’re going to have a blast. From apparel through parts, to bike sales and service—great store, great people to work with here. You’ll find that as soon as you walk in the door, you’re greeted with a friendly smile, and the knowledge is top-notch. If you haven’t been here, you’re missing out.

Oh wait, don’t go anywhere until you like and subscribe to make sure you get notified every time we post our how-to videos, product reviews, and all of our amazing interviews with your favorite racers and industry icons. I’ll see you guys next time.