Seller Story: Get Your Motor Running

By The Inside Source
March 18, 2010

Photo Credit: Dorn Byg

If you've dreamed of hitting the open road on a motorcycle but have never managed to "get your motor running," so to speak, Tom VanStavern is here to help. Tom is owner of Columbus, Ohio-based Japanese motorcycle shop The Rice Paddy and its counterpart eBay store, ricepaddyco, which boasts over 36,000 sales of motorcycle parts and accessories since its launch a decade ago. With thousands of parts in stock and a locating system that links the company to over 200 salvage yards across America, "The Paddy," is a self-described “parts emporium.” But the business goes beyond parts: VanStaven and his team repair, customize, buy, sell and trade motorcycles. VanStavern, an enthusiast as much as he is a businessman, also uses The Rice Paddy's website to promote the biker lifestyle, offering an events board, inspirational stories, how-to guides and images promoting the joys of riding.

VanStavern, an Ohio native, has been riding since he was 14. He recalls, “I was mowing lawns in the neighborhood and found a 1965 Honda Step Thru 50 on a customer's woodpile. When I asked him what he was doing with it, he said 'Take it home. If you can make it run, you can have it.' Dad and I made it run and I learned to ride it. After that, I was hooked and have never been without a two-wheeler since.” VanStavern continued repairing bikes throughout high school and in college, he says, “I bought bikes from other students when they wanted to get rid of them. I would fix them and sell them in my front yard. I worked at the local motorcycle shop so I could get parts at a discount. I made enough money fixing them and selling them in the front yard to pay for college.”

When he hit his mid-twenties, a local motorcycle shop came up for sale. He approached “all his buddies” with a request, he recalls that they “give me all the money you have, whether it's $50 or $5,000 and I will buy this motorcycle shop.” Promising to pay back the loans come success or failure, VanStavern opened the Rice Paddy in 1993. Just four years later, it moved to its current, larger location, on the site of a former ice factory.

VanStavern chose to specialize in Japanese motorcycles because, he says, “They were all I could afford in the beginning. When I first started riding, there was still a big divide between Harley riders and Japanese riders. The two didn't mix. You were one or the other. Period. I liked the speed and technology of the Japanese bikes; you got a lot of power for not much money.”

His eBay store, which he has been operating since 2000, allows him to access a customer base that extends way beyond the Columbus area. It offers “all kinds of hard-to-find used parts and the kind of regular wear items that need replacing from time to time, as well as fun customizing items like mirrors, and cafe fairings.”

For folks who are interested in taking up riding, VanStavern suggests signing up for a course from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), which offers classes in every state. "Way better than having your brother, cousin, or significant other teach you when they haven't taught anyone before," he says. As far as the benefits of owning a bike, he cites many: Better gas mileage than anything else, usually even a hybrid. Better parking— there might not be a place to put your SUV but there, is always space to fit a motorcycle. And a sense of freedom, participation with the outdoors and a connection to the road.