Your Local Bike Shop

Is it everywhere or just in Ohio? I walk into a bike shop and ask what I think is a simple question. Example: Do you carry pod filters? Then the sales associate looks at me like I am an idiot. Whats a pod filter? Inline fuel filter...Same Look. SeaFoam...Never heard of it...Baffle for a Kerker? Whats a Kerker. I have stopped going to my local shops and just deal with the internet...Russ

Russ, if you're dealing with ANYONE under about 35-40 years old in ANY bike shop ANYWHERE, you'll get the same treatment and it's usually worse in the big-box main-brand bike stores. You'll have a better chance of getting the correct answer(s) if you deal with a back-street type of place with (usually) the owner who is always over 50 and has seen a lot of things in life.

My local bike shop doesn't even have a mamual for shop use anymore. They have one guy that has built Z's in the past. They will tune up some bikes, not all. If it is modified very much, you can forget it. If you want to order parts they change an extra fee for the service. I didn't say markup, it's a fee on top of the markup price. I can say that they will not be getting my business. There are alot of Z's still out there, to bad no one wants to make a reasonable profit off of them. Look what happened to chevy when they didn't want to be involved with high performance parts, everyone one else got rich! It seems like shops would want to sell all the parts that they can, who cares what size, year or make. It's money that keeps the doors open!

My local Kaw shop has one old-timer that rode a Z1 back in the day. Everyone else working there is about 19, and If I don't see Lee, I don't even bother. He knows the bikes, but usually he has to tell me, "Kaw doesn't make that part anymore". Lucky for us, there's Jeff and Z1 Enterprises.

The service manager at my local dealer probably hasn't seen many moons past his 30th birthday. But he is a big KZ fan. He rides a KZ 1100 with NOS! I never have any problems getting service done, he's very willing to share knowledge, answer questions and I have never felt I've gotten screwed over there. I guess there must be some benefits to living up here in Hicksville.

We don't have a local Kawi shop so I've gotta go online anyways. However, for the normal things I've needed I've had some less than stellar results, though I haven't had to pay any special fees. Though the tire prices were outrages and didn't include mounting. I bought them online, paid to have them mounted and still saved 30.00.

i found a place that has one cool kid that orders parts....he will order me a single bolt and it is a few bucks at most ..a centerstand spring 13..... superbike grips off the shelf 7....crank end shear pin and an extra 3 bucks...now he knows it's me and is always cool on the phone...get the part in a few days.....next to having z1-e and him i'm covered.....i make sure to tell the boss that they have a good employee now days wherever i am that i find one....the other three shops i don't feel treated well and deleted them from my phone....the last call to em was enough to get me telling freinds to blow em off and never go there.....guys buy bikes on the weekend...and the other shops are closed on sundays ....if i had a shop i would be closed on mondays open sunday when folks are out riding...
thanks to the guys here i don't even need a mechanic..or bother going back in the work areas at the shops to get abused...just the parts counter and z-1e and you brothers and i'm good...peace

just like rick said don't try dealing with the big dealers and try to look for the small one or two man operation that deals with every thing most dealers won't even look at a bike that is older than 3-5 years the motorcycle industry has been under paying there mechanics and parts people for so long that most of the good guy's have left to do other things. the guy's that are left in the trade are if they are over 30 are the true die hards and are in it for the love of motorcycles. the internet has killed a lot of shops as far as parts sales go it doesn't pay for a guy to carry a big list of stocked parts when people are coming into the shop asking if you have such and such and when you say you do and tell them the price they say screw that i can get it off the internet for cheaper,and when they do they are pissed because you quoted them a price that was gonna net 30% for your shop and they think that you are ripping them off so they won't bring the bike in to get worked on because according to them you are screwing people when in actual fact you are trying your damdest to keep the doors open and the lights on. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP

when you say you do and tell them the price they say screw that i can get it off the internet for cheaper,

My boss has instructed all our employees to remind the customer that the Net companies don't do installs....
and most of them won't offer any free advice either....
Z1E apparently being a notable exception to the advice thing....but they are definitely in the minority.
I love the guys that phone and want us to install a tire they bought elsewhere!!! Imagine the nerve of those a-holes!!! Grrrrrr......
Of course we have "special" pricing for those guys....

yes we used to call it the "stupid tax" blackfoot was famous for having these great sales on goldwing tires then not being able to fit the guy's in to install them so they would come to us expecting to kiss there ass's for the priviledge of working on there fine piece of machinery. i know for a fact that by the time the install was done it would have been cheaper for them to buy the tires from us in the first place because if you bought tires from us the install was free.

For me "local shop" means going an hour or more in any direction. The one in Manhattan changed hands at the end of '07 and now seems to cater more toward the sportbike crowd. I still find it a good place to buy oil.

Great Plains Cycle in Lincoln, NE seemed to cater toward the vintage enthusiast moreso than other shops. Unfortunately, I rarely get up there during their business hours.

So, I order online and have become my own shop.

The guys at my local Kaw/Honda/Yam dealership seem pretty good - however, most of the time I already have the P/N so they don't have to search for a part I may be describing wrong! If it was aftermarket parts they may get a bit lost.

On tires - they prefer not to sell them! Their mounting prices are posted on the wall - and you pay that price no matter where the tire came from! The reason they prefer not to sell them is that, because there are so many size varaiations, they cannot carry stock - and the chances of them ordering a tire and the customer then not liking/wanting it are too high. Easier for the customer to identify and purchase what he wants then make a few $$$ installing it for him ($28/wheel balanced - if the wheel is off the bike).