OzVMX Forum

Clubroom => Bike Talk => Topic started by: albrid-3 on November 07, 2012, 02:05:44 pm

Title: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: albrid-3 on November 07, 2012, 02:05:44 pm
I rang Peter Stevens today to ask if they had a pair of honda wing tank stickers, they said, we done have them, we only have peter stevens stickers, but we could order them in.
Today`s motorcycles shop, what is this world coming too, they are note bike shops anymore. ???
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Hardo on November 07, 2012, 02:10:39 pm
That is exactly why I use eBay for everything, except oils/handlebars/tyres and crank & cylinder rebuilds !

More often than not the punk behind the counter has less idea than you anyway.   ::)
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: GMC on November 07, 2012, 02:16:56 pm
That’s the problem with high turnover items, they’re always running out.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: John Orchard on November 07, 2012, 02:19:08 pm
If anyone is interested I have a pile of left's & right's of red Honda wing decals, I think there is a very fine gold outline.  They are genuine Honda, I seemed to have aquired them when I worked there.

Let me know how many you want and I'll post em to ya.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: albrid-3 on November 07, 2012, 02:31:13 pm
I wanted a left and right John, small one for my trials bike, this sunday trials at ankie, the sticker with honda wing and honda underneath it. I will Pm you with my address. thank you
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Canam370 on November 07, 2012, 05:42:48 pm
Well, you only had to ask Dave. I carry large and small sizes on the shelf - yellow wings, Honda underneath ::) You need to deal with old school shops...... ;D
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Tony T on November 07, 2012, 06:07:59 pm
You need to deal with old school shops...... ;D

With old school owners......  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: John Orchard on November 07, 2012, 06:34:44 pm
Old old-school owners, yep that's Paul  ;-)
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Nathan S on November 07, 2012, 08:13:28 pm
Old old-school owners, yep that's Paul  ;-)

You left out an "old" there, John.
Or two.

:D
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Canam370 on November 07, 2012, 08:20:09 pm
durn whippersnappers. No respect thesedays :(
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: albrid-3 on November 07, 2012, 10:23:08 pm
Sorry Paul, I should have none, next Time, I also rang John Kaiser, but he sold out.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Andrew L on November 08, 2012, 08:26:43 am
Needed a yamaha flywheel puller which fits nearly every yamaha made yesterday so I rang Peter Stevens who is the Yamaha dealer in Geelong and they dont even keep them in stock said they had to order one in be here next week told them to jam it and hung up, had a look on ebay plenty there $38.99 plus postage but i'm to impatient that would be a week away as well, had a think for a while and then thought of qualitools gave him a ring and he had a whole range of them in stock went in and I reckon he had a puller for every bike invented and at a bargain price of $21.50 would have payed twice that at that stage nice bloke too rides a Guzzi.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: frostype400 on November 08, 2012, 08:40:41 am
Yes I am not a fan of Peter Stevens Geelong I reckon they would be easier to get on with if you only owned a newer bike.

I like road and river husqvarna never had any problems if I buy a new bike it will be from there.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: geoff22 on November 08, 2012, 11:16:35 am
Dont talk to me about Peter Stevens. For as long as I can think I always went to Geoff Taylor Motorcycles in Dandenong. The service from spares dept and accessories was always fantastic and they showed a genuine interest in any project you had on the go. Well after 37 years Geoff sold the business to Peter Stevens.  I went in one day and finally managed to get served by someone who would rather muck around behind the counter with his dumb arse co worker. They were useless and not interested at all in trying to help with what I was trying to ask about. I vowed I would not go back and now need to find another good yamaha shop. Online from the good old USA is looking good to me!
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Hoony on November 08, 2012, 12:07:33 pm
I too used to go to Taylors in Dandy (Brad was probably the best spares guy in Melb and Daniel was great too) i shortly after the takeover and had some motul g/box oil, some young flunkie behind the counter asked what bike i had and i told him CR500 he then asked some roadbike dickwinder and the guy didn't even know what a honda CR was and i told him i had what i wanted and if he didn't know then it didn't matter. the next time i rang though a parts order with honda part numbers to be told i had to pay a deposit on a $20 order of oil seals. Brad never asked for that as he knew me. now i don't know where to go for OEM stuff.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Hoony on November 08, 2012, 12:07:57 pm
I too used to go to Taylors in Dandy (Brad was probably the best spares guy in Melb and Daniel was great too) i shortly after the takeover and had some motul g/box oil, some young flunkie behind the counter asked what bike i had and i told him CR500 he then asked some roadbike dickwinder and the guy didn't even know what a honda CR was and i told him i had what i wanted and if he didn't know then it didn't matter. the next time i rang though a parts order with honda part numbers to be told i had to pay a deposit on a $20 order of oil seals. Brad never asked for that as he knew me. now i don't know where to go for OEM stuff.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: geoff22 on November 08, 2012, 12:49:44 pm
Yep - very similar Hoony. They couldnt answer my questions and said the only way to know was to order the part in but I would have to pay for it in advance (about $20) and then I would know - Great - told em not to bother.

My christmas wish would be to have my old favourite yamaha dealers still doing Yamaha -

Stafford Yamaha
Mick Hone
Geoff Taylor

Great shops, great service, great passion
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: maico police on November 08, 2012, 04:07:39 pm
Motorcycle Land in Ballarat are still a good bike shop.
Matt who runs it is a young guy and he has an awfully nice '88 CR500 sitting on the mezzanine floor to salvinate over when you walk in. They've been chasing hard to find Yamaha parts for me for years now and Dennis one of the spares guys has been around Honda dealerships for years now.

It's a two-way street all this. A lot of shops get sick of people sniffing around for prices and complaining about them when they don't like what they hear. They make their money from New bikes (not so much) riding gear, accessories, stupid hats and don't want to be paying their guys for a whole hour chasing up something they might make five bucks on.
Most places want a deposit and it's not the guy behind the jump's fault for asking for it. His boss has no doubt told him that's the way it is because they're sick of getting stuck with parts that people don't pick up (after they've found something cheaper on eBay).
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: SPANISH ARMADA on November 08, 2012, 07:52:35 pm
Couldn't agree more on that Mont I use rightline Yamaha in kyabram for all my bits and pieces for Yamaha and because as u say they don't make a lot out chasing near obselete parts I buy my michys there and I get a good deal front and rear $184 fitted and the service is great never a problem and no deposit to pay at any time cheers
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: GMC on November 08, 2012, 08:14:27 pm
I wonder what some of you guys remember of the old days.
Bike shops I frequented weren’t warehouses for every part for every model. I remember having to order parts by Tuesday to be sure I had them for the weekend.
I rang K & J’s so many times that despite the fact I have hardly been in there for a couple of decades I still remember his phone No off by heart.
The fact that any shop is willing to get the part in for you I believe is a good thing.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: oldfart on November 08, 2012, 08:32:07 pm
 
 Sevos of the past .... good old fashioned service. 
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: shorelinemc on November 30, 2012, 12:12:56 pm
any one who dosnt ask for a deposit on model specific parts is basiclly just stupid.i have most probaly around 5$-6000.00 worth of parts here that have been ordered and never picked up and i cant send back to the relevent brand.hate having to ask for a deposit but people order stuff then see one cheaper on ebay etc not thinking that i have had to outlay for the part and courier and get stuck with it
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Viper79 on November 30, 2012, 12:53:43 pm
My local power equipment/lawnmower shop won't even book in a repair without a deposit.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: SUZUKI311 on November 30, 2012, 01:48:12 pm
I recall a certain Suzuki/Kawaski dealer in my area who was notorious for not ordering parts when requested, and then blaming all sorts of outrageous scenarios for why your parts werent there. THe best one i heard was "The container fell of the ship, and your parts were in it." Everything was always "Ön backorder". Eventually started using metro dealers who got the parts to me in no time. Yep the good old days werent that good around here for that.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: GD66 on November 30, 2012, 02:08:37 pm
(http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/677/pinkst.jpg)

Don't see a stock lineup like this in too many shops nowadays either !
Pinks of Harrow, 1950.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Tim754 on November 30, 2012, 02:23:42 pm
Shite GD66!!! They obviously must have filled em with oil outside after they were sold....
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Nathan S on November 30, 2012, 03:56:58 pm
I recall a certain Suzuki/Kawaski dealer in my area who was notorious for not ordering parts when requested, and then blaming all sorts of outrageous scenarios for why your parts werent there. THe best one i heard was "The container fell of the ship, and your parts were in it." Everything was always "Ön backorder". Eventually started using metro dealers who got the parts to me in no time. Yep the good old days werent that good around here for that.
Yeah - the (long since gone) Honda/Yamaha dealer in Nowra was a classic for that. Basically they were permenantly on stop supply with either brand's distributor - so one month would be fine for Honda and nothing from Yamaha, the next month would be the opposite.

-----

Workshops can demand a deposit far more effectively than retail outlets.

It drives me nuts when you're asked for a deposit on something that's supposed to be in stock:
"I'm after a [name your part]"
"Nah, sorry mate - usually got them, sold the last one earlier in the week"
"Oh, OK. When will you have them back in?"
"Oh mate, you'd have to come down and leave a deposit if you want us to get one in for ya!". ::)

The other one as some bearings from my local (to work) car parts place - despite me clearly identifying myself and my place of work (my work does a fair bit of business with them, and they give us all trade discount), he insisted on me coming over to pay a deposit on $30 worth of bearings that were in stock in one of their other stores...
OK, whatever - it's a pain, but not the end of the world.
When I get there, it took a fair bit of effort to convince the bloke that I want to pay the full amount, and that leaving a $5 deposit instead, achieved nothing for either of us...

Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: GMC on November 30, 2012, 04:13:14 pm
My local power equipment/lawnmower shop won't even book in a repair without a deposit.

Yeah, Iv'e got a couple of repair jobs been sitting here for years too.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: mainline on December 01, 2012, 04:58:27 pm
My local power equipment/lawnmower shop won't even book in a repair without a deposit.

Yeah, Iv'e got a couple of repair jobs been sitting here for years too.

Aren't you legally able to sell goods that you've repaired and that haven't been paid for? I think it's 6 months from memory.
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: paco on December 01, 2012, 05:09:53 pm
broken hill [broke and ill]is a funny place.I bought a kdx 200 and went to the kawasaki dealer to see if I could get a manual for it."No they dont make those",I was told by the bloke behind the counter.I said "you would think they would make a manual for it",I replied."No they dont make kdx 200'",I wondered what I had rode up on.p
Title: Re: Motorcycles shop arn`t what they use to be.
Post by: Iain Cameron on December 01, 2012, 05:21:04 pm
Ive never had a problem paying for parts to be orderd . the shop is usually ok with not paying after you have placed a few orders . each time Ive moved it takes time to get to know your dealer and once he reconises that your a repeat customer all is cool . Years ago I dealt with Procycles in Hornsby ( when Anne was the owner ) one of the young parts kids was saying that old bikes didn't make money . I asked him what parts did he sell for new bikes ( where most owners have a single bike ) apart from stickers and other go fast bling . Then I asked him to bring up my account on the computer (then I only owned 10 bikes ) shocked the little bugger . If you talk to them sometimes it gets though the hair gel into their heads that you are a valued customer .