Bike shops in your youth...still around???

[monaro308]

After reading about the mini bike reunion in the previous post....it got me thinking.
Are the bike shops in the area that you grew up in still around?
I grew up in Oakleigh (Vic) and around 1976-1980 I used to bolt from Hughesdale primary and then Oakleigh Tech with my pushie and down to Astoria Honda on North rd Bentleigh East(when i had the SL70)and annoy the crap out of them  .
Astoria is still there today (i doubt they do bikes anymore).
I also dreamt of having the YZ80E,F,G and scoot on further down to the Yamaha dealer opposite Murrumbeena High...i think it was called Howdens Yamaha.
Now....i REALLY used to annoy the absolute crap out of the owner...can't remember his name...john,ken,david...no idea.
I used turn up and ask him if any new pamphlets(brochures) on the YZs arrived...and he'd give me one or two....and then i'd go and sit on the new YZ80 and YZ100 and just talk to him for about an hour and ride off home.
I would do this about once a week as we would all race around the laneways behind the shops and PBR manufacturing.
Howdens disappeared years ago and it got me thinking about the shop and minibikes.

[jimg1au]

all the bike shops i used to go to are all gone now
stoney creek motorcycles(still freinds with original owner)
hurstville motorcycles and cycle city hurstville(c/c is now at tarren point)(sill freinds with original owner of cycle city)
ryans of parramatta.
barry grahame motorcycles of arncliffe.
guss lue of sutherland
spoke wheel repairs of oatley,worked there in the 70s after school.this is still around and not gone too far now at peakhurst
cheers
jim

[TT]

About the same for me. I used to hang around at Laurie Fox Honda in Mt. Gambier S.A. Laurie sold it some time ago but recently it has closed.
I also bought the last bike off Alec Campbell when he sold his shop (and was shortly after killed while racing) I did work experience at the same shop when it was owned by Eric Cram and he then sold to Trevor Reynolds. I think that one has also closed, but someone in SE of SA might be able to confirm.
Don Thornley Motorcycles was bought out by Carling & Gazzard and I'm pretty sure that has closed as well.

[albrid-3]

All gone.
The shops that l bought from and visit, from early 60`s to 1977
Alsop M/cycles ( Honda, Kawasaki
Bert Flood (Bultaco, KTM, SWM.                                 Plus Pratt & Osbourne (Suzuki, Yamaha
Al Paterson ( KTM, Husqvarna                                                            Gary Adams  (Honda
Lyall O`Brien ( Montesa, DKW                                                             Gary 0`brien (Yamaha
Frank Musset ( CZ
John Burrows ( Greeves, Dot, OSSA
Sport & Road ( Hodaka
Miliage Bros ( Yamaha
Stacker  Keith ( Macio
Toorak Village Kawasaki
Pitmans m/cycles S.A. (Yamaha
Coles Motors ( Yamaha, Suzuki
Benders Geelong (Kawasaki

[TT]

Pitmans are definitely still going and I'm fairly sure Stackers are too??

Paul would know. 

But I get the point, it will never be the same for the young 'uns of today. Hanging around the shop, sweeping floors and doing anything just to be around bikes.
Well that's what I did ayway................ 

[Canam370]

Yep, Paul Stacker will be surprised to know he's gone as he's still showing up at the shop every (most!)day!

Doing fine in Heidelberg.

[VMX247]

McCulloch Suzuki  still going
Vic Park Perth  
We used to ride the road bikes down from Newman and later the Wheatbelt to check out the new bikes on the floor    always had a friendly cuppa ready  
Haven't been there to that part of the city for years.I believe  Andy still works there..
cheers

[DR]

I used to frequent Mayfairs Suzuki at Windsor. The guy behind the parts counters' name was Robbie and he had only 1 arm with a hook thing on the other but he was the most helpful bloke I ever met. The old Mayfairs building is still there but the business is long gone. Northside Suzuki and Reece Hampson was another shop I hung around like a bad smell. Great service from that establishment also but alas it's all but memories now too. Sandgate Honda, Northside Yamaha folded. Fresh out of school I did a few years with Bert Kingston (still going now at Cleveland) I worked for Phil Beaumont ( whom now works as a salesman for Morgan and Wackers) , did some time at Brisbane Kawasaki (now Metro Kawasaki) with Greg Linklater who ended up more into jet ski's than bikes. Spent a little time setting up Brisbane Honda with John Speck at the old Bert Kingston shop in Fortitude Valley, Keith Novak's 'Tyres For Bikes' used to be right next door to Beaumont's, it's still going but now run by Rob Turton (another top bloke). Redcliffe Suzuki (Graham's Auto) and Redcliffe Honda I'm unsure if they still exist, so far as I know they folded also not many shops left in comparison to the 70's and 80's and more recently Noyes Honda has shut up shop also which shocked the heck out of me when I turned up to find the place abandoned

[Rossvickicampbell]

Doc - if my memory hasn't failed I had Bert Kingston hot parts on my XR75!!!

Not sure now as I haven't lived there for ages but Lloyd Campbell Honda and Geoff Bowling Motorcycles both in Burnie in Tassie - don't think they are there now?

Rossco

[DR]

Ross, Bert sold the bigbore Cobra Kits for the XR's and he also stocked a few other parts. If you ever bought a hot cam from Bert you were actually purchasing Ivan Tighe cams  

[vmxken]

Yep, all the same shops as jimg1au with the addition of one he perhaps forgot, that was in the same area.  George Williamson's (I'm pretty sure that was it!) at Hurstville/Bexley, which was a Bultaco and Suzuki dealer and who also happened to share a fence with my High School......so there was always somewhere to go at lunchtime.

[oldskool]

there was only one were i grew up it was in the main st (queen st)st marys i think it was called western suzuki.firko might be able to help here.me and a couple of mates used to ride our pushies down there on a saturday look at the new rm,s sweep the floor and they used to shout us lunch.i think they got out of new bike sales and moved to another building in the back streets opposite the wagon wheel pub and just did repairs had my rm125x top end rebuilt there.never ended with one of those new rm,s only a suzuki jersey :'( my mum bought when i was hobbling around on crutches with my leg in plaster.she figured if i did that on a pushbike i wasnt getting a motorbike well that was her excuse anyway.cheers gary.

[211kawasaki]

Gordon Yamaha Sydney - the guys name was Roger Bound I think, used to go there just about every day to check out the TY80A I wanted untill I finaly got it for $356.00 brand new. Still have one today.

The place dissapeared into road works mid 80s I think.

[Tex]

About the same for me. I used to hang around at Laurie Fox Honda in Mt. Gambier S.A. Laurie sold it some time ago but recently it has closed....
Don Thornley Motorcycles was bought out by Carling & Gazzard and I'm pretty sure that has closed as well.

Fox Honda has closed eh? Thornley's closed quite a few years ago. There used to be a Husqvarna dealer as well didn't there? Mansre Motors or something like that. There was also a Yamaha dealer, whose name I can't recall either.

Are there any bike shops still active in Mt Gambier now?

Tex

[TT]

Yeah, Mansers is still going. Was Bob, but now his son Owen runs it. He's the Kawasaki dealer as well now.
On my last trip down there (on the way back from the Harrow Vinduro) I was as shocked as anyone to see Fox Honda closed. They seemed to be the biggest at least.
Not sure what else is down there now.