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

[monaro308]

To add to my first post after moving from Oakleigh to Dandenong....Geoff Taylors Yamaha/Honda and  Dandenong Suzuki in Foster st.......Suzuki went years ago....possibly to Peter Stevens on Lonsdale st Dandenong.
Geoff used his pocket money to build the complex a hundred metres from where he originally was over a decade ago and still is there today.

[firko]

In the same stomping ground as Jim and Smithy, I used to frequent Macklin Motorcycles in Miranda. Harry Macklin was Steve Galls first sponsor, initially on an MX250 and then a string of YZs. Harry had a pretty good collection of classic motocross bikes even back in the early 70s. He bought my mates very trick ex Scaysbrook, Vic Lyons prepared factory DT1MX and I remember him telling us when we dropped it off at his home that "these old bikes will be worth a lot of dough one day". He was definitely a visionary.

I also used to frequent Amalgamated Scooters in Goulburn street and Omedies over on George street near Central Station. I used to buy my Ashman Red Devil boots and other stuff from Stollier Brothers, a disposal store run by two little old Jewish brothers who loved nothing better than to put it over you. The also loved to barter but you'd have to be pretty switched on to get it over them when it came to money!

As a kid in the early 60s my priorities were different and I used to pedal my pushy from my home in Maroubra the 10 or so miles just to look through the window at Bill Warners Speedshop on Clovelly rd, Clovelly. The highlight came one afternoon when Bill Warner senior gestured for me to come into the workshop and asked me if I'd like to sit in Bill juniors legendary Hilborn injected Chevy powered super modified speedway car while they tuned it for that evenings Sydney Showground Speedway. I can still remember him asking me to blip the throttle and to give it a big rev before he killed the ignition. Later that night, my mates were impressed no end when Bill junior acknowledged me by name for my "help" when he was accepting his winners trophy.
Moments like that help to form a kids future in more ways than can ever be imagined at the time.
                                 

[Viper666]

Bought my YZ125E that I still have from Don Brown's Yamaha Motorcycleland. Both he & the shop are still going strong. He sell Hondas too now.

Viper666

[jimg1au]

firko
were was maklins first i can remember 3 locations for them
1st kiora rd sth of miranda fair
2nd kiora rd hth of miramda fair
3rd in caringbah on president ave when chris dixion owned it
1 other shop i used to go to with my older brother i think it was all parts in george st nth of redfern
jim

[LWC82PE]

Another one in Mt Gambier closed sometime last year but i cant think of the name. A lot of the sales reps often will tell me several shops have closed down or doing it tough and about to close the doors. I dont know if its the global finacial crisis or ebay but somethings causing it.

[All Things 414]

I bought a heap of CR's from Bedgood Honda (Ballarat) in the 80's as indeed my brother did as well. I think in ten years we bought about eight bikes between us. Then he shut up shop and started selling used cars.  Now they're the KIA dealership. 
I had to go in there one day and tried to strike up a conversation about the good 'ol days with the bikes. 

I was promptly told that the 'good 'ol days' were exactly that.

Old news

"So Sir if we can't interest you in a new or used vehicle could you please move on." 

Not bad for a bloke that took about 20G off of a couple of young guys.......

[miniwheels]

Good thread, I remember always going to Maurie Quinceys in Moonee Ponds, they were a huge Honda dealer down here in Vic, as a kid back in the 70's nearly every week(so it felt) after school I'd travel there by tram to get parts for my Dax or XR75, in the spare parts section there was Mauries old man Percy who would have to be around 90 years old not out back then, after an eturnity of finally getting my parts from him he would add up the bill then I'd get my hard earned out only for Percy to always say "PLUS TAX" from then on we used to call him "ol Percy Plus tax" .
They closed up shop around the early to mid 80's, as  far as I know around the North or Western Suburbs of Vic there are no old Honda dealers left, the last one would have been Town & Country.

[firko]

were was maklins first i can remember 3 locations for them

Jim, I'm not sure of the name of the street but it was ajacent to Miranda railway station (I suspect it's Kia Ora rd). It was one of the first shops to show a bit of pizzazz about the showroom and have the sales staff dress in corporate clothing. Even though it was a professional 'new age' shop, it still had that race shop vibe.

Allparts in Refern was really in the shit part of town even then. Lots of derros, gutter junkies, agro 'indidgenous' Australians and graffiti everywhere. It was also the best place to get your British parts. Jack Grahams shop in Arncliffe, located right in the flight path of landing 707s (the loudest of the loud jets of the 60s/70s) at Kingsford Smith Airport was another of those rough and ready places with a wrecking yard vibe and always had  lots of interesting bikes for sale. I remember seeing my first ever Cheney for sale there in around '68 or '69. It had a Villiers Starmaker engine from a Cotton in it from memory.

I also bought a couple of bikes including my stinkin' Lobito from the old Frasers shop on Parramatta road Strathfield (opposite the current mega-store). Vic Lyons Yamaha shop further back towards the city on Parramatte road Homebush was the place for GYT parts and trick bits and bobs for your DT1. They sponsored Peter and Jim Scaysbrook on DT1/RT1s and the shop was then the unofficial 'works' team headquarters. The shop was still there with old Vic at the helm until about 10 years ago.

Another old school shop is Bruce Northcott Suzuki on Richmond rd Blacktown. The place has always been a bit of a mess and Bruce lost his Suzuki franchise a few years ago when he refused (or more likely couldn't afford) to upgrade the shop to the modern shiny format. He just continued on selling second hand bikes, parts and offering repairs and engine work. The place always smelled like an ashtray because of Bruces chain smoking and nothing has changed today. The place is a treasure trove for Suzuki owners even though much of the TM/RM parts were cleaned out by the first wave of vintage racers back in the early 90s. I bought a NOS head and barrel for my Honcho and while he was digging through the shelves looking for a piston for it he found a NOS RH head and kickstarter which my mate promptly bought for second hand TM money. I've never seen old Bruce (who must be in his late '70's) without a rolly fag stuck to his lip but he's still going strong between coughing fits. There are still a lot of Suzuki gems to be found there.

[Rossvickicampbell]

for the Tassie boys - John Humphries Suzuki at Cooee (yep!!!) in Burnie - just down from the cordial factory!!!  He was squashed between the highway and the ocean and I bought my RM250Z from him.  The highway was upgraded later so expect he disappeared then?

Rossco

[211kawasaki]

Mark
I also remember Amalgated Scooters in Sydney being a St Andrews boy it was a lunch time walk down the road, my mate Jeff Couch did his aprenticeship there in the 70's and rode his MX250B (road rego) to work from Killara.
I still remember drooling over a new TM250K at the Suzuki joint across the road but was told by the sales guy that it was way to powerful for a kid like me but I think that was the start of a life time interest in Suzuki MX bikes.
I remember Jeff's boss was Frank Pons and that they used to test just about anything in the lane next to the shop, wouldnt happen these days.
We were also regulars at SS Speedway and we only used to buy the programe for the Whynns sticker inside - great days.
211

[Curly3]

Jack Adams at Liverpool, Ace Motorcycles Liverpool, Brian Collins in several western Sydney suburbs, John Maklin's in Belmore, Laurie Mitchell also in Belmore, Campsie Motorcycles, Mentors on Taverners hill and of course the original Curly's shop on Chapel rd Bankstown.

[jady]

I was in grade two, and my dad worked next door to Whitehouse Motorcycles in High St, Wodonga, I would go into the shop after school and sit on the bikes and pretend to be a racer. One day I was on a brand new Z900, rocking side to side and making motorbike noise when the bike fell sideways into a line of three or four Z900s, all crashing to the ground.  I hid in a cupboard in the back of dad's work, until I heard Roy Whitehouse and dad standing outside waiting for me. Was I in trouble! I lost my life savings ($44.75) to pay for the repairs to those bikes, and whenever I see a Z900, I think of it.

I still lurked around the bike shop as a teenager (making sure never to scratch any more new bikes) helping wheel around an amazing collection of secondhand bikes over the years. Everything from old BSAs to the Whitehouses' fantastic RM dirt track machines. Roy and Steve helped me a lot when beginning to race. I learned innovative swear words from Foster the mechanic that actually help when changing stiff old tyres. Foster could mono the length of High St on his Z1300. Ken Bell also worked there for years an was one of the nicest blokes you could meet in this sport. 

[IT400C]

Hi Doc, Yeah, the old days are definitely gone.....

Used to hang around at Anand & Thomson Yamaha, both at Newstead and there later shop at Buranda.
A&T Buranda was next to Brisk Sales Kawasaki, and John Titman had his speedway bits shop there too.
Rob Assink's Gaythorne Yamaha.
Bob Morgan's Brisbane Yamaha.
Mayfairs Suzuki.

Annand & Thomson gave us most of the current heads of Yamaha Australia.  Steve Cotterell (head of Yamaha Aust), and Peter Payne (head of Yamaha NZ) both started off as salesmen and sponsored enduro riders for Annand & Thomson.

The good old days......

[IT400C]

Trying to wrack my brain to remember who else was working around the Brisbane Bike shops...

Brian Foster (A&T) - he's up north somewhere now I think
Ray Howard (A&T) - was head of Yamaha QLD, but I think he's Yamaha Race Team Coordinator or something now.
Joe Klawitter (A&T technical guru) - He's still around Brisbane somewhere
Dave Lucas (A&T) - On the Sunshine Coast?
Brett Hampson (A&T) - still in Brisbane I think

Barry Ashton (was head of Honda QLD) - many years after leaving Honda, took a semi retirement job as a security guard on an armoured car and was tragically shot and killed during a robbery at Sunnybank.

Cam Bailey (Brisk Sales) - still around Brisbane I think...

[TT]

One day I was on a brand new Z900, rocking side to side and making motorbike noise when the bike fell sideways into a line of three or four Z900s, all crashing to the ground.  I hid in a cupboard in the back of dad's work, until I heard Roy Whitehouse and dad standing outside waiting for me. Was I in trouble! I lost my life savings ($44.75) to pay for the repairs to those bikes, and whenever I see a Z900, I think of it.

  Whenever I see a Z900 from now on, I'll think of that too.
Thanks for that!