U.S accessory shop

[090]

I am sick to my eye teeth with respect to wholesalers here in OZ. I am trying to buy an '08 helmet and everything is 6-8 weeks away. Same with riding gear. I had to buy my second choice there as well. Bitch, bitch , bitch!
SO! Can anyone give me a link or name of an online store in the states so i can go to the source so to speak and get me a lid!
Cheers

[holeshot buddy]

brad try helmetman in usa a mate got a bell moto 8 in 7 days cost him $300 bucks
retail here $700 odd  i think you just have to find the right place



hey brad remember when i holeshotted you on my yz 465 and you were on your maico 490
at caboolture

[mainline]

Are there still the same issues with importing helmets as there used to be? I brought in a Bell Moto 6 in the early 90's and had to get an exemption letter from the customs minister before Aussie Post would let me have it.

It may have had something to do with the actual testing standards for the helmets and what was acceptable for use here in Australia. I think at the time the Moto 6 could only be used for off-road competition.

[090]

I do. I also remember turning inside you to pass  

[090]

BTW thanks rusty. I have bought a nos in box helmet that came straight through Paul, soon find out!

[holeshot buddy]

took you nearly a lap though

[cyclegod]

Check with MA as there may be an exclusion of use for non-approved helmets. I know that for classic road racing the scrutineer always checked the "australian standards approved" sticker

[holeshot buddy]

check your rule book as long as the helmet is dot or snell approved they are ok
wore my JT als1 to a meeting once stewards jacked up but couldnt do a thing as it was dot approved

[NR555]

As long as you use your helmet at MA sanctioned race/practice days you are fine.  The MA falls under FIM jurisdiction, so AS1698, BSI, SNELL M2005, DOT, etc. are all ok.  I get my Arai's direct from Japan, so I check this every year in the MA manual.

Don't use it on road if it doesn't have the AS1698 sticker.  Quick way to screw yourself out of insurance if you're in an accident.

If you want a good service to Aus, I recommend www.mxsouth.com in Florida.  They can get almost anything you want, just e-mail them if the item you need isn't on their website.  I find it's better to order everything you want in one hit, then postage is more economical.  I've ordered heaps of gear off them.

[Rossvickicampbell]

www.denniskirk.com is awesome and some of the sale stuff is up to 90% off and service is excellent.

 

Rossco

[bigk]

That's all well and good, and I understand it is a worldwide market these days, BUT, as a bike shop owner, don't expect your local shop to have too much interest in helping you out with tyres, consumables, information etc, when he see's you at the races in your bright new gear from good old USA, especially after you've used him and his shop as a fitting service! After all is Dennis Kirk going to open up the shop on Saturday afternoon to get you set of straight handlebars, clutch lever or spark plug so you can go racing on Sunday? I think not.....
K

[BAHNZY]

Sorry if i go against the trend here, but I'm With Big K.
In all honesty, a principal owner of a bike shop will never be a rich man. The amount of money that is outlayed to set up a motorcycle shop then stock it to suit a wide range of customers is a very expensive undertaking. When you consider that most business run on a margin of 20% to 40% a bike shop is lucky to crack 20% with most new bikes having less than 10% margin. A bike shop then has to rely on it's goodwill to survive. I work in a bike shop and whilst we don't stock every type of helmet, and there are over 20 helmet manufactures all vying for a slice of the pie, we have to work out what is selling the best and provides the best features that the majority want. I tell my customers that if they want a particular piece of gear or accessory, tell me the size and model and i will get it for you and in most cases it will take 2-4 days to get it.

And in a passing note, if i see a customer with a new helmet, gear or anything for that matter at a race meeting and they didn't (at least) give me a chance to get it for them, then they will be paying full wack and their number will be struck from my phone book memory. I have lost count of the amount of times that i have opened the shop to rob a part of another bike or fix a flat tyre late Sat arvo/night and there is not a cent to be made, i just hope that they will come back the following week and buy their oil and filters and in time perhaps a new bike.

Take the time to build a relationship with a shop and you will find that once trust/respect has been established its a whole lot better.

[NR555]

I do feel bad for the smaller operators about the situation, but I always get my tyres/chains & sprockets/bike parts from the local guy.  In a lot of these cases, you're not going to get it cheaper by importing it.

On the other side of the coin, I firmly believe companies like Monza have been overpricing some of the more popular brands for a long time.

There's two ways all this could go:

1.  The manufacturers will recognise the distributor's problems & place sanctions on exporting the gear to locations where there is a local distributor.

2.  The manufacturers won't care, because 'a sale's a sale'.  It makes no difference to them.

I've seen evidence of it already with Leatt braces, some US distributors have 'US only' shipping on them.  I also know of some helmet/clothing manufacturers putting notices on their websites warning about buying from other countries, stating 'sizing variations' (which is load of horse shit).

On the upside for true bike shops, bikes are getting much harder to fix at home.  I wouldn't even attempt to open up my CRF, and there would be a healthy amount of road bike riders who wouldn't consider servicing their own bikes. 

Looks like the 'services' are where it's at these days.  Whether or not that's enough to sustain a business, plus a reduced retail trade, I don't know....

[090]

O.k. If you read my original post , i said i am sick of the WHOLESALERS here as they are letting the retailers down big time. They keep stuff all stock so its 6-8 weeks for the next shipment.I go to a shop that i can talk to the owner, and i hate the team empire and the like. I have been on the other side of the counter myself having had an accessory shop which failed miserably , so i treat them as i wanted to be treated so i agree whole heartedly with you bigk and Bahnsy. But if he cant supply and i want a particular helmet that suits the riding gear and my taste( not looking for the bargin 90% off deal but the latest on offer) i will resort (have never done it before) to getting one by any means necessary. By the time they are available it will be half way through the year.Thats not good enough.I know the pain of not being able to supply which is on a daily basis. There is about three that i have picked with the same result.
Big K, if you can supply an M2R Prodigy Matt white,gold tan in a small,i will buy it from you.
No angry words here btw!
Cheers,Brad
http://www.made2race.com/Products/AUS/REV-X3%20HELMET/LargeImages/PRODIGY%20MATT%20WHT-GOLD-TAN.jpg

[gerpster]

Some of the closeout deals on M2Rs here are hard to pass up too....

http://www.extremesupply.com/escloseouts/escloseoutoffroad.html#m2rhelmets

An Oz replica M2R all the way from the States...that's just silly....

Yeh I'll go local if I can but sometimes when you look OS you have to wonder. Having lived in the States I know that the Aussie market is comparatively a non-entity.