Bad Motorcycle Shop Experiences

[RetroGrouch]

I believe they billed me for 3.5 hours. Again I was being a noob and I didnt want to mess around with my new bike or its warranty right off the bat.

Was this at TO Cycle?

[mxs]

It is a 2009 hyosung gt250r which you have to remove the gas tank in order to access the spark plugs, I believe they billed me for 3.5 hours. Again I was being a noob and I didnt want to mess around with my new bike or its warranty right off the bat.

In that case, 400 sounds like a rip off. Whether you consider the amount of time or their hourly rate, you should not end up with a number 400 (for oil change and spark plugs on your bike ...) when all is said and done.

[frekeyguy]

I don't see this as a being a 'bad experience', they just chose not to do work as they don't specialize in that field.

What would you rather have, them turn away your bike because they are unfamiliar with it? or do a poor job on it and charge you for it?

Also....you aren't purchasing the tire from them, so they are loosing money there as well. By not doing your tire changes, they are promoting local businesses. Buy local, support your neighbors...

[caboose483]

STURGESS CYCLE-one of the parts guys is a jerk..I ask him for parts for a cbr 250rr and they are a honda dealer dude tells me "sorry its an import we can't do anything"..dude didnt even look it up.

I wouldn't have to look it up either. The CBR250RR was never sold new in Canada or the USA. Honda Canada does not have parts for that bike in their inventory, nor do the dealers have parts catalogs or part numbers to go by. Parts Canada, Motovan, etc don't include those bikes in their fitment charts for brakes, spark plugs, chains, sprockets, etc.

[Harvest]

I don't see this as a being a 'bad experience', they just chose not to do work as they don't specialize in that field.

What would you rather have, them turn away your bike because they are unfamiliar with it? or do a poor job on it and charge you for it?

Also....you aren't purchasing the tire from them, so they are loosing money there as well. By not doing your tire changes, they are promoting local businesses. Buy local, support your neighbors...

It is a stinking Tire change.. not something that can be said "Oh I dont know how to do a Suzuki Tire Change"..

As for buying tires, they only deal with Harley motorcycles so =would they even sell to me ??

[U_cant_C_me]

I wouldn't have to look it up either. The CBR250RR was never sold new in Canada or the USA. Honda Canada does not have parts for that bike in their inventory, nor do the dealers have parts catalogs or part numbers to go by. Parts Canada, Motovan, etc don't include those bikes in their fitment charts for brakes, spark plugs, chains, sprockets, etc.

It was an oil filter buddy and I got 1 at Burlington Cycle. so ha!

[frekeyguy]

It is a stinking Tire change.. not something that can be said "Oh I dont know how to do a Suzuki Tire Change"..

As for buying tires, they only deal with Harley motorcycles so =would they even sell to me ??

How do you expect a harley dealership....who are setup to service big hogs to hold up a sport bike and take the wheels off?

Would they have fork stands? swing arm stands? etc? They might not.

Excetely, Only deal with Harley = won't service you. And Harley ppl have this whole brand loyalty thing going on too...

[Gummiente]

And Harley ppl have this whole brand loyalty thing going on too...

So do BMW owners. And Triumph Owners. Ducati owners. And so on. But this case has nothing to do with "brand loyalty" and everything to do with common sense. Or the lack thereof. If you own a Honda you wouldn't take it to a BMW shop for service, nor would you take your rims there to have the tires you bought somewhere else installed on them, so why the hell would anyone try the same thing with a "Harley only" shop?

[Gummiente]

As for buying tires, they only deal with Harley motorcycles so =would they even sell to me ??

If you think really long and hard about what you wrote, you'll have the answer to that question and many more.

[dr_sarcasm]

So...just to recap here, we don't actually have valid complaints against businesses, but rather uninformed consumers griping?

Me thinks someone should change the name of the thread.

Carry on.

[getfunky]

Note to management: Delete review section

We have a review section???

lol to be honest, I only got to this thread from the General Motorcycle Dicussions section.

[coyo]

KELLY'S CYCLE-they do work on your bike without asking, even though you just wanted a diagnosis. and got carbs done there and they ****ed it up (in the end didnt pay for it anyway but still its bad for business)
STURGESS CYCLE-one of the parts guys is a jerk..I ask him for parts for a cbr 250rr and they are a honda dealer dude tells me "sorry its an import we can't do anything"..dude didnt even look it up.

on the other hand I had better quality service at Burlington Cycle and Ultimate Cycle.

Funny, I was thinking the same for Kelly's.

I used to think the same for Sturgess but then they had a management change of some sort and things got better... but then this spring I had another bad experience there but that was with only one person there so...

I have the same kudos to be said for Ultimate Cycle!!!

[coyo]

oil change: put pan under bike, unscrew, let drip. talk on phone for 12minutes. put screw back in and fill (if filter, remove old filter, fill with oil, screw on).

always amazed by how many people get oil changed. it's no more difficult than changing a light bulb.

My Super Duke is substantially more work than that... but still well worth doing myself!

[caboose483]

It was an oil filter buddy and I got 1 at Burlington Cycle. so ha!

I'd sooner light my bike on fire than take it to Burlington Cycle, at least someone out there has had good luck with them.

[frekeyguy]

STURGESS CYCLE-one of the parts guys is a jerk..I ask him for parts for a cbr 250rr and they are a honda dealer dude tells me "sorry its an import we can't do anything"..dude didnt even look it up.

.

Bought some gloves from there.....the guy messaged me a bit later asked me if I was a GTAM member....and put a credit of 10% to my account there. Who does that?

Stand up ppl there...

They are....."CANADA'S OLDEST POWERSPORT DEALERSHIP".....

[frekeyguy]

Hahaha golden

Btw I paid almost $400 dollars for an oil change and two new spark plugs installed for my 1000km service- I think I got ripped off , however i'll spare the name of the dealership until i figure out if i truly did get ripped off or not.

Figured it would be a good thing to get the first 1000km service done at the dealer but i do all the other routine maintenance myself now

They are doing a bit more than putting new plugs and an oil change for your 1st service....they are suppose to be checking your valves....fluids...all critical bolts....etc etc...

[silent_vik]

Hahaha golden

Btw I paid almost $400 dollars for an oil change and two new spark plugs installed for my 1000km service- I think I got ripped off , however i'll spare the name of the dealership until i figure out if i truly did get ripped off or not.

Figured it would be a good thing to get the first 1000km service done at the dealer but i do all the other routine maintenance myself now

They are doing a bit more than putting new plugs and an oil change for your 1st service....they are suppose to be checking your valves....fluids...all critical bolts....etc etc...

exactly! i was just gona say that.
maybe they charged u a little bit more than others but i dont think u got ripped off with this. first service usually does cost around that amount if it wasnt free with a new bike.

[jdepp]

I
Also....you aren't purchasing the tire from them, so they are loosing money there as well. By not doing your tire changes, they are promoting local businesses. Buy local, support your neighbors...

Whats with "some" Bike shops refusing to install tires unless you bought them there ? And I dont buy that its a liability issue as I know of at least one well respected racing bike shop that will install tires not purchased there. I can take a set of performance car tires to any auto shop in Toronto and they will gladly install them for me. I If they think that by not installing them for you next time you will buy from them they are sadly mistaken. It just means I wont go back to that shop for any purchases.

[Gryphon]

Just thought I would make a thread for any bad experiences you have had at shops..
Today I went into Motor City Custom in Oshawa and inquired about whether they could put tires on my bike (I had the tires).. they replied to me "We only work on Harleys"
Well isn't that special.. I understand it from a business side of things, seeing as Harleys constantly need repair, so they are probably really busy..
If the day ever comes that I buy a Harley, I still wouldn't go to them for repair

Friend, since they have no metric tools, they couldn't have changed your tires even if they wanted to.

[GixxerSixxer87]

Burlington Cycle - Buddy of mine ( new rider first bike ) had his bike in for a saftey a few years ago. He had a crack in his mirror but was putting bar ends on and even showed them to the guys and they wouldnt pass it, sure enough they had a mirror in stock and charged him for it along with tires. The first ride we went for I wanted to sit on his bike and i noticed his clutch play was like over 2 inches, his adjuster was broken and his tensioning nuts on the side of the bike were both loose as ****, along with his tank bolts that were nearly falling off. Complete Joke.