what kind of worthless **** hole is this...called 4 places, none can do same-day tire

DECIMIS said:

OP, I understand your frustration and where it comes from. We own automobiles that are serviced in a certain way, we automatically assume our motorcycles will be subjected to the same standards. But it's not - there is a multitude of factors which contribute to this, which I'm not going to get into here.

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I am not comparing it to cars, I am comparing it to owning a motorcycle in several US states. I have ridden probably about 150,000 US miles in my lifetime - I am not new to the hobby, but I appreciate the positive feedback regardless.

I will just buy a tire machine and do it myself up here. I am not interested (and really don't have the time these days) in ****ing around with zip ties, etc...and people don't want my money badly enough to be ready to take it in exchange for tires/swapping.

It's not just scheduling in advance - if you don't have tires on-hand and have to book something as simple as tire changes at a future time you most likely just don't have your **** together as a shop.

What kind of bike is it?

OP - take the wheel off the bike. Off the bike tire change takes 5 minutes in a shop, so even if they're busy, they should be able to do it within couple of hours.

Thread seems to be dealing with 2 issues:

1. Being able to call at moment's notice to get work done, and

2. Wait/service times once they do actually have the bike.

I agree that you should always book in advance if you need work done, as you should know it is coming up anyhow. Depending on the shop and work, that might mean 2-3 days in advance, or a week or two. Just because something is quick, doesn't mean any shop should just drop what they are doing to assist you now.

That said, what I don't agree with is the service times some do seem to mention every now and then. I don't mind waiting 2-3 weeks to get something done, but if it is maybe 1-2 hours work, I'd expect the bike back the day I brought it in or maybe the next, not a month later, especially if I booked it far in advance. Granted I've never really had to go through this myself yet...the most was almost having to leave the bike at a dealer for 2-3 days and taking a cab home and another cab back to pick up the bike...but I was able to work things out with them and got it done in 1 day. When I hear of some bringing their bike in for something simple or warranty work and hearing the shop will have it for a a few weeks, to a month or more, it makes my skin crawl a little.

Shops are few and far between for motorcycles. Combine that with the seasonal nature of the business and the fact that good people will want to be employed year round, regardless of quantity of work, and you have the perfect storm for these long wait scenarios. Should the shop have 10 techs to keep up with demand? Keep in mind, they'd have to pay them well, and be full time positions to attract anyone worth having. What shop can absorb that over the winter months?

Compound the above income/expense issue with the rise of online retailers, and the many people (some here I'm sure) who go to the shop to try on gear, then buy online to save a buck. It's a tough go. The economic reality dictates too much work for too little staff in the summer months...

My advice; find out which techs work from home, or find a nice independent. Posing at your local Tims can actually be useful

Neil_V said:

Shops are few and far between for motorcycles. Combine that with the seasonal nature of the business and the fact that good people will want to be employed year round, regardless of quantity of work, and you have the perfect storm for these long wait scenarios. Should the shop have 10 techs to keep up with demand? Keep in mind, they'd have to pay them well, and be full time positions to attract anyone worth having. What shop can absorb that over the winter months?

Compound the above income/expense issue with the rise of online retailers, and the many people (some here I'm sure) who go to the shop to try on gear, then buy online to save a buck. It's a tough go. The economic reality dictates too much work for too little staff in the summer months...

My advice; find out which techs work from home, or find a nice independent. Posing at your local Tims can actually be useful

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This is by far the most sensible of the responses - I do disagree about 'must have them full time to keep worthwhile people' though, contract works pays more and generally people who are the best at something are more than happy to sacrifice some perceived job security to get that extra pay.

I think that Neil stated the best thing to do in his response...try to find out which techs work on their own time and build a good rapport with them. This would ensure that you can have someone COMPETENT (Not some kijiji hack) that is willing and able to properly work on your bike. Once you become a good (paying!) customer, you will be treated well as long as you show the same respect to the technician.

Anyway hopefully you got the wheel mounted already and are back out on the bike.

DemonPig said:

OP - take the wheel off the bike. Off the bike tire change takes 5 minutes in a shop, so even if they're busy, they should be able to do it within couple of hours.

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This. I've always been able to get same day service with wheels off bike. Plus then the fee is lessened as they don't have to take time to do the wrenching, just the rubber replacement.

Heck I do this with car tires too. If I need new summer rubber when my winter tires go on the summer wheels get taken in for new boots!

unfaZed said:

This is by far the most sensible of the responses

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I thought post #12 by superseven was really great and deserves some recognition, but he was skipped right over.

Neil_V's post was good though, so I'm not totally upset with your decision...

DECIMIS said:

I thought post #12 by superseven was really great and deserves some recognition, but he was skipped right over.

Neil_V's post was good though, so I'm not totally upset with your decision...

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Thanks for the recognition. I tried but feel I may have missed the point of the thread


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I've moved to "undecided". The service industry should have some flexibility built in as work and demand couldn't possibly fall into nice neat units of time even tho the billing is rounded up into nice neat units of cash. Somebody should look into that.

Back to the OT, when I needed a tire change the only people that would accommodate me on a short notice were Frekeyguy, Mikeymoto and Ace Moto Tech. Ended up going with mikeymoto. He was good except he over-tightened my chain a bit. Other than that I would gladly go back!

As stated earlier, they make their money in the 5 months riding season where almost everyone shows up at the same time for service.
What the hell is wrong with some of these people?
You have all winter to get things done e.g. recalls and whatever else.
You will need parts, better to deal with back orders in winter instead of summer.

It can also be cheaper do get things done in winter.

I don't blame the shops 1 bit.
Oil changes on most bikes is a easy job, damn, learn to do that on your own...Youtube ppl.

-D- said:

As stated earlier, they make their money in the 5 months riding season where almost everyone shows up at the same time for service.
What the hell is wrong with some of these people?
You have all winter to get things done e.g. recalls and whatever else.
You will need parts, better to deal with back orders in winter instead of summer.

It can also be cheaper do get things done in winter.

I don't blame the shops 1 bit.
Oil changes on most bikes is a easy job, damn, learn to do that on your own...Youtube ppl.

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Pushing off some work to the slower times makes some sense, but how do you explain to the customer who just bought their brand new bike that now has a recall (that states something to the effect of: stop riding at risk of death) that their riding season is over in June/July? I can only imagine the outpouring of complaints if we as shops were unable to accommodate recalls in some sort of timely manner. Obviously if a shop gets swamped when the recall is first announced, there will be a delay to get them all completed.

Neil raised quite a few points we all deal with. But I disagree with unfazed as to contract work vs. full time in our industry. There are very few young professionals who would opt for a slight increase in pay with minimal employment guarantees, in an industry that is already very seasonal and unsure. I have many friends who run shops (not just motorcycle) and finding quality, reliable employees seems to be a universal complaint. We are all searching for the right balance of compensation packages to retain good talent while remaining financially competitive, and in the last 5 years the major issues have not been pay rates. Many younger techs (and others) are leaning towards more consistent employment, with more flexibility in schedules (for personal days, track days, whatever floats their boat), benefits packages and quality training to continue their vertical career progression. All instead of a couple of dollars an hour. The traditional way of thinking about employment is (and must) evolve.