Are you old enough to remember these motorcycle shops in To? | Page 10 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Are you old enough to remember these motorcycle shops in To?

Anyone remember Coffees motorcycle ? not sure of the street name but you could see from just north of the lakeshore. Going south on Islinton just as you pop the hill of the QE it was on the west side
 
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Whatever happened to GSRacing? Gordon was a really nice guy. Last i remember he was selling Maicos.
 
Wingboy said:
Whatever happened to GSRacing? Gordon was a really nice guy. Last i remember he was selling Maicos.
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Gordon Stafford was an heir to the Stafford Foods family fortune. Great guy, good motocrosser but not a businessman. I hung around there when they sold Can-Ams. Fack, I'm old....
 
Chris-CJ said:
One of the oldest, McBrides.
I hear that family squabbles closed it down and that led to Riders Choice.
Bought my ZR-7 from there and the sales experience could have been better - doesn't matter now, McBrides is history.
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I remember going to Riders Choice and asking if it was a McBride that owned the store. I can’t recall the actual answer, but the response was, “That’s a loaded question “ lol!
 
spitRR said:
I remember going to Riders Choice and asking if it was a McBride that owned the store. I can’t recall the actual answer, but the response was, “That’s a loaded question “ lol!
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John McBride owns Riders' Choice outright. His mother and sister have nothing to do with it as far as I know. I remember getting tossed out of McBride's by his dad Martin for trying to return a defective battery I'd bought only a week before. Needless to say I never went back.
 
Steelyman said:
I bought the H2 from CW West for $1399. ( still have the bill. )
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My Buddy had bought the same bike from CW in 1972 and got too scared on it so offered it to my brother who let me know of it. It had a really nice rich factory blue paint that was a bit of an anomaly from other H2's that seemed lighter in colour. Sold it in favour of a '74 H2 which was slightly de-tuned from the original. Somehow I did not drop it but I did a wheelie and lost my girlfriend off the back. She was my 1st Ex.
 
AFJ said:
Toronto motorcycle dealers in 1940 (from a 1940 National Road Racing program)

Percy A. McBride, 36-38 Queen St. E., Toronto - AJS, Royal Enfield, Brough Superior, Matchless, Francis Barnett, Norton.
Brown's Sports & Cycle Co. Ltd., 343-345 Yonge St., Toronto - Triumph, BSA.
Walter Andrews Limited., 531 Yonge St., Toronto - Ariel
Ross Cycle and Sports, 488 Yonge St., Toronto - Indian
Firth's Motorcycle Accessories, 1857-1859 Danforth Ave., Toronto - Hepolite pistons, Terry valve springs, James valves & guides
-Parts for all English, Harley and Indian machines, Lucas, Repairs to all makes.

Montreal Dealers in the same program (the races were held in Oshawa)
Sammett & Blair, 4190 St. Catherine St. W. Westmount. - Importers of Outstanding British Motorcycles
Arlington Cycle & Sports Ltd., 1194 University St., - Indian and B.S.A. motorcycles

A top of the line Brough Superior SS100 listed at McBride's for $995.00. But by 1940 the Brough factory in Nottingham England was
not making motorcycles. They were turning out crankshafts and camshafts for the Rolls-Royce "Merlin" V-12 aircraft engines to
power the Hurricane and Spitfire fighter airplanes that won the "Battle of Britain" by defeating the German Luftwaffe.

AFJ
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Great info, thanks. Up until New Imperial went out of business in 1939 Walter Andrews sold them as well. The business directory I tried to upload didn't work. It showed nine dealers but not what they sold.
 
Dick Arai was an interesting character. One of Honda Canada's Japanese minions showed up and tried to tell him how to run his business. Dick told him where to go in his native language. Shortly after that they pulled the plug on him. The storefront sat empty for years with an orange 1975 CB750F just sitting there.
 
I way over bid at an auction on a rz350 at the yonge/davisville shop 30+ years ago. Thankfully someone wanted it more. Bought a brand new gauloises '89 instead.
 
SteveM. said:
Long gone small Honda shop in the east end.

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I use to drive by that place every day. I think Dick had a falling out with Honda or something like that in the late 70’s He locked the place up with bikes and showroom paraphernalia still in there. You could look into the front window, it was like a little time capsule in the 80’s and 90’s. I met Dick once or twice when my buddy bought an early 70’s Honda SL70 from him.Seemed like a real nice guy.
 
Merkid said:
My Buddy had bought the same bike from CW in 1972 and got too scared on it so offered it to my brother who let me know of it. It had a really nice rich factory blue paint that was a bit of an anomaly from other H2's that seemed lighter in colour. Sold it in favour of a '74 H2 which was slightly de-tuned from the original. Somehow I did not drop it but I did a wheelie and lost my girlfriend off the back. She was my 1st Ex.
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Bar Hodgeson use to own a Kawasaki dealership at Kingston Rd. and Danforth in Scarborough. You could go in there on any given day and he would have a row of used H2’s he had gotten on trade ins In the showroom. My brother had a real nice ‘72 H2 that he took there for work. I rememember the mechanic taking bikes out into the alley out back for “test rides” They flogged those bikes pretty good. I also remember seeing a brand new Kawasaki Z1R TC in the showroom. It was a turbocharged version of the ‘78 Z1R with a special paint job.I’ve only ever seen one other as they are super rare. They were sold without a warranty , not a good thing as most of them had a tendency to grenade. If the name Bar Hodgeson sounds familiar, he’s the guy that puts on the bike show at the International Centre every year.
 
I'm old enough to remember Envy Rides Ink; Combing the world of motorcycles and tattoos.
 
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