mn-msta.com
General Category => General Banter => Topic started by: ARS on March 23, 2013, 12:53:01 PM
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Where do you guys and gals spend your hard earned cash? What dealers in the Metro and surrounding areas do you prefer?
In your opinions who has the best. . .
Customer Service
Selection
Price
Mechanics
Other
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The bike- Larson's Cycle
Service- Larson's Cycle or Lloyd's Performance
Tires- online because I do them myself
Parts- Larson's Cycle or Bob's Cycle Supply
Putting miles on the bike- Well that would be me
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Llyod's Motorcycle Performance Center for all the above.
http://riverszzr.webs.com/ (http://riverszzr.webs.com/)
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It doesn't directly answer your question about local dealers, but my hunch is that as a group, motorcyclists are more DIYers than the general population, which may explain why there seems to be such difficulty for MC dealers to stay in business, even more challenging now with the interwebs thingy.
Here's where my hard earned cash goes-
Bike: Used/Private party via Craigslist
Parts: Ebay, Ebay UK, Aprilia Forum, Leo's South
Gear: Sportbiketrackgear.com, Motorcyclesuperstore.com, Ironpony.com. Gotten good service from them all, mostly price based shopping between them.
+Wade
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What about for "big" Ducati maintenance things (valves, timing belts, etc)? Who/Where do you guys recommend these days?
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What about for "big" Ducati maintenance things (valves, timing belts, etc)? Who/Where do you guys recommend these days?
My tuneup last year was at Ducati Mpls. I have no issue with their work but their price is slightly higher than Motoprimo. I'm in need of another one already. I'll probably go back to Ducati Mpls.
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What about for "big" Ducati maintenance things (valves, timing belts, etc)? Who/Where do you guys recommend these days?
Unclear who to go to these days.
Every tech with an established reputation for Ducati service work (Fred, Doug, Anthony and Pete) is no longer at Ducati Minneapolis. Eric Von Holt is the Ducati tech at MP and has a solid reputation. Todd Fisher who used to work at MP has left the industry but may still be doing side work. Anthony is working for Starr Cycle in Mankato, which is not a Ducati dealer, although he may be will to take on side work. Doug will only do maintenance work as part of tuning work at this time. Fred has disappeared. Tom Manley is purportedly working somewhere in Wisconsin. Some people like Delano Motorsports, but even though they are the closest dealer to me, I've never used them. I can provide Anthony's email address to anyone interested in contacting him.
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If you need maintenance call Midnight Motorcycle in Hastings. Adam(owner) and Glen(suspension guru) are both real nice, knowledgable and will take care of you.
http://midnightmotorcycle.com/ (http://midnightmotorcycle.com/)
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DIY is one thing......just don't be this guy. You need to know your limits.
He tried to do "it" himself... What "it" is varies, but someone trying to save $400 on a tune up last year spent $2500 to replace the cylinders, pistons and head on his inline 4 when they installed the cams incorrectly. This bike likely would have been $300 or so for a carb clean and valve adjustment and now is $1500+ to get a used engine in or repair this one...Only 600 miles on the bike
I see several bikes every year where someone tried to do "it" themself and ended up costing themselves hundreds or even thousands more than had they simply brought it in to start with.
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I wonder if he was even able to hit the kill button before all that happen. Or if it just stop before he even knew what he did.
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Fred has disappeared.
According to his wife (whom I see very occasionally), he is taking some time off and enjoying being out of the industry.
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DIY is one thing......just don't be this guy. You need to know your limits.
I see several bikes every year where someone tried to do "it" themself and ended up costing themselves hundreds or even thousands more than had they simply brought it in to start with.
Ah but then I couldn't buy a Sprint ST 955 with Ohlins, Russell, service manual, brembo upgrade, etc for $1,250! The guy had adjusted his own valves and all intakes were too tight. The thing became hard for him to start and eventually quit running. My son pulled the head, replaced the intakes, lapped the seats and reassembled it. I was in Chicago 2 weeks ago and the thing absolutely leaped to life with one short press of the starter.
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For anyone interested in a small shop try Tommy at the CYCLESHOP in Anoka. He's an old(not as old as me!) CRA buddy who's been in the business for many years. He does everything from tire & service to rebuilds. He's especially good w carbs and stocks a large amount of bits for Jap stuff back to the 70s. There's no Latte served and he'll tell it like it is. GJ ;)
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Choosing the wrong mechanic can end up costing a lot of money too.
Look at this pic. It is supposed to be a pre load spacer for a front fork. It was "fabricated" by a local mechanic. Notice that instead of welding, he used epoxy to glue two pieces of metal together. Pretty shoddy work. The spacer ended up being to big. Still, the mechanic used the spacer in the forks, along with other parts that he put in backwards. It caused the springs to rub against the fork tubes, made noise and performed horribly. The bike owner had to seek a second mechanic to fix the mess. It ended costing him twice as much money, had he gone to the second mechanic first.
DIY projects can end up costing you a lot of money, but choosing the wrong wrench for the job can cost u a lot of money as well.
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Anthony has been doing work out of our shop for Ducati guys/gals in the twin cities. He is busy with his first child currently. He's an awesome tech if anyone needs the hookup with him send me a pm.
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Lou out at Delano is a good mechanic, he is there certified Ducati mechanic. Also knows his way around Aprilia's, if you ever need older Aprilia work that is non warranty I would take it to him before taking it to Leo's
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So, what is a "normal" per hour labor cost?
Appears Ducati MPLS is at $125/hr.
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I purchase a pair of Tour Master Venture-A pants at BOB's Cycle Supply 5 months ago and one of the leg zippers blew out. Thinking I'd have to eat this one since most stores honor 90-day returns at best. . .I brought them in anyway to see if they'd work with me. To my surprise, the initial reply was "Give him another one off the self". I was pleasantly stunned, but they didn't have any left. Well the clerk said, "We can get them repaired under 'warranty'". Two days later I picked up my pants and the quality of work was flawless. I don't think you'd get this kind of service from Amazon.com It feels weird not taking it in the shorts for a change.
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I'm not a big fan of Tourmaster but one thing I do know is they work closely with their resellers. The motorcycle gear market has become crowded in a flat market and it's in Tourmaster's interest to have a good working relationship with their resellers. Bob's response had more to do with knowing they had Tourmaster's support. I'm not saying Bob's has no credit, but they wouldn't have lost anything by blowing you off (except losing you.)
I have a three year old First Gear TPG Ranier that I absolutely love. I emailed them because the collar is already getting sort of ratty. Their response, "send it back with this email when you are done riding and we'll replace it with better material for free." Sure nice to have good customer service.
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Yeah, you’re probably right pk maybe it was just an illusion. Glad you got good service from First Gear. I've had their high-vis Kilimanjaro for a year and have no complaints about the jacket yet.
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Sorry, I'm not trying to dismiss Bob's service. I said they could have blown you off but didn't.