[chrisnack]

Just curious where everyone goes for service?

Engelhart has ridiculous pricing, but rumor is they do decent service.

I purchased my bike from Hanley's in Sun Praire, i just had them do the 4k maintenance on my ZZR but i'm really not happy with the service. They didn't take the fairing off the change the oil, so now i have oil all down the inside of my fairing, and they didn't do everything on the 4k maintenance chart, they only did what was easily access, so no spark plugs checked even, and who knows if they even did what they said they did.

Just kind of pisses me off, i normally do all my own maintenance, i've rebuilt transmissions and engines for cars. I'm about ready to just start doing the same on the bike even though i have the extended warranty.

I'm anal about my bike, why can't i find a service place that is the same.

I will say that i've had good luck thus far with Motorcycle Solutions off Hwy 51, they have done good work on what i've had them do.

Just my rant...

 

[Moses]

I will say that i've had good luck thus far with Motorcycle Solutions off Hwy 51, they have done good work on what i've had them do.

With what's happened over there recently I'd stay away for a while! (Just my personal opionion)


Do your own work! I have an extended warranty on the 600RR and I did my own 3K mile service...I took pics and kept receipts. Since you had a dealer do yours, you're one step ahead. Going forward you're more than OK to do your own service.

 

[Fat John]

With what's happened over there recently I'd stay away for a while! (Just my personal opionion)

What exactly happened to give you that opinion?

FJ

 

[Moses]

What exactly happened to give you that opinion?

FJ

http://www.sportbikes.net/forums/showthread.php?t=356538

 

[Fat John]

http://www.sportbikes.net/forums/showthread.php?t=356538

Well that fucking blows ass. I got my tires replaced there and am going to pick the bike up in an hour or so. Looks like I'll be looking for a new shop... again...

FJ

 

[Triple_Z]

Motorcycle Performance...they're not the cheapest game in town, but it's a great crew if you're looking to pick stuff up.

www.motorcycleperf.com

 

[spkelly14]

I had been staying out of the whole topic of the stolen bike, but at this point I need to give my 2 cents. I work @ a large dealership so I know there is always two sides to a story. I can't believe how the owner of the store in question has been drug through the mud by a bunch of people who don't know the whole story or situation of the stolen bike. I am good friends with the owner of the shop in question and I can tell you he is an honest individual with the highest regard for the riding community. I ride and wrench with this guy all the time and I trust his judgement, character and wrenching abilities so much in fact that I trust him with my life and the life of my friends and family. Slamming someone on the internet without knowing all the facts is fucking weak. Joe is my friend so I feel a need to defend him against the onslaught of accusations. Go into his shop and find out how well he takes care of his customers.

 

[chrisnack]

I had been staying out of the whole topic of the stolen bike, but at this point I need to give my 2 cents. I work @ a large dealership so I know there is always two sides to a story. I can't believe how the owner of the store in question has been drug through the mud by a bunch of people who don't know the whole story or situation of the stolen bike. I am good friends with the owner of the shop in question and I can tell you he is an honest individual with the highest regard for the riding community. I ride and wrench with this guy all the time and I trust his judgement, character and wrenching abilities so much in fact that I trust him with my life and the life of my friends and family. Slamming someone on the internet without knowing all the facts is fucking weak. Joe is my friend so I feel a need to defend him against the onslaught of accusations. Go into his shop and find out how well he takes care of his customers.

Joe's never done me wrong... and he's done good work thus far.

Shawn can you comment on engelhart since you work there (off-record). I know you guys JUST picked up Kawasaki... the main reason i didnt' go there for service was the price was alot higher than what Hanley told me, however after the fact, they didn't do alot of the stuff i was expecting them to do. Maybe Engelhart would have.

I also just had Motorcycle Solutions put on new tires, Engelhart had ALOT higher pricing on the tires, so i went elsewhere, but i generally do call them. Basically they aren't getting my business because they are more expensive than everyone else.

 

[chrisnack]

I own a Motorsports company... i think i'm gonna start sourcing motorcycle parts so that i don't have to go through anyone else... we started our company because we didnt' feel there was a good source for Mazda parts in the area/in general.

Now i see the same need in my motorcycle parts choices...

 

[spkelly14]

I'm not sure what tires or parts you were looking for Chris, but what I can tell you is that if you look long and hard enough you will eventually find a lower price somewhere. This goes for everything you buy from furniture to hot-dogs. Our company does not stock all makes of tires so sometimes our prices will be higher than our competition. We mostly stock Dunlop. If you were looking at Michelin our prices may have been higher than someone who uses their P.U. show discounts to buy deeper in that selected category. Where did you buy your bike? We try to help out with discounts on accessories when you have purchased a bike from our store. Same thing goes with service. If you have loyalty to a particular dealer they will usually work with you. If you price shop every dealer for the low price you don't form any relationships that help you in the long run. Our shop also sponsors track days, ride for kids, MATC riding program just to name a few. We give back to the riding community. This costs money but helps form relationships with the people we support. I guess what I am trying to say is we are not always the cheapest due to our overhead and marketing, but we support the riding community more than some places. Joe does a great job and is very supportive as well, but he does not have to feed the 800lb gorilla our shop does.

 

[chrisnack]

Yup, understood.

I have bought stuff from Engelhart, and i've been happy with the sales staff there. They were just alot higher than Joe on the Metzler tires i bought, so i went with Joe.

You guys weren't carrying kawasaki at the time when i bought my bike, and Bob Barr went under, so Hanley's (Sun Praire) was the closest kawasaki dealer around. I found invoice pricing and figured out what the dealers paid for the bike, walked in and made my offer. Hanley's was pretty shocked at my offer, but a sale is better than no sale, so they got a sale and i got a great deal on a new ZZR.

My biggest quam at the moment is trying to find a place that will service my bike with the expectations i have, and that if they are an authorized kawasaki dealer, that they do the full service kawasaki recommends. Hanley's only did what was easy to get at, however, that wasn't what i paid them for, i paid them for a 4k service per Kawasaki's spec.

What i'd like to see if a list from the dealer of what service will be performed and a checklist after the fact stating it was done. It's nice to know what you just paid for.

I'm anal as hell, so i expect that of whomever service's my bike. Hanley's dumped oil all over my fairing because they didn't remove it to chagne the oil, i will never go back there again as a result. I spent an hour tonight cleaning up the bike from the mess they made.

I guess what i need to do is talk the service department at Engelhart and see how they do their maintenance.

 

[JMR VFR]

The boys over at the Engelhart center have always done right by me. I purchase my bikes there (shawn), and the majority of my parts (jeff's the man).
I have met many of the service guys as well and they all seem to be a pretty consciencious bunch.

Having said that, the only guy that I let wrench on my bike is Joe at Motorcycle Solutions. He has always done right by me, and I put my life in his hands every time I go to the track. (or the street for that matter)

:bowdown

 

[Jokertlr]

I had been staying out of the whole topic of the stolen bike, but at this point I need to give my 2 cents. I work @ a large dealership so I know there is always two sides to a story. I can't believe how the owner of the store in question has been drug through the mud by a bunch of people who don't know the whole story or situation of the stolen bike. I am good friends with the owner of the shop in question and I can tell you he is an honest individual with the highest regard for the riding community. I ride and wrench with this guy all the time and I trust his judgement, character and wrenching abilities so much in fact that I trust him with my life and the life of my friends and family. Slamming someone on the internet without knowing all the facts is fucking weak. Joe is my friend so I feel a need to defend him against the onslaught of accusations. Go into his shop and find out how well he takes care of his customers.

I guess after reading your post and all the other posts I have two questions.

1. Did the bike get stolen from his shop?

2. Did he take responsibility if the bike was stolen under his watch?

If both answers are yes the I think you may be right but if the first is yes and the second is no then you probably just sticking up for your buddy which there is nothing wrong with.

 

[Jake]

I had been staying out of the whole topic of the stolen bike, but at this point I need to give my 2 cents. I work @ a large dealership so I know there is always two sides to a story. I can't believe how the owner of the store in question has been drug through the mud by a bunch of people who don't know the whole story or situation of the stolen bike. I am good friends with the owner of the shop in question and I can tell you he is an honest individual with the highest regard for the riding community. I ride and wrench with this guy all the time and I trust his judgement, character and wrenching abilities so much in fact that I trust him with my life and the life of my friends and family. Slamming someone on the internet without knowing all the facts is fucking weak. Joe is my friend so I feel a need to defend him against the onslaught of accusations. Go into his shop and find out how well he takes care of his customers.

I've done business with Joe a few times and I've been very pleased everytime I have. Until I have a bad experience doing business with him I will continue to take my bikes to him, regardless of what everyone else says.

 

[resuscit8u]

I had been staying out of the whole topic of the stolen bike, but at this point I need to give my 2 cents. I work @ a large dealership so I know there is always two sides to a story. I can't believe how the owner of the store in question has been drug through the mud by a bunch of people who don't know the whole story or situation of the stolen bike. I am good friends with the owner of the shop in question and I can tell you he is an honest individual with the highest regard for the riding community. I ride and wrench with this guy all the time and I trust his judgement, character and wrenching abilities so much in fact that I trust him with my life and the life of my friends and family. Slamming someone on the internet without knowing all the facts is fucking weak. Joe is my friend so I feel a need to defend him against the onslaught of accusations. Go into his shop and find out how well he takes care of his customers.

Apparently Shawn, you need a few more facts yourself.

 

[AmbeRR]

I guess after reading your post and all the other posts I have two questions.

1. Did the bike get stolen from his shop?

2. Did he take responsibility if the bike was stolen under his watch?

If both answers are yes the I think you may be right but if the first is yes and the second is no then you probably just sticking up for your buddy which there is nothing wrong with.

Can I answer?

1. It sure did! Key was also left in my bike. :rolleyes

2. Not yet, and it is now going on a month since it was stolen and subsequently demolished. If it takes legal action for it to happen, then I wouldn't exactly call that "taking responsibility."

This is our 3rd bad experience with Joe, but we kept giving him the benefit of the doubt, as he's good friends with one of our friends. Before any of this happened, we already planned never to go there again as a result of the shoddy and over-priced brake and "suspension" work we had done there prior to our trip to Barber in May. Resuscit8u has seen first hand what we were displeased with, and once this is all over we'll be giving our reviews of some of his work, with photos. Let's just say we'll go to Motorcycle Performance from now on or to Trackside Engineering.

Shawn P. Kelly has been friends with Joe for years. I would expect nothing less from him in defending his friend. But he is wrong.

Again, I'll wait until this is resolved before I speak further on it, but it has been one of the worst experiences of my life. And I have Joe to thank for it just as much as the thief.

And believe me when I say the tire changing services are no bargain. Included in our last bill were charges for putting new tires on (and the front wheel was going to have to be removed for the fork work anyway). Even knowing the wheel was already off for the fork work, we still got charged an hour and a half of labor for changing the tires ($105). You can go most anywhere and get your tires changed on the bike for that price. It's no bargain, especially considering the front was already off for other work that was charged labor for. Seemed like double-dipping of labor charges to me. And that's just the beginning....

 

[spkelly14]

Jim, Whats the deal? I know you and Amber and are both good people so I don't undestand the attack against me. I never commented on anything other than people judging a business they may have never been to. I don't know the details and I don't want to. If I did I would go strait to the source and ask rather than basing my opions on theories or half truths based on internet rumors.

 

[resuscit8u]

I had been staying out of the whole topic of the stolen bike, but at this point I need to give my 2 cents. I work @ a large dealership so I know there is always two sides to a story. I can't believe how the owner of the store in question has been drug through the mud by a bunch of people who don't know the whole story or situation of the stolen bike. I am good friends with the owner of the shop in question and I can tell you he is an honest individual with the highest regard for the riding community. I ride and wrench with this guy all the time and I trust his judgement, character and wrenching abilities so much in fact that I trust him with my life and the life of my friends and family. Slamming someone on the internet without knowing all the facts is fucking weak. Joe is my friend so I feel a need to defend him against the onslaught of accusations. Go into his shop and find out how well he takes care of his customers.

Shawn, I took the above post to be directed at myself and Amber, since she and I are the ones catching the most flack on the forums about dragging Joe through the mud. If the comments were not directed at us, then I apologize.
The things we have posted are factual. I do admire your willingness to back up a friend though.

Jim, Whats the deal? I know you and Amber and are both good people so I don't undestand the attack against me. I never commented on anything other than people judging a business they may have never been to. I don't know the details and I don't want to. If I did I would go strait to the source and ask rather than basing my opions on theories or half truths based on internet rumors.

 

[AmbeRR]

Shawn, I took the above post to be directed at myself and Amber, since she and I are the ones catching the most flack on the forums about dragging Joe through the mud. If the comments were not directed at us, then I apologize.
The things we have posted are factual. I do admire your willingness to back up a friend though.

Nothing I have said here or on JCSB has been anything but factual, albeit with some anger tossed in. If it had happened to you, Shawn, you'd probably be a little pissed off too. The fact that it has gone the direction it has is the result of the action (or inaction) Joe has chosen. He had a choice and the choice he made was to try to wash his hands of it and say it's not his problem. What kind of businessman or person for that matter, takes a stance like that when they are clearly liable for what happened to the motorcycle while it was in their care?

Had this not happened, Jim would be buying my bike this week and I would have quietly never done business with Joe again (due to the work he did on Paul's bike). Nobody, save for a few close friends, would have known anything about our displeasure with his work. But, because of what has happened with my bike being stolen and Joe leaving the key in it and in other bikes while at his shop, and then to say it's not his problem, well I am sorry. I am not going to sit by idly and keep my mouth shut about it, especially when I know for a fact he has been slandering me to his friends since that BHF trackday the Monday after my bike was stolen and recovered.

Read anything I wrote and tell me if you still think I am slinging mud, Shawn. The truth is the truth. There will be resolution eventually, whether it has to be in court or otherwise, and after the dust settles it will all be out there for anyone to read about. Sadly, it never should have had to come close to that. Had I put my bike on consignment at Engelhart Center and it it was stolen from your used bike area in broad daylight because one of your employess left the key in it, would Engelhart Center tell me it's my problem and then refuse to give me the means to file a claim on behalf of my bike? I don't think so. So, why is it okay for Joe?

 

[Ride.]

Stay away from the stealerships for service. Its bad enough you have to go through them to buy a bike.

Motorcycle Performance has had their hand in nearly everything that I've had done to my bike. That includes $6k+ in mods, plus service that's beyond the basics that I do myself. Also I get hooked up real good on gear and parts purchases both on price and support. I'm pretty sure I'm one of their favorite customers. Turns out, they treat all of their customers the same way they treat me.

Don't need to think twice about going anywhere else. On University Ave on the west side.