Motorcycle Forums

NO surprise

In the current climate people are not buying bikes in the quantities to keep these big shops going. I live near Watford, j and s the accessory and clothing store is always near empty, my local tiny Yamaha dealer in Hemel say they sometimes don't see a single customer in a day. Mot's yes but not so many. New bikes out the door. V few. It's a struggle. There is going to be a shift I'd imagine here in the uk. Away from the big, juicy and v expensive sports bikes to cheaper more economical bikes. Manufacturers need to come up with quick good looking fun super Eco bikes, and publicise them!!! Sod the r1's etc

Profit is not a dirt word

Common sense tells all of us that deals that seem "just amazing" are mostly too good to be true. It's as simple as that. We have a problem with British culture and attitude that often tends to rubbish and make little of firms that make money, make profit. Profit is not a dirty word. Profit is generally only made by firms that do a good job. If you are buying a motorbike from a firm that is not making profit, your in trouble from day one. It's is not (is not) clever to screw your supplier so badly that they are not making money. Let me repeat, profit is not a dirty word! A firm that makes money is able to offer a level of after care that is not available from those who don't make money, or make enough money. Let's cut to the chase, you buy a new bike that has cost thousands when things go wrong ( yes....things do go wrong) your supplier needs money in the kitty to put it right. Always a balancing act between being shafted on price and not paying enough. None of us want to pay too much, but it is not in our interests that our supplier does not make money, this is for sure. Case study. Couple of years ago, I bought a motorbike from a well known Sussex dealer. I could have bought cheaper....this is always the case, we can all, always buy cheaper. However, things go wrong (yep, they do) my dealer never once flinched, whined or anything. In short they stepped up to the mark and put it right. It's times like this, when things go wrong, that we need a reputable dealer, who's goona put things right. Think about it, it's not rocket science, if they are not making money, with the best will in the world THEY CAN NOT PUT IT RIGHT IF THEY EVEN WANTED TOO. If they are not making money they can't put it right. Move said clock on a few years. Time I was looking for a new bike. No point in looking elsewhere as I was delighted with my back up on previous bike. Now, despite that as you do, you check out the market price. You can always buy cheaper, but frankly have no interest in buying from Mr whoever, 300 miles away because he's cheaper. No, my local dealer might well be forced because of warranty matters to repair my faulty bike. However, let's be honest, he's not gonna bust his arse to help me if he's not making money. I have just bought a new goldwing, (waiting for deliver) yeah, I know sad fat mans bike, but that sums me up. However, whilst I know I could have bought cheaper (yes, Neil of course I know I could) you get what you pay for, back up when the sh1t hits the fan, help when your in trouble. After all this long scrawling what am I saying? Proceed with caution, proceed with extreme caution before you accept deals that seem amazing. Mall that shines is not always gold. Flashy chrome and glass showrooms do not always display the real picture. This much is clear. Me, I'm happy to pay that bit more, for an awful lot more service. Regards to all.

Tosh.  You don't get more than you pay for, but you can very easily get less.  If you'd saved £200 (and be honest, it would have been a lot more) at GW then that would have been money in your pocket that you could have then spent on repairing your spack crack.  A mechanical failure would have been covered under manufacturer warranty anyway.

If paying more makes you feel good about yourself, then great, but there's no inherint merit in donating money to a for-profit entity who might not be there in 3 months anyway.

rip off prices

i have bought my last three bikes from george whites and you couldnt find a better company the salesman couldnt do enough for you when i went to my local dealer in carlisle j & L  and asked him to match george whites price and he basicaly told me if i bought from george whites, when i took my bike for a service to him he would charge me a fortune for the 1st service  the tool. so i took my bike  to lloyd honda in carlisle for  a service  and still saved about £1000 pound  on a new bike . hope they recover cause would definetly use them again also george whites kept the cost of bikes down you will find local dealers whacking their prices up now now theres no competition

Calm down Rogerborg

My my Rogerborg you base your posts on ludicrous assumptions based on no known facts that you know of! The price of said GSXR750 was 7300 on the road, same as advertised price at George Whites but they would have given me £200 more px value on my previous bike to clinch the deal. So therefore i am being honest saying that i could have saved £200, and a stone chip on the paintwork of an engine cover is not classified as a mechanical failure!