I would love to have a dealer within an hour or two. As it is I spread my business around to the great dealers we do have like Bill's, Uptite, Hall's, Tasky's and I am sure there are many more. I would love to support my local shops for the generic stuff but when they charge 2x and higher what I can get it online for it is hard to justify the extra money. If they were only 10-20% over I would buy from them. Tough times require going the extra mile and understanding how your business can fit into a connected clientele.
Get's frustrating sometimes now and all you hear is we can order it? A simple spark plug? Well ended up ordering the tires (they were even cheaper including the shipping)on line and the rest of stuff from Hall's.
this is my opinion;sometimes online pricing is better than what i would want to try to sell some items for.many times it is no better at all.just because it is online does not make it better or cheaper.also, the online stores often dont have it "in stock",that is just a concept they want you to think.trust me,they dont have that yellow size xxl jersey "in stock".in many cases you are dealing with people with no expertise and they are not willing to give you, the customer, much in the way of real service.i understand many feel their own stores dont offer much in the way of customer service but they probably offer more service than you would get from an online retailer.i dont buy much online myself.i have to sometimes and understand it is the only option sometimes.but the next time you see a store empty that used to have a business that you liked think about if you could have supported them a little more .i am thankful for my customers and their business they do with me .times are difficult in this industry but would be impossible with out doing the right thing for your customers.we are a bit of an old school shop but i like doing business that way!i hope to continue doing business the way we do and dont want my store ever to be empty.dan
In my experience, the minority of dealers that do have a clue about customer service have fanatically loyal customers and a nationwide reputation. motoxotica, halls, taskys cyclezone ktm etc... You probably don't ride alot of japanese bikes dan, so you may not realize how much many shops suck and seem to actively try to discourage enthusiasts from shopping there.
There are just a lot of dealerships that are very poorly run. They want to hire the cheapest staff they can get, stock nothing, and have people just come in a place orders at full MSRP+. Maybe this worked at one time but not now and I am not sympathetic. I think the good dealers will make it though because good service, knowledge, and fair pricing will always be in demand. Fortunately there are several very well run Husqvarna dealerships. I rarely mail order because I have a good small shop near me, D&S Cycles. They do not even carry bikes, they just sell parts and do service and they do a good job of it. They don’t stock much but, unlike all the big bike shops, ordering from them is not big deal. I say what I want and the guy behind the counter will tell me when it will be there(usually in a couple days). The price is usually as good or better then mail order, I get my stuff faster, and I don’t have to pay shipping. When I go to the big shops they want full MSRP to order. I understand for stuff they carry in stock but I don’t think they should be trying to clear those margins or prepaid orders. And then it takes forever to show up for some reason. For bikes and oem parts I just go to Bills. The last rebuild I did he had everything I needed in stock and at a very reasonable price. When I owned a Honda the two big dealer near my house were useless for parts. For most cloths and armor I go to local shops. I am willing to pay more to be able to try things on. Going online is usually the last resort for me but there are needs the locals just don’t cover. This year I orderd some Husky specific stuff from Motosportz. Local shops are not going to have these products and Kelly supports the brand and has stellar customer service. I got an IMS tank from Halls since Bills did not have them yet. I got some boots because my local dealers only carry Alpinestar and none can even order the TCX I wanted. Stragely enough even businesses that know how to run an online store do not do it right with their brick and mortar store. Right near my house I have Motosports which is the same owner as the Motosport mail order. First of all having them here would never give me an incentive to buy a KTM. They stock walls full of bling but never have any oem parts. I can’t even count on them for Brembo brake pads! I went in there this week because I need a front tire and some bars. They have Turner bars for $60 which did not seem too bad but they only have CR High, like about a hundred pairs! They have Michelin tires but no XC and they want $80 for them. I go to their online site and find the bend of Turners I want for $36 and a M-12XC for $62 so I had to make one more online purchase this year. So is the local Motosport just being greedy? I know they have more expenses but if their prices were a bit closer to their online store I bet they would sell a lot more product. They can’t use the excuse that they do not have the bulk purchasing power of online shops. And why don’t they stock more stuff? There is no danger of excess inventory since they could always take unsold stuff to their online warehouse. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
I hated to switch away from KTM just because we have such a great dealer.Very small one man shop crammed with bikes and he services one bike at a time right behind the parts counter. He also stocks every part that you would need, and if you need something that he does'nt have, he says "how did you break that, never seen that before" We call him the KTM nazi, named after the salad nazi on "Sienfeld" he also will answer any question about any KTM ever built, and he is also quick to point out all short comings of jap bikes! He is a dying breed though. I forsee in the future very few dealers, maybe just regional distributors where you would order your bike and have it shipped in. Someone like Halls could be midwest, that is where I get my parts, we don't even have a Husky dealer in TN. even though I have no dealer, with the info and camaraderie from this site, and getting parts from Halls in 2 days, it is actually easier and faster than driving to a dealer making husky ownership very feasible. Hate to it see come to this, but it will allow our sport to continue. GP
well said also NWRIDER, i feel the same way and have many the same stories/experiences. my local shop has big overhead and no stock..I need a new pipe as mine is fubar......iam not even going to bother asking them..their suppier will tell them 3 days ,ill end up getting it in three weeks and ill pay full pop. I have added up my reciets for the last year.in parts and service i spent $2100..HOLY SH** thats alot of maintenance. i go to trade my bike in and get insulted....and if i buy parts i pay near list....ouch factory Alluminum spacers for the rear wheel bearings $76 i cant belive it.
I can honestly say that I never missed a weekend ride (for 6+ yrs) due to parts with Bill (BMP) as my parts guy ... When my 02 CR250 needed something, he always got it to me by Friday via UPS ground to WA and I was riding that weekend in GPNF most likely ... I certainty hope bmw is helping all the Husky dealers in a big way ...
I tried to support my local bike shop with getting Suzi parts and he gave me the cold shoulder. Other guys that ride in Mount Isa told me if you don't buy a bike from him he doesn't to know you. So when I bought a new bike, I got it in Townsville a 1000 Ks away. I buy some parts from sponsor of this forum, and I buy parts back in my home town Melbourne from Brian's bike mart which was my local bike shop and is now 3000 ks away. The reason I do this is because I know i will get the right part and it will get here quicker than the local guy here. So it would not worry me if this bike shop disappeared, but I cant see this happening because he is the only bike shop in town. Can anyone tell me if this Bill Has a web site? It sound like he's a good bloke to deal with. Kel
I tried to support my local bike shop with getting Suzi parts and he gave me the cold shoulder. Other guys that ride in Mount Isa told me if you don't buy a bike from him he doesn't want to know you. So when I bought a new bike, I got it in Townsville a 1000 Ks away. I buy some parts from sponsor of this forum, and I buy parts back in my home town Melbourne from Brian's bike mart which was my local bike shop and is now 3000 ks away. The reason I do this is because I know i will get the right part and it will get here quicker than the local guy here in town. So it would not worry me if this bike shop disappeared, but I cant see this happening because he is the only bike shop in town. Can anyone tell me if this Bill Has a web site? It sound like he's a good bloke to deal with. Kel
Heck, you cali guys are lucky....at least you have places local or semi local to choose from.... my local dealer is ummm heck i dont know....we had gateway(about an hr and a half)...opps they stopped Husky and didnt stock anyway.... we had Derbi(hr away) opps nope they didnt stock anything at all and didnt even know what the bike was.... So now my local dealer is in IL...I call Halls and ship it....no choice... for aftermarket stuff...I have a local guy I can email (usually part numbers) and he orders it... I am a outside sales rep and really like to support my local shops...but they are making it harder and harder....which is part the fault of the manufacturers... markup on hard parts and accessories is low compared to other markets....so really when something is only marketed up 30% to give a 10% discount makes it hard on the local guy...he has to pay some knuckle head kid to stand there and wait for a customer...pay to have all this stuff on the shelf...pay the shipping...pay the light bill...pay to floor the bikes...pay the rent... I worked in parts dept for alot of years...I like it...I race...so I knew how to get the guys in the door and sell them stuff...first off nobody wants to order...you gotta have it hanging on the wall...people will pay if it is there...second, know the dang product inside and out....know peoples jetting, things that break, whats hot for what and what doesnt work.... I love the industry but some of these dealers need to hit the road....so you just have to look around and what you can get where....
The good shops that survive are going to be the ones that take advantage of the internet to widen their reach beyond "local". Bills and Tasky's are good examples of shops that have figured out how to leverage the net to supplement the walk-in business. What will kill the shops is when the manufacturer doesn't have basic consumable parts in stock. I don't mind waiting a few days for parts to be shipped from a warehouse, I do mind when the answer is "We're waiting on the factory, we have no idea when the part will even be made."
Bills has a website, but not a dedicated online store. However they make big use of eBay to sell both used/salvage and some new accessories. If you want Husky stuff the best thing to do is call. Either Bill or Bryon can help you out. www.billshusky.com (phone number is in there)
I would bet the existing Husky community is made up of a fair number of do-it-yourself types, who probably wouldn't, or can't take advantage of a local dealers service because there is no 'local' dealer. However, a strong dealer network and service component is necessary if the Husky brand is to grow. If only to attract buyers who only feel comfortable buying a bike from a local dealer where they can bring it in for service, parts, etc... Not everyone has the desire to go beyond basic maintenance and replace a search the internet for obscure aftermarket goodies, branded merchandise, etc... If you have a local Husky dealer, you should support them. That dealer can probably order anything from parts unlimited, that you can order on the web. And, if there is no Husky dealer near you, but you have a small dealer nearby, support them. Maybe that small local dealer will someday become a Husky dealer. No sales, no dealers, no Huskies - pretty basic reality. I don't mean to hijack the thread, or rant, but BMW is an astute company out to make money. They have purchased some unbelievably large brands and dropped them like yesterdays trash (LandRover is a good example) because they did not meet sales expectations. Buy some BMW stock so you get the shareholder reports, then you will know how tenuous the state of affairs for our beloved brand is.
I've tried over and over to support my local Husky shop, they are as bad or worse than the local Japanese shops. They dont even stock oil filters for the newer Huskies, of course if you have a Victory they probably have what you need. When it came time to buy a new bike I drove 4 hours to deal with a bike shop that actually stocks parts and can get almost any part to my house in a day. I will continue to support MotoXotica whenever I can and suggest we all support the shops that support us with parts and good customer service.
The problem gets far more complex when EFI is brought into the picture. Not everyone wants to buy a iBeat, nor will they want to know how to use it. Some are not computer people. And then there is the distance to the 'local' dealer issue, that could be *huge*.
Another example of why I don't deal locally all the time.... I remember that when I bought my TE and we were finishing up the paperwork, and I inquired about a heat shield for the exhaust pipe, they suggested that I buy one on-line somewhere. I'll bet if they bought a half dozen of those that year that they could have easily sold all of them to happy customers. I ended up buying the heat shield (hanging up on a peg on the accessory aisle)from Malcolm Smiths shop when I was on my way back from some dirt riding north of where I live.
