Dealer won't install tires?

[OldRider]

I get a dealer charging more to install tires you bought somewhere else. But to flat refuse to provide a common service?! ??? And y'all say this is common?! ??? So much for bikers helping bikers. Assuming that the dealer employees actually ride bikes.

The dealers are getting killed by the internet. Customers come in wanting to "try on" helmets, jackets, etc so they can go buy online and save a few bucks. Tires used to be a big part of a dealers business, but now half the tires out there are bought off the internet. When a dealer mounts an internet tire, the internet seller gets to make the profit on the tire and the dealer gets 100% of the liability. My insurance agent told me if I didn't touch tires, wheels or brakes my annual rates would be cut in half. I know that at my shop over the counter sales of parts and accessories are down over 50% from what they were just a few years ago.

Dealers are asked to match internet prices and 90% of the time it is impossible to do. Take tires for example, take any brand of tire you want and lets say my wholesale price is $100. My actual cost will be $110 because it takes 10% of every sale just to pay the bills (lights, water, heat, ins, etc) and keep the doors open. At a 30% markup I'll need to sell the tire for $140. The internet seller buys tires by the thousands and gets the same tire for $80. They cut a deal with FedEx or UPS for cheap shipping, works out of a low rent warehouse with minimum wage help and sells the tire for $105 making a $10 profit. Selling several thousand a week. Your dealer cannot compete in price with the internet. Some of the large oem parts house like Rocky Mountain and Babbitts are selling at 10-15 percent over their cost and moving $millions in parts. The small dealer can't do this.

Dealers are going out of business at a rate never seen before. Even wholesale parts distributors are closing at a high rate. In the last couple of years the two oldest parts houses in the country went belly up, KK Motorcycle Supply and Dixie Distributing. Right before them Marshall Distributing along with Motorcycle Stuff bit the dust, These were major players in the motorcycle industry. A lot of smaller regional parts houses are long gone too. The three big hitters left in the business are Tucker Rocky, Parts Unlimited and Western Power Sports. Of the big three that are left, TR and PU have closed warehouses and lets sales reps go.

The real ironic part of all this is that the three big parts houses left got to where they are by the hundreds of MC dealers in the country buying from them and the big three have bought most all of the internet sites that are killing the dealers off.

Another example of how bad the MC business has gotten is the Dealer Expo. The Dealer Expo has been held the middle of Feb. in Indianapolis every year for years. There were always several hundred manufacturers and distributors there and thousands of dealers attended. Guess what, no more Dealer Expo. It went the way of the dinosaur three years ago.

Anyway if your local dealer huffs up a little when you pack in a mail order tire and you just want to "try on" a helmet, try and understand he wants to eat a steak every once in a while and take his kids to Disney World too. Also, the only way a dealer will be able to survive in the future is to have massive volume or charge a small fortune for everything they do.

 

[tomatocity]

Saturday "morning" might be a stretch from Cody through the park. Traffic can become pretty heavy. I am around all day, so anytime works. I can also take care of tire recycling so you have one less thing to worry about.

You are the 'Rider of Moment'.

 

[taskmaster86]

The dealers are getting killed by the internet. Customers come in wanting to "try on" helmets, jackets, etc so they can go buy online and save a few bucks. Tires used to be a big part of a dealers business, but now half the tires out there are bought off the internet. When a dealer mounts an internet tire, the internet seller gets to make the profit on the tire and the dealer gets 100% of the liability. My insurance agent told me if I didn't touch tires, wheels or brakes my annual rates would be cut in half. I know that at my shop over the counter sales of parts and accessories are down over 50% from what they were just a few years ago.

Dealers are asked to match internet prices and 90% of the time it is impossible to do. Take tires for example, take any brand of tire you want and lets say my wholesale price is $100. My actual cost will be $110 because it takes 10% of every sale just to pay the bills (lights, water, heat, ins, etc) and keep the doors open. At a 30% markup I'll need to sell the tire for $140. The internet seller buys tires by the thousands and gets the same tire for $80. They cut a deal with FedEx or UPS for cheap shipping, works out of a low rent warehouse with minimum wage help and sells the tire for $105 making a $10 profit. Selling several thousand a week. Your dealer cannot compete in price with the internet. Some of the large oem parts house like Rocky Mountain and Babbitts are selling at 10-15 percent over their cost and moving $millions in parts. The small dealer can't do this.

Dealers are going out of business at a rate never seen before. Even wholesale parts distributors are closing at a high rate. In the last couple of years the two oldest parts houses in the country went belly up, KK Motorcycle Supply and Dixie Distributing. Right before them Marshall Distributing along with Motorcycle Stuff bit the dust, These were major players in the motorcycle industry. A lot of smaller regional parts houses are long gone too. The three big hitters left in the business are Tucker Rocky, Parts Unlimited and Western Power Sports. Of the big three that are left, TR and PU have closed warehouses and lets sales reps go.

The real ironic part of all this is that the three big parts houses left got to where they are by the hundreds of MC dealers in the country buying from them and the big three have bought most all of the internet sites that are killing the dealers off.

Another example of how bad the MC business has gotten is the Dealer Expo. The Dealer Expo has been held the middle of Feb. in Indianapolis every year for years. There were always several hundred manufacturers and distributors there and thousands of dealers attended. Guess what, no more Dealer Expo. It went the way of the dinosaur three years ago.

Anyway if your local dealer huffs up a little when you pack in a mail order tire and you just want to "try on" a helmet, try and understand he wants to eat a steak every once in a while and take his kids to Disney World too. Also, the only way a dealer will be able to survive in the future is to have massive volume or charge a small fortune for everything they do.

While all of that is true, the financial struggles are real for the motorcycle owners also. Motorcycles are a secondary mode of transportation and by all rights, a "toy" for most of us. We can barely afford a motorcycle at all and very often, if times get hard, the motorcycle is the first thing to go. Paying $80 a tire from an internet store vs $150 from a local dealer is just too big a price difference for most of to afford or justify with our small amount of disposable income. The same principal applies to other motorcycle gear and accessories. Most of us don't have a problem spending 10-15% more at a local shop but beyond that.... Not so much. Why? Because we have our real bills to pay first and buying gear or accessories for a motorcycle is at the tail end of our financial priorities. Saving 20 dollars or more on motorcycle stuff is a big savings and often means the difference between buying the gear or not. The other issue that is forgotten when talking about buying local vs online is that with free shipping at online stores, you are already getting a discount buy buying online vs local. How you ask? The sales tax that most states charge. I have almost completely stopped ordering from amazon now that they charge tax. Ebay has all the same items for the same price or lower with free shipping AND tax free. Guess who gets my business now?

It's really too bad that it has come to this but rising costs of everything, stagnant wage rates, low job availability and other factors all play into it. Local businesses take a huge hit, larger retailers/suppliers feel the pain and the consumer has less and less disposable income to support the businesses around them, especially the local ones. No one wins or makes out on any of it and unfortunately, there is no easy solution or end in sight.

As for the OP with trouble finding someone to do his tires, don't forget to check with local automotive tire and auto repair shops. Many times, smaller, independent shops will mount and balance motorcycle tires even though they don't advertise motorcycles and typically only do auto tires. I know my local tire and auto repair guy will mount and balance any tire you bring him, motorcycles, tractors, ATV's, cars and trucks. He is also cheaper and faster than any of big chain shops or power sports dealers around me. It never hurts to ask, the worst they will tell you is "no". Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

 

[Defekticon]

The dealers are getting killed by the internet. Customers come in wanting to "try on" helmets, jackets, etc so they can go buy online and save a few bucks. Tires used to be a big part of a dealers business, but now half the tires out there are bought off the internet. When a dealer mounts an internet tire, the internet seller gets to make the profit on the tire and the dealer gets 100% of the liability. My insurance agent told me if I didn't touch tires, wheels or brakes my annual rates would be cut in half. I know that at my shop over the counter sales of parts and accessories are down over 50% from what they were just a few years ago.

Dealers are asked to match internet prices and 90% of the time it is impossible to do. Take tires for example, take any brand of tire you want and lets say my wholesale price is $100. My actual cost will be $110 because it takes 10% of every sale just to pay the bills (lights, water, heat, ins, etc) and keep the doors open. At a 30% markup I'll need to sell the tire for $140. The internet seller buys tires by the thousands and gets the same tire for $80. They cut a deal with FedEx or UPS for cheap shipping, works out of a low rent warehouse with minimum wage help and sells the tire for $105 making a $10 profit. Selling several thousand a week. Your dealer cannot compete in price with the internet. Some of the large oem parts house like Rocky Mountain and Babbitts are selling at 10-15 percent over their cost and moving $millions in parts. The small dealer can't do this.

Dealers are going out of business at a rate never seen before. Even wholesale parts distributors are closing at a high rate. In the last couple of years the two oldest parts houses in the country went belly up, KK Motorcycle Supply and Dixie Distributing. Right before them Marshall Distributing along with Motorcycle Stuff bit the dust, These were major players in the motorcycle industry. A lot of smaller regional parts houses are long gone too. The three big hitters left in the business are Tucker Rocky, Parts Unlimited and Western Power Sports. Of the big three that are left, TR and PU have closed warehouses and lets sales reps go.

The real ironic part of all this is that the three big parts houses left got to where they are by the hundreds of MC dealers in the country buying from them and the big three have bought most all of the internet sites that are killing the dealers off.

Another example of how bad the MC business has gotten is the Dealer Expo. The Dealer Expo has been held the middle of Feb. in Indianapolis every year for years. There were always several hundred manufacturers and distributors there and thousands of dealers attended. Guess what, no more Dealer Expo. It went the way of the dinosaur three years ago.

Anyway if your local dealer huffs up a little when you pack in a mail order tire and you just want to "try on" a helmet, try and understand he wants to eat a steak every once in a while and take his kids to Disney World too. Also, the only way a dealer will be able to survive in the future is to have massive volume or charge a small fortune for everything they do.

I wasn't looking for a pricematch, just a specific tire in a limited amount of time, they were going to charge me overnight air for the tires that I got free ground shipping on from Revzilla. Instead of 300 for the tires I would have ended up paying closer to 450. Mitas tires are also hard to find, and even harder to find in stock. If they had a set of 50/50 tires in stock I would've bought them. Those Anakee 3's that they had in stock will probably work great for some weary folk in need of a set of tires just to get on down the road. I wanted a true 50/50 and the feedback on the Mitas E-07's on this forum and the advrider forum were too good to pass up. If they had another 50/50 or a big block tire in stock I would have bought it since it was there and in stock but I'm done with 70/30, 80/20 type tires.

Also I wasn't asking for free labor either. Customer pay shop rate is profit. Charge me an hour or two of time to install the tires and balance the rims. Earn my business, treat me fairly and I'll be back and I do plan on coming back to Wyoming, this place is my new favorite state. But I will not be buying anything from that dealer.

Not to mention at the pinnacle of all this I did buy the extended warranty on my bike. I paid 800 for a 400 dollar 5 year YES warranty. Someone made a minimum 400 dollar profit on that transaction (mostly because I didn't know any better).

 

[RCinNC]

I don't want to paint with too broad of a brush because there are a lot of factors in play, but from a customer's standpoint I can say this: I've patronized both Japanese import dealers and Harley Davidson dealers over the past 35 or so years of riding, and I've had much more positive customer experiences at HD dealers. You can hate Harleys or love them, but they've created a unified feeling among their dealerships that every HD rider is part of the same organization. HD dealerships sponsor charity events, organize MC safety courses, and they seem to have a genuine interest in promoting motorcycling. The dealerships I've been in, from east coast to the southwest, have been with rare exception clean, modern, organized and with what appears to be a sincere desire to provide good customer service. Owning a Harley isn't cheap, that's for sure, and yet I would take my bike to my local HD dealer for service because they treated me well. It was the kind of place that I'd stop in because my taillight had burned out, and they'd replace the bulb for nothing. The service manager knew me by name, even though I was never one of the guys who was involved in any of the events put on by the dealership.

My experiences with Japanese import dealers, on the other hand, were part of what drove me to do more and more of my own maintenance at home, and consequently do a lot of shopping on line. I've been in too many service departments and showrooms at import dealers where I was treated more like an inconvenience than a paying customer. My last experience at a Yamaha service center was so bad that after two weeks of getting jerked around about getting a valve check done, I just went and took the bike back. I've stood at a counter in a Yamaha dealer waiting to order a part while the counter guy stood outside smoking a cigarette and shooting the breeze with a buddy. I've been in shops that looked like no one had swept the floor in months, and where you couldn't even tell who worked there.

If there was a local reliable dealer that I trusted, I'd gladly go there and have them order my next set of Shinko 705's. Last time I ordered parts at a Yamaha dealer they wouldn't even order it that day (sorry, we only do orders once a week), and when they did order it, they ordered the wrong parts.

I don't say that all import dealers are bad. I've had great experiences at places like Romney Cycles, whose way of doing business reminds me of an HD dealer.

 

[OldRider]

There's no doubt, a lot of dealers have cut their own throat.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I don't want to paint with too broad of a brush because there are a lot of factors in play, but from a customer's standpoint I can say this: I've patronized both Japanese import dealers and Harley Davidson dealers over the past 35 or so years of riding, and I've had much more positive customer experiences at HD dealers. You can hate Harleys or love them, but they've created a unified feeling among their dealerships that every HD rider is part of the same organization. HD dealerships sponsor charity events, organize MC safety courses, and they seem to have a genuine interest in promoting motorcycling. The dealerships I've been in, from east coast to the southwest, have been with rare exception clean, modern, organized and with what appears to be a sincere desire to provide good customer service. Owning a Harley isn't cheap, that's for sure, and yet I would take my bike to my local HD dealer for service because they treated me well. It was the kind of place that I'd stop in because my taillight had burned out, and they'd replace the bulb for nothing. The service manager knew me by name, even though I was never one of the guys who was involved in any of the events put on by the dealership.

My experiences with Japanese import dealers, on the other hand, were part of what drove me to do more and more of my own maintenance at home, and consequently do a lot of shopping on line. I've been in too many service departments and showrooms at import dealers where I was treated more like an inconvenience than a paying customer. My last experience at a Yamaha service center was so bad that after two weeks of getting jerked around about getting a valve check done, I just went and took the bike back. I've stood at a counter in a Yamaha dealer waiting to order a part while the counter guy stood outside smoking a cigarette and shooting the breeze with a buddy. I've been in shops that looked like no one had swept the floor in months, and where you couldn't even tell who worked there.

If there was a local reliable dealer that I trusted, I'd gladly go there and have them order my next set of Shinko 705's. Last time I ordered parts at a Yamaha dealer they wouldn't even order it that day (sorry, we only do orders once a week), and when they did order it, they ordered the wrong parts.

I don't say that all import dealers are bad. I've had great experiences at places like Romney Cycles, whose way of doing business reminds me of an HD dealer.

Harley is the premier company at learning who their real customers are and how to keep those customers around. Every time they've strayed they've run into a wall and come back to reinforce what they know makes their customers WANT to stay with them. I may not want a Harley, but a lot of people do and a large part of it is acceptance. BMW and Ducati do the same thing. One of our forum members was explaining how his (high end) business puts pretty girls at the front desk and the girls need to follow a 15-10-5 rule. It goes something like "notice the customer approaching at 15 feet, smile at 10 feet, and greet them at 5 feet." And I thought it was all about my good looks.
O


Harley used to let anybody sell their bikes and there were a lot of really grungy shops till about 20-25 years ago. They suddenly mandated that to sell Harley motorcycles, a dealer had to follow a certain formula. The price tag of compliance knocked out the grunge shops. As with any big chain business that formula is really explicit and why Harley dealers all have a generally similar flavor all over the world. Same for BMW and Ducati. It works. It's also why Harley and each of their dealership owners work so hard to make every customer feel like he is at home.


Selling motorcycles and shop services is so competitive that OldRyder must be doing something right to still be in business. If not selling the high end Euro bikes, a dealer generally has to move whatever they can and many or most now are multi-line. The folks at Romney sell a lot more ATVs, quads, and trailers than motorcycles. But Kevin (owner) and Larry (GM) also learned to engage each potential customer as a person and truly listen. They've also learned what works and what doesn't for each of their other major profit centers - parts and the shop. While Heather comes across as just the friendly chick in Parts and Accessories, she's sharp as a tack. There are a number of things that Heather won't keep on hand, because she is constantly monitoring their inventory numbers and sales system.


It's hard to build that Harley or BMW "family" feeling when the dealer is more of a starving little place or a supermarket which sells more than one brand. We've got an old Honda dealer near us that I hate to go into because of the people running it. On the other hand, Romney is an example that it can be done, but it all comes from the owner.

 

[Sierra1]

I noticed several years ago that dealerships, of all brands, were being bought by Freedom. I learned that as dealerships fail, Freedom buys them and attempts to "fix" what they were doing wrong. And Freedom is not limited to buying bike shops; I've also seen auto dealers purchased by them also. I've visited a couple of dealerships around here, Freedom included, and I wouldn't buy a key chain from them. I got lucky that the closest Yamaha dealer was one of the great ones. My dealership's philosophy is that he can only sell a bike once, but can service it forever. I got my '14 FJR-ES with 10k miles, in '14, for $10,500. I got the Tenere (ES) for a non-ES price. I've been using this dealer for many years, and maybe I'm get the "friends & family rates", but I'm not the only one I'm sure. There are always customer is the shop, I've been to some where I was the only customer for the entire time that I was there.

 

[RCinNC]

I remember the old days of HD, Checkswrecks...in fact, I remember when it was still AMF-Harley Davidson. And HD isn't perfect; there are lots of guys who own Harleys who love the bike but hate the Bar and Shield. But one thing Harley does is it sets rules for their franchise owners where they have a minimum level of standards they have to meet and maintain (I think they even have a minimum square footage, at least for new shops). Standards like that tend to keep undercapitalized owners from getting into the HD business, so what you don't see is new HD dealers being opened up in someone's garage on a shoestring.

I don't mean that every motorcycle dealership has to emulate all of Harley's standards; they can't, unless they are starting out with multiple millions in capital. But when I used to go into an HD dealer to get something, the place was clean, it looked new and well maintained, the sales and service staff were easily identifiable (just about every shop I went in, the staff wore HD bowling shirts with the dealership's name on it, not a greasy t-shirt), and I was never in there more than a few minutes before someone was asking me if they could help me. I never had an HD employee ask me "well, whaddaya want?", and I never had a Harley salesman actually roll his eyes at me when I asked if it was possible to test ride one of their models. Harley dealerships seem to make a real effort to make their shops seem open and inviting to everyone, and in spite of the fact that the service manager might look scary with that neck tattoo and a skull earring, you could still tell that customer service was a priority of the dealership.

I know selling motorcycles is competitive. It's about to get worse for them too, since sales almost across the board for last year show that motorcycle sales are falling off, including for HD. But even for a small shop, there has to be a medium between the shiny chrome of a Harley dealership and a motorcycle salesman rolling his eyes at me. Having standards, being courteous, being honest, being efficient, being fair; these don't cost anything but the time of the owner to make sure the standards are met.

 

[OldRider]

Harley is the premier company at learning who their real customers are and how to keep those customers around. Every time they've strayed they've run into a wall and come back to reinforce what they know makes their customers WANT to stay with them. I may not want a Harley, but a lot of people do and a large part of it is acceptance. BMW and Ducati do the same thing. One of our forum members was explaining how his (high end) business puts pretty girls at the front desk and the girls need to follow a 15-10-5 rule. It goes something like "notice the customer approaching at 15 feet, smile at 10 feet, and greet them at 5 feet." And I thought it was all about my good looks.
O


Harley used to let anybody sell their bikes and there were a lot of really grungy shops till about 20-25 years ago. They suddenly mandated that to sell Harley motorcycles, a dealer had to follow a certain formula. The price tag of compliance knocked out the grunge shops. As with any big chain business that formula is really explicit and why Harley dealers all have a generally similar flavor all over the world. Same for BMW and Ducati. It works. It's also why Harley and each of their dealership owners work so hard to make every customer feel like he is at home.


Selling motorcycles and shop services is so competitive that OldRyder must be doing something right to still be in business. If not selling the high end Euro bikes, a dealer generally has to move whatever they can and many or most now are multi-line. The folks at Romney sell a lot more ATVs, quads, and trailers than motorcycles. But Kevin (owner) and Larry (GM) also learned to engage each potential customer as a person and truly listen. They've also learned what works and what doesn't for each of their other major profit centers - parts and the shop. While Heather comes across as just the friendly chick in Parts and Accessories, she's sharp as a tack. There are a number of things that Heather won't keep on hand, because she is constantly monitoring their inventory numbers and sales system.


It's hard to build that Harley or BMW "family" feeling when the dealer is more of a starving little place or a supermarket which sells more than one brand. We've got an old Honda dealer near us that I hate to go into because of the people running it. On the other hand, Romney is an example that it can be done, but it all comes from the owner.

You're correct about HD and their business practice. HD doesn't like to air their dirty laundry in public, but they're having a lot more trouble now than it looks like. They have had a few large dealers shut the doors and more are in trouble. I know of one very large dealer that is having trouble paying their main aftermarket supplier. As for myself, I've been in business for 45 years, my shop is located next to my home and I have a very low overhead. I walk to work and work alone so paying the electric, phone and ins. isn't too bad. Be good to your local dealer (if they'll let you) because you're going to miss them when they're gone.

 

[Cycledude]

Waiting until the last minute usually causes extra trouble.

 

[Sierra1]

Be good to your local dealer (if they'll let you) because you're going to miss them when they're gone.

That's why I'm kinda good with paying a little extra for some things.

 

[blitz11]

Here are my $0.02.

1. It's a new world. EVERYONE has to adapt to the new world. Those who adapt survive, those who don't, don't.

2. I spent my HS and college (well, first 4 years) working in an independent shop. I worked at Brenny's M/C clinic. in bettendorf, IA. we sold USED bikes. Buy cheap in the fall, sell for bigger money in the spring. My boss employed my brother and me. we worked cheap, but learned a great deal, which made the difference in our engineering careers. We would rebuild honda 350 engines all winter. when a customer came with a junk motor, we could have him back on the road in an afternoon, not two weeks while we waited for parts. (can't do that now, but it was huge back then). Same thing with ATC engines, and some dirt bike engines.

3. When the early 80's recession hit, my boss bought up the dealerships which went out of business - suzuki, yamaha, kawasaki. Those, at first, were a side business as the used bike market was much more profitable. What new bikes brought was were more USED bikes, which we could flip at a profit. If the bike was in good shape, we'd even offer a warranty. Unheard of back then, but it gave buyers confidence. having gone through the bike, we knew the risk, which was low.

4. When the internet hit, the parts/accessories/tires/clothes/helmet model changed. The new business model became that the shop did used bikes, new bikes, serviced everything, and now serves as a convenience store for riders. Need a quart of oil? get it here. want your tires mounted? Sure, we'll do it even if iyou carry in the tires. it's revenue. Stock the basics to get someone on the road in an emergency, but basically, just serve the convenience market. This worked, and overhead costs actually dropped 'cause less inventory was coverer. Helmets? just a few in each size so if there is an issue and the person is desperate, we can serve them, and put them back on the road.

5. Buy up old dealerships, and then start an ebay business. One man's junk is another man's treasure. we sold used parts when i worked there - from wrecked bikes. Now, the market is worldwide, not just the quad cities.

6. The secret is to understand the new world, and adapt to it. it takes guts, but it can be done.

I look back at where this was when it started, and what my boss built over the past 40 years, and it is amazing. He offered me $15K/year the day i graduated from high school. I said, "no, i am going to engineering school." this is when engineers made $18K starting salary. 12 years of college and three degrees later, i think i should have stayed at the shop, learned more, and started my own shop. but, who knows.

To this day, i do ALL my own service. i call the local dealers first for parts. if they have them, i buy them. If not, i go internet. I give the locals a chance.

blitz.

 

[OldRider]

Here are my $0.02.

1. It's a new world. EVERYONE has to adapt to the new world. Those who adapt survive, those who don't, don't.

2. I spent my HS and college (well, first 4 years) working in an independent shop. I worked at Brenny's M/C clinic. in bettendorf, IA. we sold USED bikes. Buy cheap in the fall, sell for bigger money in the spring. My boss employed my brother and me. we worked cheap, but learned a great deal, which made the difference in our engineering careers. We would rebuild honda 350 engines all winter. when a customer came with a junk motor, we could have him back on the road in an afternoon, not two weeks while we waited for parts. (can't do that now, but it was huge back then). Same thing with ATC engines, and some dirt bike engines.

3. When the early 80's recession hit, my boss bought up the dealerships which went out of business - suzuki, yamaha, kawasaki. Those, at first, were a side business as the used bike market was much more profitable. What new bikes brought was were more USED bikes, which we could flip at a profit. If the bike was in good shape, we'd even offer a warranty. Unheard of back then, but it gave buyers confidence. having gone through the bike, we knew the risk, which was low.

4. When the internet hit, the parts/accessories/tires/clothes/helmet model changed. The new business model became that the shop did used bikes, new bikes, serviced everything, and now serves as a convenience store for riders. Need a quart of oil? get it here. want your tires mounted? Sure, we'll do it even if iyou carry in the tires. it's revenue. Stock the basics to get someone on the road in an emergency, but basically, just serve the convenience market. This worked, and overhead costs actually dropped 'cause less inventory was coverer. Helmets? just a few in each size so if there is an issue and the person is desperate, we can serve them, and put them back on the road.

5. Buy up old dealerships, and then start an ebay business. One man's junk is another man's treasure. we sold used parts when i worked there - from wrecked bikes. Now, the market is worldwide, not just the quad cities.

6. The secret is to understand the new world, and adapt to it. it takes guts, but it can be done.

I look back at where this was when it started, and what my boss built over the past 40 years, and it is amazing. He offered me $15K/year the day i graduated from high school. I said, "no, i am going to engineering school." this is when engineers made $18K starting salary. 12 years of college and three degrees later, i think i should have stayed at the shop, learned more, and started my own shop. but, who knows.

To this day, i do ALL my own service. i call the local dealers first for parts. if they have them, i buy them. If not, i go internet. I give the locals a chance.

blitz.

While all this sounds good, it's impossible for EVERYONE to adapt to the new world. First off In my opinion 95% of the dealers out there can't match internet prices. They can't buy the merchandise as cheap as the internet sellers and they have a lot higher overhead. There are three major parts houses left, Parts Unlimited, Tucker Rocky and Western Powersports and none of them care about the dealer anymore. It's all about the $dollar. The dealers revenue is going down and if they don't buy enough from the wholesalers, they have to pay a higher price and their shipping allowance goes down. The worst things get, the harder the parts houses make it on you.

EVERYONE can't get into the Ebay business or start selling on the internet for the same reason they can't price match in their brick & mortar store, they can't buy at a good price. A while back I thought I would give it a shot and put a few items on Ebay and pick up a little extra money during the Winter. I looked at about ten different items and when I went to see what they were selling for on Ebay, I couldn't make more than 2-3% on anything I looked at. What the end game in all this is going to be is anyones guess. The profits in the internet selling game are so low now and with more sellers jumping in, it's got to blow up one of these days. Wal-Mart has had enough of Amazon taking their business away and they're fighting back real hard now. This will be good for the consumer, but it has to end sooner or later.

As for bring a convenience store for riders, you hit the nail on the head. Spark plugs, tubes, batteries, brake pads, oil, filters, atv axle bearings and cleaners & polishes are the big sellers now a days. I didn't like it when riders started buying tires off the net and wanting me to mount and balance them, but it didn't take me long to realize that was the way the world was heading. Another local shop won't mount internet tires, so I get all that business in the area. I get $110 -$140 a pair depending on the bike and I'm still making a living. While I was typing this a guy called that was traveling through the area and had to have a battery. I'll have him on the road in a few minutes, the internet still can't do that.

 

[Defekticon]

Major thank you to Blitz for getting me squared away. I pulled tires and he got them on the tire stand, installed and balanced. Had a heck of a time getting the front bead to seat , but the rear seated with a ratchet straps just fine. I'm going to look up that tire stand when I get home. It was awesome at breaking beads. Far better than my harbor freight stand with mojo blocks. Offered some money to at least cover shop supplies and he wouldn't take a dime. Many thanks again.

Thank you tomato for reminding me how awesome that ride would be. I put 450 miles on the bike today. Got stuck in a herd of bison, got poured rain on and saw some of the most beautiful land between big sky and Bozeman.

Here's a pic all decked out with the dakars in front of Sylvan lake in East Yellowstone.
[smg id=3064 type=preview align=center caption="IMG 20170715 210210"]

 

[blitz11]

I've seen that bike! Nice to meet Defekticon!! Not only is he a great guy, but one interesting cat. We should all have as interesting a life story.

I've NEVER had to take a tire to 90 psi to get the bead to seat before. Good luck breaking that bead when it's time to change tires. Yikes.

Glad to know you made it back to base camp.

Enjoy the rest of your trip!!

blitz

 

[RonH]

Did you use good tire lube and follow nomar instructions to fully lube the drop center of the wheels? Since doing this, all my tire changes have the bead all seated by 30lb at most. For the guys that still use soap/water, don't.

 

[blitz11]

Lubed the bead and the sidewall with my special "Safety Lube - the slickest thing for tires" tire lube. i've never lubed the rim, just lubed the tire quite a bit. some of the problem might have been that the tires were strapped in a trailer, and perhaps a bit deformed.

 

[Defekticon]

Did you use good tire lube and follow nomar instructions to fully lube the drop center of the wheels? Since doing this, all my tire changes have the bead all seated by 30lb at most. For the guys that still use soap/water, don't.

The Dakar variant of the Mitas E-07 have exceptionally stiff sidewalls and take more pressure to fully seat. It's a beefy tire. I typically use windex and have never had issues seating beads on Michelin T63's or Metzler Tourance's that I had on the bike previously. That wouldn't have worked with these tires.

 

[Don in Lodi]

Lubed the bead and the sidewall with my special "Safety Lube - the slickest thing for tires" tire lube. i've never lubed the rim, just lubed the tire quite a bit. some of the problem might have been that the tires were strapped in a trailer, and perhaps a bit deformed.

So, what did the side wall cracks look like to you? Age? Under inflation? ::017::