Moto-Brian

So, I have always had a hookup on window tinting... No longer have that connection and want to tint the front driver and passenger windows... Pretty damn easy to do. So, who and how much? Lemme know!!!

It can help dissipate heat to a degree. Also primarily for the bodywork situation listed earlier. But, not advised on Titanium headers at all...

Awesome! Text me how much and I'll have cash. Come over by the Grandstand and we can fingure it out or hook up during the evening!!

Fox forks and shock were refreshed by a certified Fox tech and has the CURRENT low friction wiper seals and low friction seal head in the forks. The rear shock was a complete tear down and new o-rings and damper update to Niner specs. Literally never ridden since these were done at the start of Summer THIS YEAR. So, like new suspension also...

$2800 firm. I think that is super fair. This is the updated frame from 2011 and older RIPs. I see these on Ebay with lower grade components for $2500 so, I think $300 more with better components, the newer chassis and the fact is is like new seems to be a good price... You cannot even touch a similarly equipped full suspended 29er at your bike shop for this price. The price you'd pay would be a much less capable steed...

Apparently they aren't interested in vehicles... Think about how many eyes see that sprinter as I travel in 7 states... By the way, I gotta come by and get an air filter.

I can't add height, man!

Awww, shucks... You too, man. Good dude and definitely a great asset to this community. The comments I stated about stealing and ripping off wasn't directed at you. It is a common misconception that is very common. You ask people and they will respond that they feel the dealerships are "stealerships". It's common and unfortunate. It is just simply a cultural issue bottom line... You best be coming to the Indy track day after MotoGP. If coming to MotoGP, I'm buying you a drink.

As an example of a local dealer, Iron Pony has some of the best techs in the Columbus area. As a whole and the way they are measured, they have some of the best techs. Period. This is based on the return level, their efficiency and training. The CSI scores are also showing this to be true. But, if only 30% of the market is having their bikes serviced, guess it is a moot point. And I am not busting Hob;s balls over the 70% comment. But, it isn't that high and it certainly is not a fact that dealers have shit techs. Are there issues out there? Sure. But that's on anything. But there are a lot of good out there also. The issue I have is that the painted picture is such that dealers are scam artists and rip people off. They are also viewed to have poor techs and stealing your money by the rates they charge. If they had a double car garage and a hand full of tools, sure. They could charge you less. There is a LOT surrounding prices and the things dealerships charge.

But I've been around more dealers than anyone on the site, I have probably worked at a dealership longer than anyone on the site and I also know what reality is in terms of service. Yes, guys like yourself that do quality work are great and numerous people go to techs like yourself. But, I can promise that 70% aren't going to guys like yourself. If they were (I can tell you for example how many people bought motorcycles in Ohio and even your area), you'd be doing it full time. The point I am making is that of the thousands of thousands of people that buy motorcycles, more get their bikes serviced at the dealer level than those that do not. We sell 10k bikes in North America. You are saying that 7k have them serviced at places other than the dealer. That is simply not true. Also, of the near 10k members here, I can almost bet that the number isn't 70%. You then take into account the fact that bikes today are needing more and more electronic work done and guys like yourself do not have that equipment... So, they HAVE to go to the dealer for that... Yes, older stuff is a different story. And several dealers will not accept older year units. As far as not being normal, you are right. But, I have experience and talk to a LOT more riders and motorcyclists than normal also. I also have eyes on things like CSI scores and what the customer wants when they buy a new or used motorcycle. The data that I am looking at is usually not ever available to the general public. So, when I speak about it, it typically is from data that I have seen or from past and current experiences. Again, I think that customers look at customer service and overall experience with a lot of thought. For an example like Ducati, price is sooooo further down the scale than the average. But, because I work for that company doesn't mean I don't know about other brands. I worked in the MX industry and I can promise you that price is ALL that matters. I have also worked at a shop in the middle of a corn field that pulled business from metro areas because not of price, but because we were good. And you aren't the typical buyer, either. And it isn't all about service. I value your points and feel this to be a healthy discussion. If you are going to get upset over it, I am out. I have a pretty deep understanding about the industry and if that is valuable in anyone's mind, I will let the experts ramble on. Service is important. But the example of great price, great sales staff and shit service and ASSUMING another dealer has average sales as opposed to "great", but has better rankings on the other aspects, it is obvious which is better. Whatever the decision a buyer makes, I only want people to understand that while you feel techs at shops are shit, dealers are charging too much and that there are too many average or lower level sales people, there are actually dealers that have BETTER techs by a landslide, have amazing sales staff and employees and are great to deal with and value their customer base. And to be factual, I have more in that regard than less...

See my example. I can save $1k and actually get my bike serviced by better techs than if I had it shaved off the deal. At $100/hr average these days in service, the fact that you either drive that far away to get the bike serviced and worked on and the fact that you may have a higher return rate (Most the discount shops have a higher than average return rate on serviced bikes), what's that worth in the course of a couple of years you own the thing? Not to mention the priority customers get over walkers. That time down is worth something also. I guess I look at things differently as what I do for a living and my own experiences... But, value to me is more than price.

It's our culture. That's the issue. It is a fact, but again... the culture is such that we shop price and buy price. We don't value things enough... Take a deal you get on price and go to another "local" dealer for service. The dealer is scheduled 3-4 weeks out. Had you bought from them, they'd have you in under 2. Is that worth something? Is the level of service worth something? Is that traveling further for a deal worth something? We used to have customers come in and literally drive 3-4 one way for $1000. They'd spend a day off work, spend the fuel, food, and then come to us for service because we were good and we were honest. Then, they'd get pissed when we would put customers in front. I have a guy that bought from me and needs to get his bike serviced to get back out and ride vs a guy that low balled me and went to the opposite end of the state to buy something... Customer wins. Schedule has the guy waiting additional time to get his stuff fixed... He can then drive 3-4 hours one way again for lower level service and probably have to make that trek again to pick up. Do that a few times and that discount isn't that much of a deal. The cost of great service guys is high. The cost of proper tooling, proper training, proper amounts of accessories, proper amount of simple quality all costs money. You can be a volume dealer that sells a lot at a low margin or you can be a quality dealer that sells less for a higher margin. Either way, it comes out the same. It's the reviews, the customer service and the overall experience that matters... When I hear a guy bought on price, but thinks the service department is terrible, that means something... I know H of M probably should have done better. Sounds like the insurance guy validated that it wasn't done up to spec. A little weird they don't send someone out like Progressive or State Farm, but nonetheless sounds like it was handled below average. But, we all make mistakes. And the issue is the internet has everyone chirp about how bad things were vs. how good. Not you. You've had both. So, very fair. Just most complain before they praise...

This is an issue... Why pay less and take it to a dealer you trust vs. paying a little more and doing everything under one roof? That's the mentality that is what I am referring. It just doesn't make sense... I will pay more to get great all round service vs. just a cheap deal.

Hob- The review you first gave on ASK was started with the price. Your quote exactly and how the thread started: "they knock it out of the park every time. I have bought 3 different units from them, and every time the kill the price. no one can touch the deals they gave me. I deal specifically with Sandi down there. She is a bit loopy, and not great at calling you back, but price wise, killer. She will beat the pants off any other price you can get, really don't know how she is making any money down there." What I was saying was that it sounds like they won your business based on price only. Poor at calling back (customer service) but, beat anyone's price, so you go there. I understand that H of M probably didn't do the best job. But, being from a dealership, it is very possible what they thought would be enough to photograph and report was going to total the machine and get you handled was simply not enough and had to do more. You also may not know that Rider's Insurance is at a cross roads on costs and payouts right now. Especially on sportbikes and their premiums are changing. When they have something that is looking totalled, they probably want to get more pics, more details and really dive in and make triple sure it is not at all salvageable. I've talked to the rep for here and what they are going through is that they've paid out a lot without question (Could also be why H of M did a quicky estimate) and are now looking a lot harder at these things. What I am getting at is that I agree you tend to have unbiased reviews for the most part. But the reviews for ASK are somewhat because they had the best price. Which, I understand... People are that way in the US. They value less the atmosphere, service, customer relationship and technical aspects than the price. People buy for nothing at one dealership and then get their bike serviced at their local dealer because they don't want to drive that far. You mentioned how great the experience was at H of M based on how you were treated and how the atmosphere there was nothing like a typical dealership in terms of the sales staff. That you felt there was focus on personal experience and bonding. That's what I am getting at. The shop I worked at was always having to compete against known discounters. BIG discounters. We couldn't do that and wouldn't do that. People believe that frieght and prep and things like that are rip offs. But, truth be told, they are factual and they are costs. Yes, there is a reserve. Yes, there is some additional points to be possibly earned. But at the end of the day, if the average margin is below 15%, there isn't a lot of wiggle room like people think. There just isn't. The last thing I will say is that I don't have any buying experience with either dealer. None. But I have been around more dealers than I promise anyone on this site has. I have seen the details, I have worked as a Sales Manager, I have worked with some of the best dealers in the Midwest. The guys that are successful are making strong and solid margins. But the one thing to me that makes a shop worth going to is so far above price that I will pay a higher price to get better customer service and a better experience. Again, your experience may have been great and I think that is awesome. I said it before... But, it just comes across that when you do a review that starts the way it did and as seen in this one, it is more because they gave the unit away vs. another dealer. You also may have seen $2k off, but I am willing to bet that they used incentives to get some margin that allowed that price. Your review of H of M when you bought the Grom was more positive than the review of ASK in my opinion... But, the guys and gals on here will search for a dealer on price before anything else so, ASK probably will win out.

Not sure if anyone on here can use these, but I have a set of good 1199 Standard wheels front and rear for sale. These will also work on the Multistrada MTS1200 series of bikes also. No rotors. Asking $1100. Will try and get pics tomorrow...

In defense of H of M, what may have been the case was that since they are not a dealer for Arctic Cat, they may have just been sending enough pics knowing what they were showing was going to total the machine. Or, they may have figured they were not going to get the job on the unit to repair it and decided that they would do a quick overview and run it through fast and be done. The point is that ASK is a discount dealer and the only reason they are getting a positive review is because they beat anyone else on price. Price alone isn't what makes a dealer good. Not saying they suck, but H of M may have had a few mistakes made on a machine they do not sell and between the insurance company possibly saying take pics of this or that and needing more from the pictures sent, it could be legit and nothing intentional. Rather, not a lack of quality work... That being said, every dealer gets bad reviews only on the website forums out there. So, when you hear "Dealer ABC sucks", think that only people on average complain rather than support or provide positive feedback. And again, don't take it wrong. I think walking out feeling like you've been treated great is awesome and glad to hear a positive review. I just want it to be known for all the dealers that maintain margins, provide solid customer service and maybe not the lowest price are out there and shouldn't be evaluated poorly because they don't give things away... It is a business and maintaining margins is something that isn't a bad word. Otherwise, dealers fade away and that's never good. I've no horse in the race, but feel that sometimes dealers get an unfair shake because of price only and not a true evaluation of customer service and experience...

Not sure where to price it. I will check around and see what the fairest price would be.

I also have all the manuals for EVERYTHING. Like for the forks, shock, wheels, components, posts, etc... Frame box and wheel box also...

I really am mixed about selling this thing. I really LOOOOOOVE this bike and have taken great care of it. I built it from the frame up and had everything I wanted put on it. I would call it a 9 out of 10 honestly and like new. No dents, knicks, etc. Specs: -Niner RIP 9 2012 -Size LG -Black Licorice -Fox Talas Forks freshly updated with updated Fox internals. Done end of Spring -Fox RP23 also freshened up and updated internals. Done at end of Spring -Industry Nine wheelset laced to ZTR Flows and tubeless ready. Spare (new) spokes. -SRAM X0 front to rear. EVERYTHING. Crankset, front and rear deraileurs and brakes/rotors. -Cytoe skid plate -Thompson seat post and steering stem. -Niner Carbon bars -Maxxis tires. Nearly new Not sure what to ask or what would be fair. Again, it is an amazing machine and in awesome condition. If you priced all the components, you'd be over $5k. I'll do a little more research and see, but in case someone wants a bad ass MTB bike, I have this for sale. Simply going to a hardtail and possibly a 27.5... Can't have two bikes in the garage right now even though I told myself I would never sell this...

Very true. Well said. His methods work also. Just not on all bikes as I am trying to point out. Companies make lifts especially for lifting at the point discussed. However, he isn't going to properly lower an R6 in one hour and for $50. Ain't gonna happen. Then to reticule techs who do excellent work, is poor taste. There are plenty of guys that that work from a small independent shop or garage that do even better than certified shop techs do. Reuben on here, Hob, Pappa, etc. but there is also a group of techs that DO great work that work at shops. Mr. Engineer doesn't understand why the labor costs are what they are in shops obviously. Saying they "prey" on customers is ill informed and n insult to any tech. I'm done. Crazy probably is a good guy. But this is out of hand. Take your bike to whom you trust. Simple as that.

Wow. You are butt hurt. I get it. You're a shade tree guy and that is totally fine. It does affect me because people like you prey on newer riders like my friend and they end up causing more harm than good. I didn't say you were wrong. Some you can do it to. You are the one that can't be wrong. You "think" you can do it because you are an internet engineer. Cool. I just want new riders to understand there is a right way and a not so smart way to do things and that having a knowledgable person to do your work is the best bet.

Bingo.

Hill- The track was far from empty on the day as they had been bumping Intermediate riders to Advanced due to heavy numbers. The fact is simple. Guys running :33s and guys running :43s is a 10 second difference. You can look and see clear and within the time between Turn 7 and 10a (You didn't look during those times), I can sneak up on you rather quickly. It is also the job of ANY track day rider to focus forward. Yes, looking over the shoulder coming onto the track from the pits is acceptable. But you are also far left and off the line... The choice you made to go far right and slow dramatically is not permitted and I would have pulled you in and told you to never do it again... I am not being a hard ass - I am talking safety and it is something we made very clear to NOT do in the Rider's Meeting... As for coaches braking hard in 14, not sure what they were doing as there shouldn't be heavy braking there. Could they have been following someone and that person had an issue and they reacted? Always three sides to every story... As for Thunder, there were several guys bumped up as mentioned and while it is something we preach, same with you looking over the shoulder - people still do it. The Intermediate guys may have very well have been out of their elements and did the human thing where they forgot. It is a major issue and I had some issues as well. It is something we battle at that track on a regular basis...

Lookin good out there. However, do me a huge favor and do not EVER do that thing you did in the first video to slow up and allow the guy on the Triumph to pass. Super sketchy and could have been a REALLY bad situation should a faster rider have gained on you from the time you looked back out of the Keyhole and the approach to 10a. Just pit and ride through and catch your buddy. He was a good 4-5 seconds slower at minimum and you would have caught him easily had you pitted. One of the biggest problems we have in Advanced and Intermediate is the fact that guys are looking over the shoulders and slowing to ride with buddies. It's a hot track and fast guys are mixed in. Had there been someone behind you guys, it could have got ugly quick. Outside that, you're going good out there and will only get faster. Good job.

How about a Sprinter and doing something wild?