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Suzy needed new shoes again so I thought I'd document tire sizes and so on as well
as my [mis]adventures trying to find a competent, reasonably priced motorcycle shop
in the Portland, Beaverton, Aloha, Hillsboro, Tigard, Tualatin and Vancouver, USA
area to do the work.
If you want white wall tires, your choices are somewhat limited.
Suzy is a 2006 Suzuki C90-T with alloy wheels running tubeless tires
I always seem to get about 12k miles out of a set of tires, pretty much
regardless of the tire brand or the bike I'm riding. Of course this assumes
no front end problems and keeping the tires properly inflated. I always buy
good quality, top of the line tires and to be honest, I've seen very little
difference in handling going from brand to brand.
REAR:
Dunlop K555 170/80-15 wide white wall (WWW).
OEM is a Bridgestone Exedra G702-J 180/70-15 WWW
Metzeler 170/80H15 WWW ME880 marathon high mileage cruiser tire MPN 1415100
FRONT:
Dunlop D404 150/80-16 WWW on the front
OEM is a Bridgestone Exedra G703-J 150/80-16 WWW
Metzeler 150/80H16 WWW ME880 marathon high mileage cruiser tire MPN 1415200
TIRE INFLATION: (Check Mfg's specs) - F: 38-40 psi; R: 40-42 psi
I'm sure there are other tires available but the ones listed above are very popular
for this model. I'd recommend installing "RIDE-ON" which is a balancing fluid as
well as a puncture hole sealant.
Suzy, July, 2010 wearing her brand new Dunlop sneakers. We're off for a long
weekend ride out to the John Day Fossil Beds in Eastern Oregon. She's a happy girl.
IF YOU DO YOUR OWN WORK: If you're set up to change your own tires, GMan
Inductries (Renton, Washington) sells Dunlops for this bike for under $400 a set.
Gary, the owner, LOVES Boulevards... you can probably do a little better on price
shopping around but Gary is a good guy and businesses like his deserve to be supported.
If you live in the Portland/Vancouver area and are looking for a motorcycle repair
shop, your available options are grim. The two shops I used for many, many years
(Obsession Motorcycle Service and Fast Forward Customs) have long since gone out of
business. Portland is *BADLY* in need of a competent, reasonably priced, customer
oriented motorcycle repair shop.
After e-mailing me their quotes, not a single Dealership or motorcycle shop... not
one, followed up to see if I was interested in doing business there. This, more
than anything, clearly demonstrates how NON-Customer oriented the motorcycle repair
options in Portland are for people needing work done. A new motorcycle business,
operated using the Les Schwab, excellent customer service model, could absolutely
clean up here.
If you own a motorcycle repair shop and would like us to review it, please
drop me a note. Also happy to hear customer reviews (good or bad) as well as
owner rebuttals to anything that's posted here. We are not interested in slamming
local businesses... we try to be accurate and fair with the information we
post which includes offering Owners the opportunity to respond to bad reviews.
HILLSBORO AREA MOTORCYCLE REPAIR SHOPS:
Hillsboro Motosports: Wanted $1,175 to install a set of Bridgestones. Their prices
have always been in the stratosphere. They knocked themselves out of consideration
at the gate. Only true idiots patronize this place.
Hillsboro Motosports is a dealership... one of the few Honda/Suzuki dealerships
still in business in the Portland area.
Northwest Motorcycle Works: Seems like a competent shop but the owner quoted a price
that was $200 higher than Beaverton Honda and most of the other places I checked.
He pretty much priced himself out of consideration.
BEAVERTON AREA MOTORCYCLE REPAIR SHOPS:
Lampheres Beaverton Honda Yamaha Suzuki:
The bottom line here is that these guys, all the way up to and including Bob
Lamphere jr who now runs the joint, could care less about your business. I'm
not talking "out of school" here.... they are all very clear by their actions
that they don't value or want your business unless you are willing to just
fork over your dough and keep your mouth shut. I gave Jerry Lenz, the General
Manager at BHY numerous opportunities to "earn my business" as these sales
sleezes like to say.... he totally failed to act on any of it. Bob Lamphere jr.
gave me a non-commital, unresponsive "I'll look into it" when I wrote to him
and was never heard from again. "Buy BOB" if you like but IMHO, you'll NOT be
treated like a valued customer. Details follow....
These guys have always been problematic to deal with. This time, they were only
willing to install the OEM Bridgestones and quoted $465 to replace the set. There
would be a week or more wait while they ordered the tires and you had to pay for the
tires in advance.
This nonsense was almost a complete deja vu of my tire replacement experience with
them two years ago. I finally had to complain to the General Manager to get decent
treatment from their parts and service people. I wound up getting a pretty good price
($413) on a set of Dunlops that they got in almost immediately and installed right away..
the "policy" of having to pay for tires in advance disappeared. I love rules that only
exist for customers who are too stupid to complain about them.
This time (2012), escalating the issue to the General Manager turned out to be
unproductive. If Bob Lamphere ever wonders why his sales and service revenue numbers
continue to deline, he might think about making some management changes over at BHY.
After a several week delay (time that I used to gather other quotes) I *FINALLY* got
a firm price from the BHY General Manager that was $45 higher than the three other low
bids I received. Of the three, SDS Performance seems to be the best shop of the lot.
Will swing by to check out their operation tomorrow.
Beaverton Honda Yamaha was not at all interested in meeting their competitor's price
even though refusing to do so could very well cause me to take all my business elsewhere
forever. Very short sighted business philosophy, IMHO. If you're considering buying
at BHY, you may want to consider that fostering customer loyalty is most definitely NOT
a priority there. I will most likley be replacing this Suzuki in a year or two. When
I do, checking out prices and so on at Bob Lamphere Beaverton Honda Yamaha will NOT
be part of the exercise.
10/25/13 UPDATE: Had planned to have my 30,000 mile maintenance done at Columbia
River Honda. They wanted $360 (I got a reduced price because the motor oil and rear
gear oil did not need to be replaced. However, it was such a hassle to schedule
a shop visit over there that just for the fun of it, I contacted Beaverton Honda
for a quote. Seems that they have yet another new Service Manager and this one
actually knows what he's doing. $300 for the whole thing, including a set of iridium
spark plugs. Quoted me 3 hours... wound up taking 6, although they honored their
$300 quote. I'm happy with the work they did. The bike runs very well and is
once again nice and clean. Which goes to show that due diligence demands getting
multiple quotes even if you think a particular company is the one you want doing the
work.
EDR Performance: The owner of this shop seems like a good guy and EDR appears to be
a competent shop. However, they only do sport bikes and are not set up to do
tire changes on cruisers like my Boulevard. As an aside, the owner is related to the
family that owns D&S Cycle in Aloha and has worked there in the past.
Cycle Metrics: This guy is unbelieveable.. and I mean that in the most negative
sense possible. He is an off-the-scale, "my way or the highway" control freak. Saying
that he is not at all customer oriented would be a gross understatement. But beyond
that, my one and only experience with him indicates that he is not a very good
mechanic either. He will bloviate on his MANY opinions which I suppose is fine
except that he turns out to be wrong more often than he is correct. I had my break-in
service done there and I have to say that he was a pill to deal with. Within a day
or so after the service, my rear end started pouring out some sort of graphite material.
I'm not saying that this was due to anything he did... but it's a curious coincidence.
I came by to ask him about it and he said "that's normal. Don't worry about it".
After a couple of days more, it just kept getting worse so I brought it to the dealer
who wouldn't even let me ride it home, saying it was totally unsafe. They replaced
the rear gear assembly ($1,200, covered by the warranty)... needless to say, I won't
be going back to Cycle Metrics.
D&S Cycle: They are on SW Shaw, right off of TV Highway. They are right on the
Beaverton/Aloha line. Quoted $445 to replace with either another set of Dunlops or
Metelers. $225 for just the rear (installed and out the door price). This is a family
owned business that's been around for 40 years or so. Over the years they have
accumulated a disturbing number of negative reviews and have an "F" BBB rating
(their lowest).
I suppose if you have been in business for that long, you are going to generate
at least a few unhappy customers no matter how hard you try. Still, so many really
bad reviews is a serious red flag. I'll let you know how I make out....
UPDATE: 8/27/12, called to order the tires and schedule an appointment. A new jackass
entered the picture and refused to honor the quote given by the first person we talked to.
The "new" price is $25 higher..... guess the numerous horrible reviews and FFF
Better Business Bureau rating are well founded. D&S Cycle seems to be an outfit
best avoided...
D&S Cycle has two very helpful, very friendly, very customer oriented employees..
and one who is a total jackass. He will tell you to your face that he doesn't care
about your business and that you can get lost for all he cares. This jagoff obviously
adds ZERO value to D&S Cycle. I suspect that he is the root cause for the numerous
extremely negative reviews you'll find on the Internet regarding D&S Cycle.
PORTLAND AREA MOTORCYCLE REPAIR SHOPS:
Cycle Tune PDX: Chris, the owner, is a condescending, combative character who
does not seem to be a very competent mechanic or businessman. There are quite a
few negative reviews about him and his shop on the Internet. In my case, he rudely
showed that he was not interested in my business (and visa versa). He very matter-of-factly
proclaimed that the Metzeler ME880 that was my first choice would not fit my motorcycle.
Apparently, Chris is unable to read vendor specs and fitment guides... I am currently
running the exact same size Dunlop on this motorcycle right now! Moron... I suspect
this guy won't be in business much longer.
Procaliber: These guys have been in Vancouver for quite a while. They recently took
over the building out by the airport that used to be a (pretty good) Suzuki dealership.
They also have a new store in Longview, almost next door to Old School Choppers.
I've never had any work done there but they have a VERY bad reputation. I have
yet to hear anything good about the place but have heard MANY first hand horror
stories about bad wrenching there. Mostly having to do with incorrectly installed
parts, stripped threads, failure to use anit-seize and things of this nature. Be
advised...
Motorcycle Tire & Wheel: Quoted $434 to replace with another set of Dunlops.
$390 for a set of OE Bridgestones. Had some reason why Metzelers could not be
obtained.
SDS Performance: The price they quoted was competitive compared to the ones I got from
D&S, Motorcycle Tire & Wheel and others. My concern with these guys is that they
only work on sport bikes, per Sage who I believe is the owner. I'm sure they
would probably do a good job and Sage does seem reasonable... but I guess I'd
prefer to use a shop that's more comfortable with heavy, shaft drive cruisers
such as mine. SDS is still being considered though.
Bridge City Cycles: They are unable to obtain Metzelers for whatever reason.
Their quote for a set of Dunlops, installed, was over $100 higher than the other
quotes I received.
Sargent's Motorsports: These guys were unwilling to give me a quote over e-mail
so they immediately knocked themselves out of consideration. Looking over their web
site they come off as being a little too slick and sleezy for me anyway.
TUALATIN AREA MOTORCYCLE REPAIR SHOPS:
Cardenas Motorsports: This place has quite a few glowing reviews so I was very
hopeful that I had finally found a "new favorite shop" I could patronize. Mike,
the owner, got right back to me claiming that he had *GREAT* prices on tires.
Unfortunately, that's where the positive side of the experience ended. Cardernas'
"great prices" are a few bucks more than you could get the same tires pretty much
anywhere on the Internet. Their shop rate is a little on the high side and they
hedge their rates with charges for "extras" such as a tire disposal fee. I was
NOT able to get an "out-the-door-with-a-smile" price quote or even a "not to exceed"
price quote. This may be a great motorcycle shop but I guess I will never find out..
Mike Cardenas gives the distinct impression, intentionally or not, that my business
just isn't important to him. Must be nice to have so many customers already that
you can chase off new prospects...
SAINT HELENS AREA MOTORCYCLE REPAIR SHOPS
COLUMBIA RIVER HONDA SUZUKI
Columbia River Honda Suzuki: Said they were unable to find a tire that would fit
this bike except for the OEM Bridgestone. Quoted $434 to replace the front and rear.
This was a fairly reasonable and competitive quote and $20 lower than the quote
from Beaverton Honda (BHY) which is located closer to my home. The OEM Bridgestones
are "OK"... they just are not a very high end tire.
UPDATE: After getting a price of $445 from D&S and then having that quote verified
a few days later, when Julie called THE VERY NEXT DAY, some crabby guy there refused to
honor their pricing!!!!! So... back to the drawing board. Julie called Columbia River
Honda Suzuki and miracle of miracles... they found the part number for the Metzelers!!
$445 for a set, installed. Since I would MUCH rather have the work done at a Suzuki
Dealership, Columbia River Honda Suzuki won the business that Beaverton Honda did
not want. Any company that would lose a sale and lose a customer over $25 in
*ADDITIONAL* profit just doesn't "get it" in my opinion. Bend Over Bob's loss
is St Helens' gain..
9/13/12: Had the new Metzelers installed at Columbia River Honda Suzuki. They
honored their pricing and did the work quickly, efficiently and competently.
The Mechanic who did the work was a young guy but has an impressive resume including
working a number of years at Forest Grove Honda which is an "A" rated Dealership.
This is a nice, friendly place with employees who actually seem to enjoy working
there (versus all of the unhappy long faces you'll see at Bend Over Bobs). It's
definitely worth the drive to take your business to a Dealership that actually
values their customers. I'd rate my satisfaction with this visit as: VERY SATISFIED!
10/25/13: Suzy has a little over 30,000 miles on it. Hasn't seen scheduled maintenance
for a very long time (except for lubrication which I do religiously, myself). Figured
it was about time to have a trained Dealership Mechanic give the bike a thorough
going over. Preferred to have the work done at Columbia River Honda Suzuki but...
the negotiations took numerous e-mails and I always had to resend my e-mails
two or three times before I got a response. Columbia River Honda Suzuki wanted
$441 to do this service. Beaverton Honda Suzuki quoted $360 which includes
iridium spark plugs. So, even though they weren't interested in my business last
year, it seems like Beaverton Honda's new Service Manager does.
Here's a picture of Suzy showing off her new shoes on 9/15/12.
SCAPPOOSE AREA MOTORCYCLE REPAIR SHOPS:
Absolute Power Sports: These guys are right off the beginning of the Crown Zellerbach
Trail. There is an auto body shop next door to them (could be the same outfit).
Their shop rate for a tire change is higher than the norm ($60 per axle). The rate
quote they gave me for OEM Bridgestones was competitive. They were VERY slow to
respond to my maintenance request and I had to contact them more than once to get
a response.
When they FINALLY found the time to respond I e-mailed them the information for
the tires I wanted and never heard anything back. I figure any company that's so
disinterested in my business that you have to e-mail them numerous time just to get
a reply is probably not an outfit that is going to be very responsive to customer
needs. My business was theirs to lose.. I guess that are already making more
profit than they know what to do with.
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