Motorcycle repair

[capt1014]

How many of you know of motorcycle repairs shops that you trust?

And how close are they to your home?

Whether it be repair or customizing stuff.

[The Snowman]

Luckily, GMD Boston's Bellingham shop is 3 miles from where I live in Blackstone.

So, I would have to say I know of places I can trust. I've gone to GMD for work and will, most likely, be again in the spring. (valve clearances, brake lines)

I've also gone to Degsy's home/"shop" in Taunton for tire mounting and chain/sprocket replacement. I trust him implicitly.

Both have great reputations with the NESR members and both ride both on the street and the track. Both also offer discounts to forum members.

Even if you had to ride/drive a distance, I'd recommend either one. It's worth the extra mileage to get quality and professional service that you can trust.

[capt1014]

Thanks, not really looking for a place to take my bike, looking to see what the market is like.

[MsHap]

I am amazed at how bad alot of the shops are around here.

Peter at GMD is awesome!
I take Jello to him for all her susspension needs.

[Currently]

Finding a good bike shop is like finding a good physician.

Word of mouth rules.

[RandyO]

Many shops, even those with bad reps, have good mechanics on staff

if you are a regular customer, and have them do everything, in many places will always assign the same mechanic

on the otherhand, if you are an occasional customer, especially to the point that you only bring it in after you've fucked it up, don't expect the best mechanic or best service

[TheIglu]

Doing it yourself is cheaper. You end up getting parts, tools and knowledge for less than letting someone else do it.

[JeffL]

I've always taken the stance that why would I pay someone else to do it, when I can do it myself? This is to an extent though.....have no problem making the drive to Degsy to get some tires changed, and if I had the means of transporting a bike, bringing one down to have PK work on the suspension. But, as far as general maintenance, and small troubleshooting goes.....personally, a few hours of my time spent in the garage is a better deal for me than spending $60-70/hr to have someone else do it for me.

And through my experience of working on my bike alone, I went down to a guys house yesterday, spent 2 hours working on an absolute dog of a bike, and had it up and running in a few hours of multi-meter work, reading wiring diagrams, and isolating possible problem spots.