Joined
·
3,644 Posts
chris,
my advice is based on my own buying experience and watching my buddy's old shop.
i would want a shop like that to be upfront and honest, first.
with sportbikes, stocking parts is a hassle, everything is gonna get ordered because everything you stock doesn't seem to sell (except those superbike grips). don't bs someone when their crap is on back order. just say upfront, it's back ordered do you still want it. also tell them the same ting when dealing with venders that tend to be slow, like lp and i hear eurobikes can be at times.
you're not too far from a shop that does a lot of what you're talking about. i've never been there, but i've talked steve long, i think he's the owner. it's called speed-werks (www.speed-werks.com) check it out. you may find some good ideas. they're in camden, de.
also, if you're gonna do suspension, do it right. go to a race-tech school, i'm not sure how long they are. suspension is important to those who wanna pay to get it done. just keep in mind, with the way most street guys care about suspension, don't expect to make a lot off it. you'll do more fork seals than fork springs.
as for motor work, if you mean porting and polishing, if you don't want to front for the equipment, i know a guy up here in nepa that'd likely do it for you until you can get your own equipment (just to help you out there). he's pretty quick if you send him a bare head (about four days for my fizzer head, when a week was promised). which also means you'll make good labor off it, plus the philly mark up you can charge over his wilkes-barre prices. he's a real-life shop btw, not a putz w/ a dremel.
also, be open on sundays. it's impossible to get parts on weekends here. dealers don't open sundays because they can't sell bikes and close early saturday. jeez.
don't bother selling tires, dealer price is high even, but mount them, you can make money doing that. my friend used make a decent buck mounting tires, but he wouldn't even order sportbike tires except for bridgestone because he got hooked up w/ a guy who could sell him at a good price. all of the others weren't worth the heassle for the profit.
don't forget the harley crowd. they may not have the ride you wanna have, but they spend the cash and love someone who doesn't try to suck them dry. my buddy made a lot of money off the harley guys and the vetenam vets really kept the shop going in winter.
my last piece of advice, don't quit your job if you can avoid it. working at and owning a bike shop isn't always fun.
------------------
Tony
the views and opinions expressed by tony (cbrf2boy) are the ramblings of a total idiot. sbw.com, it's administrators, moderators, and members don't necessarily agree with and are not responsible for anything this idiot has to say.
my advice is based on my own buying experience and watching my buddy's old shop.
i would want a shop like that to be upfront and honest, first.
with sportbikes, stocking parts is a hassle, everything is gonna get ordered because everything you stock doesn't seem to sell (except those superbike grips). don't bs someone when their crap is on back order. just say upfront, it's back ordered do you still want it. also tell them the same ting when dealing with venders that tend to be slow, like lp and i hear eurobikes can be at times.
you're not too far from a shop that does a lot of what you're talking about. i've never been there, but i've talked steve long, i think he's the owner. it's called speed-werks (www.speed-werks.com) check it out. you may find some good ideas. they're in camden, de.
also, if you're gonna do suspension, do it right. go to a race-tech school, i'm not sure how long they are. suspension is important to those who wanna pay to get it done. just keep in mind, with the way most street guys care about suspension, don't expect to make a lot off it. you'll do more fork seals than fork springs.
as for motor work, if you mean porting and polishing, if you don't want to front for the equipment, i know a guy up here in nepa that'd likely do it for you until you can get your own equipment (just to help you out there). he's pretty quick if you send him a bare head (about four days for my fizzer head, when a week was promised). which also means you'll make good labor off it, plus the philly mark up you can charge over his wilkes-barre prices. he's a real-life shop btw, not a putz w/ a dremel.
also, be open on sundays. it's impossible to get parts on weekends here. dealers don't open sundays because they can't sell bikes and close early saturday. jeez.
don't bother selling tires, dealer price is high even, but mount them, you can make money doing that. my friend used make a decent buck mounting tires, but he wouldn't even order sportbike tires except for bridgestone because he got hooked up w/ a guy who could sell him at a good price. all of the others weren't worth the heassle for the profit.
don't forget the harley crowd. they may not have the ride you wanna have, but they spend the cash and love someone who doesn't try to suck them dry. my buddy made a lot of money off the harley guys and the vetenam vets really kept the shop going in winter.
my last piece of advice, don't quit your job if you can avoid it. working at and owning a bike shop isn't always fun.
------------------
Tony
the views and opinions expressed by tony (cbrf2boy) are the ramblings of a total idiot. sbw.com, it's administrators, moderators, and members don't necessarily agree with and are not responsible for anything this idiot has to say.
