Ractech and a rotting stench

[tri boy]

After reading the entire thread, I am now wondering if CKT could supply me with a large slice of Humble pie.

Ya live n learn buddy.
We have all been there.

[Kickaha]

I bought off RT. No regrets. The after sales service has been superb. I have no complaints, and would do it again. I probably could have bought cheaper, and then had no after sales service. Probably would have cost me more money and time with no bike.


No regrets at all.

Same as my experience with them

[Owl]

Try purchasing a Sargent seat directly from the manufacturer, as can be done in the US. The reply will come via the local (Australian) distributer at a much higher price +gst this end. Nothing local there and where's the back-up?

As for RT/CKT, I've had the pleasure of dealing with them. Mods weren't cheap, but I got what I wanted and it was done once, done right. My only regret now is that I took so long making the decision to get the work done.

I'll be keeping this bike for some time, but the priority for my next ride will be a visit to RT. I also notice, the people (non KB) that were so keen to offer me suspension advice and give flack for paying RT's prices, are the same people still moaning about their suspension. Fuck, I'm laughing!

[F5 Dave]

So I go looking for a stiffer spring to throw on my rear shock to shorten up the 45mm of rider sag a bit. Racetech US have a good selection of stiffer ratings on their site, US$109 for the spring. That's NZ$154. Shipping was usually around the US$35 mark, so looking at about NZ$185-195 delivered to my doorstep. Shipping being a bit of a rip, but easier than rowing it across the pacific in your own canoe. . . .

ok so I'm assuming that Racetech who have been selling-out-the-factory-door with their owner can do everything service means that dealers probably don't get much (any?) mark off as with other business models.

so $200 into country, put a 30% mark up as a starting point & that takes you to $260, sell it & the government's take pushes that to $292. How is that "twice the fukin price" as you stat later? OK this is only a finger painting with available figures, maybe RT gives dealers more mark, but they still have to pay for staff, advertising & holding a bit of stock, some of which might never sell, or some that they swap out & probably have to discount if the box is lost by last chap. + time pissin around with customers, clearing agents, there is always a drama every so often.

People have to make a margin or it is not worth thier while. in NZ we have historically had instances where there have been too many fingers in the pie with importers, distributors & retailers taking a cut. That model has to change, this is an internet world. But this leaning out is occurring.

[F5 Dave]

I m still getting the heat pump to cool my house down CBRracer! Can I get it at the same price I got that T shirt to you at? T shirts arent sacred where they are made, look at the label......no wonder I was able to give it to you, on the back of my filthy capitalist profits!!!

Well I'm not sure where the Ohlins hats are made, but maybe the model Swedish head is somewhat diminutive, I had to give mine to a small passing girl.

[jellywrestler]

finger painting .

Finger painting? isn't that what lesbians look forward too once every 28 days?

[Viscount Montgomery]

I'm not here to get into slanging matches with people on a personal level, the young wet-behind-the-ears squid crowd like to stoop down there when I tell them, on the whole as a group, they're a bunch of wankers. But once you get into slanging matches on a personal one on one level, it just leaves a bad taste.


Now, that out of the way, the same tired excuse I've heard on this site a hundred times over - "yes, the price is high but we offer exceptional service" is a crock of shit. What service? How many people buy a product, say springs, shocks, pipes, bars, whatever, - slap it on their bike, then go running to the shop every 5 minutes wanting 'service'.

The fucking thing is on the bike, bolted up, and there to stay. If you can't do it yourself then get the shop to do it . Blabbing on as if 'servicing' is some sort of special privilege that you should be bowing and scraping on your knees to get is just so much bluster blowing in the wind.

The high-roller crowd here are so out of touch with the average working New Zealander it's a joke. Lots of gullible riders here a totally brainwashed by all the used-car-salesman hype. Totally convinced by the word sharks that they're all getting a fantastic deal, that 'the best' is only good enough etc.. etc....

To me, telecom, the sleazy power companies, the gas companies, the shifty supermarket chains with their $5 a kg apples and $45 a kg snapper fillets (that sit untouched all day, then mysteriously disappear somewhere overnight) they're all the fucken same, if they can get away with shafting Joe Public - then they'll fucking try it on, no hesitation.


Why would I pay 299 dollars or more for a bloody shock spring that sits for sale in the States for US$109? The sums are all fucked up. Where's my $299 plus postage going to end up? Anyone who thinks it's going to 'support the community' is living in a fantasy.

All it's going to support is Racetech NZ's building lease, woolworths, the power company, Racetechs latte/cafe bills, their daily self-flagellation sessions, and the occasional overseas junket to go watch some strange dalmation prick, in a white jacket, with a heavy accent, pushing a felt-tip pen around flow-charts on a gucci whiteboard.


Mind you, New Plymouth is well known as a strange, creepy town with a strange, sinister population of people. Who really knows what kind of depraved activities my extra money would be funding over there... And we all thought that Levin, Balclutha and Devonport held the largest combined population of deranged people in this country..


Racetech have crawled their way to the position of having free reign over prices' and can hammer home any price that they feel like charging - with impunity. Which they've done.


I'm not having a bar of it.

[tri boy]

VM knows all,. All bow to the mighty VM

[Robert Taylor]

The perpetrator of this thread says he is not going to get into a slanging match and then launches into a toxic diatraibe of slanging.
Lets hear it from this person what he does for a living, what his position is and scutinise closely the industry he is in? Maybe hed also like to man up and divulge his name and address, if he has the courage to snipe away then he also has the courage to do that.
I do not drink latte and I do not kick around anywhere in the world with people dressed in Gucci. My lifestyle is not lavish by any means and I work at least 70 hours every week, often more during the race season.
We are ALL hypocrites. No need to elaborate for those that can think rationally and logically.
Yes, granted indeed there are pricing issues with many imported goods, many of them very extreme, unexplianable and unjustifiable.
Theres most likely a correlation between those who grizzle the most and those who least understand business and the minefield that is distribution in a small vulnerable country.
That very small displaced economies are most affected by the open market is a given. Most businesses in NZ are very small and cannot do numbers. Business people have spouses and dependents as do their employess. Is it lost or conveniently ignored by those that grizzle loudest and longest that this is where these people earn a living so they can have three meals a day and a roof over their heads? The more that is purchased overseas on the open market the weaker day by day that small NZ business becomes. Where do these people go? We cannot all live off the Government, who derive most of their tax base from ( you guessed it ) small business. The long term prosperity of this country depends on the viability of small business and their ability to employ and pay decent wages for a decent days work. Heaven knows we should be more and more geared to export on the back of an exchange rate that is closer to about 55 cents US. We should also be according clearance charges and gst on literally everything that arrives into the country so that on that basis alone it helps to level the playing field a little.....and the Governments tax take would be increased enormously so that we can at least start to recover some ground after 9 wasted years of a diabolical Government.
Yes there does need to be some realignment in terms of traditional wholesale and retail etiquette, most distributors are still as much as possible trying to do the right thing in allowing a dealer margin, and I can tell you those margins are not handsome. But then I procrastinate all the time that good dealers committed to the product deserve a margin, those that just pick the eyes out of every product and order once in a blue moon ( and havent worked for the sale ) deserve little or no margin.
Our products are very technical and we spend a lot of time dialing them to our specific road conditions that have a very high percentage of bumps etc. That is added value and I make no aplogy to being committed to offer such service.. And as someone else correctly intimated an overseas based ''spring rate calculator'' doesnt automatically make you a suspension technician. Point of fact many of these calcs are overly aggressive for our conditions. Everyting that is on the internet is ''correct''....yeah right. The faceless parasites that sell this stuff have no idea of our conditions, nor do they care.
If you end up with a spring sold to you by one of these companies and the selected rate is too soft or too firm its going to be a costly exercise to return it, more often than not. If you buy locally and the selected rate turns out to be not quite right( even after several weeks use to determine ) we exchange at no further cost excepting local freight recoveries. Similarly with internal shock valving as Pritch very kindly pointed out. In his case we in the first instance didnt want to second guess the standard valving spec, but when it proved to be a little harsh for our roads we were more than happy to put our hand up and optimise it for him at no extra cost. Pritch vwas a gentleman to deal with, we pre haggled a bit on price prior to building the shock and came to an agreement . There are more than a few people around who could learn a thing or two about old world manners.....
The reality is if you deal with me directly and afford common courtesy and decency I am happy to be flexible on price within sensible boundaries. But Im not going to go bust for anyone either. Seen that happen often.

Now I must away, Im looking out at the panoramic seascape of activity from my waterfront mansion. The new leather armchairs are really comfy and I especially like the new solid oak sidetables that have just been delivered, they are the right height so that I dont have to strain unduly to reach my cocktails. I will be bored with this soon though and retire to the southerly end of the house that overlooks the 1000 acres of plains where I can witness herds of vildebeests majestically sweeping across the horizon. It also troubles me which vehicle Im going to drive to the bordello tonight, the Ferrari or the new Aston. I think Ill also phone ahead and get the girls to dress in full Nazi regalia, about 5 of them should do the trick.
The politics of envy is still very much alive, as is simplistic ignorance

[Robert Taylor]

Finger painting? isn't that what lesbians look forward too once every 28 days?

Ive always been a lesbian....

[Robert Taylor]

Well I'm not sure where the Ohlins hats are made, but maybe the model Swedish head is somewhat diminutive, I had to give mine to a small passing girl.

They are made in a country that should only be allowed to make rice....nothing is sacred. Happily the suspension units derive all the raw materials from predominantly Sweden and Germany, as are the subcontractors, prior to assembly by nubile Swedish nymphs.

[gixerracer]

you need to get a life man and may be sell that motorbike it is clearly way to much drama for you

I'm not here to get into slanging matches with people on a personal level, the young wet-behind-the-ears squid crowd like to stoop down there when I tell them, on the whole as a group, they're a bunch of wankers. But once you get into slanging matches on a personal one on one level, it just leaves a bad taste.


Now, that out of the way, the same tired excuse I've heard on this site a hundred times over - "yes, the price is high but we offer exceptional service" is a crock of shit. What service? How many people buy a product, say springs, shocks, pipes, bars, whatever, - slap it on their bike, then go running to the shop every 5 minutes wanting 'service'.

The fucking thing is on the bike, bolted up, and there to stay. If you can't do it yourself then get the shop to do it . Blabbing on as if 'servicing' is some sort of special privilege that you should be bowing and scraping on your knees to get is just so much bluster blowing in the wind.

The high-roller crowd here are so out of touch with the average working New Zealander it's a joke. Lots of gullible riders here a totally brainwashed by all the used-car-salesman hype. Totally convinced by the word sharks that they're all getting a fantastic deal, that 'the best' is only good enough etc.. etc....

To me, telecom, the sleazy power companies, the gas companies, the shifty supermarket chains with their $5 a kg apples and $45 a kg snapper fillets (that sit untouched all day, then mysteriously disappear somewhere overnight) they're all the fucken same, if they can get away with shafting Joe Public - then they'll fucking try it on, no hesitation.


Why would I pay 299 dollars or more for a bloody shock spring that sits for sale in the States for US$109? The sums are all fucked up. Where's my $299 plus postage going to end up? Anyone who thinks it's going to 'support the community' is living in a fantasy.

All it's going to support is Racetech NZ's building lease, woolworths, the power company, Racetechs latte/cafe bills, their daily self-flagellation sessions, and the occasional overseas junket to go watch some strange dalmation prick, in a white jacket, with a heavy accent, pushing a felt-tip pen around flow-charts on a gucci whiteboard.


Mind you, New Plymouth is well known as a strange, creepy town with a strange, sinister population of people. Who really knows what kind of depraved activities my extra money would be funding over there... And we all thought that Levin, Balclutha and Devonport held the largest combined population of deranged people in this country..


Racetech have crawled their way to the position of having free reign over prices' and can hammer home any price that they feel like charging - with impunity. Which they've done.


I'm not having a bar of it.

[Kickaha]

prior to assembly by nubile Swedish nymphs.

Pics or it didn't happen

[gixerracer]

can i borrow the aston or the ferrari

The perpetrator of this thread says he is not going to get into a slanging match and then launches into a toxic diatraibe of slanging.
Lets hear it from this person what he does for a living, what his position is and scutinise closely the industry he is in? Maybe hed also like to man up and divulge his name and address, if he has the courage to snipe away then he also has the courage to do that.
I do not drink latte and I do not kick around anywhere in the world with people dressed in Gucci. My lifestyle is not lavish by any means and I work at least 70 hours every week, often more during the race season.
We are ALL hypocrites. No need to elaborate for those that can think rationally and logically.
Yes, granted indeed there are pricing issues with many imported goods, many of them very extreme, unexplianable and unjustifiable.
Theres most likely a correlation between those who grizzle the most and those who least understand business and the minefield that is distribution in a small vulnerable country.
That very small displaced economies are most affected by the open market is a given. Most businesses in NZ are very small and cannot do numbers. Business people have spouses and dependents as do their employess. Is it lost or conveniently ignored by those that grizzle loudest and longest that this is where these people earn a living so they can have three meals a day and a roof over their heads? The more that is purchased overseas on the open market the weaker day by day that small NZ business becomes. Where do these people go? We cannot all live off the Government, who derive most of their tax base from ( you guessed it ) small business. The long term prosperity of this country depends on the viability of small business and their ability to employ and pay decent wages for a decent days work. Heaven knows we should be more and more geared to export on the back of an exchange rate that is closer to about 55 cents US. We should also be according clearance charges and gst on literally everything that arrives into the country so that on that basis alone it helps to level the playing field a little.....and the Governments tax take would be increased enormously so that we can at least start to recover some ground after 9 wasted years of a diabolical Government.
Yes there does need to be some realignment in terms of traditional wholesale and retail etiquette, most distributors are still as much as possible trying to do the right thing in allowing a dealer margin, and I can tell you those margins are not handsome. But then I procrastinate all the time that good dealers committed to the product deserve a margin, those that just pick the eyes out of every product and order once in a blue moon ( and havent worked for the sale ) deserve little or no margin.
Our products are very technical and we spend a lot of time dialing them to our specific road conditions that have a very high percentage of bumps etc. That is added value and I make no aplogy to being committed to offer such service.. And as someone else correctly intimated an overseas based ''spring rate calculator'' doesnt automatically make you a suspension technician. Point of fact many of these calcs are overly aggressive for our conditions. Everyting that is on the internet is ''correct''....yeah right. The faceless parasites that sell this stuff have no idea of our conditions, nor do they care.
If you end up with a spring sold to you by one of these companies and the selected rate is too soft or too firm its going to be a costly exercise to return it, more often than not. If you buy locally and the selected rate turns out to be not quite right( even after several weeks use to determine ) we exchange at no further cost excepting local freight recoveries. Similarly with internal shock valving as Pritch very kindly pointed out. In his case we in the first instance didnt want to second guess the standard valving spec, but when it proved to be a little harsh for our roads we were more than happy to put our hand up and optimise it for him at no extra cost. Pritch vwas a gentleman to deal with, we pre haggled a bit on price prior to building the shock and came to an agreement . There are more than a few people around who could learn a thing or two about old world manners.....
The reality is if you deal with me directly and afford common courtesy and decency I am happy to be flexible on price within sensible boundaries. But Im not going to go bust for anyone either. Seen that happen often.

Now I must away, Im looking out at the panoramic seascape of activity from my waterfront mansion. The new leather armchairs are really comfy and I especially like the new solid oak sidetables that have just been delivered, they are the right height so that I dont have to strain unduly to reach my cocktails. I will be bored with this soon though and retire to the southerly end of the house that overlooks the 1000 acres of plains where I can witness herds of vildebeests majestically sweeping across the horizon. It also troubles me which vehicle Im going to drive to the bordello tonight, the Ferrari or the new Aston. I think Ill also phone ahead and get the girls to dress in full Nazi regalia, about 5 of them should do the trick.
The politics of envy is still very much alive, as is simplistic ignorance

[Kickaha]

Now I must away, Im looking out at the panoramic seascape of activity from my waterfront mansion. The new leather armchairs are really comfy and I especially like the new solid oak sidetables that have just been delivered, they are the right height so that I dont have to strain unduly to reach my cocktails. I will be bored with this soon though and retire to the southerly end of the house that overlooks the 1000 acres of plains where I can witness herds of vildebeests majestically sweeping across the horizon. It also troubles me which vehicle Im going to drive to the bordello tonight, the Ferrari or the new Aston. I think Ill also phone ahead and get the girls to dress in full Nazi regalia, about 5 of them should do the trick.

Party at Roberts place