Omigod! What if I want to buy a new bike...

**soundbeltfarm** · 6th February 2006, 20:08

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Nah.
You have to sell yourself on the idea before you can go baggin' the sales people.

Patrick at AMPS and Eddie at ANZA are both friends of mine and
will both give you no bullshite if you communicate your requirements.

i found Ed the best of all of them in Anza, not a bad bloke.

MD · 6th February 2006, 22:03

Hitcher, I'm behind the news here? Sorry to here you crashed and hurt yourself. Get well soon and I know the frustration of waiting to get back on a bike.
No idea what happened to you BUT what the hell were you doing in Bulls. No wonder you crashed. Just joking all you lovers of Bulls - the town, not the beef.
You like l-o-n-g trips so the ST1300 is probably one of the best around in your size. Apart from those overpriced BMWs but lets not go there. If I was looking for a sportstourer the Triumph ST sprint would be top of my shopping list.
Maybe I look like an easy target to Bike salesman because they all seem to provide good friendly service whenever I pop into any shop. Got to beat the buggers back with a stick.

**Ixion** · 6th February 2006, 22:59

Originally Posted by Motu

Oh,to live a dream - to have enough money to walk into a bike shop as a prospective customer,to have to decide on which bike to buy....and go right up nose to nose to a bike salesman and talk business....

How come in 36 years of riding I've never done that?

Cos y're like me - a bottom feeder living off the end of the biker food chain. And bike shops don't have those sort of bikes. 'Tis OK - I get as much fun from a 20 year old $1000 dollar bike as someone who swans into the bike shop and pays down 15K for a new one. And then crashes it a month later!

**Ixion** · 6th February 2006, 23:02

Originally Posted by Big Dave

We'll have a beer waiting on the bar for when you eventually get there too.

Y'know where you can ride at a sustained 180kph+? Tell me ! Petal's 30 years old and will cruise all week at 150kph. OK, y'r new R1 will go faster. Until the cops confiscate y'r licence. And how many places in NZ can you maintain 200kph for 30 minutes continuous? Name me one ? Old bikes ain't slow bikes.

**KLOWN** · 6th February 2006, 23:10

I have never bought a new bike, but when I bought my helmet and riding gear and any parts for my bike i have gone to phil turnbulls down here in palmy. Everytime I come in the sales people greet me and the parts and workshop people are great. I don't look like i have money, cause I dont, and the only time I haven't been greeted or looked after straight away is when everyone is busy. Great store great guys.

**mstriumph** · 7th February 2006, 00:58

hmmmmmmmmm that's a revelation

thought that those 'sub-optimal bikeshop experiences' were reserved for women

suddenly, i don't feel so bad

thank you, mr hitcher!

**Big Dave** · 7th February 2006, 01:43

Originally Posted by Ixion

Old bikes ain't slow bikes.

Tell that to a CB350.

**White trash** · 7th February 2006, 05:17

Originally Posted by ZorsT

Come to Thunderbike Powersports in Nelson, and say you wanna buy a bike. You won't be dissapointed by their service.

Why should you say "I wanna buy a bike"? Isn't that a salesmans job? To engage motorcyclists in a conversation to find out why they're in the shop in the first place?

This is a bloke who'd (fairly) recently, bought an almost new ST thingamijig from ANZA, at fair old price I'd bet. A friendly "Howz it Mr Hitcher, be with ya soon" might have helped.

I was lucky enough (due to an extremely unfortunate incident) to be able to help the Hitcher family out after I'd previously made the mistake of not taking them seriously and the lessons I learnt in that one transaction made me alot better sales person for the rest of my career.

And don't get me started about ChunderBike......

**Beemer** · 7th February 2006, 06:48

I know I have bagged them before, but we went into ANZA on Saturday and a salesman actually approached us and was very helpful! You could have knocked me down with a feather!

However, when shopping for a bike on our honeymoon last year, in places from Hamilton to Kaitaia and back, the level of service (apart from that we received from Sarge) was abyssmal. Several times we walked around for ages and weren't even acknowledged. In some shops we were approached, but as soon as they discovered we were looking for a Goose and they didn't have one, end of conversation. Oh, I tell a lie, one guy did half-heartedly try to sell me a Monster 600! And the majority of the ones who did bother to talk to us ignored me (intended owner of bike) and only spoke to my husband. One asked me if I had my full licence as the Goose was a 350 so I wouldn't be able to ride it on a learner's licence. The look on his face when I said "that's fine, I am currently riding a BMW F650CS" was priceless!

One shop in Wellington missed out on selling me a bike when I began riding (blame the owner at the time, a Mr Scoular) because I walked around the shop looking at bikes for half an hour and was not even acknowledged once, despite the fact all the staff were standing around at the counter reading bike magazines or chatting with their mates.

**Lou Girardin** · 7th February 2006, 07:22

I guess I get to see both sides of the issue, and how hard our sales guys work. I've bought two bikes from Colemans now, because I wanted a Spwezuki both times. Both times it was a relatively pain free experience, dollars were talked and a deal was done.
Maybe I've been lucky.

**marty** · 7th February 2006, 07:34

Originally Posted by Ixion

And how many places in NZ can you maintain 200kph for 30 minutes continuous? Name me one ? Old bikes ain't slow bikes.

from mercer tavern to the orewa roundabout is EXACTLY 100kms - bling to the person who can do that in 30 mins....

**marty** · 7th February 2006, 07:36

just realised it's not the mercer tavern any more - the mercer mobil then.

**sAsLEX** · 7th February 2006, 07:57

Originally Posted by Ixion

:
And how many places in NZ can you maintain 200kph for 30 minutes continuous? Name me one ? Old bikes ain't slow bikes.

Originally Posted by marty

from mercer tavern to the orewa roundabout is EXACTLY 100kms - bling to the person who can do that in 30 mins....

some people have proof of over 200 in that stretch......but that far in half an hour shit even sitting on 140 most of the southern and splitting with a fair bit of reckless abandon it has taken me around 45 mins to get to Devo, nah I reckon it could be done, not in peak times but say a sunday afternoon....

**marty** · 7th February 2006, 08:06

sunday afternoon? have you ever seen how many aucklanders are returning to their sad lives after the weekend annoying the rest of us down coromandel way?

4am on a weekday morning could work. i used to commute down the southern about then, and often did the run from manukau to mercer without seeing anyone at all. 9 minutes from manukau to mercer was my best (in the cage) but add the distance to orewa on to that, in only 21 minutes more........