Some of us older guys simply still enjoy riding a good motorcycle.
2014 Triumph Bonneville T100
Posted on 07/12/2015 10:16:56 AM PDT by martin_fierro
I saw my buddy Al in a café, having lunch alone and sat down with him. He sells clothing and accessories in a multi-line (Triumph and Italian) motorcycle shop. You pass by him and are greeted by him on your way to the showroom or service department. He mentioned to me long ago that you could tell what a person rides when you see him walk in the door. Is that true?
“Oh, yes,” he said. “You can tell. “A Moto-Guzzi customer is older, gray hair, heavier-set, rides by himself, comes in alone. Guzzi riders are different from riders of other brands. The bikes are good but not fast. You don’t buy them for performance but for uniqueness. “A Triumph guy is either a really young, hipster kind-of guy, or he’s a bit older and having a midlife crisis. I just got divorced, my wife wouldn’ t let me have a bike, I got rid of everything. I need a bike."
They want to be free and a Triumph is a symbol of freedom. “We see that with every brand, but most often with Bonnevilles, Thruxtons or Scramblers. The guy, maybe late 40s, early 50s, wants to be a rebel again. I wanna be free, I wanna be young, I want a bike like the one I rode in high school, y’know? “A Ducati guy is f lashier. He wants everyone to know he has a Ducati. He’s got the watch, cappuccino set, neck warmer, baseball hat, cuff links, shoes, socks... everything you could possibly put on. Sometimes those guys are actually Italian, or they fantasize about being Italian. “Ducati riders definitely ride faster than the others. They get more speeding tickets. “Aprilia customers are often younger, more open and free-thinking. They’re looking for something different. Very few Americans know anything about Aprilias. They haven’t been exposed to them.
“You know, you don’t just want to sell a guy a bike. You want to make a customer for life. And you don’t make anything on a new bike. Sometimes we lose a little money to sell one. There’s this thing called flooring.. .
“We don’t own all those bikes on the sales f loor. The bank does. Monthly, someone comes in and reads the VIN numbers on all the bikes we have, and we pay what is basically rent...on all of them. Until they’re sold.
“A bike that’s been on the f loor for six months is a money pit. So people can get really good deals on certain models at certain times. Doesn’t mean that what they buy is not a great bike. Maybe we ordered too many, summer’s gone and we realize we have eight of what was supposed to be the new hot bike, but they weren’t as hot as we thought. We have to sit on them all winter.
“Lots of people walk in and automatically want a discount. They immediately want to talk about money off. We have to say, slow down, we don’t even know what you want and you’re demanding a discount.
“If they’ve just bought a bike, they imagine they’ve made you wealthy. You’re going to give them all the clothing and everything at cost.
“I’ve noticed that the more well-off the person is, the more discount they ask for or pretty much demand. I’ve had people argue and beg for five more percent off when I’ve already given them 20%, and they leave and get into a Ferrari. I don’t know why that is.
“You can tell that money doesn’t make people happy. My richest customers are the bitchiest. I don’t want to be harsh, but that’s the truth. The happiest customers walk in, figure out what they want, pay full price and don’t haggle.
They realize that we have all these expenses. We have to have a place for them to try stuff on, we have to have inventory, sizes for them to try on, health care for the employees...
“A ll that continues in the off-season when we don’t make anything at all. Really there’s only about three months a year when a motorcycle dealership makes money. During riding season. Rest of the year you’re trying to keep the doors open, waiting for riding season again.
“The guy who is not demanding, the nice guy, is always gonna get taken care of and benefit from all possible discounts. I’m talking about the guy who comes in and hangs out on his day off, who brings the service department some beer once in a while.
“He’ll see the best of everything, service in the shop, bike sales, everything. We’ll all take super care of him, because we like h i m.”
I said goodbye to Al and bought his lunch. I confess I like to be the guy who is welcomed by the shop employees when he walks in. I’m thinking I should show up with beer once in a while during the year, not just at Christmastime.
Geezer kept going, some guy had to chase him down and stop him. Claimed he did not notice a thing.
Some of us older guys simply still enjoy riding a good motorcycle.
2014 Triumph Bonneville T100
Yeah, they never “notice a thing.” Glad you were (relatively) okay though.
““The guy who is not demanding, the nice guy, is always gonna get taken care of and benefit from all possible discounts.”
That is so so true. I own a multi-brand motorsports dealership, after a couple other interesting careers. I am constantly amazed by the people that come into our store and think that way to get the best service and deals is to be the biggest a—hole we have seen all week. Being human beings, it doesn’t actually work that way. The loyal customers who treat us all with friendship and respect always get the best service and deals. Period. Big mystery solved.
Remember the old saying,” A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”
Well,there it is.
The transverse twin didn't come about until much later in the 1950's as part of a three wheeled concept vehicle for the Italian military. That didn't pan out so they decided to use it in bikes. The first one to come out was the V700 in 1965.
Well most of the rich folks will say they didn’t get rich by leaving stones unturned.
Some people may have the idea that the shop is looking to cheat them, therefore they must grill the shop.
I've generally done my own mechanical work, but I have gone to the shop a few times to ask for advice. I try to show up near closing time on a Friday, with beer.
Ah, the wise bribe :-)
Showing up empty-handed and just asking for advice seems like saying, "I'd like the benefit of your experience, but I don't really think it's worth anything."
Had a mechanic tell me once that's what most of the people who come into the shop looking for free advice come off like, and they really appreciate someone acting like their time is valuable.
I never said it was fundamentally bad (even Proverbs winks at it)
I never really considered it a bribe as much as just common courtesy. I grew up in a body shop, and kind of assumed the protocols would be about the same ;).
There certainly is a redneck tradition that any significant mechanical work between buddies must be accompanied with beer.
That’s a thing of beauty.
Then you should probably learn to call it a “Commando” instead of a “Commander”.
“There certainly is a redneck tradition that any significant mechanical work between buddies must be accompanied with beer.”
One of my old riding and wrenching buddies has Draft Staten dark in his shop.
In terms of motorcycles, it truly is. yes, that bike has been re-engineered but the looks are basically the same and its simplicity is what is so striking.
If I ever win the lottery, that's the first thing I'll purchase after paying off all my debt.......LOL!
> “Triumph, BSA, Matchless, JAP, etc.”
The only English one I owned was a Matchless G80-CS. 500cc single cylinder. The entire electrical system was a magneto, a foot-long piece of wire, and a single spark plug. I had nothing but problems starting it.
My dad was an electrician and spent some time checking it out. Seems that the piece of wire was carbon filled, not copper. It had dried out and there were four gaps in it. After jumping enough electricity across the gaps, the carbon would expand and join together — allowing it to start.
He replaced it with a copper wire. The bike started easily after that. However, I could hear the static in the nearby car radios that were anywhere near me at stop signs or stop lights. That was what they were trying to get away from with the carbon wire. I preferred the easy starting myself.
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