Which brand has the best service/parts/aftermarket support???? Your opinion

[PDXRider]

Since we have entered another ST.Net phase of Brand Bashing (usually the same company) -- it always seems to happen in cycles.  

If purchasing a new bike which brand do you have the most faith in their service/parts departments assuming you have major services done at the dealer?  I change my own oil, etc but have no confidence adjusting valves or anything that involves trouble shooting electrics.

My experience from bikes I have owned.......

Harley: Excellent service/parts/aftermarket support.  All things HD somewhat pricey but usually done very well with nice work areas and support.  IMO the best in the industry.  

BMW:  One bad dealership in town so throwing out my tainted view of them... They were similar to HD.  Nice facilities/expensive.  Caters to your needs ~ however they wouldn't even blink about giving an $800 bill for services.

Honda:  Great bikes but horrible service/parts departments.  Anytime I have had service done at the dealer (multiple dealers) I have never had much faith that the service was done properly.  IMO worst in the industry however I lump the Japanese brands together for service/parts support.

Suzuki:  Same as Honda, usually multibrand dealers that carry both here.

Aprilia:  Expensive.  Felt service was done properly however parts are next to impossible to source.  Also, dealership much more of a privilege to have them work on the bike than thanks for bringing the bike in feel.


That's all I have owned.  I am curious what others experiences are.


PLEASE..this is meant to be a serious post/question please try to refrain from brand bashing here and stick to service/after sales support.  If you want to bash a brand to one of the other 800 posts here doing it.  

[mike goodwin]

Since i have never ever allowed a dealership mechanic to work on a bike i own other than some very minor warranty issue(of which i fixed a problem myself at my own expense due to a notoriously bad Suzuki dealer network) i cant honsetly say.
However from what i have heard from others is that H.D. and BMW mechanics are usually pretty good as are the parts issues.
And they should be for what these bikes cost.
Probably the worst in the world are the Japanese network of dealerships(not all by any means) due to the lack of training and professionalism i have seen with my own eyes.
I worked at a Kaw/Suk dealership and that was definitely a sobering experience.

[Fourstring]

I'll agree with both of you on this.  My Kawi/Suz dealer wouldn't blink at an $800 repair bill either.  Carb sync, fork seals, and valve adjust cost almost a grand the first (and last) time I took it to a dealer.

The feel I get from most Japanese dealers that "can YOU do this yourself?  No?  Ok, then this is what it costs."
That's probably why two new tires and a valve adjust cost almost $800 for a Burgman 400.

Can't speak for Harley or BMW.  The BMW dealership is never open when I could get there.  I'm young, and look it, so the Harley dealership won't give me the time of day when I walk in.  However, I called the local Harley shop once to find out who they used to cut windshields.  Talked to a very enthusastic and knowledgable mechanic who did a lot of legwork for my Japanese bike, knowing I wasn't going to take it in.  I was impressed.

Here's a question:  I would never take my car to a dealer for service, I go to the independant mechanic.   Why do I take my bike to the dealer?  Are there any independant bike shops out there?

[atypical1]

Kawasaki - This was overseas (Australia) and the service was actually really good. The buying experience was good and the service department took good care of my bike (KLR).

BMW - Dealers in Seattle, Reno, San Diego, and where ever Irv Seaver is located. Good experiences in all of these shops. Only experienced service in Reno and San Diego but both were good experiences. The dealer in SD has loaner bikes for you to use which I thought was a nice touch. Service wasn't cheap though. Dunno about aftermarket stuff.

Ducati - Primarily San Diego (GP Motorcycles) but I have also used Moto Meccanica in the North Bay (Santa Rosa). Both dealers did a good job. I pulled into MM right when they opened up and begged for a tire so I could go to WCRM and they hooked me up and had me out of there in 30 minutes. The tire price was fair (not internet cheap but less than full retail). The shop in SD always takes care of me with discounts on parts, aftermarket stuff, and always answer my stupid questions. They are super busy though which means that they can be slow which is a downside of their popularity. Services are not cheap either. But they know I do a lot of my own work (or try to) and they always help me out when I ask them how to do something.

james

[Kootenanny]

There is no Buell dealer near my home, so of course I do most of my own work; then again, I would do so even if there were one here.

The one time I had a small warranty issue, I took a little 5-day trip which included a visit to a dealer 8 hours away (by the short route--I took the scenic, twisty route) and a Ducati demo ride (no Duc dealers around, either).  I didn't really trust the dealer where I bought my bike, so went to a larger one.

All in all, my experience there has been very good.  They did more than I expected, and sent me off on some demo rides to fill the time.  

As for parts, well I get all my parts online from an American dealership, and again I've had great service.  Parts for Buells are not too expensive, either (like, $6 for a turn signal).

I also own an old UJM, and I've had pretty good luck getting parts for that bike, too.  There is a local cycle salvage yard...

[jschmidt]

HD, without a doubt.

[FlowBee]

My local KTM dealer has rocked my world.

The local Big-4 powersports dealers, well - let's not go there.  

[dr dralion]

I look young (aka - have no money) as well.  I walked into a honda/yamaha/triumph dealership and asked about a bike I was going to buy that day.  They asked me to come back when I was serious about purchasing a bike.  A similar thing happened at an HD dealership.  The BMW dealer I went to was very receptive about wants and have always been courteous for service, parts and purchasing.  I put my money toward someone who is willing to take the time to cater to me (yes that costs money, but saving a dollar or two isn't worth the pain of being relegated as inferior).

Kevin

[keystonejenks]

Suzuki: Great aftermarket support; poor dealer support. Like others have mentioned - you pay an arm-and-a-leg for service, just becasue.  

Triumph: Nothing but good things to say. Techs were very compitent and enthusiastic. Longest I had to wait for a part was 3 days (fuel sensor). They would even squeeze me in if my schedule didn't fit with theirs. Much cheaper than Suzuki dealer.  

[PDXRider]

Triumph: Nothing but good things to say. Techs were very competent and enthusiastic. Longest I had to wait for a part was 3 days (fuel sensor). They would even squeeze me in if my schedule didn't fit with theirs. Much cheaper than Suzuki dealer.  

Triumph --- This is one of the brands that I have been very interested in as of late but wasn't sure about the dealer support network.  They have come out with a lot of very intersting motorcycles in a short period of time; there are at least four bikes from them I would buy immediately if I saw what I thought was a bargain come around.

I forgot KTM.  Great experiences locally with dealer.  The only other dealer I tried was great as well.  I think these guys are usually enthusiastic and I think since they sell a somewhat narrow focused product line you don't have as much of the ego/dude/nonsense as you get with the Japanese manufacturers.

[strider]

Toowoomba has five major bike dealers.

Boyd Yung - HD and Suzuki.  Great service, good mechanics.  My son deals with them all the time.  Boyd and BMW parted company by mutual agreement a few years ago.

Toowoomba Bikes and Bits.  Husqvarna and Hyosung.  Mainly dirt bikes but always try and help.

QB4 - Queensland Bike and 4 Wheel Drive.  Haven't had much to do with them but usually friendly.

Toowoomba Yamaha - also sell KTM.   I was always told if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all.

Toowoomba Honda.  I would say even less about this mob.  Put it this way, I buy my Honda parts from a dealer in Brisbane, which is around 140 km away.

The closest Moto Guzzi dealer is Don Newell in Woolloongabba, also around 140 km away.  The business is now run by his son, Tom.  He's not cheap but his expertise and service is second to none.   The longest I've ever had to wait for a Guzzi part is one week (I can't understand how American Guzzi riders seem to be treated so poorly). Compared to the "It's on back order" bullshit from Japanese dealers, Tom's professionalism is outstanding.

If you ever go to Townsville, the Honda dealer up there (Bernie Koppe at Rising Sun Honda) is in a league of his own.  Fantastic.    Sorry, can't comment on other cities in Oz.

[Ant]

Interesting to see the complaints about the "Big 4" dealers...
I've got nothing but good things to say about the two Suzuki dealers I've dealt with. The one I bought my bike at is a bigger operation and a little more "commercial" but every time I go in there the salesman I dealt with when buying the bike still comes over and asks how the bike is and where I've been recently. The mechanical work is sound but they do things to the letter and in my experience they don't go above and beyond. But then again by definition you shouldn't expect that, it's "beyond" expectations after all

The place where I get my bike serviced is much smaller but a much more "friendly" and personal atmosphere, the mechanics there do a superb job on my bike. The first time I took it for its service I was amazed to find that every cable had been pulled out and greased, battery terminals greased up. Everything had been checked and tightened (I do this myself anyway which is why I noticed that they'd done it), an amazing attention to detail that surprised me especially since I'm on a "service plan".
I paid £700 for three years servicing, with the mileage I do they are definitely going to lose out on the deal from me, but then I guess they make a killing on the people who hardly ride at all. I would service it myself but I rarely have the time at the moment - house rennovation takes up most of my time at the moment!

[Ant]

Toowoomba has five major bike dealers.

Boyd Yung - HD and Suzuki.  Great service, good mechanics.  My son deals with them all the time.  Boyd and BMW parted company by mutual agreement a few years ago.

Toowoomba Bikes and Bits.  Husqvarna and Hyosung.  Mainly dirt bikes but always try and help.

QB4 - Queensland Bike and 4 Wheel Drive.  Haven't had much to do with them but usually friendly.

Toowoomba Yamaha - also sell KTM.   I was always told if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all.

Toowoomba Honda.  I would say even less about this mob.  Put it this way, I buy my Honda parts from a dealer in Brisbane, which is around 140 km away.

The closest Moto Guzzi dealer is Don Newell in Woolloongabba, also around 140 km away.  The business is now run by his son, Tom.  He's not cheap but his expertise and service is second to none.   The longest I've ever had to wait for a Guzzi part is one week (I can't understand how American Guzzi riders seem to be treated so poorly). Compared to the "It's on back order" bullshit from Japanese dealers, Tom's professionalism is outstanding.

If you ever go to Townsville, the Honda dealer up there (Bernie Koppe at Rising Sun Honda) is in a league of his own.  Fantastic.    Sorry, can't comment on other cities in Oz.

Teeheehee... you said Toowoomba  
Ahem, I'll go sit in the corner until I grow up  

[squeezer]

I've always thought service depended much more on the dealership than the brand.  And aftermarket support seems to depend more on the specific bike than the brand, too.  That said, HD dealerships probably land on the high side of the service scale more consistently because the company pays a lot of attention to them.  That company seems to know their market better than anyone.

In our town, I really like the Duc/Triumph/Kaw dealer, the HD dealer has a pretty good reputation, and most folks grumble at the Honda/Yam/Suz shop.  If I have a job I can't do (or hate to do, like changing tires), I take it to an independent guy about 45 min. away.

[Brad1445]

I vote my Triumph Duc Dealer #1
The HD/Buell Dealer #2
The UJM dealers in my area geta  #3  a distant #3

[bomber]

interesting posts, kinda wonky data, though -- the quality of dealers for a particular brand varies so much that, in my experience, it's kinda hard to make a brand-generic call --

I've got a Buell dealer in my area that was not worth fire-bombing 5 years ago -- they got a good rep today

there's a bunch big four dealers in this neck o the woods -- again, truly wretched to pretty darned good

all that said, I've heard few discouraging words about any of the Triumph dealers in these parts

[county]

Not a good question IMO.

Your issue revolves around dealers and that is gonna vary from dealership to dealership.  Not brand to brand.

And the service you get very frequently depends on whether you are a regular customer who bought the bike from that dealership.  As in many things in life, your relationship will determine level of service and price.

[Fourstring]

Your issue revolves around dealers and that is gonna vary from dealership to dealership.  Not brand to brand.

And the service you get very frequently depends on whether you are a regular customer who bought the bike from that dealership.  As in many things in life, your relationship will determine level of service and price.

True, but it's important to note that dealerships don't spring out of the ground.  The people who are fanatical enough to open one AND are drawn to a certain brand speaks volume about the proprietor.  We can all imagine in our head the guy who's nuts about Harley or Triumph, or the guy who's crazy for KTM, BMW, Honda, etc. and is actually dedicated enough to open a shop to that brand.

As it's been mentioned, some brands get a lot more involved on the dealership level, some don't.  I think it's worth discussing, at least more than talking about ABS again.

[awlittle]

Assuming all things being equal, I think the question has merit.  If generally your average mechanic and average service manager/owner are going to be similar across the board between brands, then the major factor controlling the difference between dealers is going to be mechanic training and service manager training which is directly controlled by corporate headquarters.  
I have no experience with HD but I will say that I've been very disappointed with Honda service, to the point that I do my own work or take it to an independent shop for tires.  BMW service seems much better from what I've seen.

[county]

True, but it's important to note that dealerships don't spring out of the ground.  The people who are fanatical enough to open one AND are drawn to a certain brand speaks volume about the proprietor.  We can all imagine in our head the guy who's nuts about Harley or Triumph, or the guy who's crazy for KTM, BMW, Honda, etc. and is actually dedicated enough to open a shop to that brand.

As it's been mentioned, some brands get a lot more involved on the dealership level, some don't.  I think it's worth discussing, at least more than talking about ABS again.

Those dealerships are few and far between.  Living near one would actually affect my motorcycle purchase.

We oughta list the dealerships that have employees competent enough to service/reapir ABS.