Capital Area Triumph in PA is Closing

[Rincewind]

I'm bummed to just find out that the Triumph dealer I've been using for nearly 8-years is closing - Capital Area Triumph in Highspire PA.  They provided me with two bikes and excellent service on my past three Triumphs.  They were one of the most convenient dealer to me after Lancaster Honda dropped the brand nearly 10 years ago (not to mention the dealer in Ephrata that didn't last).  When I was by there only 2-weeks ago I noticed their inventory seemed low, but I had no idea this was going to happen.

The silver lining is that they are blowing out the rest of their inventory at reduced prices.  They are also selling all of their shop and showroom equipment and inventories.

Here is the listed bike sales:

Bikes For Sale
 
Check Out These Deals ...
 

2010 BIKES
     Scrambler - black - was $8799 - $6999
      T-Bird SE - red - was $14999 - $11499
2011 BIKES
      T-Bird ABS - silver/black - was $13599 - $10499
      T-Bird ABS - blue/white - was $13599 - $10499
      T-Bird Storm - was $13899 - $10999
      Roadster - was $14999 - $11999
      Sprint GT - was $13399 - $10499
 
USED BIKES
       2007 Tiger - 6800 miles - was $6999 -  $5999 (Black)
       2007 UM 650 - 12000miles- ws $3999 -  $2999
       1999 Legend - 20400 miles - was $2499- $1999 (Green)
     
Take advantage if you can.  I will miss visiting them!    

[Smoker]

Wow, this is unexpected. They were great to deal with, too bad. Wish I was in the market for  that Tiger, great price.

[DosEquis00]

It has been difficult times for many of the dealers as I know a local one that is struggling to stay afloat.  

[The Dude]

That's a shame. Were they affected by the recent flooding?

[Rincewind]

I don't know if they were affected by the flooding in Highspire, Dude.  The email I received blamed the weak economy for their decision.  CAT was a small boutique dealer that had a minimum number of employees.  Hopefully the larger Triumph dealers near me, Hermys and Martins, are still doing ok.

The Tiger is a lowered model and looked in great condition, Smoker.  I had my eye on that black Scrambler.  

[BlueMan]

That is a shame.  I just got my SP3 this year and was looking to go there.

Is the clothing inventory on sale also?


Rincewind, when is you next big trip?  I wanna take one but no sure where to go.  West Virgina?

[Rincewind]

As I understand it everything including clothing is on sale 30-50%. They had a pretty good inventory of clothes when I was up recently.

I don't have any trips planned for now, Blueman.  I will plan next years trip this winter.  WV is awesome.  Good luck with your Speedie.

[scraperman1]

Sorry to hear of a triumph dealer closing. I was talking a couple of months back with the owner of a dealership not far from my place. He has been paring down his inventory since 2009 just to survive. Other dealers out there are getting killed with having too much inventory. Sorry to  hear it caught this guy,

[BlueMan]

Can you recommend anywhere specific to go go in WV?  Roads to ride?  I was looking at finding a place with a cheap cabin to stay in and have a fire at!!

Anyone else want to go??

[Rincewind]

Can you recommend anywhere specific to go go in WV?  Roads to ride?  I was looking at finding a place with a cheap cabin to stay in and have a fire at!!

Anyone else want to go??

I'd recommend you make another thread about it, because there are tons of people here that know WV much better than me!

Check the Region 6 campout thread for a get-together already in the works!

http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,66719.0.html

[nevinfs327]

Bummer to hear about - seemed like a really nice shop to have locally when I visited.  Real enthusiasts.  Let me know if they're giving away Arrow pipes for a Street Triple  

Actually, we'll see what the manual says about "special tools" when it comes in for valve servicing.  Think the electronics check is the only thing.

Guess you might have to do some maintenance on your own, or heady to Hermy's.  I also really liked the Triumph dealers in Manayunk and Coopersburg, but both are a haul from Ephrata.

[Rincewind]

Nevin - I didn't see any Arrows but who knows what they have in stock?  I have been thinking I saw some OEM Street-Triple bar-end mirrors hanging there for awhile, but I don't really feel the need.  Yeah, they were a special shop.

I, too, thought about any special tools.  I've been meaning to take out the OEM service manual and see what I might need, or at least get some gaskets and filters, but I've just been too busy.  Plus I still feel sort of bad about the whole situation.

I have used Hermy's once before for servicing when I had my 885 Tbird.  As you know they're a great shop, too.  I plan to use them for any servicing that I don't do myself.  Hermy's is actually about 5 miles closer to me than CAT was, but I could haul ass up 283 and get to CAT in equal or slightly quicker time.  Martin's is closer than Eurosports in Coopersburg, which is twice the distance.  I only think about Eurosports when I think about Aprilia's and Guzzi's.  

[nevinfs327]

I only think about Eurosports when I think about Aprilia's and Guzzi's.  

I think about Aprilias and Guzzis a lot so Eurosports was good for me.  

Martin's was a pain to get to, or at least not particularly fun to get to, so I only stopped by twice, the second time being for the classic MC show they put on last year, which was really good.  They seem like a good shop too.  In fact, I can't think of too many Triumph shops I haven't liked after so many years of visiting Japanese multi-line dealers where blah or negative experiences were the norm.

[mpb]

Sorry to hear about another dealer closing.

I purchased my Tiger from Martin's and use them for service on my Tiger and Yamaha.
They have always given me great service and everyone there is great to deal with.
I live near Ephrata and can get to Martin's in about 45 minutes. Traffic on Rt 422 and Rt100 can be a pain but the Rt568 part of the trip is always fun.
I went on a ride up Pa125 with the RAT group out of Martin's last Saturday. Fun ride and good group of people. When we were ready to leave one of the guys that came for the ride had a flat tire. Martin's gave him an FZ6 loaner to use for the ride and installed tires while we were riding. Happy customer and good business.

[Emerson00]

I was all excited about the Sprint, thinking about riding up Saturday to trade, wondering  how to explain the new bike to my wife.   then understood I'd have to *trade* my Multi... trading not exactly an option for CAT in that situation. Damn.
 I'm getting that itch for a new ride, and been interested in Sprints for a long time. but it's ok I still love my Duc.

[Rincewind]

Local rumors as heard from a stop at Koup's Cycle.  Koup's looked into taking over the Triumph franchise for the area, but there was not enough room in their shop.  Two other Harrisburg area dealers have been vying for the Triumph franchise in SCPA.  One is Velocity Cycles in Mechanicsburg, I'm not sure of the other.  

So it looks like Triumph could possibly return to SCPA in the future.  I wish that they do so in Lancaster instead of up by H'burg, but we shall see.

[Smoker]

Maybe ECS will get it...

[Rincewind]

Maybe ECS will get it...

Chuck has told me repeatedly that he has zero interest in another brand there.  

[sprint_st]

It seems that PA has been well covered with "good" Triumph dealers for a long time.  There are two near Pittsburgh, another near Johnstown, Kissell's in State College, and Hermy's in the middle of nowhere, and several in driving distance from Philly.  IIRC that Capitol replaced a dealer in the Hburg area after a time when HBurg had an absence of Triumphs.  I had good luck with my dealings with Koops, but as was mentioned, where would they put the bikes???  IMO, that South Central part of PA may not be able to sustain a Triumph only or predominant Triumph dealership.  Triumph only dealerships are getting real rare these days everywhere.

[Rincewind]

Rough timeline for Triumph in SCPA, from what I remember:

Pre 1990-ish - old Triumph dealer in Lancaster city - Nentwigs
Late 90's - 2003 - Lancaster Honda has the new Triumph.  It is said Honda pushed Triumph out of there.  I got my first one there.
2003 - for 8-months or so there is a dealer in Ephrata PA, Sports N Turf.  
2004-2011 - Capital Area Triumph era in Highspire

[Cablebandit]

You said good dealer and Kissell's in the same sentence. That's rich.  

[sprint_st]

You said good dealer and Kissell's in the same sentence. That's rich.  

I lived less than half a mile from Kissell's original location.  Bought the first new bike he sold, a 2002 Concours.  I hated that bike.  Road it for maybe a year and stopped by Kissell's with my title in the bags on the way to Va where there were some great deals on FZ1's and SV1000's.  Mentioned that to Craig Kissell and he said take that little green bike over there for a spin for as long as you want to.  It was a new 955i ST and love at first turn.  Bought an 04 RS from him too.  My experience was totally positive.  Got great deals on all three bikes.  I like Tim their lead mechanic too, but never had to use him much.  Did almost everything myself.  I'm assuming you may have had issues with them.  Craig isn't Mr. Congeniality but then again, neither am I  

[slayman]

Karns perhaps? They became a Suzuki dealer this year.

[Rincewind]

I didn't ask.  If it's across the river I will just go back to Hermys as I was planning.  I wish B&B would pick them up - plenty of room there.

[nnjhawk02]

I didn't ask.  If it's across the river I will just go back to Hermys as I was planning.  I wish B&B would pick them up - plenty of room there.

And the great thing about Hermys is U can hit the great swimhole on the Schuylkill or Cabelas.

[t.hershey92]

Rough timeline for Triumph in SCPA, from what I remember:

Pre 1990-ish - old Triumph dealer in Lancaster city - Nentwigs
Late 90's - 2003 - Lancaster Honda has the new Triumph.  It is said Honda pushed Triumph out of there.  I got my first one there.
2003 - for 8-months or so there is a dealer in Ephrata PA, Sports N Turf.  
2004-2011 - Capital Area Triumph era in Highspire

There was also Sholley Triumph in Mechanicsburg during the 60's

[garry]

It seems that PA has been well covered with "good" Triumph dealers for a long time.  There are two near Pittsburgh, another near Johnstown, Kissell's in State College, and Hermy's in the middle of nowhere, and several in driving distance from Philly.  

FWIW, there is only one in Pittsburgh now: European Motorcycles of Pittsburgh in Wexford.

AFAIK, Collins Cycle in Sutersville had their Triumph franchise pulled a few years ago. I think the shop was too small to generate the sales numbers Triumph wanted. I believe it's still open to do restoration work on the old bikes. One of the few "old school" bike shops out there. I always enjoyed visiting there and had most of the service work on my Sprint done there. The shop had a lot of character(s).

[The Dude]

Got an email from Yamaha of Camp Hill yesterday....

We are proud that Triumph motorcycle company has chosen YCH to be the area's newest dealer and return the brand to it's original dealer roots. Triumph produces an exceptional motorcycle of the highest quality and value.  We anticipate being fully stocked with parts, clothing, accessories, and motorcycles in the next 2 weeks. Stay tuned to our website or Face Book for daily updates.
 
We will now be know as Yamaha/Triumph of Camp Hill

It's only 15 minutes from the old location. They handle KTM there as well.

[Rincewind]

Thanks for the update.  I'm not familiar with that dealer in Camp Hill.