The advantages of having a good relationship with your motorcycle dealer.

I came back to biking in 2000, having bought a ‘H’ registered BMW K100LT from Peter McIntyre, of ‘Highland Rider’ fame- Scotland’s best motorcycle tour company. That bike didn’t last long and I consider that it must have been jinxed, although I don’t really believe in all that guff! It lasted about six months, before the gable end of a house fell on it in a storm. Then came the ST1100, which I saw for sale in Appleyards at Keighley. But where to get it serviced, as I then lived in Stockport?
The local Honda dealer was in Burnage, Manchester, on the A34, Kingsway. I’d only been there once before, and that was with the BMW to get the side-stand fixed; and they were helpful! The name of the dealer- HUNTs, and according to all the adverts, ‘the number one Honda dealer in the North West’.
So, I took the bike there for servicing. That was nine years ago. Since then I have had two other bikes from there; the STX1300 in 2004, and then the current bike, a Varadero, in 2007. Jane has had three bikes from there; a CB250, which was written off when she was knocked off it, a CB500, and latterly a Transalp. Sadly, Jane wasn’t riding the Transalp enough so we sold it, and spent the money on the new kitchen!Over the years I have built up a very good relationship with all the staff at Hunts. They agreed to display my leaflets when I was running Pennine Motorcycle Tours, and I did get some business through them. John Brown the owner and Senior Salesman, asked me to deliver bikes for him and I was able to oblige many times. He even offered me a full time job with him at one time. I refused politely as I didn’t want to be back into the Monday to Friday 9 to 5 grind again. When he runs open weekends there are a number of well established customers he relies upon to lead the rideouts, and I am glad to say that I have become one of them. As a result, I get to ride some of the Honda range of bikes, including the CB1000R, Goldwing, CB1000 and 600 etc. I never got chance to get on the Fireblade, as everybody wanted to book a ride on that!
In fact, when I take my bike in for service or new tyres, I am usually given an interesting bike to ride, like the DN01. One favour deserves another, and John is always accommodating! But I do appreciate he is a business man! More recently, I borrowed an 04 Goldwing from him for a weekend away in Moffat to celebrate our wedding anniversary. This was payback for the open weekend rideouts. As per usual, Jane was able to fall asleep on the back. The experience was appreciated, but I won’t be rushing to break the bank to buy one. I found the riding position very comfortable, but the actual ride what I can only describe as ‘lumpy’. It didn’t deal with bumps in the road all that well for such a big bike. I tried out the cruise control. Very strange to set it and then let go of the throttle altogether, cruising at 70 with no hands on the bars! Luggage wise, I don’t think the Goldwing has much more than the Pan or the Varadero. We enjoyed the weekend and the experience of the bike, but it isn’t a commuting type bike, and I feel that it lacks a bit of ‘soul’, although the soul music was good to listen to.In the last week, John rang me again and asked if I would run in another Goldwing for a customer who was renting it for three weeks. He wanted to get the first service in before he took it. So I had a nice few days riding round the Peak District and Yorkshire, and then up to the Trough of Bowland and to Knott End to see my Mum and Dad. Again, the experience was nice, and my comments are the same as before. What was interesting was that John was trusting me to look after and garage overnight a piece of kit valued at in excess of £16,000. There’s trust indeed.The whole intention of this article is to emphasise the value of a good relationship with your motorcycle dealer. Yes, I am a customer. I am a loyal customer. I more often than not pay the going rate. After all he is running a business. At the moment it is a good business, with no real impact from the recession. Get to know who services your bike. Chat with them. If you are allowed, get in the workshop. Leave them a Christmas tip. What they do to your bike makes a difference. It keeps you alive and enjoying your biking.Be there at open weekends. Chat to other customers. When you can, do them a favour, but don’t take them for granted. Hopefully they will recognise your loyalty. If you believe in them, advertise the fact that you think they are good.

Andy Brown.