Peter Hammond Motorcycles

[minkyhead]

yes a shame the old shcool dealers are gone ..the honda dealer in the town was there for for 40 years and is now a funeral parlour ..appropriate id say ...tbo i give up on the big boys locally same firm for all of them ..staff have zero knolage of anything ..except the pcp repayments

their servicing costs are frankly a total rip off and avaialabilityy is months ahead ..if there is a problem it will be weeks before your service proffesional is available to access the claim . i were talking to a lad who has the same bike as me ..they charged him 370 quid for a chain and sprockets told him to book in at 500 miles and they would adjust the chain for 20 quid ..the bloke is not very mechanically minded obviously but having already fleeced him 250 quid for a hours work they want another twenty for five mins work

last bike i sacked the lot of em ...bought it online delivered to my door with a neat saving of 1500 quid and have no complaints at all .bike was perfect and transaction was pay by card on delivery ....
deduct the 600 mile and rip off 7k service costs the local stealer wants to charge .. thats well over a two grand head start .... for a fairly simple /proven jap bike it seems like a better option for me ..i guess you backing the bike not to blow up in the fist 15k miles more or less

...trouble is i guess the modern elecronic everything starships are are a bit scary as theres so much stuff to go wrong that are beyond a basic home mechanics remit

[boboneleg]

I bought my T700 from Dave and Trish @Hammonds , it's 35 miles from my house but I bought from them purely because of the proper old school service you get from them rather than the shocking service I've had from a certain big dealer in Bristol.

I popped up to see them three weeks back and wish them luck in whatever they do now (Trish is retiring) . I really don't get what Yamaha/Honda et al are thinking but I guess they just want to sell numbers and don't give a toss about service

[PaulinBont]

I’m wanting to test ride a Guzzi; my local dealer doesn’t hold the franchise anymore so phoned three main dealers, none of which returned my call….

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

I’m wanting to test ride a Guzzi; my local dealer doesn’t hold the franchise anymore so phoned three main dealers, none of which returned my call….

I'm afraid that's typical of my experience, too.
When I was thinking of replacing my 950, I called the local multi-franchise dealer in Plymouth. The guy in motorcycle sales couldn't tell me if they had a Tenere demo, or would get one, because he was the Honda salesman(!). He told me the Yamaha salesman would call me back. That was last year, and still nothing!
In contrast, when I called JD Racing about a KTM, I got a friendly guy on the phone who encouraged me to come down and ride any bike I wanted to. As some might remember, I went to ride an 890, but ended up with a GasGas 700.
At no time did he say to me..."Oh, you'll have to wait for the GasGas salesman to become available."
There was no pressure to buy anything, and they were happy to take cash rather than try to sell me some stupid PPE deal.
If you live in the west country, and are in the market for a new bike then I'd recommend giving them a shot at your business.

[richeyroo]

..staff have zero knolage of anything ..except the pcp repayments

their servicing costs are frankly a total rip off and avaialabilityy is months ahead ..if there is a problem it will be weeks before your service proffesional is available to access the claim . i were talking to a lad who has the same bike as me ..they charged him 370 quid for a chain and sprockets told him to book in at 500 miles and they would adjust the chain for 20 quid ..the bloke is not very mechanically minded obviously but having already fleeced him 250 quid for a hours work they want another twenty for five mins work

But from a business point of view, that all looks very reasonable. If you think the servicing costs are high but demand is sufficient that availability of a free slot is months away, then the business is charging the right amount, if not a little under. If all the servicing slots for the next 6 months were free then the business would be doing something wrong.
And what the business is charging doesn't seem unreasonable. Assuming the mechanic is a well qualified person, he will probably want to earn £35k pa which is an average wage, and he will want holidays, sick pay, pension, career development courses. And as the old saying goes, you're not paying £250 for an hours work, you're paying for a careers worth of learning. The building will cost a fortune as will the taxes for the company
There is so much available now in terms of reviews of motorbikes, I cant imagine there is anything a salesman can't tell you which you would find in a thousand places on the internet. If they are great at getting you a really good/appropriate to your circumstances finance deal, then that's probably the best service that a dealer can offer a punter

[Asgard]

Career development courses??..oh FFS
Paying for a lifetimes experience?, Theres usually at least one guy who knows shit from shinola in these places but chances are your bike will get the attention of some lad who has only been in the job a couple of years on a learn as you earn basis but is whizzo with a laptop and a parts catalogue

You're right you are paying for more than what attention your bike gets, mostly for the gloss and bollox of a modern dealership

[Magnusson]

The old school dealerships are (almost all) gone. Put out of business by bikers. Bikers who go there, test which size they need, and then order it online. Bikers who will pay 100 bucks and travel for 5 hours to save 110 bucks. Bikers who will do something stupid to their new bike and expect warranty, that the dealer will give, without getting compensation from the manufacturer.
But also put out of business by manufacturers who demand showroom overhauls at cost that sales don't cover.
Also by banks who demand high interests and are inflexible in return payments.
By lack of knowledgeable personnel to work in the workshop.
By bike designs that aren't worth repairing.
And finally by aging owners, who are tired of barely surviving on low profit margins, and whose kids have no interest in taking over the business.
Stealerships? Unfortunately not.

Magazines are going the same way.
By people who rather go on the internet to read motorcycle reviews. Constantly complaining about what is covered.
But also by manufacturers who pull advertising if a negative thought is even implied about their products.
End of rant before I get anymore depressed.

[Scott_rider]

Ford & Ellis in Chesham also closed down a few years ago. Another old school dealer who knew their stuff and in recent years they were a solo Suzuki dealership. The building is now a Tesco Express. That's why I now go to to Kings in Kidlington - 30 miles away instead of 10 miles.

[redbikejohn]

The yamaha dealer in high Wycombe only does cheap Chinese stuff now. Never been back since.

[Scott_rider]

The yamaha dealer in high Wycombe only does cheap Chinese stuff now. Never been back since.

...Powerbiking?....that's a shame, they were a good Yamaha dealer. They did the first service on my Tracer 900 for £140 when the supplying Yamaha dealer wanted £210 for the same job...(Moores in Hemel Hempstead).