It has been a long time since I have been given a page to rant a bit, and it's good to be here. Most of the time this page is for us to talk about anything going on, or anything we need to vent about. One thing on my mind has to do with Wal-Mart. When Wal-Mart moves into town it forces the smaller, "mom and pop" shops to scale down, if not close their doors. Having been across this country and at as many shops as I've visited, I can't help but see and hear the same thing going on with all of them. I always ask to find out how they are doing and if there's anything new going on and it's usually the same story, "times are hard right now and the business is just not there." Some of them feel that they are not getting the needed support of their customers. More guys are doing the work at home like the oil changes, which is a good thing but not if you are ordering your parts online to save a couple of bucks. Even if they are not doing the service, selling the parts still brings money in.
Everyone wants and needs to save a buck and eBay can be a good thing, but if you don't support the little shop owners, soon they might be gone and then what are you going to do? The only places that will be available are the big dealerships, which can be costly. Which brings me to my next point about the big dealerships and the small shops. Sure the big dealerships are good for certain things, but most of the time many of them won't even touch a pre-Evo motor, which is what a lot of the smaller shops often specialize in. So if all that's left is the large corporate dealerships, you vintage bike guys, probably won't be able to get the help you'd need from them. So show your support to the smaller shops and keep them in business.
Thanks,
Ernie.Lopez@sorc.com