Cycle Gear

[dt]

I stop into Cycle Gear quite a bit; it's on my way to and from work. I've got a ton of stuff there, like all my street and off road gear, they've mounted some new tread, and they seem to go out of their way to help me find something I'm looking for. They always have sales going on and I never have felt like I paid too much for something. Every once in awhile I get a lightweight there, but overall, I think they kick ass!

What do you think?

[mrbones]

Experiences in the past have been less than favorable, but I haven't been there in a really long time so I guess I can't say. I need a new valve on my Sportster front tire, but I'll be taking it to Tampa V-Twin in Lutz.

[dt]

Like what specifically?

Anyone else have experiences?

[mrbones]

Bad service from twenty-somethings who think they know it all and they don't know jack. I'm sure none of the people I dealt with still work there, but I prefer to just go somewhere else. I'd also rather spend my money with a local shop instead of a national chain.

Here's the About Us section from Cycle Gear's website. It doesn't say anything about them except they sell parts. Really?

"Dear Enthusiast,

Welcome to Cycle Gear! We are America's largest and fastest-growing retailer of motorcycle parts, apparel and accessories for your Sportbike, Streetbike, Cruiser, Motocross and Off-Road Motorcycles and ATVs. If we don't have it, we'll get it, and we are the industry leader in customer service, pricing and product guarantees. Look to us for Icon jackets, Dainese suits, Joe Rocket pants, Fox Racing gear and more, including our exclusives: Puma motorcycle boots (new and very trick!) and Frank Thomas motorcycle gear (from the UK).

We carry only the best gear for your street bike, dirtbike or ATV, from leather motorcycle jackets and motorcycle leathers to off-road jerseys and pants. Our warehouse is full of motorcycle tires, motorcycle tools, motorcycle chains and just about any other motorcycle parts you can think of. When it's time for the long haul, strap on a Chase Harper tank bag (or use a magnetic tank bag to skip the straps), throw on some TourMaster Cortech saddle bags and fire up the Garmin GPS (Street Pilot 2820, eTREX series or Map series) so you don't get lost. We even have Famous Stars & Straps T-shirts and hats and Smooth Industries backpacks, lunchboxes, pencil sets, folders and more in case your trip takes you back to school. Of course, we'll help you keep your bike safe with Dowco motorcycle covers, OnGuard motorcycle locks and Xena alarm locks and Gorilla motorcycle alarms - both before and after the ride.

When it's time to hit the trails (not literally!), get yourself outfitted in the latest Fox Racing off-road helmets, pants, jersey, boots, gloves and more. O'Neal dirtbike helmets, pants, jersey, boots, and gloves have a classic appeal, while the full line of No Fear motorcycle helmets, pants, jersey, boots, gloves and more is a bit "edgy". If you have an oopsy, ASV unbreakable levers and forged levers are great replacements for busted-up stock levers for dirt bikes, and some are equipped with hot-start. If you rashed your plastics, Cycra plastics or Acerbis fenders and plastic kits are the ticket.

If supermotard is your thing, get the Alpinestars Supermoto Suit or the Thor Supermoto Suit (both are one-piece leathers) and check our collection of Arai motard helmets (like the awesome Arai XD series), street helmets and face shields or the Shoei helmets (off-road helmets like the V-Moto or street helmets like the RF-1000 or X-11) and visors. If you go with the Shoei or a dirtbike-specific helmet like the One Industries Kombat Rockstar Helmet, you'll need Smith goggles or Spy goggles, too, or maybe a set of Scott USA goggles. Shark street helmets, motorcycle racing helmets and dirtbike helmets are amazing and not too common, but we have those, too!

For the serious street enthusiast, we offer premium tires (Dunlop Qualifier, Michelin Pilot Power and Pirelli Corsa 3), Scotts steering dampers, Vortex rear sets, D.I.D. chains, a variety of frame sliders and swingarm sliders (though we hope you won't need them) and everything else. If you do toss it, we hope that you're wearing Dainese leathers or an Alpinestars jacket with Alpinestars pants or something similar. Either way, you'll probably need to pick up some Motion Pro tools, a Pit Bull front stand and a Pit Bull rear stand and get to work!

I guess what we're saying is that if you need motorcycle parts, motorcycle accessories or motorcycle riding gear, we're your source. We're not afraid of special orders like some of the shops, so if you don't see what you want on our site or you just don't know, contact us and ask - we'll help.

Ride Safe."

[dt]

Okay, you had some bad experiences. But they are just a retailer of accessories and “general” parts, tires, handles and maintenance parts. To me, they’re what Autozone is for cars…there are lots of repair shops around, but when I need spark plugs and air fresheners for my Tundra, I drive down to Autozone. I like having both the local shops and the national chains around (plus online retailers) when it comes to my four wheeled stuff. I like the same for the bikes.

As far as the employees, yeah, they’re a bunch of kids, but they’re all riders. One of the guys is heavy in Florida VMX and bugs me constantly to get back into that. Nonetheless, I really don’t go in there with a big expectation that CG is putting experienced technicians on the floor, nor do I expect that over at Autozone.

At CG I get an enormous selection that extends way beyond the four walls on Fletcher. I also get pricing that I just can’t find anywhere else. Plus, in the gear area, I get to try stuff on…not just to see if I like it, but that it fits. I would have never thought in a million years that I would need an XL Frank Thomas mesh two piece set, but I did. If I’d bought on line or had a local shop order, it would have cost time that I just don’t have to screw around.

I’m hating to see the local shops like RTM and BCS fold up left and right, because they offer extremely important services and serve as an alternative to the dealerships (I won’t go into what I think of the dealerships). But among them they are vastly different that CG. Even that outfit you referred to (Tampa V-Twin), although I’ve now only been to their website, offers accessories through catalogs. If I owned a local bike shop, the last thing I’d expect to survive on is selling accessories…because I could never compete with CG. I’m old enough to remember that auto parts stores essentially used to be small family run businesses. Those also are a thing of the distant past and the local bike shops need to take that lesson out of history. There’s got to be some other strategy for these local bike shops and, as you know, I’m actually thinking that through.

 

[dt]

Just got my May Cycle Gear Sales Catalog.

There's a pretty decent looking chain breaker/riveter in here that's on sale for $30 (from $90) with any purchase.

Looks like it's on the website too: http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=PRC_L35-247

Plus, there's a buy-four, get-one on quarts of Mobil1 V-Twin 20w-50 and 4T 10w-40. I use both of those and it looks to rack up to a 20% discount. 

[v65infla]

Just got my May Cycle Gear Sales Catalog.

There's a pretty decent looking chain breaker/riveter in here that's on sale for $30 (from $90) with any purchase.

Looks like it's on the website too: http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=PRC_L35-247

Plus, there's a buy-four, get-one on quarts of Mobil1 V-Twin 20w-50 and 4T 10w-40. I use both of those and it looks to rack up to a 20% discount. 

I noticed some pretty good sales in the mag as well but the chain breaker doesn't help me much on my shafties.   

[dt]

Picked up these saddle bags today at Cycle Gear…$50 on sale from $100. I’m going to drape these over my tail bag so they sit atop my regular saddles, and then stack my duffle on top for the trip to North Carolina. I can use them on the dual sport when I get back.

http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=BLT_BLLG4-BG

I bought two pair of socks too.

[Zarticus]

Just got my May Cycle Gear Sales Catalog.

There's a pretty decent looking chain breaker/riveter in here that's on sale for $30 (from $90) with any purchase.

Looks like it's on the website too: http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=PRC_L35-247

Plus, there's a buy-four, get-one on quarts of Mobil1 V-Twin 20w-50 and 4T 10w-40. I use both of those and it looks to rack up to a 20% discount. 

I noticed some pretty good sales in the mag as well but the chain breaker doesn't help me much on my shafties.   

KY will work on your shafties