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My Trip To CycleGear

5K views 36 replies 20 participants last post by  florotory 
#1 ·
I FINALLY made it to a CycleGear store.

3-hour drive to the big city. Spent a few days there. Hit a couple of dealerships, and a CycleGear.
I was excited as I pulled into the parking lot of the CG store. I would finally get to try some stuff on, and buy it.
The building was pretty big. I could only imagine the vast selection of goodies that awaited me within.

I entered the store, and looked around, taking it all in. I nearly shit myself.
The place was loaded with stuff. I had no idea how I would have enough time to see everything and try stuff on.

Fast forward 3 hours later:
I was drained. And also depressed. The giant store was jam-packed with crap. I had to sift through racks of cheap crap to find the very limited assortment of decent gear.
Of course, anything with the name BiLT or SEDECI got passed-by quickly.
Lots of other garbage-brand junk in there too.
They had a very small selection of Astars and Dianese goodies. I managed to find a pair of SMX-1 boots to try on.
Size 44 was slightly too snug. Size 45 was comfortable, but slightly too long.
I bought the size 45. ( I didn't want my feet getting cramped in the smaller size )
After trying on every single pair of gloves in the whole store... ( which was about 500 or so ) I left with NO gloves. :sad010:

I did find a very nice SHORAI battery! I had them double-check the correct part#, because I had no idea how a battery that SMALL was going to crank my 1000cc engine over.
( No wonder they cost so much )

So after 3 hours of shopping at CRAPLAND ( aka: CycleGear ) I left with only TWO items:
The Alpinestars boots, and a Shorai battery.

I was VERY LUCKY to find a pair of gloves that fit me at a HONDA dealership across town. Which is where I also snagged a can of Honda Polish to try out.

So.... here is quick pic of my bounty. Not much reward for the effort spent, I can say that much.
But every little bit helps, and I am just glad I did not come home empty handed. I would have been depressed.
 

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#5 ·
That Honda Polish is what I've been using for years and swear by it. I've never washed my bike. I just use the polish and it makes everything look like new again. In fact, I am out and need to pick up a couple more cans soon.

The Shorai batteries are great. I had one in my supermoto, but I don't need one in my CBR. The CBR has way more power than I will ever be able to use so a few pounds saved won't matter to me.
 
#7 ·
Although there is a Cycle Gear store close to my commuting route I have rarely been there. I've found that they, along with every other local store, cannot beat the prices I find online at Superbike Store and elsewhere. No sales tax online and frequently free shipping, too, right to my front door. What a deal. :)
 
#18 ·
I sat on a FZ-09 and the local dealer made me believe I could take it for a test spin but when I started requesting that test spin he backed out.

Just sitting on the FZ-09 felt good and not so much sitting on the front wheel like the Ducati Monster & Ducati Streetfighter.

I think the FZ-09 would be great all around bike.
 
#19 ·
I sat on a FZ-09 and the local dealer made me believe I could take it for a test spin but when I started requesting that test spin he backed out.
That dirty weasel!

I think the FZ-09 would be great all around bike.
Me too, except it has two major problems.

1. Herky-Jerky throttle response.
2. Mushy suspension.

If Yamaha fixes those two problems, I would love to have a FZ-09.
It has a great engine. I like the look of it.
I just don't want to buy a brand new bike that I have to spend money on to fix problems that shouldn't exist in the first place.

The FZ-07 has smooth throttle response, and better suspension feel.
Smaller engine, yeah, but cheaper too.
FZ-07 just needs a little windscreen up front, and a tail-tidy kit out back.

People who bought the FZ-09 have been doing MAJOR suspension work on them, just to get them to be rideable in the twisty's.
I'm talking rear shock REPLACEMENT, and front fork complete rebuild with different internals.

Fook THAT.

:th_down:
 
#20 ·
Getting back to the subject of CYCLE GEAR:

I believe CG stocks a few good-brand things in their stores just to draw the riders in.
When you get there, you realize the store is 80% cheap junk, and around 20% good stuff.

So much junk in there. I had to sift through the racks of junk looking for the good brands.

They may have 200 helmets on the wall, but 180 of them will be BiLT brand.
They had a few ARAI, and around 10 SHOEI. That was it.

They had 200 pairs of BiLT and SEDECI gloves. I seen around 10 pairs of Dainese gloves.

Sad.
 
#25 ·
I'm with you on this. The thing that sucks around here is that dealerships barely stock anything either so all the stuff you really want you have to get online. Which is cool for most things until you want to try something on for fit or see if the anodized blue or red bits or colored SS brake lines will look good in person.
The CG near us has a decent selection of Shoei helmets, some AGV, and 1 or 2 Arai. Your right the rest of the crap is Bilt which suck. One of the sales people tried to tell me that their Bilt helmets are the exact same as Arai just not as expensive! :th_SmlyROFL: I just let him talk, I don't bother arguing with people for the most part.
 
#22 ·
Meh.

I will actually like them more once they become gray and dirty.

They look like Star Wars Stormtrooper boots!

Gotta get a few scuffs on them too. Maybe i'll skip `em down the street a few times. That should do it.

Wear them outside in the dirt. You know, really break them in good.

:D
 
#26 ·
Yeah, the dealers can't stock a huge selection of expensive riding gear. They sell bikes.
It's a good thing the online megastores have an easy return/exchange policy.
But that still doesn't really help me pick a pair of gloves that fit.
It doesn't do me any good if I order 10 pairs of gloves, only to have to send all 10 pairs back.
I'm still stuck with no gloves.

Riding gear is all different shapes and sizes between all the brands.
It's really hard to find stuff that fits properly without being able to try it on.
I hate ordering something only to send it back because it didn't fit.
I get excited when it arrives, then I get depressed when I send it back.
 
#28 ·
Not that I am pro CG or anything and I hate to say it but internet shopping and deals and discounts is why you cannot find the big name brand items in those types of stores.

That gear carries a premium even in wholesale costs, and with the overhead of a big store the markup has to be there as well. small online dealers that keep their stuff in a small one man store, a garage, or even don't stock it at all and just have it drop shipped save tons on the overhead and can afford to sell it rock bottom prices. Long ago I was part owner/operator of an indoor skate park and had to compete with online prices and its hard to do.

The large majority of people would rather save the money than support their local race/bike shop so thats what you get. And thats why the knock offs from overseas will continue to flourish...
 
#29 ·
Had cycle gear order me a suit. Worst mistake. I had to pay "special shipping" and then it didnt fit anyway and i had to send it back. They claimed no hassle returns (i had paid in full during all of this) but when i decided to wait it out and not get a suit they gave me a bunch of shit. Then i find out they charged me twice for the special shipping and it took them two weeks to get me my money back. It was simple math and the manager argued with me. Then he said "its only a few bucks." I told him true, but its not yours. Could have just order it online and been better off. Oh, plus it took 3 weeks to show up. Online is 3 days. Terrible experience.


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#30 ·
I wish they still carried the Frank Thomas gear for their in house brand instead of Bilt.
I bought some decent Frank Thomas Kangaroo leathers from them for a reasonable price some years back. I haven't seen any in years so I don't know if their quality is still the same.
However my local CG store in Portland, OR has great customer service, so I enjoy shopping there for the brand name stuff that they do have. I just pass on all the Bilt gear.
Good store otherwise.
 
#31 ·
I personally have had nothing but good experiences with Cycle Gear. I've been in several different locations in different states and have never been anything but pleased. I have had a lot of great weekends of riding because they were open and I was able to get a tire, a chain or something else that would have otherwise ruined my weekend. I'm not able to keep a huge stock pile of extra parts on hand, so when something unexpected comes up, I'm pretty fortunate to have somewhere to go. Regular dealerships around here are only open during business hours and for a short while on Saturdays. As far as lower end products, it's a direct reflection of what the market in that area is buying. They would never survive carrying nothing but the top of the line brands. If there was a market for $300.00 Alpinestars Moto GP gloves in my area, I'm sure they would stock them. Heck, it's pretty rare to even see someone wearing a nice Arai or Shoei helmet in my area. But, on the other hand, it's those same guys wearing the lower end gear that are also wearing a different pair of the latest Air Jordans every time I see them.
 
#33 ·
I bought a couple of items from CG when I was there, and they had good service.
My biggest issue was the overall lack of the higher-end riding gear.
They had a little bit of Alpinestars stuff, and a little bit of Dainese stuff. Not much.

I was really hoping to try stuff on before buying, but they didn't really have much for
me to try on.
I bought a pair of Alpinestars SMX-1 riding boots, which I love, and a Shorai battery. ( Which I also love. )

They didn't have any t-shirts, no leather riding vests, no rubber keychain fobs, no stickers, no decent brand gloves,
and a small selection of good quality brand name helmets.
Very few riding shoes and boots. I was lucky to see the SMX-1's there.

I just expected them to have more stuff in-stock. They didn't even carry anything from Scorpion.

:shrug:
 
#35 ·
I found out the FZ-07 has problems too. Apparently, some of them shutoff for no reason.
Usually at stoplights, after they are warmed up. The engine stalls out.
So far, Yamaha has not officially recognized or addressed this issue. Those FZ-07 owners
who are affected are pissed. I would be too.

Looks like Suzuki is throwing it's hat in the ring too, with the new GSX-S750Z:
( If you want an inline-4 naked bike )
 

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#37 ·
I think like any other corp chain it all depends on what store you go to. Here in Florida we have cycle gear stores within driving distance from just about anywhere in Florida. I have been to 5-6 different ones. The orlando one has a very good selection of branded stuff. Of coarse they do have the junk stuff but it's cheap and people tend to buy that over expensive product. So I don't blame them for having more of that. It's just good business. I can tell you out of the 5 or 6 that I have been to in Florida only one I don't like is the Tampa store. They are rude there. The daytona has mostly cruiser products cause of coarse its daytona. Orlando and Miami stores are great though. Customer service has always been great there except the Tampa store.


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