Hi all,
New member here, im from the Hunter Valley not far from Newcastle NSW. Ive had a passion for harleys since i was a teenager. My first was a 83 Lowrider (shovel head motor). Had to sell it because I started a family. Now the kids are growing up ive bought a 91 Softail Custom. Bought and fitted my own accessories. My lady has a 2000 XLH1200 sporty that has all the accessories.
I work in the Coal Mines but for a few years now, on my days off, Ive worked on some of my mates bikes, services and customising. I do this is because of the cost the HD dealers are charging for labour and accessories. I dont think its fair.
Im really hoping to quit the mines and start a workshop in the area to help out people who dont want to pay a fortune for a service or to fit accessories. I supplied a mate of mine some custom bullet style blinkers (front and back) he has a 2010 Softail Standard. He told me the dealers charged him $300 to fit them. I couldnt believe it and I cant believe he went along with it. I wouldve charged around $40 fitting them on his bike. Even the price of a normal service is shocking.
But........
I had a guy come into my shop after reading this post hoping to save a quid. I told him what the price would be for the work he wanted done and he was happy with it. When he came down I saw that he had some accessories he wanted fitted too so I worked on his bike for 8hrs (on a Saturday) so he could get back home that same day and I would have another happy customer. At 6pm that night after the work was done he offered me $50..............played the 'im poor game' and left me feeling like I just been slapped in the face. Theyre the kind of people that make me wonder why do I do this...The prices I charge are more than reasonable, my aim is to save people from paying rediculous costs to the dealers but this only benefits you guys who own a Harley so if anyone abuses my good will they arent welcome to my shop anymore.
So its not always pretty on my end either.....
Anyway, im looking forward to seeing some nice bikes AND bikers on here!
Troy
Pics of my bike on page 2...
Welcome
Welcome Troy hope you enjoy the forums.
G'day Troy
welcome to the forum
welcome
Best of luck Troy.
Thanks everyone for your warm welcome! Great to meet some friendly bikers, hope i might meet some of you who are local if your up Muswellbrook way, drop in for a beer!
Keep up the replies. Also anyone, feel free to add on my thread here about any bad experiences youve had with the 'Stealers'. No mention of actual business names of course, but itll help give me an idea of whats happening out there with the customer service so i know what people expect when i get this business up and running. I know what id expect but what do you expect? Ive had my own share of customer service. Some places are great but some are just rude.
Cheers all
This is my 91 FXSTC before and after:
Welcome Troy and good luck with your venture,
seems the Stealers have irritated quite a few people.
Funny how bad attitude, poor service and overpricing can upset some people.
Go figure.
Cheers,
Cris.
Ive got a few requests so far. My fiance has to be first on the list tho haha. Unfortunately I have to wait for the warmer months to be able to paint using the booth I have now but once I get some more business I can deck the booth out properly to use all year round. As soon as i get some jobs done Ill be posting them for everyone to see. Cheers.
Welcome Troy
