Seattle Cycle Center - Seattle Scooter Center

Reviews 3

AN

Andrew Frantz

Im a bit torn leaving this review. I wish I could review the guys at the retail/service desk separately from the guys in the garage. A couple of weeks ago, my bike just quit suddenly and left me stranded on I-5 in Northgate. Luckily (or so I thought), Seattle Cycle Center was less than a mile away, so I decided to push my bike there and get some help. The guys at the counter were super friendly, helpful, and accommodating. They offered to test my battery for free and we could go from there. Unfortunately, it was completely drained, so I would need to leave it there for at least a few hours to reach full charge in order to get a conclusive test result. They were happy to let me leave my bike there overnight free of charge. The next morning I called them up and they said that the battery had tested fine, so the issue was more serious. At this point, I agreed to let them diagnose the problem (at $95 an hour). Later that afternoon, they called me back and said that the regulator/rectifier was bad and needed to be replaced. They quoted me $211 for the part and an hour of labor to replace it. I thought that this sounded like a lot on both counts, so I did some checking. I called up my regular shop and they were able to get it for $173. Online I was able to find it new for as little as $127. It is also worth mentioning that the regulator is simply bolted to the frame of the bike just below the seat and can be accessed within minutes by removing the fairing and another small panel. Were talking 5-10 minutes off, and 5-10 minutes back on. An hour of labor, huh? I kindly declined the service and told them Id be back the next day to pick up the bike. When I got there, I thanked them for their stellar service (not being sarcastic here, it was truly amazing), paid the $100 diagnostic fee, and was on my way. I ended up sourcing the part, used, from a low-mileage bike for under $40. Sweet, but I had to wait for it to ship. In the meantime I figured Id get the bike prepped and ready to go. As I had thought, it took only a few minutes to expose the regulator. Along the way I discovered some very troubling issues with how my bike had been put back together. For one, it looked as though they had slapped the fairing back on with the finesse of a tyrannosaurus rex. One of the retaining clips and a rubber grommet had both been forcibly smashed back into place and nearly destroyed. The other issue was with the battery. Apparently the mechanic couldnt figure out how the battery lead screws worked and had decided instead to jam in little pieces of plastic to hold the nuts in place. Seriously? What did I just pay $100 for, because it clearly wasnt for the conscientious care of my motorcycle. I was beginning to have doubts... As soon as the part arrived, I pulled the old one off, plugged the new one in, and...there was no change at all. After noticing earlier the lack of skill applied to putting my bike back together, I wasnt all that shocked to find that the regulator may not have been the issue after all. So I did some more research and found what seemed like a pretty reliable test to determine whether a regulator/rectifier is still good. Both my original part and the replacement passed with flying colors. Yay. Ive now spent another couple of hours this afternoon learning how to properly test my motorcycles charging system and have determined fairly confidently that it is, in fact, the stator which is at fault. I cringe to think about how many hundreds of dollars more I might have spent with these guys, whose strategy seems to be to throw parts and money at a problem instead of properly diagnosing the issue in the first place. Needless to say, I will not be giving them any further business and I cannot recommend that you do either.

A

A Private User

Ive been here a few times and was happy about the fact that they seem to have a good attitude and there was never a 2 week wait for the service department. A few months back, I had them install a new chain and sprocket set on an RC51..Cost was a little high but I wasnt complaining as they were able to do it with very short notice. After sitting for 2 hours, I walked back to see if the bike was done after getting some food, and it it was sitting out front (with the key in it). No phone call, nothing. I made it very clear I was just going to be waiting for the service to be complete. After getting on the bike I notice my hydrolic clutch had no pressure. I walk in to let the main service guy (yes, this was the foreman doing the work Doug, or Dave or something) and he apologized and said it will be just a little bit. I go back to waiting- about an hour and a half goes by and I walk back over after grabbing a gatorade and sitting literally next door at the little convenience shot, and find my bike parking right next to aurora avenue, with the key left in the ignition. If you know aurora, you would be a little surprised that they were so negligent. Head back in to the main store, let them know that I had a pretty frustrating experience, and rode home. Once I got home, I checked out the new chain and notice that they forgot to secure the chain adjusters. They were screwed completely in. The chain had about 4 inches of slack, and was actually touching my exhaust. I tightened it myself. Called up the shop, asked for the owner, very calmly let him know how disappointing the whole situation was. Keep in mind a paid over $200 to put a chain and sprocket on, and ended up doing the adjustment myself. He didnt offer for any sort of refund, he said "you can ride the bike in and we will take a look". He also had the service manager who did all the work call, who apologized. As far as Im concerned, actions speak a lot louder than words. Sorry doesnt go a long way when you just hopped on a bike that was clearly neglected- something that can effect my safety. Is it unreasonable to expect them to offer a refund or a discount on future service (which I wouldnt even have used because of this experience). Honestly, you are better off buying manual and doing the work yourself.

RO

Royal Nebeker

Great experience and I wont hesitate to return my motorcycle to these honest guys. The throttle cable on my 900 Triumph Thunderbird snapped while on my way to another shop which was actually closed so I had Tim from Lowside Towing take her to Seattle Cycle Center. It took a week to get the part in but they got on it as soon as it arrived. I received a call saying it was done and the price was right. A few minutes later they called back saying my bike wouldnt start. Im thinking "Great, I didnt go for the extra work they recommended so here we go theyre trying to milk more money out of me." I let them know that the bike was running just fine before the throttle cable snapped. The guy from the shop said that theyll keep at it and will give me a call back but that he will have to charge for the extra time spent on getting it to work. I reluctantly said fine, thinking just get the bike out of there and I can take it to another shop for the recommended service. I called back the next day and gave some suggestions to get her to start after reading on some forums about blunders occurring when replacing the throttle cable. They tried some other things and spent more time on it. After the weekend I got a call from them stating that she was ready to be picked up and that it was my battery having been low from sitting for the week. They had installed new plugs and didnt charge me for the labor of trying to get her to start. Do you realize how rare that is?? They only charged me the extra price of the spark plugs. These guys are honest and hardworking. My bike runs stronger than ever. If you want fair, great work, with excellent results trust Seattle Cycle Center.