Buying a new bike? What are all those "fees"?

   When selling a customer a new bike there are often several fees that can be quite confusing. Allow us to explain.

The delivery or "destination fee" is often very misunderstood. This is simply what it costs for us to get the bike freighted to us from the warehouse. No, the vendor DOES NOT ship them to us for free. We have to pay for that. This is often the largest fee and can be several hundred dollars.
                                   

First the crates are Lab inspected for damage. Then we get to uncrate the bikes.

The set-up fee covers us uncrating the machine, putting it together out of the crate, fueling it up, prepping and installing the battery, a test ride, and making any necessary adjustments. This fee can vary from bike to bike, but it is often relatively inexpensive. Many of the bikes are fairly easy to assemble for our expert crew. By the time you see them on the floor, most of the hard work has been done.
                                                                           

Notary and legal paperwork. This is again a small fee, but something that has to be done right. Our notary is a licensed professional and gets all the paperwork right that you need to be legal for the state.
                                                                                   

There is even a wonderful little $2 fee you pay for your tires touching the road in Pennsylvania. Yes, a $1 per tire road tax ( $3 if you buy a Stella, due to the spare).
                                                                               

There is a fuel fee on the bike. If the bike has a 1.4 gallon tank the fee will be 3 or 4 dollars.That simply covers the fuel we use to fill the tank.
                                                                                   

Of course there is also a small fee for a PA State safety Inspection. If you are buying from out of state this is one fee you do get to skip.

We are honest and no B.S. with these fees. We are up front and charge you the expenses that we pay. We have no hidden fees or extra charges. Remember, we want to sell you a bike and make smiles, but we are here to earn a living. Stop by, allow us the pleasure of selling you a bike at an honest price by a family shop.

Why we don't use fix o flat

  We just had a bike, that was recently brought in for leaking rims. No fault of the customer; he had bought a nice bike, but the previous owner had used some sort of aerosol tire sealant goop. This stuff should ONLY be used as a last resort; there are many better ways to fix a flat on the side of the road than a corrosive can of snot.
      Let us show you why this isn't a good idea. THIS is the inside of the rim once the tire was removed.
                                                                           

    This was left rolling around inside the tire.
                                                                               

As you may imagine this is not cheap or easy to repair, but we think we salvaged the rims on this bike. We have seen it completely destroy a rim by perforating the aluminum in several dozen spots.

                                                                       
      Is there a better way? We recommend a tire plug gun to fix the hole. We sell and use these, they make for a very good roadside repair with a little practice. You can buy more plugs and use this gun with success for years!
                                                               

There are several ways to get air back in the tire. If a bike has a spare spark plug hole the engine can be used as a compressor to air things back up. The older twin cylinder and four cylinder bikes are especially useful for this. The plugs are easy to get to, and you can start the bike while using the "dead" cylinder as an air pump. Be careful not to over inflate the tire this way. That cylinder makes 150 P.S.I.

If you don't have the old school bike and the mechanic gene; you can easily inflate tires with a CO2 type inflation device. It is safe and easy to use but requires carrying more parts. We recommend the type that uses air gun sized cartridges, though smaller they can be purchased anywhere when replacements are needed.

We stock ALL of these devices and know which ones work best. Stop by to see us and avoid this expensive destructive mess. And, if you MUST use the canned snot as a way to get home. Get the wheel to us ASAP to pull it apart and clean that rim before it begins to corrode.

If you liked this blog, feel free to follow us here, on Facebook, Youtube, or on our Instagram. Or you can always stop by the shop to visit.

Ride to the Naval Yards

The day had promise. It was a lovely day, the first Saturday in June. But, due to circumstances beyond our control, we started almost an hour late. It turned out to be a good delay because we had two AWESOME folks ride out from Philly, just to meet us at the shop, and then ride back with us. Your faces are always welcome at our shop. We were running behind, so forgive us for not being the most gracious hosts we should have been.The Royal Bastards are always a welcome sight.
                                                                         

Once we got organized, suited up, and ready to head out. We hit the road with 8 bikes leaving from the shop.

   The weather was a bit chilly for some, but the sky was clear and the sun was coming out. We picked up riders on the way to our lunch stop close to Philly.

The lunch stop was at The Pepper Mill for their renowned cheese steaks and they were good! We already have another trip in the works to try more cheese steak places recommended by the "locals". The "best cheese steak" battle continues. We WILL do the research and find the answer; no matter how many delicious cheese steaks we have to eat.

   I think we reached a maximum of 14 riders at lunch stop. We had a good mix of modern and vintage bikes with Genuine, Honda, Suzuki, Lance, and we were even joined by a Zundapp Bella and her beautiful rider.

Some  Royal Bastards and a few more riders came out to meet the rest of our group for lunch. Always nice to see you guys.

From here on, we had Todd step in as our local tour guide to navigate the tight in-town roads. Tim Did a great job getting us to our location and Todd did the city navigating for us. We were glad to have them both leading the way!

When we finally made our way to the JFK in the naval yard, we had another smiling face waiting to great us.

She is something else to see up close, even parked and aging.

Sadly, too many delays kept us from making the Cruiser Olympia in time to get aboard. So, we may just have to make this trip again. 

As usual, eventually it was time to head home. Missing the expected 2 hour tour of the ship left us with time for a little break; so we decided to take one in a shady spot just outside of town. A few good snacks, some welcome drinks and a small shade tree did the trick.

The numbers of our group slowly diminished as we all got closer to home. Gratefully, everyone arrived home safe-and-sound after a long days ride.

 Just a note to all our riders. Thanks for riding smart and safe all day. We had a few minor bike issues ( all easily fixed on the road). I have to admit, I still get a thrill when I see riders waiting on the side of the road to be picked up by the group. I have seen one or even over one hundred riders waiting to join my group, and I tell you, it brings a smile to my face every time no matter the number. We look forward to seeing you all on the next ride. Be sure to keep an eye on our Events Page.

If you liked this blog, feel free to follow us here, on Facebook, Youtube, or on our Instagram. Or you can always stop by the shop to visit.