BC Sport Bikes Forum banner

best place to buy gear locally

3K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  Q Head 
G
#1 ·
Well I'm currently at action taking their course... now i need a jacket/helmet.

Since i will be getting a bike in a few months, i figure that i might as well get a proper jacket now and a helmet (instead of using theirs). Where would the best place for me to go... i dont know much on what i should get... so somewhere where i can get good knowledgeable customer service.

Thanks
 
#5 ·
Here is a link for most of the shops in the lower mainland. You'll get a lot of different opinions as which is the best place but ultimately it's up to you to decide which shop you're most comfortable with and deal with them.

LINK
 
#10 ·
carson said:
Shop around for price then customer satisfaction.

The boys at Imperial were great when the GF and I each bought some new riding boots yesterday, very eager to be helpful. And they didnt mind me trying on everyboot they had in stock TWICE!
I agree with Carson. When I bought my my Vert IIs, best price and were super nice to letting me also try every size multiple times.
 
G
#14 ·
I signed up for the BC Safety Council’s Motorcycle Skills Course + Motorcycle Traffic Skills course package; $750+7% GST = $802.50.

I studied the forums here extensively for recommendations for shops and then visited several Lower Mainland shops. I have focused on textile products. If you want non-leather gloves, get the Alpinestars ST-1 gloves for ~$70.

I determined that the best gear would have the external shell made of nylon, ideally Cordura nylon, because nylon has greater abrasive resistance than polyester. Strangely, 80% of the textile gear I looked at in the local stores was made of polyester, including all of the Joe Rocket crap. Every store except John Valk sells Joe Rocket crap, and I’m told it’s one of the hottest sellers. It might be OK for impact protection, due to the built-in armor, but is poorly rated for abrasion protection, as it is always made of 100% polyester. The “Ballistic” label on these is purely a marketing gimmick. Only squids wear Kevlar-reinforced jeans: Kevlar has very poor abrasion resistance.

Two prominent companies provide mail-order custom-fit suits; these are Aerostich and Motoport. I seriously considered buying an Aerostich Roadcrafter, but I have a body shape that is halfway between Sylvester the Cat and Homer Simpson, and I didn’t want to risk having to ship it back and forth several times. The Aerostich is waterproof, but like most suits, it is waterproofed with a polyurethane coating. According to Motoport, this coating is likely to melt before the Cordura nylon does. Motoport recommends buying a Cordura nylon suit with no waterproofing; a waterproof liner would be worn underneath it. That way you would be able to wear the suit year round.

Here’s what I found. Note that I started looking on May 7th, and that we had already had about three weeks of summer at that point, and the dealerships hadn’t prepared for the early summer, so selection was limited.

Richmond Motorsports. Reasonable selection, but prices quite high: Shoei RF-1000 for $770, Shoei X-11 for $970. There were no decent jackets except for Belstaff; no non-leather gloves; one pair of small cordura pants. Saleswomen were not particularly helpful, as they were quite busy with other customers. The gloves were locked in a glass cabinet and there was a poor selection. There was an excellent helmet selection, but a poor boot selection.

Burnaby Kawasaki: Excellent attitude, very good service from one salesman. Unfortunately, he did not insist that I buy the smallest helmet size I could fit on my head, and allowed me to pick out a 2XL instead of an XL, because the crappy KBC helmet scratched my face. They had a very poor helmet selection, a reasonable selection of pants and jackets, and an excellent selection of gloves (locked in a cabinet.) Tried on several pairs of textile pants; in each case the kneepads could only cover my shins; why don’t manufacturers put a huge strip of Velcro along the length of the leg so you can move the kneepad next to your knee? I asked for them to show me only Cordura nylon jackets. I found a reasonably-good jacket. I was seriously considering buying it, but I looked carefully at the label and found it was 100% polyester! I complained to another sales rep, and he gave me some BS about how all the jackets had similar qualities and that Cordura vs. polyester was not an issue. I didn’t appreciate his ignorance or patronizing attitude, whichever it was, because other salespeople at other dealerships know darn well what Cordura is.

Pacific Yamaha, Richmond: Decent jacket selection, excellent glove selection, poor pant selection, average helmet selection, poor boot selection. I dealt with a saleswoman who had 5 inches of midriff showing. When I was tired of looking at jackets, and said I wanted to look at helmets, she insisted on leading me to the Joe Rocket crap first and had no interest or knowledge of what Cordura was. She was completely unwilling to match prices. I felt too much pressure to buy, and was told that I would get a 15% discount on the gear if I bought a bike; on my way out, she brought me directly to Nicholas, the sales manager. Nicholas was quite friendly and easy to talk to. I checked out a Yamaha Virago 250; he said that BCSC is buying another five of these soon. Prices were reasonable for jackets at Pacific Yamaha, but don’t buy a helmet there.

Carter Motorsports Granville: Excellent glove selection; only the right or left glove was available, and you can try them on freely in many sizes. This was a very nice feature. I dealt with a very friendly sales guy, who was very knowledgeable. There was a poor boot selection, good jacket selection, and a poor helmet selection.

John Valk BMW Ducati, 4th ave: If you gross $80K+/year, go here. The Streetguard 2 suit was perfect, but cost $1173.50. As soon as I showed I was satisfied, the sales rep said, “So, you’ll take it?” I laughed sheepishly and said that I had only started looking around. Streetguard pants cost another $800 or so. They had a minimal selection of boots, helmets, and gloves, but they did have all sizes. They have old stock Arai Quantum F helmets on sale right now for $600. I was passed from one sales rep to the next as soon as they realized I wasn’t going to buy a bike or anything worth over $1000, and eventually ended up with a new guy who didn’t have any motorcycle training yet, who was obviously paid minimum wage, but to whom I could at least talk to on an equal level, and who helped me try on a few pairs of boots and gloves.

Trev Deeley Harley/Buell on Boundary. They had a chopper there. Would you believe that some people turn Buells into choppers?! There was an extensive section for women’s gear; larger than any other dealership I saw. There was a good selection of gloves, boots, steering wheel covers, beanie helmets and a few textile jackets. Apparently, all H-D riders are squids, because there were no full-face helmets that I could see. Maybe they hide them in the back. Customer service was friendly and clever enough to know when you’re just browsing.

Holeshot Racing in Langley: Excellent glove selection, but it’s all behind a counter which you may not walk behind. The first time I went there I was ignored; when I asked for help, a guy said he would send someone over, but no-one came over within 4 minutes, so I left. I came back a few days later and the customer service was very friendly and helpful, although not particularly knowledgeable. They have an excellent racing boot selection, both Gaerne and Sidi. I cannot fit into knee-high boots as my 20-inch circumference calves (all muscle, mind you) are as thick as the average northern Italian’s thigh. They had a good selection of jackets and pants, but it was mostly polyester-based. The saleswoman told another customer that they don’t have a huge selection of leather because it’s hard to find a good fit. This store is quite large, but it is directed mostly towards dirtbike racers, so there isn’t much for sportbikers.

Western Powersports, Langley: very good selection for all items. Salespeople, especially the manager and Connie, have a very high level of knowledge, know darn well what Cordura is, and were even willing to debate the benefits of Aerostich vs. their own products. They fitted me properly with a helmet, and assisted with fitting jackets and gloves. I eventually bought from them, but I was a bit disappointed that they only gave me 10% off on the Alpinestars gloves and jacket, and would not discount the helmet further, because it was old stock and already marked down from $1000 to $650; they said I would get a coupon when I completed the BCSC course which would give me 10% off everything, and I thought I should get an extra 10% off the helmet. The helmet’s MSRP in the USA is $825, not $1000…. They tried to tell me that Canadian prices have nothing to do with American prices. Ever hear of free trade? I bought a Shoei X-Eleven.

Recommended: Western Powersports, Richmond Motorsports, Carter Motorsports.
Not worth your time: Pacific Yamaha, Burnaby Kawasaki, John Valk.

Conclusion: Many dealerships have helpful, friendly staff, who don’t really know much about the gear they are selling. It’s not really possible to buy your bike before you have the safety training, and you need to have some gear to go through the training.. unless you have an old leather jacket, leather gloves, jeans, and rent a helmet. Buy your gear from a dealership only if you intend to buy a bike there later, so that you can use that fact in your negotiations.

Now, I’ll see about buying a CBR125R to complement my '03 Dodge Tomahawk. :thumbup Yes, a 125cc CBR really exists -- in Europe.
 
#15 ·
daz said:
I signed up for the BC Safety Council’s Motorcycle Skills Course + Motorcycle Traffic Skills course package; $750+7% GST = $802.50.

I studied the forums here extensively for recommendations for shops and then visited several Lower Mainland shops. I have focused on textile products. If you want non-leather gloves, get the Alpinestars ST-1 gloves for ~$70.

I determined that the best gear would have the external shell made of nylon, ideally Cordura nylon, because nylon has greater abrasive resistance than polyester. Strangely, 80% of the textile gear I looked at in the local stores was made of polyester, including all of the Joe Rocket crap. Every store except John Valk sells Joe Rocket crap, and I’m told it’s one of the hottest sellers. It might be OK for impact protection, due to the built-in armor, but is poorly rated for abrasion protection, as it is always made of 100% polyester. The “Ballistic” label on these is purely a marketing gimmick. Only squids wear Kevlar-reinforced jeans: Kevlar has very poor abrasion resistance.

Two prominent companies provide mail-order custom-fit suits; these are Aerostich and Motoport. I seriously considered buying an Aerostich Roadcrafter, but I have a body shape that is halfway between Sylvester the Cat and Homer Simpson, and I didn’t want to risk having to ship it back and forth several times. The Aerostich is waterproof, but like most suits, it is waterproofed with a polyurethane coating. According to Motoport, this coating is likely to melt before the Cordura nylon does. Motoport recommends buying a Cordura nylon suit with no waterproofing; a waterproof liner would be worn underneath it. That way you would be able to wear the suit year round.

Here’s what I found. Note that I started looking on May 7th, and that we had already had about three weeks of summer at that point, and the dealerships hadn’t prepared for the early summer, so selection was limited.

Richmond Motorsports. Reasonable selection, but prices quite high: Shoei RF-1000 for $770, Shoei X-11 for $970. There were no decent jackets except for Belstaff; no non-leather gloves; one pair of small cordura pants. Saleswomen were not particularly helpful, as they were quite busy with other customers. The gloves were locked in a glass cabinet and there was a poor selection. There was an excellent helmet selection, but a poor boot selection.

Burnaby Kawasaki: Excellent attitude, very good service from one salesman. Unfortunately, he did not insist that I buy the smallest helmet size I could fit on my head, and allowed me to pick out a 2XL instead of an XL, because the crappy KBC helmet scratched my face. They had a very poor helmet selection, a reasonable selection of pants and jackets, and an excellent selection of gloves (locked in a cabinet.) Tried on several pairs of textile pants; in each case the kneepads could only cover my shins; why don’t manufacturers put a huge strip of Velcro along the length of the leg so you can move the kneepad next to your knee? I asked for them to show me only Cordura nylon jackets. I found a reasonably-good jacket. I was seriously considering buying it, but I looked carefully at the label and found it was 100% polyester! I complained to another sales rep, and he gave me some BS about how all the jackets had similar qualities and that Cordura vs. polyester was not an issue. I didn’t appreciate his ignorance or patronizing attitude, whichever it was, because other salespeople at other dealerships know darn well what Cordura is.

Pacific Yamaha, Richmond: Decent jacket selection, excellent glove selection, poor pant selection, average helmet selection, poor boot selection. I dealt with a saleswoman who had 5 inches of midriff showing. When I was tired of looking at jackets, and said I wanted to look at helmets, she insisted on leading me to the Joe Rocket crap first and had no interest or knowledge of what Cordura was. She was completely unwilling to match prices. I felt too much pressure to buy, and was told that I would get a 15% discount on the gear if I bought a bike; on my way out, she brought me directly to Nicholas, the sales manager. Nicholas was quite friendly and easy to talk to. I checked out a Yamaha Virago 250; he said that BCSC is buying another five of these soon. Prices were reasonable for jackets at Pacific Yamaha, but don’t buy a helmet there.

Carter Motorsports Granville: Excellent glove selection; only the right or left glove was available, and you can try them on freely in many sizes. This was a very nice feature. I dealt with a very friendly sales guy, who was very knowledgeable. There was a poor boot selection, good jacket selection, and a poor helmet selection.

John Valk BMW Ducati, 4th ave: If you gross $80K+/year, go here. The Streetguard 2 suit was perfect, but cost $1173.50. As soon as I showed I was satisfied, the sales rep said, “So, you’ll take it?” I laughed sheepishly and said that I had only started looking around. Streetguard pants cost another $800 or so. They had a minimal selection of boots, helmets, and gloves, but they did have all sizes. They have old stock Arai Quantum F helmets on sale right now for $600. I was passed from one sales rep to the next as soon as they realized I wasn’t going to buy a bike or anything worth over $1000, and eventually ended up with a new guy who didn’t have any motorcycle training yet, who was obviously paid minimum wage, but to whom I could at least talk to on an equal level, and who helped me try on a few pairs of boots and gloves.

Trev Deeley Harley/Buell on Boundary. They had a chopper there. Would you believe that some people turn Buells into choppers?! There was an extensive section for women’s gear; larger than any other dealership I saw. There was a good selection of gloves, boots, steering wheel covers, beanie helmets and a few textile jackets. Apparently, all H-D riders are squids, because there were no full-face helmets that I could see. Maybe they hide them in the back. Customer service was friendly and clever enough to know when you’re just browsing.

Holeshot Racing in Langley: Excellent glove selection, but it’s all behind a counter which you may not walk behind. The first time I went there I was ignored; when I asked for help, a guy said he would send someone over, but no-one came over within 4 minutes, so I left. I came back a few days later and the customer service was very friendly and helpful, although not particularly knowledgeable. They have an excellent racing boot selection, both Gaerne and Sidi. I cannot fit into knee-high boots as my 20-inch circumference calves (all muscle, mind you) are as thick as the average northern Italian’s thigh. They had a good selection of jackets and pants, but it was mostly polyester-based. The saleswoman told another customer that they don’t have a huge selection of leather because it’s hard to find a good fit. This store is quite large, but it is directed mostly towards dirtbike racers, so there isn’t much for sportbikers.

Western Powersports, Langley: very good selection for all items. Salespeople, especially the manager and Connie, have a very high level of knowledge, know darn well what Cordura is, and were even willing to debate the benefits of Aerostich vs. their own products. They fitted me properly with a helmet, and assisted with fitting jackets and gloves. I eventually bought from them, but I was a bit disappointed that they only gave me 10% off on the Alpinestars gloves and jacket, and would not discount the helmet further, because it was old stock and already marked down from $1000 to $650; they said I would get a coupon when I completed the BCSC course which would give me 10% off everything, and I thought I should get an extra 10% off the helmet. The helmet’s MSRP in the USA is $825, not $1000…. They tried to tell me that Canadian prices have nothing to do with American prices. Ever hear of free trade? I bought a Shoei X-Eleven.

Recommended: Western Powersports, Richmond Motorsports, Carter Motorsports.
Not worth your time: Pacific Yamaha, Burnaby Kawasaki, John Valk.

Conclusion: Many dealerships have helpful, friendly staff, who don’t really know much about the gear they are selling. It’s not really possible to buy your bike before you have the safety training, and you need to have some gear to go through the training.. unless you have an old leather jacket, leather gloves, jeans, and rent a helmet. Buy your gear from a dealership only if you intend to buy a bike there later, so that you can use that fact in your negotiations.

Now, I’ll see about buying a CBR125R to complement my '03 Dodge Tomahawk. :thumbup Yes, a 125cc CBR really exists -- in Europe.

conclusion.....pain-n-the-ass customer
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top