LB Community Forums / Experiences / Praise or Shame

PRAISE Mark HOLDEN and DARREN.

jimblade — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:41:53 GMT

Big respect to mark and darren, have helped me out big time with the blade, top notch boys,
if you have a problem then ring them, seriously good at what they do and proper bikers,
TEL, 02084644400
tell them i sent you

http://www.mhmotorcycles.co.uk/

Praise: bike cops

5150 — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:21:31 GMT

I followed (and was followed by) a police bike this morning between Catford and Clapham.

He was the smoothest rider I've ever seen - and quick with it, too. I made every effort to copy his lines around bends and take note of how he filtered.

We had a little chat at the lights - he said "just keep it smooth and be careful". Totally relaxed, like.

I've noticed that over the short time I've been commuting since passing my test, I've allowed myself to get quite het up in traffic, filtering when I probably don't need to and things, but seeing this fella has made me re-evaluate my style - and for the rest of my ride to work I was so much mellower. Got there at the same time as usual, too.

Thank you, nice Mr Policeman!

Next stop, Bikesafe. :)

Praise: John's Motorcycle Service, Barnet

cbrbiker — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:43:52 GMT

I've been using John's Motorcycle Service in Barnet for a few years now for work on my bike and more recently, my other half's bike too.

John's a top bloke, very honest and not unreasonably priced either. I'd recommend him to anyone in or around north London.

His workshop number is 020 8275 0691.

Praise - Steve Hallam, bike electrician.

Donners — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:46:20 GMT

Steve sorted the indicator problem I had. He diagnosed it was the switch, took it apart, stripped it, cleaned it, fixed it and put it back together again. He also replaced a blown bulb.

I'm sure a major shop would have said 'the switch has gone mate, you need a new one.'

He's a nice bloke and only charged me £40. I won't go anywhere else if I have any more electrical problems.

If you've got any electrical gremlins, his number is 07870280288 and he works out of a garage in Thornton Heath. He apparently recently worked on Ewan McGregor and Charlie Borman's bikes too.

PRAISE - FTC

dlchatel — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:31:49 GMT

Just has Bridgestone BT021's fitted to the bike, even though they took 2 hours to fit them, the service was fantastic.

Also included free tea and coffee!

Praise: FWR Kennington

TheLoneGunman — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:38:36 GMT

My Bike broke down in Kennington today. Walked up to FWR and they said they could take a look at it for me straight away. I managed to get it started again myself but the guys at FWR gave it a check over to make sure it was safe to ride home. Very helpfull and friendy and didn't charge me a thing. I'll be getting all my tyres there in future.

WASP aka samm

cyphertheory — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:00:32 GMT

had my leathers repaired by samm this weekend as always done a great job and even got two cuppas!

cheers hon!

Praise: Diamond Racing

johnnybravo — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:53:02 GMT

highly recommend these guys - now on my *ahem* 2nd set of rearsets from them after my efforts at cadwell on monday :Whistling:. they got the rearsets to me the next after i ordered them - flippin excellent

great looking bits of kit and much cheaper than most of the others i've seen at £175. best bit is that should you not knacker both sides the way i did, then you can buy all the bits individually rather than buy the lot from scratch

these are them on ebay if anyone fancies a set

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/YAMAHA-R1-04-05-06-NEW-07-08-REARSET-FOOTREST-KIT_W0QQitemZ230296948390QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230296948390&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14

if you do trackdays/go to the club and national racing you'll see their tyre warmers on a lot of bikes too

Praise - Mark @ Fast Trak London

nnlemon — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:12:34 GMT

Cheers to Mark at Fast Trak London for getting me through my CBT on Sunday.
Despite my lacking any real experience and posessing some push bike habits.

Some life philosophy thrown in at no additional cost. :3
Good guy.

http://www.fasttraklondon.co.uk

Will definately be heading back for my DAS.

Now to get my moody RS125 started. :3

PRAISE - Bridgestone BT021 Tyres

Sid Throttle — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:07:45 GMT

If you are looking for a sport/touring tyre then go for the Bridgestone BT021's - last week I changed both front and rear Bridgestone BT020's on my SV thou for the new BT021's - frankly - after scrubbing them in - I was so impressed I wanted to mention how good I thought they were to everyone - natch my old tyres were past it - but I have run BT020's for so long (this was also considered a good tyre by a lot of people) that I can make a direct comparison and am not comparing a new tyre with my last set of shagged tyres and giving a false impression.

The BT021's seem to be superior in grip and inspire a lot more confidence in bends - I found that they turn in nice and quickly when counter-steering, and my lean angles are higher due to the extra confidence the tyre inspires. I also found that the feel from the front when braking was superb - brilliant feelback and the tyre seems to compress progressivelly even when breaking hard - which again adds to the confidence.

On top of this I reckon they could last longer as they seem to be packing more rubber - If i remember rightly the BT020 as new came with about 6mm of tread depth on the rear tyre - measuring the tread depth on the new BT021 with a depth gauge gives a reading of 7mm.

The bridgstone BT021 also won the tyre test in sept issue of bike magazine (they were running a BT020 on the front and a BT021 on the rear as Bridgestone don't make a 19inch front (yet) for the BMW R1200GS test bike).

The tyre recieved a five star rating from the test rider - quote 'the Avons and Metzlers are good but the bridgestones are just better everywhere. They're not too sporty, but good on the bumps, on the brakes and on their side. I was able to drag the centre stand through the long right hander, even in the rain'.

I've never been so impressed with a tyre - recommended. :)

PRAISE Andyp and Essential Rubber

PJ — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:15:27 GMT

Just like to thank Andyp for helping me out with, A. finding Essential Rubber and B. coming along with me and help negotiate a great deal.

Top job from both parties concerned.

Thanks, it was well worth the journey.

SHAMEWEST LONDON YAMAHA**

Ricky — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:13:27 GMT

As some of you may know my 2007 R1 had a very severe engine failure, It went to WLY to have an engine rebuild carried out, which took 6 weeks to complete!!

I am now having issues with various oil leaks and a very nasty rattle in the engine, A phone call to WLY to book in the bike for them to rectify the faults and i'm told that either myself or the bike are no longer welcome on the premises, So, they can do substandard work and refuse to rectify it!!! How does that work??? Yamaha UK/Japan have been informed of this and are looking into it.

So i guess the moral of this story is to steer well clear of WLY

Praise - Hein Gericke

makman — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:47:05 GMT

The zip on the HG summer trousers I bought on sale 5 months ago broke yesterday morning so I went to HG in Welling to see if they could do a replacement. Sadly no stock for that type of trousers left, so they went against the books and gave me a £30 refund on any other bits I bought in the shop instead, so I managed to get a pair of Taureg summer trousers instead. Very nice of them, no pressure and great service as always.

Shame-Metropolis Motorcycles, Vauxhall

M-Daytona — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:27:06 GMT

Where shall I start…dropped off my pride and joy for its second service a week before I was due to be at Mallory, thought I’d better get there with a properly serviced/checked bike.

Picked it up Fri evening to ride up to Mallory the night before, not even two hours later, it went completely dead on me on the M1, first time I have a problem with my 675 since buying it last year, called the RAC, the guy couldn’t get it started at all, to cut a long story short, RAC got a trailer out and we headed back home that night :crying:

Sat Morning RAC came out again to deliver the bike to Metropolis, and after a long morning of stripping the bike and testing, they said it was the regulator/rectifier that went, so they ordered the part, as well as a new battery, and I picked it up last Thu.

Went out with a couple of mates on Sat, was itching to get on my baby again, 20min later they noticed fluid spilling out on the left hand side, so we pulled over to inspect, and as you can imagine by that point, my blood was boiling along with the brake fluid! all I wanted to do was get to Metropolis and give them more verbal abuse in front of any potential customers!

Luckily for them, the guys I rode with knew what to do, so we carried on with the ride, keeping a close eye on the bike, but basically, Metropolis mechanics have over-filled the brake fluid container and as it got hot, liquid started spilling out!

And as if they haven’t done enough damage, my front tyre was reading 22psi!

I realise everything, apart from the brake fluid, could’ve been a bad coincidence, but considering their bad reputation, I will NEVER take my bike there again, and hope no one else does either.

So, be warned, again!

PRAISE

Quiller — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:33:19 GMT

Battery died on the B6 after work so couldn't get home. Phone Jim (The Cavalry) who says he's off duty and can't get to a damsel in distress, but knows a man who can... said man phones me back within 5 mins, arrange for him to swing by mine, pick up the B6 keys in the van, collect B6 from parking bay at work, drop at Central Bikes, Goodge Place. All done and sorted by the next day, new battery, happy Bandit :cool: these guys were fantastic, minimal cost... Q

PRAISE WEST LONDON YAMAHA

STC-STUNTZ — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:23:55 GMT

I've been browsing the forum for years, and some of the guys here might know who i am but hey.

I've been getting my bikes, and more recently my off road stunter (f4i) serviced there for a little over a year now, and no matter how banged up they get, the guys in the workshop always seem to sort them out for me.

Pricing seems fair, and the guys are generally a good bunch.

Just thought with the recent hate i kinda needed to share this.

SSD.:cool:

Praise - FWR Kennington

Mole — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:40:42 GMT

It is amazing how much of a difference new tyres make, the bandit feels like a COMPLETELY different bike now! :D

I just walked straight into FWR Kennington, and they did the tyres straight away, checked my brakes, gave good advice, and were really friendly. Top place to go. Recommended :cool:

It's gonna be real fun getting used to decent tyres...woohoo! :D

PRAISE......Banjax Cambridge Heath Road

Fooligan 55 — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:43:59 GMT

Thank you Martin at Banjax for setting up my Power Commander 3,.

My TL is improved no end, more power, smoother delivery and better fuel consumption.

Purred like a happy kitten over the 1000 miles to Vienna.

Banjax Motorcycles 397 Cmabridge Heath Road (next to T.T.T motorcycles).

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Essential Rubber

cyphertheory — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:14:10 GMT

as always, a great service from the lads today, was in and out again inside my lunch break

get yourselves down there!

SHAME - 4th Dimension

megamale — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:45:27 GMT

I am fuming... Three weeks ago an old lady bumped me from the back whilst I was waiting at a roundabout. Fairly minor damage: broken indicator, bent exhaust and a cracked side fairing (impact made me drop it). I've had a witness and the lady admitted cuplability. I wrote here about this and I've been advised to use helphire. Read some ok reviews about them so called them up.

They quickly arranged for a hire bike and I can't really fault them. However they asked me what garage would I prefer using, based on the recommendations here I told them about the Yamaha Service Centre, but although they had it in the system they said is wasn't one of their approved. They recommended "4th Dimension" as a garage. Never heard of them but said ok.

Anyway, I should also add that I am tight for time. I am in one of these nice situations where I am changing jobs and managed to negociate and early leave my current company and a late start at the new company. So from tomorrow I'll have 6 weeks off, and was looking forward to have a European trip and visit my parents in Tunisia.

So after chasing them a few times, 4th dimension call me 3 days later to confirm for a collection, they collect 2 days later, and I get a call from their engineer another 3 days after. If I was a cynic I would have thought that they are trying to stretch time so to get their partners, Helphire, to charge for a hire bike for as long as possible. The cynicism became certitude when the engineer quoted a staggering 4-5 weeks for completion and £2300 bill? WTF??? £2300? I know I am not the one paying for it, but £2300 for a fairing an indicator light and an exhaust? (quote from the mechanic: "but Yamaha fairins are quite trick to disassemble")

Because of my trip I said there was no way I am willing to wait 5 weeks. I don't know what would I have done if I didn't, I know the third party insurance will pay for it but it just smacks me as robbery.

So I just called helphire to settle this as a cash in lieu, and as they say they can't do that, I've just passed the case to the third party and I am waiting for a visit from their engineer.

But the issue is not over, now 4th Dimension won't release the bike unless the have a written confirmation from Helphire that they, or someone, is going to be paying for the Pickup/Delivery and storage... Storage??? I called helphire and they saying they'll tell them to send the bill to the third party, but I am not sure they'll accept that.

Anyway, I am thinking about going there and just take my bike and take all documentary evidence that it's mine (V5, insurance, etc.). If they refuse to hand my bike back I'll just call the Police.

Moral of the story: Use a sollicitor, always! If you have to use helphire, stick to your guns and go to a mechanic you know. Avoid 4th dimension like the plague.

PRAISE.

jimblade — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:55:13 GMT

hayley@moto46.orangehome.co.uk

praise moto46 ordered some bits for the sick blade and with lots of positive communication between myself and Hayley as above, i got the parts exaclty as described and at a good price

will use again. :)

http://www.moto46.co.uk/

jim

Praise Rex judd

Katana — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:59:26 GMT

Well bought a few bits off them and they were really helpful and a good laugh to chat to.

Thanks Egypt et all.

Praise: B - BN Race Science

GSXResurrector — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:11:33 GMT

Big thanks to B for making my bike handle (soooo much) better with the changes made to the old (i.e. bodged - no thanks in part to my own fettling :doze: ) suspension settings.

Thanks also to Les at LJ Motorcycle Repairs for spotting my worn front bearings.

Between them both, potentially saved my life!

Will be back for more advice and fettling once I've sorted my bearings out :)

Praise - ebay seller ryan221180

MickyWiz — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:48:34 GMT

...who not only sold me a left-hand radiator for the VFR to replace the one punctured in my off last week, in decent nick at a reasonable price, but because he was going to be in the neighbourhood delivered it in person a few hours later which enabled me to get it fitted in time for work this week and avoid the living hell which is public transport. Cheers, 'ryan221180'!!!

Les @ L J Motorcycle Repairs (twickenham)

alex — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:17:11 GMT

Turned up on a Saturday morning to fit a tail tidy to my triple. Les was a fantastic help, allowing me to use his 'customers' tools' and have a bash at sorting it out myself. needless to say I made a pigs ear of it, and he bailed me out.

Coffee was good, banter was better and was extremely happy with the result. (we did have a couple of glitches, but he wouldn't let me leave until they were sorted) Would definately recommend, and no doubt will turn up on his doorstep again looking like a lost child.

Oh, price was very good too. Much better than a main dealer :D

I'll post a pic up soon (it's looking sweeeet - to quote someone)

Samm aka WASP stitched me right up...

mj_jonesy — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:11:59 GMT

that bloody WASP stitched me right up she did....:crazy:

Thanks and praise to Wasp (Samm) who replaced the ass in my leathers and re-stitched the leg after my oppsie at Cadwell a while back... well happy that I now have a new seat in my leathers :D

Thanks for doing it quickly and before my return to Cadwell... as nice as it was meeting and chatting to you - in the nicest possible way i'm hoping i wont need your work again so soon ;) (meaning i'm hoping not to crash again anytime soon)

Thanks again.........

Praise M9 Performance

Burger — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:59:22 GMT

Not been able to do anything on the bike since I broke my shoulder and legs and the missus has been abusing the bike on a regular basis so it needed some attention.

Mike went over the bike, changed the oil, filters and changed out my grips as well as giving it a good checking over. Thanks Mike for giving up your Sunday it is appreciated.

Lb nutcases

steveCBR11XX — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:04:20 GMT

Sorry its late just want to praise the asylum escapees who braved the torrential rain last weekend to come out to play in Somerset. I had visions of standing at newbury services like billy no mates (as usual) :)

Stand up and take a bow one and all you deserve it :)

Praise for BN Race Science

Barry107 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:46:32 GMT

I popped into to see B today for him to have a fiddle with my knobs (Suspension) that is. I know how your dirty minds work :).

I had already had a fair bit of work done on my forks and rear shock by another suspension guy who has now moved back to a sunnier climate :cool: My loss, their gain.

I was having a few small issues with the setup I was running and need help/advice and steering in the right direction ;). The changes that B made where small but they made a great difference and I felt the improvement straight away :D.

No matter how old or new your bike is, have B set it up for you, your notice the difference and wonder why you've put up with riding it as it came.

P.S. The coffee's not bad either.

Praise racevisors.co.uk

dannyboy — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:02:43 GMT

Ordered from these guys Monday night, Visor was on my doorstep Wednesday morning with free postage and a free visor bag.

Can't praise them enough.

http://www.racevisors.co.uk/

BIG PRAISE

ginger — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:20:06 GMT

As a few of you know i got knocked off yesterday,

so i phoned up them this morning at 10.30am and byu 12.55pm im geting a phonecall to say my hire bike is outside, and there even sorting out the claim etc for me

just gotta live with the hip and top of arm thats a bit tender

the funniest thing is the women that hit me is on facebook too lol

PRAISE

jimblade — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:03:29 GMT

Lee did a wicked job on the knackered fireblade seats,
great price and a decent geezer.
will deffo be reccomending him. and you should to.

Lee the Seat

Mole — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:15:43 GMT

Just wanted to say Lee did a very good job turning my bandit seat into a snakeskin Corbin seat, it's luverley thanks :)

Praise - Scooter world Notting Hill

558 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:14:48 GMT

Would like to mention the great job [url=http://londonbikers.com/forums/UserInfo1569.aspx]Oggy[/url] at [url=http://www.scooterworld.co.uk/index1.cfm]Scooter World[/url] Notting Hill did for me yesterday.

Turned up to have a [b]second hand[/b] rack fitted to my scoot for a great price.
The rack turned out to be for a different bike so i was given a [b]new one[/b] for the same price.

And then my grab rail was rusted up inside and that was replaced for free as well:w00t:.

I was even allowed to use their toilet ;)

Stewart

PRAISE........... BOWEN MOTO LTD

suzukisi — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:10:46 GMT

My sons rear shock (aprillia rs 125) went last night on the way home from work , i phoned 3 shops including where it was supplied from when it was new, and none of them could get or had a shock, yet Bowen Moto ltd had 2 on the shelf , had to pay 120 quid for it but least they had it in stock , they could of fitted it for 35 quid (20 quid less than local dealers) but my son needs it for work in the morning so im going to fit it . and whilst there asked about a pipe for my k6 gixer , he had a seconhand micron :)titanium one , looked brandnew, so i bought that as well at a very good price:D cant wait to fit it , Anyway the man behind the counter was very helpful very patient and a pleasure to deal with, i wish all motorcycle shop staff where that nice, theres a few that unless your buying a brandnew bike allways seem like they cant be bothered with you.. I will be using them quiet a lot now i know they exist.. the shop is like a tardis from the out side it looks tiny

BIG PRAISE - Wasp

SheWoolf — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:46:09 GMT

I'm not easily impressed but have to put a post here to praise our very own Wasp :D.

I've lost more than 3.5 stone in the last year and my leathers were looking pretty sorry for themselves and very much on the large side! Wasp had already done a great job of altering them for me about 6 months ago and I was convinced they were just too big to alter again and get much more use out of.

I'm not finished with the weight loss yet and was dreading the thought of splashing out on new leathers just to tide me over, luckily Wasp is here and has saved me a few hundred notes!!! Since she's got her mits on them and worked her magic, they now fit me again the way they did when they were new (and I had them custom made!!)

I'm absolutely over the moon with her work on my leathers and also work she has done on my textile gear too, all for a fantastic price. I've also crash tested Waps's work and it more than held up to the challenge :pinch:

Keep up the good work hun :kiss:

SHAME HGB!!! Ruislip

DJ_ti636 — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 23:58:35 GMT

Mate had a blow out on the A40 and needed a new set of 2cts on his new fireblade, with few options at the time he went to HGB to get a pair of tyres. And was over charged, the wheel weights which were in the centre on now on the edge of the wheel, leaving the marks from where they previously were. they lost the aftermarket ally valve caps and replace with plastic standard ones. and then they put a fat scratch on the rear rim!! in all a very poor service i nor friends will be going there again.

Praise - Essential Rubber!!!

Viggen — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:25:38 GMT

Just had a set of pilot powers put on the SV! ES were very quick to get my bike in and out and there was lots of friendly banter going on. Also a lot of informative chat which was very helpful i'll definatly be going there again even though it's in a crappy part of london:Whistling:

Jolly Farmers B&B Suffolk

Wee Darlin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:55:34 GMT

Very late to be praising as this run was taken for my birthday in the Summer with Wee Haggis but nevertheless definately worth a mention:

This B&B was where we took a gorgeous run out to in May for my birthday - the roads are sublime - beautiful twisties excellent countryside and a really warm welcome. Huge breakfast and very chilled out, the pub in the town (Fressingfield) had fantastic meals and comes highly recommended.

The family that run it are also classic car enthusiasts and have an amazing garage full of really interesting stuff - well worth a visit

http://www.jolly-farmers-suffolk.com/ :D

Praise - Chase Superbike Centre

bobb — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:23:53 GMT

I got a pair of Sidi evo rain boots from them - cheapest online I could find and not ebay - they delivered them really quickly and when I had to send them back as they leaked they couldn't do enough to help and sent replacement out quickly.

http://www.chasesuperbikecentre.co.uk/

Sites a bit slow at times - but they've done me proud.

LB Community Forums / Experiences / Praise or Shame

PRAISE Mark HOLDEN and DARREN.

Praise: bike cops

Praise: John's Motorcycle Service, Barnet

Praise - Steve Hallam, bike electrician.

PRAISE - FTC

Praise: FWR Kennington

WASP aka samm

Praise: Diamond Racing

Praise - Mark @ Fast Trak London

PRAISE - Bridgestone BT021 Tyres

PRAISE Andyp and Essential Rubber

**SHAME**WEST LONDON YAMAHA**

Praise - Hein Gericke

Shame-Metropolis Motorcycles, Vauxhall

PRAISE

**PRAISE** WEST LONDON YAMAHA

Praise - FWR Kennington

PRAISE......Banjax Cambridge Heath Road

Essential Rubber

SHAME - 4th Dimension

PRAISE.

Praise Rex judd

Praise: B - BN Race Science

Praise - ebay seller ryan221180

Les @ L J Motorcycle Repairs (twickenham)

Samm aka WASP stitched me right up...

Praise M9 Performance

Lb nutcases

Praise for BN Race Science

Praise racevisors.co.uk

BIG PRAISE

PRAISE

Lee the Seat

Praise - Scooter world Notting Hill

PRAISE........... BOWEN MOTO LTD

BIG PRAISE - Wasp

SHAME HGB!!! Ruislip

Praise - Essential Rubber!!!

Jolly Farmers B&B Suffolk

Praise - Chase Superbike Centre

SHAMEWEST LONDON YAMAHA**

PRAISE WEST LONDON YAMAHA