Another dealer bites the dust

Our nearest bike shop, Wheelpower in SW20 served us well when a Kawasaki Dealer in the 80’s, and moved into Suzukis and Peugeots in the 90s. A couple of years back took on Aprilia and last year became a Piaggio dealer, and moved a few doors down the road.

Last weekend all seemed perfectly normal. Today the shutters are down, the showroom is empty and the website says they have closed down.

Very sad.

You’d think with all the high costs etc. more people would opt from driving a car to switch to a bike or a scooter at least, keeping shops afloat.
One of our managers has done the same, switched to bike purely for commuting as it’s cheaper than car.

Sad thing.

The Yamaha dealership around the corner from me usually also looks empty, not much going in there, but then I’m never there during day, just evenings, so can’t say for sure.

The problem is that biking is more recreational than essential transport. And in the tough economic times people cut back on the none essentials, plus the cost of bikes compared to cars in disproportionate.

You can buy a new car that will seat four adults for less than the price of an Fireblade. If you are family or need transport in all weathers then the car represents a better deal.

I am sure Wheelpower became a Piaggio dealer as it expanded their ability to sell and maintain low cost urban transport, but even with scooters people are cutting back and Wheelpower never had the cheapest labour rates.

I had mate that was a mechanic there, when it was Kawasaki, sad to see another one bite the dust :frowning:

Ten years ago these were all motorcycle dealers. All within two miles of where I live, and now all closed -

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That last one looks like a wedding dress shop.

Exactly!

No wonder it closed down, the costs of getting oil stains out of the lace must have been astronomical.