Author Topic: My local shops aren't selling Enfies any longer... :(  (Read 6890 times)

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hortoncode3

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Reply #30 on: June 25, 2013, 05:06:32 pm
RE needs to (a) stretch the line out a bit and (b) stop selling at scooter dealers. Although, that may be a great transition bike for a scooter owner so who am I to say, I guess. Selling 600 bikes a year in the US seems hardly worth the effort..and it shows because RE hasn't put any effort into it at all. The dealer network is invisible, and the communication from the US office stinks. I still await word on my defective gas tank...but I love my bike with her used and beat C5 tank on her G5 frame! Hey..at least it holds gas instead of pissing it on my shoe..!


Ducati Scotty

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Reply #31 on: June 25, 2013, 06:00:29 pm
You can't force a dealer to take on a brand they don't want, and some dealers have non-compete clauses.  Ducati has been moving all their dealerships to just Ducati.  I'm not sure what the logic is but I'm sure they're thinking it will boost sales.  Seems Harley has done this forever so there's probably something to it. 

The RE is a niche bike and getting it in next to a bunch of Japanese bikes in a large volume dealer may be tough.  I've found that scooter shops have some of the most avid and enthusiastic riders as both customers and riders.  This seems to be where bikes like the Enfield, Ural, and all the smaller Chinese/Taiwanese makes get sold.  Love it or hate it, it is what it is.  In a sense it's a good fit, scooter riders are usually looking for something a bit different too and, at least for now, that's the REs niche. 

I'd say other bikes fall into this category too.  MV Augusta and Moto Guzzi, though well know, sell relatively few bikes in the States and have their problems with parts supply and service availability.  You can get your Ford F150 serviced anywhere and parts are always available.  If you drive a Citreon 2CV things are different.

Scott


Royalista

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Reply #32 on: June 25, 2013, 08:54:15 pm
Ahoy. I have a thirty year young 2cv! And no, you don't take that to a regular car dealer. They wouldn't have a clue.  ;D
moriunt omnes pauci vivunt


Ducati Scotty

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Reply #33 on: June 25, 2013, 09:37:16 pm
Love those cars!  Mechanically unique in so many ways.  There are a few in town where I live.

Scott


Craig McClure

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Reply #34 on: June 25, 2013, 11:16:22 pm
I've had no problem maintaining my 2010 G5 deluxe myself, but I'm an old motorcycle hand.  I have also had good luck shopping for parts on Ebay & got a few from India. I can also improvise-found a superior air filter (for a big lawnmower) at O'reily Auto Parts.
  You will eventually learn how to do everything yourself. some years ago I bought a Non Running URAL in Tucson Arizona, trailered it back to Las Cruces NM, where I lived. Got it running in about a week, bought a Ural Hack, set the whole thing up, Then rode it to do everything when ever the weather permitted. It was sunny a lot, & I rode it 5 years with out a problem. Nearest dealers were Texas & Fla.  No sweat!
Best Wishes, Craig McClure


ToesNose

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Reply #35 on: June 26, 2013, 02:42:38 am
My issue isn't with me maintaining it, it's with getting a quality dealer prep/set up before I drive it home all that distance  ;)
"Pardon me...do you have hot sauce for this?"

2007 Suzuki LS650
2014 RE C5 Tan 'Manjika'