nugirl

Dude, if you have the resources, have you ever thought about powder coating or chrome plating? Seriously!! My ex used to do it and made a pretty penny for it. Has anyone ever tried to have anything chrome plated? Most place are in Cali and that's an *** load of money to ship stuff there and have it shipped back. Not to mention the costs involved with the job itself. Powder coating is also fairly easy to do.. Hell, I could even do it. It's a great way to customize sh** on your bike. You should seriously consider that if the shop idea doesn't work out so well.

Good luck!!

Addict4Life

thats a great idea but a chrome shop would be like a million dollars to start, power coating is a good idea!!! i have had sit at chrome for like 4 months and i'm still waiting on it!!!

nugirl

Actually, My ex was doing chrome plating in our basement (probably wasn't the brightest idea) but he did really well. It didn't clost that much at all. If you stick to smaller items, you'll do just fine. For like a bike frame or something like that, it might be a bit difficult but you could do smaller parts without a problem. I'm sure you might be able to find information on this online. It would be worth it to check out I have a few things I wouldn't mind having chromed, but I'm not going to wait months and pay all that money to ship my s*** to cali....

Good luck man

TwoEleven

I think a stunt shop would be cool to have around. I hate always ordering off the net. Sometimes I just want to go to the store and buy it. I work in the plating field. I have some hook ups at different shops in area. The thing is I havent needed anything plated. I do anodizing now, maybe i'll anodize something this spring.

standy

The hardest part of having a motorcycle shop is getting killed on prices by the mail order companies. Most of the mail order guys have little more than a business liscense and a small building. Much less overhead compared to a shop that has to be staffed with professional and knowledgeable employees, including mechaincs, parts managers, etc. Clothing and lifestyle related stuff would probably be the way to go....it would be easier to maintain a level playing field as far as pricing goes. People complain about the local shops charging more than the mail order guys....but what they don't realize is that the shops have to run a business. Its a sore spot with me, because I get these assclowns calling me asking how to install their mail ordered "performance parts"......if they spent the extra 20 bucks, I'd be more than happy to help them out with any problems. The guy that looks at the catalogs and orders the parts generally doesn't know much about it, so he/she refers them to their "local dealer." What the customers don't realize is- who's gonna install their parts if the local shop is out of business? You have to support your local dealers and shops, my friends, otherwise, there will be nowhere to go when you need someone that knows what's going on. Please keep in mind that my above statements don't apply to ALL mail order companies. I know of a few that are very on top of things, but for the most part, they don't know the technical side of things. Just my 2 cents.

Schwartz

WOW...

I'm impressed!!!!

Nicely put!!!

Now get back to rideing before I dtick a pencil in your ear!!!

Cheap5.0

I am not *#itting on your idea, i am all for it. But in michigan there just are not as many people that want to ride year round, so bikes are still a pretty weak (comparativly) market up here. That and with all this talk of the big 3 drowning, a new business is not the best idea right this minute. Maybe in a few years after things settle.

But if you do it, you have my support

standy

I just get kinda worked up about the mail order stuff sometimes....it costs me money. lol When are you coming to meet up with us again, Matt? After SW, I have a renewed motivation to be a bad mother fu(ker around here....just like you said. You speak the truth.

3824

YO ....

Borne's coming down ... we are riding - I get out of work at 5 ..... be there

jeffhawk

if your looking for a shop try c.s.a.in sterling hgts,or cafe concepts,in fraser,best bet an best prices would be c.s.a. macomb cycle can screw themselves,there overpriced on everything,and they have a bunch of kids working the parts counter.

3824

lmao ......

Thunder

Agreed... I shut my shop down part of last year to change some things up. Everyone bickering about ebay prices, and mail order prices and comparing them to retail. I knocked off a pretty good amount because my overhead is low, and still had to deal with fu(kin' flea market mentality a lot of people have. I was catering to off road, watercraft, and sleds. Parts makes you a few bucks, but most of your income is from service... at least with the demographics in my area. Look at your potential profit margins on stunt parts, I doubt it will cover your expenses. You'll have to cater to anyone that walks through your doors to make it work, harley or cruiser either way. That was the biggest change I had to put in place, make more available to a wider range of consumers. Apparel is helpful, but everything really needs to be well rounded out for the shop to run smooth. Tshirts and Jerseys are a low profit item as well. Best of luck on it if it's something you really want to do. I questioned my logic a LOT after I got started... it's a lot of work any way you cut it. :YEAH

5thgear

I run a shop that caters to alot of local stunters and luckily we deal with the movie industry which is huge in Vancouver. Movie guys have the big bucks and want anything.

Just selling shirts and apparell won't cut it. In the industry you have to make a living of the general public 90% riders and specialize in stunt stuff the other 10%. If your not making a profit your screwed.