Is this the way biking is going?

[moto al]

Hi I live in Glasgow with a population of just over a million , this year we are loosing a triumph dealer,Kawasaki dealer , a Yamaha dealership.also we have no bmw dealership in Glasgow.also can am have shut down. What is all about.i just hope company's like amazon are not going to branch into selling bikes, as there killing a lot of other bossiness .as living in Glasgow's west end near the university ,there's only now one book shop , very sad. Comments please of your part of the country.cheers al

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[P4ulie]

That is pretty poor Al, Glasgow is hardly the middle of nowhere.

Its all charity & betting shops down this way now, interspersed with pawn (not the naughty stuff) brokers.

We did have a couple of bookshops in Epsom when I moved here 7 yrs ago, they're both cheap tat clothes stores now.

I do have a Honda dealer 5 miles away, BMW Guildford 18 miles away, the local Suzuki dealer lost its franchise & stopped trading bikes last year. All the others are a hard slog through London to get to or in places like Crawley. You'd think there would be a bit more option, seeing as I only live round the corner from Rykers cafe.

A lot of top end bicycle shops opening though, its the new mid life crisis. Tight fitting lycra has taken over from the leather romper suit, the roads are clogged with cyclists at the weekend

[Mike101]

Just the same in Salisbury.

The local Yam dealer only sells chineese 125's or endfields. BMW is 1.5 hours away.

Triumph is 40 mins away

Honda is an hour away but they don't have many in stock

Kawak...no idea where my local dealer is

KTM..no idea

Suzuki..40 mins away

Also in Salisbury if you want to buy a DVD or any music your only option is a supermarket..everything else has shutdown.

Mike

[londonwelsh]

The proliferation of charity shops is all very well and no doubt some do a good job but they pay no council tax and in some instances drive other shops out of business [ oxfam book shop opens up - 'real' book shop closes by us].all part of the losing identity of towns, all begining tolook alike .

[boristhebold]

Quite a few in West Yorkshire, but there's a population of over 2 million. I don't think we'll see much more of small bike dealerships as the internet has made it easily possible to save hundreds if not thousands on a new or 2nd hand hand bike.....so these dealers pile em high and sell em cheaper. It seems to be the same with lots of shops, TV shops, Cycle shops etc. people want to have a good look at something they want to buy and then go home and buy it online with free delivery saving a tenner or £100 etc.

[Dave DRZ]

It might be down to the fear of the referendum outcome...

It's not just Glasgow though, what bike shops are there in Manchester these day (the second city):
[ul]
[li]Hunts Honda[/li]
[li]Youles Triumph[/li]
[li]Williams BMW (which is in Trafford, not Manchester)[/li]
[li]Ducati Manchester (which is in Trafford, not Manchester)[/li]
[li]errrmmmm.... Wigan Yamaha[/li]
[/ul]
Not good. Not good at all.

Dave

[Mike101]

I thought Trafford was in Manchester...well it looks the same?

Mike

[Brenhden]

OK, I hate to to be ripped to shreds here, but business is business.

I love bike dealerships but honestly I've never bought anything from them. They are so expensive compared to online. Also as a full time worker with various commitments they just aren't open when I'm around. The big Harley shop in Bridgewater has never once been open when I've been in the area. In Bristol there are a few and Fowlers seems popular but I think the cafe and the service depot are what keep it in business rather than the bike sales. That's certainly true of the BMW dealership in North Bristol.

This is modern life, we have made it like this.

[daytona-supersport]

Same in the Peterborough area. We are really suffering badly.
We only have dealers for Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, BMW, Triumph, Aprilia, KTM. Ducati and Harley are out of town on the Leicester road, there is also a couple of dealers in Chinese bikes on the trading estate but no idea what they are called.
For second hand stuff, all of the above plus, Bikes and Trikes, World of Bikes, (Corby).

Trying not to buy a bike around here is bloody murder. Thankfully the only one with free coffee / tea and biscuits is Balderstons, BMW. All the rest have chuck wagon or café on site. Best egg and bacon rolls , Webs at Eye.

There are some charity shops in town if you need one. (thumbs)

[bowber]

I was at Allan Jeffries BMW with my wife yesterday a she was trying a few BMW, she loved the 1200 by the way but remortgaging the house to buy a new bike isn't for us.
there was a constant stream of people going in, some trying bikes and some collecting bikes and some browsing. It's the busiest bike shop I've seen for years.
The friendly helpful staff may have something to do with it though.

Steve