Well, I was rubbed the wrong way today by Corona Powersports in Corona California. I called them around 12 noon to see if they stocked the oil seals I need in order to fix my head gasket leak. After waiting several minutes to be connected to parts, I finally got a guy who acted as if he had never heard of a Suzuki GS500E. After I walked him through all the necessary parts descriptions, he told me that he had 14 oil seals in stock (GSXR uses same seal).
Then I ride down to Corona this afternoon (45 min freeway ride),
and they don't have a single seal in stock. Unbelievable.
Obviously, my experience here isn't unique. Best I can tell, dealers with friendly, knowledgable and helpful employees are few and far between (especially in these new style warehouse style dealerships).
So instead of compiling a blacklist of shady dealers, I thought it might be helpful to list "good" dealers, where the GS is known as a motorcycle, the prices are reasonable and customer service is good.
It starts as a short list:
- Cycles USA in Aspen Hill, Maryland
- Southern California .... well I can't really think of any. Chaparral in San Bernadino is decent, has a good selection of parts in stock, although you need to know exactly which parts you need .... Thats about it.
- Champion Motorsports in Costa Mesa, CA has treated me very well, but they carry all the Japanese lines except Suzuki. Orange County Suzuki across the street is not a pleasant place.
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