I get to travel a lot for work and one of the things I like to do is stop by the local bike shop when I have time to kill. Been doing this for years. Brand of dealer visited depended on what bike I owned at the time. I'm always looking/hoping to find something that I like that's not available "back home". Now that I own a KTM I have been focusing on KTM dealers. Today I stopped by Scuderia West in San Francisco and was not disappointed. They had the best in stock selection of Adventure hard parts and KTM appearal I have seen here stateside, rivaling the shop I visited in Stuttgart, Germany. I was very impressed by the friendliness and attitude of the people who were working there (Paul and the three guys behind the counter who I did not get their names). I have no idea about their reputation in regards to sales/service, but my experience today was one of the best I've had......two thumbs up! BTW, I ended buying a couple of things...a "Racing Tee" and one of those black shop shirts w/ embroidered KTM logos (has collar). If you are in the neighborhood I highly recommend stopping by, you won't be disappointed.
They were also promoting KTMtwins as well, sounds like a great source. Thanks for the heads-up. My mind set is that I can always order something from any shop, it's the thrill of finding stuff "right now" that motivates me in visiting shops.
If you're in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area, Sierra Motor Sports is a great shop. Granted, this is a small town in the foothills (near the forest) and their KTM bike inventory is mostly focused on the off road scene. But I have to give a shout out to them because yesterday they saved my butt. Short version: I bought two KTMs from them in 2010. Although I am not in the market for a new bike (yet), I try to get as many stock parts for my bikes just to support them. In turn, they support their customers. Yesterday I was taking the long way home (read: I was about seven miles out in the woods on the other side of the creek). Suddenly, my kickstand safety switch decided to die and the 990 was not going to run once it was in gear. Naturally, I didn't have my cell phone with me, but a passer by stopped and asked if I needed help. I didn't know anyone's number off the top of my head, and I was trying to figure out a way to bypass the safety switch. The guy who stopped not only knew of the shop, but also had their number on his cell phone. (The shop sells a lot of generators to folks out in the woods.) The guy drove down the road a bit to find cell coverage and offered to ask the shop owner for some advise on figuring out the bypass. The guy then returns to tell me that the owner first told me to not try to bypass the system (on the 990), and second to wait about an hour as they were sending a truck out to get me. Sure enough, an employee showed up and he hauled the bike and me home - no charge! You can't beat that kind of service! Guess where I will be shoping for my next bike?
Wow! That's over the top service. I find it amazing how much this type of dealer attitude impacts their marketing, yet so few dealers seem to understand this. Glad folks were willing to help you. One of the things I started doing before going on longer rides is to get my truck/trailer all setup for "rescue" so that if I run into a problem my wife can just hop in and come get me. I also carry SPOT with one of the message options set to read "Broke down, come get me" in case I am out of cell coverage.........this with fingers crossed hoping my wife is paying attention
Anyone planning to go visit Pyndon on his visit to San Francisco in April to do a question and answer on his recent Dakar rally success should also plan to visit Scuderia as well. This could make a great mini ride... And may be my plan of attack although I'll have to install immediately anything I buy so as not to try to strap it on the rack for the long ride home.
. Sorry for jumping in here as i only have a lowly 690 E but i can say tha Ii have ordered numeroust parts including rally -raid stuff from ktmtwins and have always been impressed. My only wish would be is that they were closer to Tn where I live.so I could visit. Waiting now for a manual timing chain adjuster . Btw I hope to rectify having only one cylinder when the1190 appears here late summer or early fall. I ve ridden both the 950 and 990 Adventure . Awesome.
