anyone else seeing a severe slow down in 2-stroke sales and service

GoldenMotor.com

crassius

Well-Known Member
Sep 30, 2012
4,032
158
63
USA
Over last 6 weeks, I've only had two simple repairs here and only 4 or 5 phone calls about how to fix something. Not sure if this is general slow down or maybe just kids not using craigslist anymore.

Anyone else seeing this?
 

Tony01

Well-Known Member
Nov 28, 2012
1,729
1,721
113
sf bay area
I'm not in the business but I can tell you a lot of younger people are choosing OfferUp over Craigslist.
 

vatoed

New Member
May 28, 2016
24
0
0
Chicago, IL USA
I agree. you should try offer up. It has a convenient instant message service which makes life easier than all that anonymous email that you have to deal with and never get an answer.
 

crassius

Well-Known Member
Sep 30, 2012
4,032
158
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USA
bummer, I rarely have more than 4 or 5 bikes for sale in a year because I'm just a repair shop - also, don't have 'puter on all day just waiting for msgs and have no mobile phone for texts

was really hoping it was just a slow down of interest in these
 

crassius

Well-Known Member
Sep 30, 2012
4,032
158
63
USA
another week - no repairs, no parts sold, not even some kid on the phone wondering what kind of oil to use
 

Radar00

New Member
Apr 28, 2016
34
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PA
Maybe they're making better kits, or people are doing their own research? I just got 2 kits from BEKITS and they're amazing. 100miles on the one engine and not a single hiccup- didn't even need to retighten anything because the motor purrs like a gherkin.
 

crassius

Well-Known Member
Sep 30, 2012
4,032
158
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USA
true that my current kits rarely come for repairs unless the guy really screwed up somehow, but no one is looking for kits or builds either

bikes that other folks are selling on CL have been there quite a while too
 

Sam90lx

New Member
Sep 29, 2015
62
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Ventura CA
Maybe they're making better kits, or people are doing their own research? I just got 2 kits from BEKITS and they're amazing. 100miles on the one engine and not a single hiccup- didn't even need to retighten anything because the motor purrs like a gherkin.
I agree, Bekits are good motors! I have used about 5 of his motors, never an issue.
 

allen standley

Well-Known Member
Oct 22, 2011
1,126
238
63
Bangor, Maine
Although not a legit Business, I can't seem to sell one bike this year. I have 3 nice ones up for grabs. Very reasonable prices with 30 days service/assistance. I been running continuous ads locally since April. All I get are curious tire kickers with no money. I downgrading Banana from a front drum to a single pull side caliper dropped the price $100 two weeks ago still no sale. Gasoline prices have stabilized @ 2.19 around here. Could be a factor - I dunno.
 

Radar00

New Member
Apr 28, 2016
34
0
0
PA
Possible market saturation in your local area? Just yesterday I was driving home and saw 2 guys trying to sell a bike so another guy so I got my bike and headed over there to talk. And before that, a couple people have asked me about my bike. I just think it's the local area you're in. Before me, there was nobody that had these bikes. As soon as I started riding around, I see copycats popping up and even on craiglist there are people selling.

Also keep in mind gas prices have come down substantially from the highs, be patient and give it another year- I believe after this year's election the gas prices will rise no matter who gets elected due to the EU political drama and US political drama.

Also don't forget, theres sites like this one, that make it real easy to learn everything to build it yourself and the people that would ride these sorts of bikes, are the type of people that like fiddling with stuff and being an oddball to begin with.
 

Slogger

Member
Sep 8, 2014
544
4
18
nohio
The economy is stagnant. The jobs report the other day was a total fiction.
I always wheeled and dealed buying and selling hobby items to keep some cash around.
It has pretty much dried up. Low income people tend to buy used stuff, the well-off buy new. The low income group is struggling.
Here's hoping things pick up, and good luck to you.
 

bluegoatwoods

Active Member
Jul 29, 2012
1,581
6
38
Central Illinois
I don't have much insight into just what is going on in this particular market.

But I'm reminded of a time, more than ten buy probably less than fifteen years ago, when I was in business and my income was generated by the invoices I handed to my customers. Most of them were small businesses. The very largest had several locations, but fewer than a dozen employees at each.

One August everybody, almost literally everybody, stopped paying. It happened practically overnight. They were all independent of each other. There was no way in the world that this was coordinated. I went through a pretty thin fall that year. Making far more phone calls than normal, squeezing payment out of these folks.

Their shops didn't look less busy than normal. When I'd ask, "How's business?" I'd get pretty much the same answers as I'd always gotten.

I never did figure out just what kind of shock ran through my market. Not to say that my market never went soft of me. It had happened a few times. This one just felt different.

Maybe you're going through something like that. Something that, in the end, just isn't explainable.

I hope you have good luck, in any case.
 

crassius

Well-Known Member
Sep 30, 2012
4,032
158
63
USA
dunno, used to work till dark 7 days a week with bikes lined up waiting - only one simple repair in last 6 weeks now - even if I weren't the only one in town working on them, I'd probably be the cheapest

used to see several on the road, but see none now
 

YesImLDS

Member
Jun 29, 2013
960
12
18
Columbia, Missouri
I will say that for some reason I haven't ridden my bike in about the last 2 weeks for no good reason other than I don't wanna put forth the effort to take it out. Maybe everybody got instantaneously lazy like me.
 
Dec 11, 2014
628
14
18
Tucson
I'm hoping it's partly the weather. This is my second summer since going full time at this but we are seeing 115 plus this summer which I haven't seen before. I haven't dropped that much but I am definitely feeling it too in the local market.
 

crassius

Well-Known Member
Sep 30, 2012
4,032
158
63
USA
I used to shut down for 2 months in winter to head over to asia - GF usually sold some parts while I was gone, but not many.

Not a part sold in last 2 months, and one simple repair well over a month ago, and 2 phone calls for advise on how to fix something.

Guessing it is over in this area.