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

[ZipTie]

Crassius you have helped so many people so this slow down Is a bummer and sad to.hear of this extreme drop in biz.. I wonder how the big vendors are doing in sales numbers? They maybe growing for all I know. Other small vendors here please weigh in. I my guess is its many things combined like: not in any order

More DIY how to Youtube
Hot weather
Lower fuel costs
Huge increase in competitors
Novelty wearing off a bit
People continue to be strapped for disposable income
Copycat sales sites and more of them ( where to advertise is growing and spread thinner.
Craig's list does have many competitors now
Better kits
More people using eBay and online
Forums like this

So what worked in the past may not be working.
Most small business are struggling for either profit or sales, most both.
Even restaurants are hurting for weekday customers. But seems to me that in many northern states MBs are never seen. I've never even seen one except for the ones I've built. So it's a virgin market in many states.
Lots more complete bike and motor kits DIY being sold in complete packages on line. People are not afraid of assembly they are afraid on what parts to buy.
So...
I am probably sticking my head in the grinder here but...Might need to change efforts to get business. Many wont cost you a penny till you sell something, but you can use any free downtime to:
Trying other ad venues, more ads, get your exact location listed on your forum profile so members can use you, small free temporary road signs, post a you tube vid, different ads, get a free web site put together like wix, get nice biz cards and sprinkle small stacks at other service business and restaurants around town with a new modern logo and look, sell one really good complete DIY unassembled kit online that you endorse and brag about it. try eBay listing selling good quality engine kits and brag about it, run a ad on this forum.find someone to get you more involved in the dreaded but important. Social media. Maybe stop servicing bikes and and use time to move towards more mail order biz. again just takes time not money up front. I don' know but creativity will go a long way in getting you more business for sure.
Somebody with your vast knowledge in this speciality market could and should be thriving...but the world is changing so fast it's scary. Either way just as its a bunch of s if you want more. No doubt its small things eroding your and others doing the same service business and it will be a bunch of small things to get it back for you despite them. Who knows it could get better than its ever been. Hope this encourages you a tiny bit at least. Keep us posted.

 

[KCvale]

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.

I think you can thank Uber and Lyft for the decline.
Why own any dirty pain in the ass machine when you can catch a ride to anywhere whenever you want and not drive/ride?

Millennial Heaven.

Thankfully I changed my target audience to the last of us Boomers and aging Gen-X'ers that want something cool, unique, and easy to maintain and operate personal transportation.

2-stroke repairs and new business has really dropped off for me too.
Everyone and their brother are putting up crap cheap builds for sale, usually what they make junk that wears out quick that won't run.

But I can't keep parts in stock for the new 4-Stroke systems I am building so businesses is booming for me even in 115F heat ;-}

In short, if you want to make building MB's a business, learn how to build something other than 2-stroke is my recommendation ;-}

 

[LandSpeedRecord]

We have piles of 4 strokes. Tucson is a weird market in some ways. Uber and the like might have some affect. The competition building cheap crap is just that and always will be. I have out lasted and out cheaped them a few times but it gets tiring no doubt. We push 4 strokes here from under $600 to $4000 and they move but slow. I don't get the 2 stroke love here but it is probably left over from the spookytooth days. So I go with what sells and keep developing new and better parts and techniques. I plan to move in the not too distant future so every bit of effort I can is going into web business and racing. Those things will not be affected by physical location so I have to really make them 100% of my income.

 

[crassius]

first customer in almost 2 months - old customer for many years gave me $10 to put 2 new tires on

 

[16v4nrbrgr]

I agree with everything stated previously, it's a tough time for free time outside work too. I moved from a rural hillside community to a small city in the East Bay and I was expecting to see more people out and about in the streets, but other than at parks there aren't many people out on the roads or coastal trails. I'm not complaining, lol, but it seems to me that everyone is working a lot to make a living and save money because the future seems very unstable nationally and globally. If you have dependents, cars, motorcycles, or a mortgage, those things take priority. Heck, I've been working so much that I can't keep up with keeping my cars washed, and I'm really having to make time when I'm overtired just to go out and ride. I've also had 3 custom bikes up for sale at the cost of parts for about a year now with no committed buys, many offers for trades. I understand my bikes aren't kits so need a mechanically inclined person to maintain, maybe all the mechanics are busy working as much as they can like I am.

 

[KCvale]

We have piles of 4 strokes.

Did you buy a pallet?
I might be able to take a couple off your hands.

Tucson is a weird market in some ways.
Uber and the like might have some affect.
The competition building cheap crap is just that and always will be.
I have out lasted and out cheaped them a few times but it gets tiring no doubt.

Ya, the Old Pueblo has always been more laid back than Phoenix, just a big college town.

We push 4 strokes here from under $600 to $4000 and they move but slow.
I don't get the 2 stroke love here but it is probably left over from the spookytooth days.
So I go with what sells and keep developing new and better parts and techniques.

I've never built a $4K bike, a couple ~$3500 builds, but that was mostly due to the bike and/or batteries cost.

Innovate on my fellow 'Zonie as some of the coolest builds are forged in brutal heat ;-}

 

[Saddletramp1200]

I'm trying to find a motor mount for a 4 stroke to fit a Schwinn Point Beach 26" bike. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[crassius]

saw one of those parked at super market last week - point beach with 4-stroke & shift kit - looked to be standard mount with no extra welding, but I didn't look that closely

 

[LandSpeedRecord]

KC pm sent. I have done a 2 stroke point beach and it was cake. I don't remember anything odd or in the way. Looking thru my old photos and a quick google image search I saw several 4 stroke builds that looked totally standard.

 

[crassius]

well, I've finally gotten some work this week - 3 diff customers bought dead coaster brake bikes that had all hit something hard and bent/broken stuff

maybe it will turn around a bit now

 

[0megaMan]

Do you run a bike shop that also caters to motor driving bicycles or primarily focus on motor driving bikes?

Sorry it's not going well. Is there opportunity to diversify, possibly work on all small engines not just bikes?

 

[ZipTie]

well, I've finally gotten some work this week - 3 diff customers bought dead coaster brake bikes that had all hit something hard and bent/broken stuff

maybe it will turn around a bit now

Hope it wasn't the single coaster brakes fault that was the root of the impact damage, hmm. you will have to get the back stories and post them.
Anyhow crassius it was good to get an update.

 

[crassius]

I'm almost exclusively 2-stroke repairs on a build bench behind my house - too old to work on motors I can't hold in one hand.

These bikes were all crashed by their owners due to lack of stopping power - we have a builder in next town that specializes in $88 cruisers with cheap kits and no other brakes - these dead bikes were bought from those owners and are now being patched back together a bit for folks too poor to buy something good or even to pay to get all the bends out of handle bars & frame.

I get them close enough to be ridable with care, and tell them they really need to add a real brake or two, but they'll probably be back with more crash damage.

 

[KCvale]

well, I've finally gotten some work this week - 3 diff customers bought dead coaster brake bikes that had all hit something hard and bent/broken stuff

maybe it will turn around a bit now

Cool Caraaius, even a little work is better than none for most.
I am only taking in work Joe can do on his own since I found out about my cancer, I have lost my enthusiasm and having a hard time just doing the paperwork.

 

[crassius]

yeah, during that 10 weeks of radiation a few years ago, I did very little work - still do less than before, but hey, I'm older now too - last year was first in very long time that I didn't do my usual 2 to 4 months in asia during winter

had 2 dead motors last week - same customer - I carefully explained the run-in mixture and normal mixture and he wrote it down - when he got the new motor in at his house, he was in too much of a hurry to change out his fuel and ran it on the same bad mix he had in tank - seized the new one too - got it free for him and ran it in on bench for a while, seems OK this time, but last motor tore up both piston & barrel

 

[KCvale]

Regarding the Topic Subject, '2-stroke sales' I posted earlier, soo many people are building **** and dumping it MB's have really gotten a bad name.

yeah, during that 10 weeks of radiation a few years ago, I did very little work - still do less than before, but hey, I'm older now too...

I have a Joe to do the wrench turning, and my mind is as sharp as ever.
I can access a persons actual needs based on a bunch of factors from my Contact E-Form, it's the damn 'Paper Work' only that hurts...

Getting my hands dirty trying some new designs myself is hard to loose when I simply can't do it much anymore... But then again I have a Joe ;-}