Motorcycle Parts, Accessories and More

Does Old Bike Barn pay any attention to blog feedback?

Well apparently in the case of Old Bike barn, the answer is a resounding NO! Take a look at this list of complaints about Old Bike barn, which stated around June this year, They are from a number of posts on Old Bike barn, but mostly tagged on a post I made about an Xmas promotion that Old Bike Barn were making.

Read it and weep. Up til now I have had no response from Old Bike Barn despite several attempt to bring this customer dissatisfaction to their attention. By the way, the Mike in these comments is me…

If you have comments to make about Old Bike Barn, please place them here from now on so everyone can see all the posts.

steve boettiger

My first order from old bike barn was in April. I was told that it was in stock.Repeated email have gone out with no reply, phone calls have not been returned and when I did get to a human ( i think) I was told another 4 to 6 weeks. Word of mouth works both ways. Any other stories out there???

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/06/03 at 12:52 PM
2009/06/03

Mike

Steve I’m sorry to hear about your experience with Old Bike Barn, I thought a company willing to advertise coupon deals like this might offer a slightly better customer care program than that. I would love to see Old bike barn give a response to this on this blog….

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/06/03 at 2:20 PM
2009/06/03

Jim

I ordered parts on May 27, 2009, and my credit card was charged on the same day. On June 2, 3 and 4 I tried to contact them re: my order, which was listed on their site as \”awaiting fulfillment\”. They never answered the direct phone line nor the 800 line. I posted a note on their site to cancel my order and refund the money. Guess what, the parts were shipped the next day. Forget those guys with all the hype if they can\’t do business in a professional way.

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/06/05 at 6:38 AM
2009/06/05

Mike

Jim I appreciate your comments. I put my post up about Old Bike Barn to flag their %15 promotion, but after seeing these two posts I feel a slightly different blog coming on. On my main site, wwww.motorcycleparts-accessories-andmore.com, I have removed links from companies who received some bad pres which was backed up by the buyers with evidence of course. I agree with you, in this climate there is not much of an excuse for mistreating your customers.

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/06/05 at 10:51 AM
2009/06/05

Stu

I’m currently undergoing the “pending fullfillment” dance with Old Bike Barn. I ordered parts on June 1st and as of the 9th they still haven’t shipped. My email on the 5th has still gone unanswered.

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/06/09 at 10:19 AM
2009/06/09

tom carter
I ordered part from them on 6-9-09, no parts by the 16th, so I e-mailed them, no response, I called, no answer. I have e-mailed at least twice with no response. My order is Pending fulfillment. I have now initiated a claim with my bank in regards to this transaction. It is now 6-27-09 and nothing. I did place an order for some parts with Bike Bandit on the 17th, and the parts arrived in 3 days! No more bike barn for me!

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/06/27 at 8:23 AM
2009/06/27

angie

Ordered a part from Old Bike Barn on June 14th. The money has been taken out of my account but my order is still “pending fulfillment”. Can’t get anyone on the phone. All they have is a recording saying that no one is available to answer my call. I will NEVER order anything from this company again.

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/06/29 at 6:27 PM
2009/06/29

Kathy

Same story here, ordered parts on 06/16 and on 07/13 SOME of them were shipped…I am now going to find another place to get parts for my 1986 VS700 Intruder Maybe I will try the Bike Bandit….This is not a good way to do business in a very tough economy….I AM DONE Old BIke Barn
Any Ideas beside Bike Bandit for Vintage Parts???

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/07/17 at 11:39 AM
2009/07/17

Mike

This is a really sorry tale of p*** poor customer service. What with the news out that HD ar laying off 1000 workers and closing four plants, you would think that companies in the motorcycle parts selling game would be bending over backwards to keep customers. Not Old Bike Barn it seems.

Thanks for all your comments, just so that you all know on your behalf I took the liberty of filling in a customer complaint form on their site. detailing this thread of complaints and inviting a response. So far? Nothing.

But hey we can live in hope…

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/07/17 at 1:53 PM
2009/07/17

Sam Battaglia

Yep, Old Bike Barn is up there with the best of scams.
You order an item/items, they charge your credit card more than what your order should have been then nothing….No merchandise, No contact etc.
If this happens to you, save all of your attempts to contact them, receipts etc. and contact your bank that you have your card with and they will go after them. Stay clear of these guys…

From Old Bike Barn loses another customer…, 2009/08/14 at 2:23 AM

Jarrod

I placed an order with bike barn June 4. Sent an e-mail June 17th with no reply. Called several times but automation won’t take calls. This is my first time shopping with old bike barn and i’ve got a very bad taste in my mouth about it. Bike Bandit is much better about shipping but don’t have the same selection for older bikes as old bike barn. But what good is the selection if the parts never get sent. If anyone else has ideas on a good place to get old honda cb750 parts, please let me know.

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/07/21 at 1:28 PM
2009/07/21

Mike

I am going to have another go a bringing this to OBBs attention, I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again for you comments. I honestly believe that this kind of feedback is great for anyone looking for a dealer who will deliver on all counts. OBB clearly isn’t doing that on any.

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/07/22 at 12:23 AM
2009/07/22

Harry

I placed an order with O.B.B. on July 6 for some fairly generic Honda Magna V30 parts. I had attempted to place the order several days earlier, but their website seemed to be experiencing problems. When it finally did accept my order, it charged my credit card immediately, but didn’t credit the 15% 4th of July discount code they were currently offering… and which I’d entered when ordering. Like others, my order status has showed “Pending Fulfillment” for several weeks now and the company has not been responsive to either e-mail and/or phone messages.

After repeated attempts, I finally reached a sales representative who said that my problems (15% credit & shipping details) would be taken care of shortly. Well, I’m still waiting… and, now I’m not able to access my order on their website at all, although it does show me as being logged in. And, again it seems impossible to reach them by phone.

I hope this is only a rare glitch, and that they are great guys, but…

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/07/23 at 12:54 PM
2009/07/23

Loren

This website is horrible, i am having the same problems as everyone else. Lying about it being in stock, and my parts have been delayed for about a month now. Wondering if i will ever get my parts.

From Old Bike Barn gets a bashing…., 2009/07/27 at 3:56 PM

SCREWGED

I do not recommend The Old Bike Barn for online orders. I purchased on July 8th, cancelled due to no activity on the 18, received a reply on the 22nd from one of three inquiries, and was told that my refund had been processed on the 29th. Still no refund on August 1st. Luckily I’m not out much on the order. So what are the possibilities that ODBB is holding orders for the interest on the purchase? Maybe just greedy?

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/08/01 at 7:37 AM
2009/08/01

Paul

I placed an order July 9, 2009 still haven’t received anything in almost a month. Emailed them a few times getting no response back, calling multiple times a day to get their recording. When I wrote an email saying I want to cancel my order and get a refund, I got an email back from them within an hour saying the parts were on back order but they have them ready to ship now. Funny…. I still demanded a refund cause I do not want to support such a poor company. Now I get to see how long it takes them to do a refund. Horray!

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/08/07 at 9:30 PM
2009/08/07

Mike

For your information guys, I contacted OBB on July the 7th via their support ticket system. I received a reply August 7th, with a link to the reply online which unfortunately I cannot open! as soon as I know what the reply is I will post it.

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/08/08 at 1:28 AM
2009/08/08

Tim

Another old bike barn problem here too… Ordered July 20th and my card was charged the same day. Two weeks later the order is still ‘pending fulfillment’… I complained by email and now the order is ‘closed’, but they still have my money. I filed a report with The better Business Bureau, scheduled an appointment with a US Postal inspector for possible mail fraud (the order was to be shipped priority mail). I’m headed to the bank in the morning to dispute the charges. I recommend that you DO NOT have anything to do with this company. By the way, then display the Better Business Bureau logo on their site… its a copyright infringement as they are NOT a member of the BBB.

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/08/13 at 6:40 PM
2009/08/13

Cole

I wish I found this blog sooner.

I ordered $266 worth of parts on July 26, and they took my money that day. Three and a half weeks later, and I haven’t received ANYTHING. I’ve contacted them several times by email but all they do is open a support ticket which gets ignored. They wont even tell me what “pending fulfillment” means. They dont answer their phone.

I’m contacting the Better Business Bureau today as well as announcing on every message board I’m a member of to NOT shop here.

Extremely shady and unprofessional.

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/08/20 at 10:49 AM

Rocket1

DO NOT waste your time or money dealing with these scam artists!!! Three weeks and counting now and I can’t get hold of a human or get any type of response from them. Most likely going to request a refund, which will probably lead to a dispute of charges with my card issuer. What a bunch of jerks!!

From Todays Bargain Buster – Old Bike Barn has seen the light…, 2009/08/21 at 10:30 AM

Cody Zander

I also order parts on June 20 and have not seen them yet. Interesting, it seems they have taken the 1-800 number off the website. I could choose to be really upset, but I am more curious as to why the sudden demise of what appeared to be a decent company.

From Old Bike Barn gets a bashing…., 2009/08/26 at 4:36 PM
2009/08/26 Approve | Unapprove | Spam | Delete

j0eb0b

I think this is a sad situation that is probably indicative of the times. I have bought numerous parts from Old Bike Barn over the last 4 years and they always were delivered as advertised, as recently in May 2008. I placed an order for a single set of brake pads 08/11/09 and though my credit card was charged, haven’t received anything. Like others have reported, no one answers the phone, and the email “case file” remains unanswered. I too am “awaiting fulfillment” according to the order log on the website. I’ll dispute the charges with the credit card company and probably won’t lose anything. I don’t think the Old Bike Barn is a scam, i think they got crushed beneath the wheel like many businesses and home owners and are probably finished. I agree with the advice to not order anything more from them (I won”t) but disagree that this is an outright fraud based on my previous experiences. Their BBB certification is a false claim, however, which doesn’t give anyone a warm and fuzzy about their honesty.

From Old Bike Barn gets a bashing…., 2009/08/26 at 4:13 PM

Old Bike Barn loses another customer…

Another comment has appeared on my original post relating to the motorcycle parts and accessories deal;er Old bike Barn. You can read the new comment right here. Suffice to say, it looks like OBB has lost another customer.

I did fill in a request on the OBB website telling them about all the complaints relating to their company that has popped up on my blog, but I received nothing in reply.

I wouldn’t like to say what impression that leaves, but what do you think?

Old Bike Barn gets a bashing….

A while back I put up a post about a %15 discount being offered by Old Bike Barn in order to get new customers on board I guess.
Well a couple of guys found my post and put up some less than flattering comments about Old Bike Barn. You can read the comments right here. Whats your opinion? The same? Are you a satisfied customer? Maybe you are the CEO of Old bike Barn and want to stick up for your company, or offer some recompense to the disgruntled consumers venting their spleens. I have my own opinions about the best places to buy motorcycle helmets, motorcycle tires and the like, but I would love to hear from you guys out there. who knows you might help a fellow biker make a more informed buying decision. After all I don’t know about you but I certainly don’t have money to burn at the moment…

Come on, post your thoughts and lets share some good quality info on some of these online retailers…

World First Ride: The diesel motorcycle from Evaproducts

Evaproducts Track T800CDI is the most advanced diesel motorcycle built yet so reviews are a bit few and far between. however, the guys at MCN in the UK have managed to get in the seat of one of these bikes, and they have published their feedback.

The Track T800CDI is a new adventure-style motorcycle from Dutch manufacturer Evaproducts that uses a turbo-charged 800cc triple-cylinder from a Smart car, combined with CVT transmission and shaft drive to keep the engine at the peak torque level.

The engine will supposedly give a 45bhp and 78lb-ft of torque, but of more interst is a claimed fuel consumption up to 140mpg for general riding – twice the economy of the most efficient large capacity petrol motorcycles.

The chassis is designed to compete in the adventure motorcycle class against bikes likethe KTM 990 Adventure and BMW R1200GS. The designers have given it WP suspension, Brembo brakes and a modern trellis frame.

Here is the full review of the worlds first production diesel motorcycle from MCN…

Bizarre
Starting the Track T800CDI gives an unusual experience – it clatters into life like a tractor giving rumbling vibration and the disgusting-smelling exhaust gases rising from the small forward-facing silencer in front of the right footpeg will be familiar to anyone who’s ever got stuck behind an old school bus. You can’t blip the throttle either – doing so will engage drive and send you shooting forward.

Lazy
Open the throttle to pull away and the feeling is like a CVT scooter – the drive itself takes up smoothly but the rising revs are accompanied by rising vibration. The shaft drive has no anti-rising mechanism, so you can feel the torque reaction cause the back end to rise slightly. It’s not a problem, but it adds to the unusual feel.
Opening the throttle hard doesn’t give the rush of drive you’d get with a turbo charged car – acceleration is leisurely even though the engine responds quickly to throttle input. 45bhp still isn’t much despite the respectable torque.

Crude
It doesn’t get better with speed – vibration subsides a little but it’s still enough to be intrusive, and the CVT means the engine is always at the same revs giving a monotous tractor-like noise, which even on MCN’s short test ride became tiresome. Even with an open mind there’s no getting away from the fact is just isn’t quick or refined enough to be compared with petrol rivals on riding enjoyment.

Well-designed
It’s a shame the engine isn’t much cop – the rest of the bike is built to a high standard, and the chassis is as good as any major manufacturer. The look is distinctive too, and the riding position is adjustable so it should prove comfortable over distance.

Tough
The reason for the bike’s low power output is Evaproduct’s desire to make it last– an engine life of 250,000 miles is claimed – and give excellent fuel consumption. Those qualities only appeal to a limited number of people – for the rest of the world, they’re attributes of limited use that come as the expense of riding enjoyment, so until diesel bikes tune in to the needs to the wider biking public, it’ll stay as a niche machine.

A pretty fair review, especially the comments about the trade off between economy and performance. I’m not sure I could go with a bike which had limited performance potential, even though I was doing my bit to save the planet…

THE FACTS

Track T800CDI
£15,000
Engine: 799cc, six-valves, liquid-cooled three cylinder turbo-charged diesel, common rail fuel injection, constantly-variable transmission.
Power (claimed): 45bhp
Weight: 220kg (fluids, no fuel)
Colours: Silver, black or white
Contact: http://www.dieselmotorcycles.eu/

JD Power Motorcycle helmet award goes to…

Check out the press relaese from JD Power Associates to find out…

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 26 May 2009 — Arai ranks highest in satisfying motorcycle helmet owners for an 11th consecutive year, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Motorcycle Helmet Satisfaction StudySM released today.

The study measures the overall satisfaction of motorcyclists with their new helmet in three key factors: ventilation, face shield, and design and styling; which consist of 11 attributes: quietness; ventilation/air flow; de-fogging; face shield ability to keep wind out; face shield ability to resist scratching; ease of replacing face shield; scratch resistance of shell; color/graphic design; weight; ease of fastening the strap; and fit and comfort.

With a score of 830 on a 1,000-point scale, Arai ranks highest and performs particularly well in the ventilation and design and styling factors. Shoei follows with a score of 815 and performs well in face shield. Icon ranks third overall with a score of 806.

“Arai continues to improve in the areas critical to customer satisfaction, which has further differentiated it from other manufacturers,” said Tim Fox, research manager of the powersports practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Arai’s focus on fit and comfort—the most important consideration when purchasing a motorcycle helmet—and its ability to cater to different types of riders have given the manufacturer a consistent edge in satisfying customers.”

Overall satisfaction with motorcycle helmets has increased to an average of 766 in 2009—up 5 points from 2008—the highest level since the study’s inception in 1999.

The study finds that while the percentage of helmet owners who conducted research online before buying has remained relatively steady from 2008 at 36 percent, the proportion of helmet owners who purchased their helmet online has increased—up to 17 percent in 2009 from 14 percent in 2008. Additionally, those who purchased more expensive helmets ($200 or more) are more likely to both research and purchase their helmet online. More than one-half of these helmet owners researched online prior to their purchase, and 22 percent of them made their purchase online.

The 2009 Motorcycle Helmet Satisfaction Study is based on responses from more than 4,600 purchasers of new 2008 model-year motorcycles who provided information about their most recent helmet purchase experience and helmet use. The study was fielded in September and October 2008.