http://www.citizen-times.com/article...-and-BMW-bikes
the new owner also runs two of the finest BBQ restaurants around.
ian
http://www.citizen-times.com/article...-and-BMW-bikes
the new owner also runs two of the finest BBQ restaurants around.
ian
Awesome - I remember from years ago limping into Asheville off the BRP with a rear tire showing cord and having a heck of a time getting one of the UJM shops to even acknowledge that BMW made motorcycles. Throw in some delicious pit BBQ to munch on while waiting for the mount and balance and I would have been a fan for life
In November the new owner, Justin, posted on the bmwsporttouring.com forum soliciting input on what riders look for in a good dealership.
I hope it is successful, as I would rather go to Asheville than Knoxville from my location in Kingsport, TN.
Ken Martin
2011 R1200RT
Kingsport, TN
There are actually now a couple of good independent shops in the area.
Acme Cycle is a really cool little shop of the classic character. I got to ride with the owner a few weeks ago.
I've heard good reports about another fairly new startup in Asheville, right near the Biltmore but I'll be darned if I can find it via google.
yes, a nice ride over Sam's Gap...Originally Posted by BMW_Ken
i, too hope the place is good. can't wait to get over and meet them.
This is great! I was just planning to drag my bike through the gorge to Knoxville to get it serviced.http://www.citizen-times.com/article...-and-BMW-bikes
the new owner also runs two of the finest BBQ restaurants around.
ian
As a banker, I had some contact with another business person who was very interested in opening a BMW dealership in Asheville. He rides BMWs also. BMW wanted a dealership here for a while now.
Last edited by tbourque; 12-30-2010 at 03:30 PM.
The other shop near Biltmore is Team Motorrad - Ivan Messina. 515 McDowell Street #4, Asheville. 828.505.0927. www.motorradavl.com. ivan@motorradavl.com I've heard really good things about him. From Biltmore V, go over the overpass and come back under it.
The only issue I ever run into using these folks, which I support very much, is that BMW is notorious for having certain tools (braking system tools, some fork tools) that are exclusive to only BMW authorized dealers/shops. I have an oil leak on one of my front fork seals and was told by a shop I use that the dealer would have to make this repair.
Are they looking for staff? I'd be happy to relocate.
Its always nice to see a new dealership and I hope they don't hurt the existing independents in the area.
Their location is good- very close to I40- and adding Huskies to the mix might help (about time this started to happen) though BMW is way too slow in doing much to get Husky a more appealing product line.
I would suspect they will pull from business from the Greensboro dealership- it is in an unatural location.
Asheville is cooler and less conducive to year round riding than more eastern locations in NC which is still basically a "Harleys and crotch rockets" market with a smattering of dirt bikes thrown in due to he proximity of decent trail and off road possibilities. I do agree that Asheville demographics (like Raleigh) suggest that a dealership there has a shot BUT Asheville is a small city not really large enough to be a gimme for a new dealership. A lot of their service business is going to be tourers and folks on the way to and from the mountains so I hope they can get organized enough in the service dept to get a decent reputation in that respect- finding fast and competent service people isn't easy and an inventory of parts to speed repairs isn't cheap so I'm skeptical of their ability to do outstanding support work at least in the first few years of business, if they survive.
I've been at their restaurant 12 Bones and had absolutely the worst ribs I have ever had anywhere in my life. Tough and undercooked by a factor of 3- to the point of inedible and that's pretty hard to do with ribs when all you need to do to be acceptable is spice em right and cook em long enough. It was explained by the manager as a kitchen error in failing to prep properly but was also a management failure by attempting to fake an item rather than pull it from the menu when it wasn't ready. 12 Bones is basically one of those cutesy yuppie places working a marketing formula and wouldn't be in my list of top 10 places in Asheville. I'd eat at any one of the places on the Biltmore property which has a very large group of the best young chefs anyplace, at any of several hotel places at the bottom of the hill, 4 or 5 places in town on the hill and and any one of a few places that have good beer on tap first (Asheville is a good beer town). At least they had the sense to offer a free second dinner for a return and IIRC pulled the ribs off the bill.
Point is that the owner likely has no serious bike knowledge or experience so will be dependent on others skills to make a new dealership fly- will be interesting to see how they do. The restaurants have survived a few years and seemed adequately capitalized at startup so their basic business sense seems to work. And there is a BMW type yuppie demographic in the area mixed in with leftover hippies (some parts of Asheville look like a thowback to the 70s or 80s).
Did you read any of the posts in the bmwsporttouring.com thread that I linked to?
If I recall correctly the owner has some experience in management at Myers Ducati in Asheville.
Ken Martin
2011 R1200RT
Kingsport, TN
It is likely he didn't
These are called "Trustafarians." they look like poor dirty street people but they're actually living off trust funds from their wealthy family.
sounds like you know Asheville pretty well.
ian
yes, thanks.
and man, ivan needs to do some search engine optimization on his site!
he sure is a good road racer, though, and we are driving into Asheville today to show my son & daughter-in-law around.
i might stop by!
ian
Makes me wonder how I managed to replace my fork seals using an old socket from the bottom of my tool chest as a drift.
Anyway, it'll be great to have a BMW dealer close enough that I can push the bike there if I need to, or just hang out and slobber all over the new models.
BTW, not all of those old Asheville hippies are Trustafarians. At least one of them is me and I'm just plain poor and dirty - without the trust fund.
Steve
Y2K R1100RT
Ride on ~ Far out
Yeah I can find my way around Asheville and no, I didn't know that the owner used to work at a Ducati shop. Not sure I equate tending store with someone elses money as relevant to ownership but I do wish them well- another dealer in the land of "at least 2 hours away" can only help.
Can't say I've hear the "Trustafarians" before but it sure fits some of the folks I know who hang around Asheville and the mountains. Does a great job of alluding to one of the local "hobbies" plus capturing the appearance and economic aspect.
These days there is little doubt that growing has replaced moonshine in some areas. Was a bit surprised at how open use was at RA last year- I'd put it at about 10% of those camping.
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