A new motorcycle parts/ workshop was opened about a year ago in Heinola, which is about a half way down my commute, but I didn`t have a working bike then so the visit into the opening party was pretty brief, and the shop was still to be finished so most of the stuff was still sitting in boxes here and there, but the place got stuck into the back of my head as the staff was somehow exeptionally friendly and helpful. Round here the usual greet towards a customer in a bike parts shop is something like I should be somehow grateful to be able to shop there, which is the main reason I don`t go to several shops anymore. Today I was hauling stuff to Heinola and was passing that same shop. It was the last gig of the day so I was in no rush back to the depot, so I decided to pull over and visit the little store more thorougly this time. It sits in an industrial area kind of behind an other building, so you gotta know it`s there to even see it. The first thing that greeted me when I walked in into the shop was a 2011 CBR125 lifted onto a podium stand right in front of the door, behind that was two lamp panels that said "YAMAHA GENUINE PARTS DEALER" and the other one "HONDA GENUINE PARTS DEALER". The panels freaked me out a bit, because that usually spell high prices and long delivery times, but I still decided to walk around the little shop. There was a couple of these funny little scooters I have never seen before. Turned out they were actually Hondas, Zoomers to be precise. As I was looking at them, the shop owner walked from the back room and I got a friendly greeting, what believe it or not, surprised the heck out of me. There was no other customers in the shop at that time so I got the chance to chat with him, ask around and to query him for the prices of different parts -and that is when my jaw dropped. The guy is selling the exact same stuff as the other stores AT HALF THE PRICE! I got so baffled from the service and the prices I just had to buy something to show support towards the shop, so I got these:

-4Litre jug of Castrol Power1 4T 10w-40 motor oil
-Hiflofiltro HF303 oil filter
-a 4-set of Denso U27FER9 Spark plugs

all total for 110€! I was prepared to spend on those alone 200€.

Original air filter for 49€ (120 elsewhere]

D.I.D. x-ring racing chain+ 15/42 sprockets for 200! 350 and up elsewhere...

And wait, there`s more! Being a Honda warranty-repairer and a genuine parts dealer he promised me that anything he doesn`t have, but the importer has, If I call before 12:00, he gets it FOR THE NEXT DAY, NO EXTRA CHARGES!!! NO ONE has promised me that before from a bike-parts shop!

So, this little shop has hands down the cheapest prices AND the best service! Guess where I`m gonna shop from now on end...

This might sound silly to those used to all of those chain-shops and getting whatever straight from the shelf, but even nowadays getting service or parts for a reasonable price from the dealers here resembles guerilla action...

 

Have been browsing different parts dealer`s websites during the weekend and noticed that the price level has dropped in gereral on bike parts after the new year! Looks like the competition is starting to take effect as new shops get opened everywhere as biking is becoming more and more popular round here. Lucky I didn`t get the parts right away in the fall, saved me about 300€. Am still propably going to use MOTOHeinola in the future as the service is way better than elsewhere. Gotta change those plugs someday to find out is the little rough idle and hesitation in throttle response is just caused by bad plugs. It did run smoothly in the summer, but was starting to smoke some before it got warm.

 

That's awesome to hear about your success with that shop. Sounds like you found a good place to grab what you need when you want it! Good luck with the bike

 

The sad part is just about any shop or retailer in the automotive industry could do this. All it takes is a little bit of effort and the willingness to not make as much profit as you possibly can all the time. It goes SO far with your customers that you're guaranteed to make it up with repeat business like this guy. Kudos to that place.