Anyone from W.Berkshire

Hi guys,

Is anyone from the Newbury area. New to biking and would be handy to know someone who has knowledge of garages for servicing/MOT and any good routes to ride around here.

Thanks

Hi and welcome! Used to Be Stip of the Dump in Newbury, but he moved. He might still know of some garages etc. I think there was another guy he met there once or twice for a ride.

Originally Posted by Warthog

Hi and welcome! Used to Be Stig of the Dump in Newbury, but he moved. He might still know of some garages etc. I think there was another guy he met there once or twice for a ride.

Indeed.

There is only one motorcycle dealer in Newbury. It's Pro-Bike.

22 Newtown Road, Newbury, Berkshire - 01635 581 500.

They are Suzuki and Yamaha dealers. 2nd hand bikes are seriously over priced and I was not impressed with the customer service when I took my bike there for MOT.

They have a parts counter and a mixture of motorcycle related stuff for sale in the small shop.

There are plenty of others in Reading. Mostly down the Oxford Road. But dotted all around.

Originally Posted by Sruffy

Hi guys,

Is anyone from the Newbury area. New to biking and would be handy to know someone who has knowledge of garages for servicing/MOT and any good routes to ride around here.

Thanks

You wouldn't happen to be the owner of the SV I sometimes see parked outside the Northcroft Leisure Centre?

Thanks for the info. No I don't use Northcroft but I am often parked outside Greenacres Leisure Centre.

I knew about Pro-bike as I used Bike2Bike for lessons and they are based there. I noticed the second hand bikes appeared to be very over priced and steered clear when it came to buying mine. The shop there is pretty good though, although small, and the guy always gives a discount on most products which tends to bring it down to Internet prices.

Apart from the customer service what are the prices like for services and MOT at ProBike?

For servicing I have no idea as I do my own. MOT prices are on par with anywhere else. I called once to get a quote for a tyre and fitting. They were close to £50 above where I normally go in Reading so didn't bother going there for the tyre. When I took it in once for an MOT I ended up waiting there for around 3 hours even though I was booked in for 1st thing in the morning. I have used the shop to order specific bike parts and they were competitive on price and were quick to get me the parts I needed. That's about all I know about them.

Thanks Stig. I would like to do my own servicing is it particularly difficult to do? I have always assumed you need loads of tools and I live in a flat so space is at a premium. Also how does doing your own servicing work when you come to sell the bike and want to prove service history?

Sorry these are probably obvious questions

Servicing depends on what it is you need to do as to what tools you need or indeed how complex the job is. As to service history. You are never going to get past the fact that dealer service history is going to be more appealing to the buyer than you saying you do it yourself. Afterall, there is no evidence you actually did the servicing or did it correctly. I keep a log of all work I do on my bikes. More for me than a potential buyer. But sometimes that along with receipts is proof enough to the buyer you have looked after your bike.

Excellent, thanks for the help and advice. I may ping you again in the future if thats ok

No problem. And welcome to TVSF.