Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge How much would you pay?

First off Hi how yall been? I have been here just not posting much.. Glad to see most of you are still keeping the paint side up..

Now onto a little market research and guess what? I chose yall to help me out.
Anyhow I am expanding the shop here and gonna start offering mobile serive. As in we come to you put the bike on a lift in the back of a enclosed trailer do what ever maintance is required or requested and put it back in your garage, parking spot, or what ever. This will include things like oil changes, tire chages, chain/belt adjustments, pretty much anthing that can be done in less then a hours time. And real bike jobs like motor work will be taken to the shop.. Now I know I have to charge more to provide the moble service so hows 70 for a oil change ( oil and filter included in the price) A labor rate of 75 dollars per hour and a service menu that you can choose from for what ever your needs are?

I think it will work, look at it this way, Its a beautiful sunny saturday morning, the birds are singing the crickets are chirping, the wife is wearing leather ( and not from the night befor) and she wants some togheter time with her hubby as he points the beast of a bike he owns down the road while she hangs on in awe of the gracefullness of his motorcycle handeling skills ( wow i should be a romance writer). But you turn look at that hot lady of yours standing on the porch decked out in leather and say to her, " sorry honey, I have to go take the bike for a little maintance befor we can go".. She looks at you with I the " what comes out of my mouth does not match what I am thinking look and say " thats ok honey I will be here when you get back. SO off you go ot the repair shop, all your buddies are there and they are having thir bike serviced as well so your number 4 in line and only one person is working on bikes today. You have a good time BS'ing with your buddies talking aobut what new gadget you got for your scooter, the proper way of waving ot a passing biker and so on. You bike gets finished you throw your leg over you steel horse and fire her up then head down the highway. Not knowing you spent 3 hours having your oil changed and a few cables lubed and adjusted. YOu arive home to find your lovely bride on the phone, no longer wearing leather, sitting on the couch painting her nails talking on the phone. After she gives you a dirty look for attempting to talk to her while she is talking to someone on the phone you go and sit on the edge of the couch and wait. and wait. and wait.. Then you hear the words you have been waiting for ok we'll see you then, when all of a sudden your world come crashing down cause the next words out of her mouth sends a chill down your spine" Ok mom love you to". With the last about of hope that you can pull for the deepest part of you that carries the hope you ask," ok honey were ready to go". She says " well honey my mom called ( more chills) and they invited us to brunch and to go antique shopping in such and such town 50 miles away and then to dinner at some 50 dollar a plate place". you feel as if your going ot vomit, but you ask anyway" what about our ride honey?" her reply " Oh we can ride anytime, you need to hange and I need to put on somehting nice we have to meet my paretns in 30 minutes".. You stop on the way to the bedroom and look at your self in the mirror and realize its your fault..


Its YOUR fault beacuse if you had called and had someone come to your house and do the work on your bike say weds your wife would not have been home to take that call from her mother ( more chills) and you would not be going to look at 60 year old sewing machines that will serve no purpos in your home other thne a place to bnag your head untill you pass out the next time her mom ( more chills) and pop stop by..

Wow after writing that I realized i had way to much free time to think up crap like that, or is it I done like my momther in law ( CHILLS)???

Now THAT is a VERY interesting idea. Have you done the market research to see what the demand might be? $75/hr seems about right for the labor. But the $70 for the oil change makes it a tad spendy at $135 if I'm reading it right. I do like the way you are thinking, as I am looking for a way to pay the bills working for myself.

no the complete oil change would be 70 dollars . The labor rate of 75 would go into effect if the customer wanted something that was not on a serivce menu. Something like rejet a carb or install a set of pipes or somehting like that. All serives will have a set price and will be broken down into 3K miles intervals..

Gotcha. Keep going. What would your service menu look like? Would you incorporate travel time into the total cost? Have you researched costs of trailer/lift/secure tool boxes/tools/oil storage and recycling/portable generator/air compressor/advertising/etc...
Seriously, I really like the idea. Just gotta make sure all costs are covered and customer base is there.

I think its a good idea. I notice your in South Carolina. I am assuming the weather there is very motorcycle friendly. I believe your idea would be much more successful in the northern US or even better in Canada where the riding season is short and getting your bike down to a shop can be difficult/impossible in adverse weather.

Cost seems appropriate. I believe shop rate here is close to $100/hour.

The other thing to consider is your target market, I am assuming it will be a white collar/professional type rider where cost isn't an issue, time is! I know for myself taking my bike in for service is a serious inconvenience and would gladly pay more money to save the time and hassle.

I would also search the market for a mobile auto service.....how are they successful in your area?

Ceuls

Your service might work well for hard working RUBS who dont have the time to change their oil themselves.

Or for people who simply have the funds and do not want to do it themselves. I am sure there is a market out there you just need to do a good job of becoming known to that market segment in your area.

too rich for my blood though.

John Deere has made it work for their lawn tractor market.

With a wealthy, suburban H-D market you could just about write your own ticket.

I think it is a great idea run with it.

I don't know Matthew! This here story o' yours REALLY sounds more like..."How much would you pay..to get rid of a Mother-In-Law...PERMANENTLY???"

I'm sure you know that soliciting something along these lines is illegal in 49 States!!!

(I hear West Virginia has slightly different regulations regarding this sort'a thing due to their marriage laws in that state)

Personally I would love the service. My Triumph has been in and out of the shop a dozen times in the last year or so. Each time I have to load it into the back of my pickup truck and haul it 45 minutes to the dealer, then load it back up and haul it home. You coming to me would save me at least an hour and a half each visit. That's worth paying for in my opinion.

Sounds like a good plan.

I have a couple of questions, how much are you going to charge for travel? Is there a maximum distance you will travel, and if there is how far is the distance? Distance and time taken to travel will impact the cost that you will have to pass on to your customers.

Does sound like a good plan though. Lets us all know how it works out. Who knows, maybe you can franchise this idea

I think its a great idea but would flat rate it for common issues. Tire changes, adjustments, oil, etc. You wouldn't want to do heavy stuff anyhow in the trailer. Just give them the estimate on heavy stuff and if they take it then you haul it to the shop and bring it back as part of the service.

Only downside: Most HD owners have their own trailer and cant get a flat sitting still

For a service like yours and given that I didn't want to pull the spanners out, I'd pay what ever you charged. Nice idea. Hope it works out for you. If I was in SC I would help spread the word and would tack some index cards at the local shops and such.

Interesting idea. That also sounds fun for you. If I were a customer contemplating this service, I'd want to know what you had for credentials, bike wrench training, etc. Libability coverage, etc.

I had a Honda mechanic that did that out in SoCal when I lived there.
I dont remerb teh charges but gas was a lot cheaper then too.
Went something like this...
Labor was comprable to a certified Honda shop NOT the dealer.
Parts were charged the same way.
The kick was the service charge:
Calculated mileage for each job.
Calculated yearly wear and tear on teh truck/trailer/van and based it on x amount of jobs per day. If he did more or less it was always the same.

Thing is...he had a very loyal following and even back in teh 80s/90s was very surprised at how people responded to that sort of service. In today market we almost expect something like that.

Do it...

Interesting Idea, In fact the dog groomer my wife uses (um not for her for the dog ok) does this.

Do you plan on crossing state lines? Or keeping this local to your state. Dont know if all states have same rules for liceneing and what have you. But CT is pretty unfriendly to
to folks living out of state and trying to do any kind oof buisness here,(want their cut).

Great idea, I think. It would be like having my own personal motorcycle groomer!

Add motorcycle towing and some basic roadside emergency service to your menu....I keep a mc towing # in my cell as I don't have a trailer, and my brother-in-law (who does) works a ton and lives an hour away. I like knowing that if something happens I can get my bike safe.

Matt,

I think its an awesome idea. You should also throw in detailing (or just basic cleaning) too. I know out here there are several mobile detailing companies (but they only do cars). There are also a couple mobile service mechanic companies that do basic services that are doing very well (but they only do cars). There is a guy here at work that gets his oil changed every other month by those guys. Pretty cool that they do it in the parking lot here.

I think you are onto something huge!

Soren

And when you finish with the spa treatment , you can hang a little bag of Earl Grey on the throttle , nice touch . Sounds good , I'd do it . You would starve where I live , there are no other Triumphs here , just one .

Its a good idea but if I were you I be concerned about the liability issue. What happens if you change the oil and don't put the filter or drain plug in tight enough and say the engine burns up. You do a brake job and some how the brakes fail. These are some of the examples of a few things that could go wrong. I am sure there are more. Check into insurance liabilites to cover yourself. It would be bad to financially hurt your family or maybe lose your house. With the way some get lawyers and sue make sure that you are protected. I wish you good luck and think that there is a market for the service that you will offer.

I agree. With dealers charging $100 for an oil change if you take it to them, it would still be a deal.

the more I think about it the more I like the idea, Myself I probly would not use the service if it was avaible here,
I kinda like to do simple stuff myself(except maybe carbs,I have carbraphobia) But i do know a few that would probly jump on it.

So ya looking for investers?