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Riding gear retailers in Los Angeles?

KSM

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Wondering if anyone can recommend a retailer in the LA area for helmet, gloves, jacket, pants etc? I know Chaparral is out in San Bernardino. Is there anything closer with good selection and prices?
Thanks
K
 
Another great place to get great gear at discount prices is when the International Motorcycle Show comes to Long Beach.

I did a search for motorcycle gear in the Los Angeles Area and found Beach Moto. I've never been there, you'd have to check them out for yourself.

KSM, I think that saw my post for a 2012 NC700X for sale at Honda of Glendale. Do yourself a favor and go see the bike tomorrow. Brian is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

I also think that you are new to riding, I am just guessing here. I would recommend that you check out this article, The 5 Pieces of Gear You Need to Ride a Motorcycle.

Let me know if you need any additional advice. :confused:
 
They are overpriced. However a great place to go to get fitted for gear and then order that same gear on-line for less. I shop for all my gear at Competition Accessories.

I am a 28 year riding veteran, can spot good gear by simply looking at it.
If not going to give them business don't use their service.

This practice is putting brick and mortar business out of business. They have significant overhead to allow us to try on and if we do that and give business to online store with low overhead soon that is all we will have.

I went 600 miles to find a dealer that would let me test ride a NC. He got the sale, not one close to home with lower price that did not allow test rides.
 
Thanks for all the feedback! @Brillot2000, I'm returning to riding after a very long break. I'm 54, got my license at 18 and rode for a few years. I sold my last 2 bikes, a '72 Norton Roadster Combat and a '78 DR370, 30 years ago. I've ridden friends' bike very occasionally over the years. I/we moved to SoCal about a year and a half ago. Last summer, on a whim, I went up to Hungry Valley and rented a 250 to ride the trails for the day and caught the riding bug again. I began thinking dirt bike, then dual sport and got focused on the 650 single category. I finally accepted that I probably don't want to ride off-road much. Standard, upright position appeals to me so I began circling around the Versys, V-Strom and NC world. Zeroed in on the Wee but then realized the NC is a better fit for me for various reasons including value. Thanks for the link to the article. Once I am back on the road I'll be the guy in full gear including Hi-Viz jacket. I can't make it back to Brian's shop today but if the bike is still there next week I just might nab it. Thanks again.
 
If not going to give them business don't use their service.

This practice is putting brick and mortar business out of business. They have significant overhead to allow us to try on and if we do that and give business to online store with low overhead soon that is all we will have.

I went 600 miles to find a dealer that would let me test ride a NC. He got the sale, not one close to home with lower price that did not allow test rides.

A lot of these businesses are hurting themselves. Poor selection is one of those items and high prices for junk.

I live in California's San Fernando Valley, over 20 years ago there were 6 or more motorcycle retail locations to purchase gear and accessories not to far from where I live now. They are all gone now for whatever reasons. Of course riding gear was quite limited, armored jackets and riding pants were nearly non-existent then. Only one-piece leather riding suits were your only option at over $1,000. I rode with whatever I had and had several one-piece snowmobile suits for cold weather riding.

Newer or returning riders are now spoiled with all the gear available to them and all the choices. I wish that I had half of this stuff back when I started riding in 1987. My father bought me a full-faced from helmet K-mart and that's what I started with.

I see that you are guilt for not buying local either. There's not much difference between a Test Ride or Test Fit... ;)
 
Thanks for all the feedback! @Brillot2000, I'm returning to riding after a very long break. I'm 54, got my license at 18 and rode for a few years. I sold my last 2 bikes, a '72 Norton Roadster Combat and a '78 DR370, 30 years ago. I've ridden friends' bike very occasionally over the years. I/we moved to SoCal about a year and a half ago. Last summer, on a whim, I went up to Hungry Valley and rented a 250 to ride the trails for the day and caught the riding bug again. I began thinking dirt bike, then dual sport and got focused on the 650 single category. I finally accepted that I probably don't want to ride off-road much. Standard, upright position appeals to me so I began circling around the Versys, V-Strom and NC world. Zeroed in on the Wee but then realized the NC is a better fit for me for various reasons including value. Thanks for the link to the article. Once I am back on the road I'll be the guy in full gear including Hi-Viz jacket. I can't make it back to Brian's shop today but if the bike is still there next week I just might nab it. Thanks again.

No Problem!!!

Call Brian at 818-246-2461 today to setup an appointment to view the bike. Let me him that you are interested in it and that I referred you.

Brian can also order gear this is not in his showroom. You will get quite acquainted with Phil, the front counter and parts guy there. Brain is co-owner with this mother, his father founded the shop back in the 60's. Back then they sold Nortons and Hondas.
 
I worked a second job in a specialty retail business for 10 years to support a boat habit and my family. Those retail specialty businesses are almost gone because of people coming in to shop products found no where else then going home and ordering on-line to save money. This is the "some reason" they are gone. I can't believe people didn't see it coming when they go in and waste the store's time and then not spend a dime for it.
 
I worked a second job in a specialty retail business for 10 years to support a boat habit and my family. Those retail specialty businesses are almost gone because of people coming in to shop products found no where else then going home and ordering on-line to save money. This is the "some reason" they are gone. I can't believe people didn't see it coming when they go in and waste the store's time and then not spend a dime for it.

OTOH, maybe the stores are "gone" because they didn't adapt to the change in the way we purchase things. The stores should have switched to Internet based sales (some have). Stocking things in small retail outlets where the items may not ever find their potential buyers in such a limited market area doesn't make sense anymore, compared to a warehouse/Internet storefront with a worldwide audience. I don't go to dealers or brick/mortar stores to try on things. I just purchase online, and if I don't like it or it doesn't fit, I return it or exchange it. My success rate is pretty high, the selection is better, and the overall cost is lower.

Frankly, I wouldn't mind that Honda did away with dealers and just shipped the motorcycle direct to us from regional warehouses. Dealer sales people have never been able to tell me anything about the bike I don't already know, because I've done my homework. I sample bikes at demo rides and see them at shows. Once I've purchased a bike it will never go back to the dealer again, except that the manufacturer uses dealers as a way to perform safety recalls. Some shoppers like/need dealers but I wish there was an option to buy direct and eliminate the middleman.
 
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OTOH, maybe the stores are "gone" because they didn't adapt to the change in the way we purchase things. The stores should have switched to Internet based sales (some have). Stocking things in small retail outlets where the items may not ever find their potential buyers in such a limited market area doesn't make sense anymore, compared to a warehouse/Internet storefront with a worldwide audience. I don't go to dealers or brick/mortar stores to try on things. I just purchase online, and if I don't like it or it doesn't fit, I return it or exchange it. My success rate is pretty high, the selection is better, and the overall cost is lower.

Frankly, I wouldn't mind that Honda did away with dealers and just shipped the motorcycle direct to us from regional warehouses. I sample bikes at demo rides and see them at shows. Once I've purchased a bike it will never go back to the dealer again, except that the manufacturer uses dealers as a way to perform safety recalls. Some shoppers like/need dealers but I wish there was an option to buy direct and eliminate the middleman.

This is bit before my time. I was told that Honda sold their motorcycles through both Montgomery Wards and Sears back in the 1960's. They were not dealers, just distributors of the products. I highly doubt that they also serviced them too. Again this was before my time and I do not have firsthand knowledge regarding it.
 
I worked a second job in a specialty retail business for 10 years to support a boat habit and my family. Those retail specialty businesses are almost gone because of people coming in to shop products found no where else then going home and ordering on-line to save money. This is the "some reason" they are gone. I can't believe people didn't see it coming when they go in and waste the store's time and then not spend a dime for it.

In the late 1990's is when I started to see this swift in retail business. I used to go to hardware stores and local electronic stores to find items that I needed. As time progressed, these resources started to dwindle. I used to go to Panorama Electronics in Panorama City, CA for my electronic needs when I was in Tech school. The year before I graduated, it was gone and other places like it too. Radio Shack held on, but their electronic component section started to shrink considerably and is nearly non-existent to this day. I am now forced to order over 90% of my electronic items on-line from sources like Mouser and Digikey. There's no way around it.

There's no way around it. The days of the "Brick and Mortar" small retail establishments have come and gone. If a business is not large enough or has a warehouse with a retail store front, it will not survive in today's retail world.

Shop at Bert's Mega Store or On-line, you will be basically getting the same items you are looking for. The only difference will be the the price.

A lot of on-line retailers offer "Free Shipping and Hassle Free Returns". That sounds like a "No Brainer" to me.

There's my 2¢ worth!!! :p
 
I see that you are guilt for not buying local either. There's not much difference between a Test Ride or Test Fit... ;)

You missed the point. I didn't buy my NC local because local didn't let me test ride. Point is I gave my business to the dealer who was willing to carry the cost of allowing my test ride. And if I want to try something on before I buy it I will buy it from the business that lets me try it on first.
 
When it comes to buying from a local dealer or on-line I try to get the dealer to match or come close to the on-line price. Usually they will if they can and we both win. I try and keep my local dealer in business. We need the jobs and I like to hang out in a real motorcycle shop now and then.

To return to topic I was impressed with Chaparral when I was in CA last summer but I live in FL. Chaparral was the only shop I visited in CA.
 
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You missed the point. I didn't buy my NC local because local didn't let me test ride. Point is I gave my business to the dealer who was willing to carry the cost of allowing my test ride. And if I want to try something on before I buy it I will buy it from the business that lets me try it on first.

...There you go.
 
Another great place to get great gear at discount prices is when the International Motorcycle Show comes to Long Beach.

I did a search for motorcycle gear in the Los Angeles Area and found Beach Moto. I've never been there, you'd have to check them out for yourself.

KSM, I think that saw my post for a 2012 NC700X for sale at Honda of Glendale. Do yourself a favor and go see the bike tomorrow. Brian is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

I also think that you are new to riding, I am just guessing here. I would recommend that you check out this article, The 5 Pieces of Gear You Need to Ride a Motorcycle.

Let me know if you need any additional advice. :confused:

you dont have to do that,, i just went there this weekend, they do price match, i got a dainese jacket and they price matched it what i found online.
 
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