South Bay Customs

I had received an invitation to a Holiday Open House at SBC. Upon researching the venue, I discovered SBC designs and builds motorcycles, holds art shows, and hosts music events throughout the year. My motorcycle days might be behind me, but I was intrigued by this mixture of cool and creative situated so close to home, and had to check it out. I am so glad I did! What a completely enjoyable evening! Easy street parking, and then snow foam bubbles lightly falling and drifting, from the top of the building in honor of the holiday season, greeted me as I walked up to the door.
SBC is packed with vintage items covering every inch of the walls, and on this night, several tables of art for sale with the artists present to discuss their work. The band Sanguine & Shiny took the stage, and performed a mixture of wonderful original works, as well as offerings such as Shankhill Butchers, for some easy, angsty, enjoyable listening. Even the sweet, handsome resident dog, Hank, sat down to listen to the music.
In order to give you a better picture of SBC than I can give you here, I urge you to view southbaycustoms on youtube, to see both the shop, hear the owner Michael describe his philosophy, and listen to some of the musicians, in greater detail.
I signed up for the event email list, and looked at their previous events. It seems like the cover is never more than $ 5 or $ 6, (unless it is a charity event) which I consider a bargain for an evening of live music.
FYI – there is limited FCFS seating, otherwise SRO.

I just bought my brand new 2016 Harley Fatboy S last week and I needed to replace my stock my exhaust pipes with new pipes. I found this gem on Unilocal and called for information. After my first meeting with Michael, I was really impressed with how professional and transparent he was. He explained everything to me very patiently, showed me all the options and gave me a timeline.
Within 24 hours, my parts were delivered and my bike was perfectly done… Michael messaged me with the progress of my parts, the installation, and called me the minute my bike was done.
The job was done perfectly, at a reasonable price (which I would happily pay even more for such great service) … I would definitely recommend South Bay Customs to anyone looking for great and professional service! This is my shop from now on!

These guys suck.
Stay away from these arrogant half-​ass mechanics.
Glad I went somewhere else…

I bought a Harley Sportster with a record of being serviced the week before at Southbay Customs. The work order said they had rejetted the carburetor, replaced the fork seals, replaced the primary gasket, and adjusted the clutch.
Well, not long after riding the bike on the freeway, I began to notice that after being run wide open for a bit of time, the bike would sputter and die. I brought it to another mechanic who looked at the carburetor and noticed that the float bowl wasn’t adjusted properly causing the bike to run out of fuel when ran wide open for an extended period of time, as you would on the freeway. Seems like a pretty straightforward problem any decent mechanic would know to avoid.
I also noticed a slow leak from the primary, which I thought couldn’t be due to the primary gasket since it was just replaced. I tried replacing the O-​ring at the primary plug, but it would still leak constantly. Turns out, the primary gasket had a break in it. Don’t know if that happened in the week after they replaced it or if they just didn’t replace it.
After that was fixed, I was idling at a light when I heard a pop and my clutch cable suddenly went slack. I looked down to see a dent popping out of my derby cover. Turns out, my clutch adjustment screw had been turned in too tight and I had been riding around like that which caused a whole lot of extra heat and that pin had just fired out and almost busted through the derby cover. Now I have to pay for an entirely new clutch because this one is destroyed.
And, to top it all off, when I called Southbay Customs to talk to them, they never answered nor returned my calls. You stay classy, Southbay Customs!
This place has 12 reviews and 11 of them are 5-​stars? Yeah right! That just means this mechanic’s got 11 friends writing Unilocal reviews for him. Three of them just talk about it as a venue and not as a motorcycle shop. Oops.
Another reviewer says «And being that the nature of motorcycles is that you always either HAVE to fix them or WANT to upgrade them. I stop by this place pretty damn often.» Sorry buddy, you really shouldn’t have to go to your mechanic often if he is doing a good job.
Read the other 1 star review, that’s a more accurate representation of what your experience will be at this shop.

My band ShoplifterS played here on Saturday, 06÷28÷14, and I can’t stop telling everyone about this place. I figured Unilocal would be a good way to let loose.
I had absolutely no problems with this place. From the moment you load in, to the moment you walk out the door, you are taken care of with utmost respect. The workers are polite and very excited that you are there to play.
I am definitely going to come back and send other people their way, because I feel like this is the best place for music in the South Bay.

Michael has worked on 2 of my Harleys. And being that the nature of motorcycles is that you always either HAVE to fix them or WANT to upgrade them. I stop by this place pretty damn often. SBC always takes good care of me.
If you’re looking for someone to work on your bagger, chopper, bobber or whatever and don’t wanna get bent over or sold a bunch of crap you don’t need this is your spot. He’ll give you a no BS assessment of the state of your scoot and if he quotes you a price to do something you can guarantee it’s gonna be fair.
I trust Michael very much and will continue to bring him business as long as I’m on two wheels.
Also, he won’t give you a hard time about not knowing how to work on your own bike especially when it comes to the technical stuff. Not everyone is a wrench wielding moto-​wizard like this dude.

Now, February Mike did the cams, clutch, paint and various other powder coat/​ceramic coat upgrades. Yet another great job and the bike runs like a beast. Hands down most reliable dude I know!!!

We just had our company Holiday Party there on 12/​14/​2013 and it was fantastic! It is such a cool venue for a party and Michael (the owner) helped us with everything we needed. The suggested band, Speed Buggy, was spectacular! It is a perfect venue for a party for under 150 people. It was incredible! We have been throwing company Holiday Parties for nearly 20 years, and this was my favorite of all time. I highly recommend it for company or individual parties.

This place just rocks! Less expansive then going to Harley for maintenance service and very knowledgeable in custom work.

This place is amazing! The owner is awesome. The artwork there is so cool! Everytime I get a chance, I stop by this place. If you are a biker or a lover or art and music! This is where it’s at!

I was looking for a shop to tear down my 2000 Harley Sportster 1200c to the base gasket and check on one of my head studs. I live in Long Beach and my wife was looking for a place that I could take it to on a Sunday. I called up Mike and he said he would be able to do it. I explained I had my own gaskets that I ordered and he didn’t have a problem using them. I dropped it off late in the afternoon and he told me I should expect a call in the middle of the week about the status. I struck up a conversation about his old chevy truck, another passion of mine, and he seemed like a really cool guy. In conversation, I shared that the bike was my form of sanity during the drive to and from work from Long Beach to Mid-​City L.A. I received a call from Mike Monday afternoon that the bike was done and ready to be picked up. Everything was good to go. I didn’t even put the ramp in my truck since I thought it would be middle of the week before he got started on it. Mike told me he finished it since I said it was how I remained sane on the drive to work. Customer service and professionalism like this is hard to find these days. He not only loaded the bike in the truck for me to strap it down, he also pointed out a few things he took notice of on my bike to look out for for future reference. Not in a get this fixed and that fixed kind of way, but in a friend telling another friend, you might want to keep these things in mind. I changed my rear tire as he suggested and went to San Diego to visit a friend in the hospital. The bike runs like a champ, it seems louder, meaner and more in tune after he took care of the gaskets for me. I know have a mechanic I know I can trust who will treat my bike as good as any he is building in his shop. Give Mike a call next time you need work done on your bike, you will not be disappointed.

Brought my Springer in for some work based on the 5 star reviews from this site.
Took it in for a list of things but the main reason was to have Michael change out stock bars for drag bars and to get seat replaced.
Got the bike back a week later than promised and the bars were hitting the tank because the risers weren’t tall enough. When I asked Michael (Owner) about this he told me it’s normal for the cables to hit the tank. I told him I didn’t agree but the cables aren’t hitting the tank, THE BARS ARE.
Also, big gash in the new leather seat they replaced. I asked him if he would take a pic and send it to the manufacturer and order me a new one. He said no, I had to bring the bike back so he could take the seat off and send it back. Then I would have to wait for the new one. (So my fiancé had to follow me in the car with my old seat to his shop so he could switch them out then send the seat in for repair.
He said he would fix the bars. He adjusted them by rotating them higher and said it would work. I live 6 miles from his shop, by the time I rode it home, the bars were touching the tank again when full turned. This is when the bars actually dented the tank as I was backing my bike into my garage.
I called him back he said he needed to put taller risers on it and that I would have to pay for them, I was very upset and he had a major attitude about the whole thing.
The right front blinker (that he relocated) stopped working. He tried to fix it but told me he couldn’t at that time because he had to remove the tank. However, he was too busy to do it that day so I had to come back when he wasn’t busy.
20 days later the seat came in, I drove my car to pick up the seat then took my bike to the Garage company. Yoshi fixed my light in less than 10 minutes (without removing the tank), he also had an amazing paint shop worker come in and fix the dent and scratch that Michael caused on my tank, it’s still barely visible but much better.
Bottom line, Michael is amateur at best. He makes far too many mistakes and when confronted does not hold himself accountable. Rather, he tries to find reasons to blame the Customer.
I went to him based on the 5 star reviews here, but I question the validity of those reviews. As in, maybe it’s Michael himself setting up accounts and posting the reviews because the quality, service and attitude could not have been worse.
I wish I was able to give 0 stars here.
Stay away.

I been to many motorcycle shops and dealerships over the years and none compare to South Bay Customs. I’ve been bringing my Harley here since they opened and have had exceptional work done. The customer service is excellent. When you bring your bike to a dealership to they treat you like crap, never follow up on things, and sometimes leave your bike in worse shape then when you left it. Dealerships also hire mechanics straight out of tech school which is not as good as it sounds. To be a skilled mechanic in any kind of repair, you need years and years of experience. By taking your bike to a dealership you are paying MORE for service and repair. In the long run your bike might be handled by a tech who is not knowledgable and doesn’t care about your bike. So, don’t go to a Harley dealer unless you wanna buy $ 40 Harley T-​Shirts. At South Bay Customs your bike is treated like it’s one of their personal bikes. Most importantly they are HONEST and stand by all their work. This trait is non-​existent in motorcycle shops at all these days. Forgot to mention it’s the coolest motorcycle shop around. I would encourage anybody thats looking for motorcycle shop to check out South Bay Customs. You will not be disappointed and you will feel great knowing your bike is in good hands!

SBC is just one of those too-​good-​to-​be-​true places. For one, it’s a top-​notch place for motorcycle repair, service, and parts. Two, it’s an open, friendly art gallery, lounge, and gathering place for rides or events. Three, like one of the reviewers said below, Michael is friendly and honest. He’s personable and takes really good, meticulous care of his customers bikes, his equipment & tooling. Four, he’s expanding all the time. I knew him before he had a lathe and mill, and more tools & capabilities are on the way. Five? Hank.

Michael is the master of his craft and sweet to boot. I’ve personally watched him work on a few motorcycles while visiting his shop with my friend (who regularly brings his motorcycle to SBC) and let’s just say, he’s good at his job. He cares about what he does and the people he does business with and it’s so easy to see when you meet him. Community is very important to him and as such, he always throws really great events /​parties at his shop (that are very family friendly) and the people that attend them are quality folk. His girlfriend is also a really talented artist and has tons of incredible art hanging up around the shop for sale. SBC has a good thing going on. If you have a motorcycle, I would highly recommend taking it there.