Canal Street Cycles

Al has been working on my 08 Sportster 1200 XL for a few years now. He is always a pleasure to talk with as he explains the work needed and is very fair in pricing for the job. I think it’s great that he works on all makes and models. The only drawback is the shop is very small.

I have an antique Honda Shadow. Many shops just tell me to go away or are rude because you aren’t on a Hardly Davidson. Alan does great work at reasonable prices.

Not sure how well they repair bikes, but the guy raised his voice at me and was really rude to me over the phone. I wanted to know if they failed my bike on inspection if they’d let me fix it at home and come back for the sticker without additional cost. I guess that was a trigger for this guy’s mood. «that really gets me going» he said, I should have him do the repair or fix it before I come in rather than wasting his time, «I gotta go», :click:. Excuse me, I didn’t know paying $ 35 (or whatever the inspection cost is) for a few minutes to look at my bike would be a waste of time.
I just bought my bike in NH where it just passed inspection, but there’s a few minor things that will need attention in the next few months and I will be doing the repairs myself to save money. That’s why I don’t want to be out $ 35 if a garage tries to fail me on things they could pass me for just to make money off repairs.
He yelled at me and dodged the question rather than giving a straight answer. Some shops hate knowledgeable customers who do some of their own maintenance and repairs. Sometimes it makes their job harder if a hack screws up the bike, but it can also be a red flag on their character. They can’t make as much money off you if you do your own maintenance, and even worse they can’t take advantage of you by making unnecessary repairs. That last reason really pisses off the sleaziest of repair shops. I’m not sure what motivated this guy to tweak out on me, so I would tred with caution if you take your bike to them. I know I certainly won’t be.
Update:
After the owner responded to me three times, I’m updating my rating from 2 stars down to 1. Rather than an apology, I got two private messages and a public response, all of which were rude and riddled with spelling and grammar issues.