Ducati Monster Forum

For those of us in and around the greater Philly/NJ area it would look like a paradise with regards to the number of Ducati dealers available, at least on paper.

READ sentences with BOLD/RED for Reader's Digest version


You can choose from FBF, Coopersburg Eurosports, Cross Country Cycle, even Motorcycle Mall.

But in my experience FBF does not really prioritize customer service, seems to have a prejudice against DIYers, and perhaps allows too many novice techs to touch customer's bikes.

I've never heard anything good about Motorcycle Mall.

And I don't know anything about Cross Country Cycle, but at the very least, they're not convenient for me in terms of distance and traffic.

So recently when Jenn's Ducati finally needed a Desmo service (and a rear tire, and some timing belts and...) I decided to give Coopersburg Eurosports a try (especially since a few of my friends have had very positive experiences with them and the purchase or service of other brands including MV Augusta and Moto Guzzi).

When Jenn got a flat on the Duc a few weeks ago I called and made an appointment telling them about the flat, and saying since we were so close to the Desmo service and our timing belts were 4 years old etc. that we'd like to schedule a service.

They had an opening in as soon as a week (which was perfect since Jenn was on service in the hospital that week, which means we would have very little free time for things like riding and they could take their time and service the bike, we could even drop it off about a week ahead of time).

So we trailered it the 80 or so miles over to them on a Wednesday, a full week ahead of our appointment and went over everything we wanted done (clutch fluid, brake fluid, fork fluid, valve adjustment, timing belts, spark plugs and an air filter and anything else they could think of, and of course the rear tire which was slowly going flat again after air'd it to get it on the trailer).

I asked them to keep us posted but we'd love to get it back as early as possible in the week after the appointment since it was our vacation and we planned on riding every day.

I called them a week later on a Thursday (the day of our originally scheduled appointment) to check on progress and they said the tech was finishing up the Desmo service and fork fluid (he had the forks off), but they seemed a little uncertain about the rest.

So I went over it with him again. I said, please change the brake/clutch fluids, and spark plugs, and air cleaner (if they weren't part of the 7500 mile service). The service manager Massimo asked if they were doing a rear tire. I was a little taken aback as that was the whole reason we decided to go ahead and to the 7500 mile service a little early (the bike actually had 6800 miles on it). But I reminded him that it was FLAT again by now so yes, please do the rear tire. I also asked him to save me the old timing belts because I wanted to see what they looked like after 4 years. He assured me it should be ready by the next day (last Friday).

So this past Tuesday, Jenn and I suited up to ride over 2-up on the Harley and pick up her Duc. But something was bothering me, I STILL hadn't received a call from them (actually, not once during this process had they called me unless it was to return my call, so it didn't surprise me). Still, I thought it wise to at least confirm that since I'd talked to them the Thursday before and they were "finishing up" that they had indeed finished and the bike was available.

One great thing about Coopersburg is that they have direct phone numbers available for things like Service.

One BAD thing about Coopersburg is that they don't seem to like to answer the phone anyway. I think in a total of 6-8 calls over the course of these 3 weeks I only had Massimo pick up his phone ONE time.

So I left him a message and more than an hour later we were ready to roll and still no call back (they'd been open for 2 hours at this point). I call the business office, they track Massimo down who tells me "we don't have a tire for your bike, it's on backorder"?   [bang]   [roll]   >:(

I remind him that was the very reason we decided to make the appointment 3 weeks ago, and had pointed it out when we dropped it off 2 weeks ago, and that I'd once again told him that on the phone last week.

My analysis - for SOME REASON he just didn't process that info the first few times we spoke  :o and hadn't bothered to try and order a tire until last Thursday (of course, we're talking the OEM replacement for a Monster, I'd hoped they'd have it in stock. I wasn't even price shopping this).

AGAIN IN COOPERSBURG'S FAVOR when I'd spoken with him on the phone and asked for an update he actually asked me if I'd provided a tire (the fact that they are willing to mount what I bring in is a positive, as many shops don't like that). But I told him no, I was perfectly happy giving them the parts business too. In retrospect, we might have had that same conversation the day I dropped the bike off as well, I forget.

But now my wife was staring at a potential week of riding MY bike instead of HER bike and she was NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

AGAIN IN COOPERSBURG'S FAVOR their parts girl was smart enough (and of her on volition) to call up the road and check with the KawaYamaZuki dealer to see if they had a Pirelli Angel in the right size. THEY DID. So we set off.

There was more drama to be had that day, it involved Massimo calling me back when we were on the road to say said dealer hadn't actually physically located the tire yet and maybe we should not come until we hear back from them, but we took a leap of faith, ran the first 40 miles or so and stopped for lunch hoping they would find it in time. We told him that we were short on time and had to get back to pick up the kids from daycare, so if he couldn't get a tire mounted by say 2 pm that day we'd have to just turn around and go home, but we also couldn't wait around home to hear from him because it would take us a couple of ours to get there anyway. I left it that he should call us one way or the other as soon as he knew and we'd turn around and come home then if it couldn't be done.

Once again we didn't receive a phone call and hours later as we finished lunch a little more than halfway to the shop Jenn finally called and played the dumb girl card, at which time she was told "I was just about to call you, the tire is mounted and they are finishing up".

We were a bit rushed to get home by the time we got there, so I forgot to ask WHY I didn't see spark plugs or an air cleaner on the bill, or get my used timing belts. But I'll assume the first two weren't done and that's no big deal at this mileage, they can wait till the next service or I can do them. And the belts, oh well, I was just going to send them to my big bro a "materials science engineer" to do some destructive analysis and tell me how fragile they were or weren't.

So my dealer review is simple. I'll give them 4 out of 5 stars.

Coopersburg seems to be a busy dealership that is staffed largely by enthusiasts who perhaps are not perfect (like the rest of us) BUT WHO SEEM TO GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS. I can't promise that something won't go wrong, but if it does they do seem to want to take care of you.

Massimo (service manager) and Natasha (Parts Gal!) made that happen for us by taking additional steps when not directly prompted by us (ok, perhaps we gently pushed).

In addition our cursory examination of the bike and the ride home seems like everything was done right. Which is the biggest concern.

I would not hesitate to use them again, OR to recommend them (since they seem to care) but I would caution you will likely have to be PAINSTAKINGLY CLEAR at what you want/need, and double-check them on it a few times to be sure.


That's all I've got for now, check back for updates, or please feel free to leave stories of your own experience with them.


http://www.eurosports.net/ (http://www.eurosports.net/)

Kev

PS ----  I realized the other day that it has been more than two decades since the only other time I'd ever given one of my motorcycles to a dealer to do anything other than warranty work. The only other time was 1993 when I allowed myself to be blackmailed into letting the dealer perform the first 500 mile service on my then first brand new motor vehicle that I'd ever purchased (a 1993 XL1200 Harley Sportster).

But when we bought this bike for Jenn she was just starting her Neonatal Medicine fellowship. I told her then that she'd be an attending by the time this service was needed and by that point she could pay for it. And so she has... She picked up a 15 hour moonlighting shift to cover it.  [thumbsup]

Good and informative review.
I wish they were closer.

FWIW, if you go across one of the bridges at Washington's Crossing or New Hope or Frenchtown, they are only about 15 miles of pleasant backroads from 611 (maybe 50 from Washington's Crossing up 32, or 20 something from Frenchtown).

I will check it out.