whats up with Mikes XS?

[davidstylemaster]

I see there is a message on the web site about it being under new ownership. Wondering what this means.

I want to place an order that will be many hundreds. I had a few questions and sent a few emails. None answered. No number to call them. THere is no way I am going to place an order like that and pray something positive happens. So I will contact 650 Central and pay more for shippingl. At least they answer the phone.

But I am curious, is MikesXS in melt down?

DD

[richard]

I saw that. I don't know what it means. Moving to a new building makes me think they got bought out. Mike was never that fast about answering questions but at least with me he usually got around to it. I always worry about a company being bought out because these days it means less service and lower inventories. With gas price as high as they are and gasoline futures projecting continued high prices out until after October it seems to me money could be made in the bike parts business especially the XS650. This may be a good thing if they see that opportunity and stock up. Dealing with the public can make anyone melt down because people out there are crazy and dealing with them can make you crazy too, so I understand why Mike would rather not deal with them but, it seems to me they could double their business with just one phone line, better descriptions and a few more pictures of the parts. If Mike did sell out I hope he made a fortune.

[ksboy19]

Ive recently bought some products from mikesxs with no problems, if i were you maybe you should order one or two things and if you get them without a problem, then place your big order.

[650leo]

Mike sold the business to three other guys almost a month ago. They are in the process of moving the stock into a new larger facility.
They plan on increasing the on hand stock and getting more new products on the market.
So there will be less "out of stock" messages when you want to order something. They also did an across the board 10% price increase. Something Mike Has done his best not to do.

[ksboy19]

oh wow, well guess you gotta take the good with the bad!

[5twins]

You're better off getting anything you can from 650 Central. They carry most of the same items. On an order as large as yours, I think you will get free shipping. MikesXS is on the very, very bottom of my parts suppliers list. There are a few things that only he carries and so I do need to order there occasionally, but I do so only as a last resort.

Maybe the new owners will improve things, one can only hope. Mike was planning to sell out for the last few years so it seems he just kinda got a "don't give a crap" attitude near the end there. Personally, I won't miss the guy, lol. I'm thankful he started the business and catered to the 650 owner but near the end here, he was getting pretty bad.

[grizld1]

Amen to that, 5twins. ksboy19, as a consumer I refuse to take the good with the bad. If I get the bad I take my money elsewhere, which is why Mike's XS hasn't seen much of it for a long time.

[ksboy19]

I completly agree with you grizld1, i dont have the money to be throwing it around and hoping i get the products i ordered. But i meant that taking the good with the bad as in, (the bad) Mike selling and the new owners picking up the slack, and (the good) hoping that their inventory will expand creating more products for us consumers. But I have a hard time sending that kind of money anywhere through the internet when ive heard bad things about the company, lets just hope Mike didnt ruin relationships with all his past customers by selling out.

[yamasarus]

I have faith. Everything will be fine. Let the new guys have a chance.

[headcase]

I've noticed that some people dog Mike pretty bad on here, like they know him personally and he flim-flammed their Grandma or something. Can I ask why some people have their fur up about him? I don't mean to gossip about anyone, and I have only ordered 3 or 4 times from his site, but each time it shows up fast, dead nuts, no goofs, and everything was as it's supposed to be. I'm kind of put off by the price increase, I noticed that before I knew he sold the biz.
Maybe there's some history here I'm not aware of, so as a relative noob I shall un-poke my nose out of it if it's a sore spot. Best of luck to both the old and new owners though.

[bert]

This number used to work, try it: [phone]

[bikerchick69]

Hey don't feel bad I have been waiting since Feb for someone to answer a tech question and still no reply, maybe they got rid of that person and are getting a new person who can answer questions on tech matters so I can buy more stuff. Who knows! I did at least get an answer back on my back order and hopefully I will get my order soon.

[zoomzoom]

I agree with you bikerchick69, I too have been waiting for answers on tech ? and inventory ? but they never seem to get answered. I'm hoping the new owners will realize how much money they are losing by not helping the customer and get on the ball with whoever they have answering questions. SPRING is here and many of us are ready to get back on our bikes and ride, but we need the tech ?'s answered and the parts delivered in order to do that. Enough said. See you on the road and always wear your helmet.

[5twins]

My beef was mainly with Mike's business practices. As you've mentioned, response to customer inquiries is hit and miss, and sometimes a total miss. Sometimes you never get a response. Most of his products are good but a few are just plain and utter crap. He refuses to acknowledge this and usually blames product problems on you. You are at fault and either screwed up the install or the item itself. When rubber items fall apart in a year or less, clutch cables snap in as little as 400 miles, or new banjo bolts break in half before being torqued up to spec, I know it's not me - It's a defective product. Mike didn't see it that way.

I've often said we're lucky to have MikesXS catering to our specific 650 needs but just because he's got a captive audience, that doesn't give him the right to stick it in our butts. The new guys say they're experienced businessmen. I just hope they're 650 riders or at least motorcyclists and not something like 3 shoe store owners, lol.

[grizld1]

Here's a newsflash, folks: Mike's XS does not do tech support. Mike Lalonde was an executive with K&L, North America's largest aftermarket parts distributor, before he launched his own business. K&L does not do consumer retail sales. They sell to dealers who (theoretically) know what they're doing. That's the assumption at Mike's XS; you're supposed to know what you're doing and what you need. That part of the picture is OK with me; it's expensive for a business to answer questions from high-maintenance customers, and I'd just as soon not pay for that as a consumer.

But as 5twins says, the picture has gotten ugly on quality assurance, and his list only scratches the surface. Lalonde had a habit of continuing to sell parts that were known to be defective until he drew down the stock and retaliating against anyone who pointed out the defects.

His marketing of performance parts was also misleading. There is and can be, for example, no such thing as a "drop in" performance camshaft, and anyone who installs a "bolt on" big bore kit without inspection of piston and bore diameters and ring gaps is looking for trouble. Those are basic things that any competent mechanic would do as a matter of course, but the advertising is addressed to nonprofessionals, and the phrase "bolt on" implies that one needn't bother. Things seem to have worked out with that kit for most buyers, but some have had issues that could easily have been avoided. And then there are the "custom" Keihin carburetors--with 2-stroke needle jets in place and no options offered by Keihin, and fit-and-finish that didn't come out of Japan. A lot of that cheap, substandard stuff has been showing up in the marketplace with Keihin and Mikuni trademarks. I don't know whether they're being made under license or are pirated knockoffs, but the origin isn't Japan, and Taiwanese quality is usually higher. The best guess as to origin would be China, India, or Thailand.

5twins, we seldom disagree, but I have to quibble with you on one point: Lalonde did indeed have the right to stick it to anyone who bent over for him. We're by no means captive consumers, and the worse Mike's XS has become, the more the options have grown, at least for those who are willing to pay a little more for quality.