Roadwolf Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Bummer... I have ordered from these guys in the past and looked forward to them at the Motorcycle Shows each year. Wish them the best of luck... http://www.cyclegadgets.com/ Link to comment
tomk99r11 Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 www.CycleGadgets.com It's a shame. Nice people, good service. Big building, proliferation of gps products and sources likely hugely impactful to the business. ebay link to inventory liquidation on the CG website. Link to comment
Chip Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 That's too bad. I may have been one of the last customers. I ordered a, "gadget" Friday (1/14/11) morning...it was shipped out Friday afternoon. Link to comment
lawnchairboy Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 heard about that on FB, sorry to see them go. Link to comment
Mike Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 That's sad. Sean sort of got his start here, selling a small selection of gadgets to BMWSTers. They put their hearts and souls into it, and Cycle Gadgets was a first-class operation. Hopefully they'll be able to regroup. I wish them the best. Link to comment
Glenn Reed Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I saw some Beemerbags on their eBay closeout at $25 each. If I didn't have a set of Kathy's liners, I would definitely be tempted. Good luck to them going forward. Link to comment
Lmar Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 That's too bad. I have ordered a number of items from them. I wish them the best. Link to comment
EffBee Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Sean and Laurene Franklin are two of the finest people I've known. Their helpfulness with their customers is legendary. It wasn't just something they did because of business. It came from their hearts. They represented my employer (Gerbing's) and my own small company, with passion and commitment. I've written to them and told them as much. This was an undoing not of their doing. What they did do was always well received. They are liked as individuals and were liked as a company. I wish them only the greatest in the future. Love, health, warmth and growth in the knowledge that this was but a step in a journey, and that even greater things await them. Link to comment
moshe_levy Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 This SUCKS. I just bought from them last week. -MKL Link to comment
marcopolo Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I was a customer of theirs and it's sad to hear that they've run into such bad luck. Best wishes to them. Link to comment
cali_beemer Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I had a feeling it was coming. I placed an order a few months ago and talking with the salesperson it sounded like it was coming. They had been looking for investors but with the economy, it was just too much. A great company, for certain! Link to comment
BarOne Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Good people -- I enjoyed my experience when dealing them. Good people will succeed in the next endeavor. Link to comment
Norm 88 Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I hate to see this happen to our Motorcycle parts suppliers...I had great service from these Folks...Best of luck to them Link to comment
Tasker Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Sean and Laurene are class acts. I got to know them and their family well several years ago when they entrusted me to manage their huge relocation project from Plymouth, IN to Eureka Springs, AR. That was an exciting time for them and the future was filled with blue skies and high hopes. This is sad on many levels. Sean and Laurene, as well as their staff, raised the customer service bar to a level never before seen in the motorcycle industry. Many others have tried to emulate them but very few have gotten close. Like so many other folks and businesses, they have been swallowed by an unrelenting nasty economy and an industry that has shed hundreds of dealers nationwide, suppliers, accessory houses, etc. They will be missed, to be sure. Link to comment
Skywagon Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 My bike has about $1000 worth of their stuff...Reorg and come back! Link to comment
beemerman2k Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 This is terrible news. I got my hyper-lites and PIAA 1100XX's from these guys. Link to comment
BostonBagger Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Since buying my first BMW in 2005, Cycle Gadgets was one of my first great finds, and I became a loyal customers. My last order received was last week. What a great loss. I know I'll miss you a lot. Cheers, Phil Parker Link to comment
HaChayalBoded Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Aww man, I loved looking through their catelog. I wonder why they closed up shop. I mean, an internet business shouldn't have that much overhead. Link to comment
UberXY Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I've been a customer of CG since 2005 and I would prefer not to tally up how much money I spent there. Link to comment
VinnyR11 Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 That sucks. CG always had great service and fair prices. I'll miss them and I wish them luck. Link to comment
RichEdwards Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Purchased often from them and always had excellent service. I'm sorry to see them go. Link to comment
Francis Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 This is a real shame. I too have ordered from them and always looked forward to seeing Sean at the NY motorcycle show. I hope they quickly end up back on their feet. Link to comment
onedae Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 this is terrible news!! they were a great company with first class customer service and, most important, really nice people. Its really sad to see some of the wreckage of this devasting recession - I hope they land on their feet quickly. Link to comment
BostonBagger Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Aww man, I loved looking through their catelog. I wonder why they closed up shop. I mean, an internet business shouldn't have that much overhead. His website tells it like it was. Business was growing for years, they invested in a new building and the move, and then the market fell out. With bikes being an unnecessary expenditure in a down economy, accessories for those same bikes were even less. He noted that business in the last year fell 70%. It would be crushing. Link to comment
KDeline Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 This really hits home to what is happening all over the country and the world. Don't see how it can get fixed. Link to comment
KenK Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 What a sad story. Their service was great and they were very nice people. Sorry to hear this about them. Ken Link to comment
Slainte Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Oh no...these were really great people to deal with. Link to comment
upflying Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 from the website: "declining sales and increased costs" translation: government regulation, fees and taxes put us out of business I am sure someone will restart the company in China Link to comment
marcopolo Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Or perhaps the translation really is: we expanded the business, taking on more debt, just before the recession hit. This is what they say on their website (Closure FAQ): It's certainly no secret that the economy has limited a lot of people's discretionary spending, and motorcycle accessories in general have taken a pretty good hit. From 2000-2006 we saw year after year of steady business growth and profit, and when we made the decision to move to Eureka Springs, Arkansas we made aggressive plans with a large building and big investments in equipment and software to allow us to continue to grow. Unfortunately that saddled us with a lot of debt and ongoing fixed expenses. When business failed to continue growing, and in fact shrunk considerably (down now nearly 70% from 2006), we fell further and further behind in keeping up with those debts. We have attempted to find investors and even listed the business for sale, but have not been able to work out an arrangement that would allow us to avoid bankruptcy and to continue operating. Obviously made sense at the time they took the decision and not very many people foresaw the extent of the recession to come. Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Sad. Great people, great service. Visited a couple of times on my travels. Same thing happened to them as what happened to our Cary Littell and Motomarin. Link to comment
Motodan Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 And now, by all accounts: Great People, Great Service and Reasonable Prices (and I agree), won't make the grade? Anyone looking to start a fresh, better make sure they have a solid business plan with a dash OR TWO of luck, it appears. I imagine not enough capitol or misspent capitol or untimely spending, but most likely a combination of all, resulted in this kind of ending. Too bad...but the market always decides final out comes...unless of course, tax dollars can postpone or change it? Link to comment
Penforhire Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 This is too bad! Growth is always risky for a business. Sounds like they got crushed by timing. You'd think they could scale back to a low-or-no-inventory business and continue but maybe they were ready to be done with it. Link to comment
BFish Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 their plight is sad. spent some $$'s over years with them. Link to comment
tomk99r11 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I too bought several items from CG and visited there often when riding in the Eureka Springs, AR area. They had a very nice set up in a beautiful part of the country. I admit I often wondered about the size of the nice new building and how long the GPS/accessory business could sustain them. While Gerbing items and others were part of the product lines, there is always a proliferation of competition, especially on-line that takes more than being great people to overcome. I wish everyone associated with the business the best of luck. Link to comment
Tank Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Same thing happened to them as what happened to our Cary Littell and Motomarin. My thoughts exactly.. No one can invest in that kind of move than lose 70% of the market and stay afloat. Sean, laurene... Best of luck in the coming year and thank you for a great line of farkles coupled with great service Link to comment
Rich06FJR1300 Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Cliff's bmw became a victim of timing as well Link to comment
Chip Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 As I mentioned earlier, I placed an order (RAM mount) with cyclegadgets on Friday morning. Received it Tuesday morning. Service like that is hard to come by...especially when you think about the kind of day they were having on Friday. Link to comment
wbrissette Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 His website tells it like it was. Business was growing for years, they invested in a new building and the move, and then the market fell out. With bikes being an unnecessary expenditure in a down economy, accessories for those same bikes were even less. He noted that business in the last year fell 70%. It would be crushing. Outside of necessary parts for my stable, I haven't added anything in the couple of years to my bikes. But that's part of it all over the country, people aren't buying and selling their bikes as often, so once you get your bike where you want it, if you keep it for a while, there isn't a whole lot else to add. This is very sad news though, I bought quite a few things from them and it's almost time for a new tank bag, which I bought from them last time and would have done so again. Wayne Link to comment
bigmak Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Whoa, just googled CycleGadgets and found this thread, Rip Van Winky for me, and all that. I shut down "hard" almost 2 years ago, but it was mainly to deal with changing the stress issues that festered in my life for years. With my diabetes and HBP, along with my then 19 yo daughter being hospitalized with Type 1 diabetes, I figured a few months hiatus would help, but here it is two years later. But I was in the Honda showroom yesterday, first time in years, we'll see what energy happens. Me just contacting a few old moto friends recently got the old memories flowing, I look forward to emerging from my cocoon/coma. I did see that CycleGadgets new sight is pending, hopefully things are looking up for them. I've been self-employed since I was 22 (now 58). Many ups and downs since, but lessons learned in the early 80's made me cautious in "overhead", and this has helped me survive in these recent years. My brother broke his leg on my place up north, and sued me for $500k in '07. This added drama to the mix of my servicing "stupid debt" in a falling economy back then. The good thing from that experience is I learned about the laws of the land, started deleveraging before the real collapse, and am better prepared to move forward. But for those in biz, who want to survive the future, you need to seek being debt free, IMHO. /daveramsey I'm better than I deserve ;-) Link to comment
Marty Hill Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Mark, good to see your up and around. Passed by you the past 2 years but could not contact you. On the west coast now but headed south/maybe next year. Take care my friend! Link to comment
bigmak Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Cool, I should be able to buy you lunch then I still have your leftover oatmeal from Oldriders decades ago, have you heard from him? Link to comment
Marty Hill Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Cool, I should be able to buy you lunch then I still have your leftover oatmeal from Oldriders decades ago, have you heard from him? I've lost track of him/tried calling last time I rode thru his town but no answer. Hope he is ok. Link to comment
Kathy R Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Wow! What a joy to see you are still with us, Mark. I'm really sorry about your trials and wish you and your daughter continued good health. Your GoodAsGold Big Mak bags are eagerly traded and sold, with folks coveting their beloved tank bag. I know I'm one of them. I haven't had an RT in an long time, but I never sold that dang bag. I may have another RT and I want THAT bag on it. Again, it's wonderful to know you are still there. What great post to see first thing in the morning. You may want to chime in on THIS thread . Thanks! Link to comment
ChrisNYC Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Hey Mark Good to hear from you. Sounds like you've had your hands full the last few years, hopefully that's all behind you now! Chris Link to comment
tallman Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Just noticed, so a late . Hope things are well. Many have posted about the bags. I love mine. Link to comment
philbytx Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Hey Mark, Sorry to hear about your travails and hope that life is on the up and up for you and the family. I am still happily using your Tank Bags on both bikes, one looking just a little worse for wear LOL! Will you be back in business making them or doing any repair work/upgrading or whatever to existing customer tankbags in the future? Enquiring minds and all that . Be well mate Link to comment
KTM Doug Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Oldrider is still kicking. Just talked to Mrs. Oldrider and he's out on the golf course. Link to comment
Marty Hill Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Dougie, please send me there # or give them mine. It's been at least 3 years. Link to comment
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