Marin Moto Works

I’ve been a Unilocaler for years — and am skeptical when I see reviews for a business where it’s nothing but five stars. Uhh huh. Sure. I’ll believe it when I see it — this isn’t my first rodeo.
But in this case, those five stars, with the accompanying «as good as it gets» rating is completely justified. My (new to me) F650GS needed an annual service — actually, it technically needed a few annual services since it hadn’t been in since 2012 — so got on the horn to Mike. As a small shop, his time is limited, so my appointment was almost five weeks out. Yikes.
But there’s a reason for this. Mike is the very definition of a small, personal shop. He doesn’t overbook, he doesn’t turn and burn — every bike he lays hands on gets the personal attention and care it deserves. My day finally came, I dropped the bike off in the morning, and she was ready in a few hours.
Here’s the thing. As I said, my bike hadn’t been seen by a wrench in over three years. I bought it from a lady who let it sit in her garage collecting dust. The chain was rusty, the oil was likely older than Dick Cheney’s last smile, and don’t get me started on the brake fluid.
Any mechanic COULD have gone to town. Oh yeah, we found X/​Y/​Z issues. Had to replace the chain. And the sprockets. Any number of issues could have appeared. And they may have — but Mike took care of them. And when I picked her up, and he went over what he did, he pointed them out. Yeah, chain was a bit rusty, but it’s surface rust, cleaned it off, it’s fine and don’t worry about it. Yeah, brake fluid was nasty — but flushed it well, and it’s good to go. Brakes squeaked a little bit, but rather than replacing your pads and resurfacing rotors, I just cleaned them out well — that took care of it. Just little point after little point that made it clear that Mike was more concerned about taking care of the bike than taking care of padding the bill.
If your bike needs work in Marin, make the call. It might take a while to get her in to Marin Moto Works, but the attention and quality of work is worth the wait. My bike will not be worked on by anyone else as long as Mike puts up with me.

I hesitate to write this review because I don’t want to to wait longer than I already do when I need to service my bike. ;) (he is always busy… and frankly, that is a good thing).
But Mike is the most honest and competent mechanic I have ever met period. He is fantastic. He took my Aprilia and made it run like new again and I could not be more pleased with the quality of service and pricing.
If you love your Aprilia, KTM or BMW, you owe it to your bike to bring it to Mike. You will not regret it.

Mike’s quality of service only gets better and better over time and he does everything he can to find solutions.

I rolled in with my old K75s with a blown radiator. Although they didn’t have time to work on my bike, Mike and Pete went over the bike, gave an accurate prognosis, stored by bike over the weekend, and gave me a list of options, contacts and priceless help.
It is clear that Mike loves what he does. The shop is meticulous, and the passion shows in his honesty and work.
Thank you Marin Moto, for helping out this very sad gal with her old German moto!

Thanks to Unilocal I found Mike and Marin Moto Works. I’ve had him do various things to my bike and his knowledge, skill set, and demeanor have left me both impressed and happy. He has a decent back log during the busy season so make sure you call ahead and he will take care of you ASAP.
5 stars all the way.
Cheers!

Thank you Mike for your great work, service, friendship & honesty. Our GSA is our baby and she purred beautifully on the way back to Napa this evening…
You have our business as long as we have two wheels and will be more than happy to pass the good word to our friends.
Look after yourself and drink lots of water…
Take care,
David & Rhoni

Great service. Mike knows his stuff. Good price, and work collected quickly. Only bummer is he is do busy that you may have to wait awhile to get your bike worked on. But I guess that’s a good thing. Highly recommend.

A big thank you to Mike for another job well done. My GS needed some final drive work (who’s doesn’t by the way…) and Mike replaced the output bearing and seal. He inspected the rest of the final drive components and only did the work needed to fix the problem the right way. His repair completely fixed the issue and the bike is running great. I highly recommend Marin Moto Works.

My KTM started making weird engine noises, but I had a hard time finding someone who was willing to tackle it. No one had heard anything like it before. I was referred to Mike by another mechanic, and he felt confident he could fix it. My bike sounds like new again and I paid way less than if I would have brought it to a dealership. Thanks Mike!

The only shop I trust. I take my ’08 Triumph Sprint to Mike for everything and he treats it with the utmost care.
So far:
— Oil Changes
— Tires
— Electrical System Repairs
— Cosmetic Repairs
— Chain Maintenance
— Brake Maintenance
— Coolant Flush
— Suspension Upgrade (rear and front)
— Heated Grips
Absolutely the best, most honest service in the Bay Area.

If you want an honest, professional, and friendly motorcycle expert; go to Marin Moto Works and meet Mike. That’s all!

Don’t know why this got filtered so I’m posting it again.
Bought a beautiful, 3500 mile pre-​owned 2007 BMW K1200S down in the South Bay only to find that the closest factory-​certified service up here in the North Bay was in SF or Santa Rosa. Yow!
Found Marin Motoworks just a few months after Mike opened the shop — right here in San Rafael. He’s not only certed on BMW, Aprilia and KTM, he’s got all the shop tools and test equipment to get the job done right.
Dealer-​based shops are time card punchers — they will cut corners on your job when the last job ran long. Ran into this with SJ BMW — my brake fluid came out exactly as dark orange as it went in. Mike caught it and bled all the old fluid out properly and replaced it. So much better to bring your bike to a genuine motorcycle enthusiast who answers only to you and can give you a really good education on your machine in the process.
Listen man, when you make the decision to buy an elite bike, you need a personal mechanic. Case closed.

The freshly rebuilt Aprilia RXV honestly runs better than it did from the factory. That type of engine rebuild takes a ton of patience and extreme attention to detail. Mike is a top-​tier mechanic.
He has extensive knowledge of European (and other brands’) motorcycles and, importantly, invests in all the right factory tools to properly service them.
Go here. You won’t be unhappy.

I am re-​posting this review. For some strange BS reason, Unilocal filtered my review. So, here it is again, and Unilocal better not mess with it this time!
From October, 2011:
I can’t tell you how great it is to have someone local (Marin) who can work on my Guzzi! Though not a Guzzi shop, per se, Mike took the time to understand the problems I was having, even going as far as ordering the Guzziology book so he could really get a grasp on what it needed.
It runs infinitely better now. The issues he was unable to fully address were explained to me in detail. There was no trying to up-​sell anything, and no talk of «if you do this for x dollars you’ll get this». Just straight talk, suggestions for on-​going maintenance and excellent work.
And on time, too!
I love Guzzis, but it’s like a needle in a haystack trying to find a good mechanic for the brand. Mike is that needle and I found him!

This is my new go-​to shop for maintenance and repairs. I’ve had Mike work on both my bikes and they are running better than ever. I like that it’s easy to book appointments (Mike answers email quickly.) And pick-​up /​drop-​off times are very flexible. Prices are reasonable and I know I’m getting high quality work. Highly recommended.

Best Tech in the Bay area, hands down. Mike is everything you want in a tech: Vast knowledge of various makes of bikes, does great work, fast, he’s a straight shooter, great prices, and most of all, he takes incredible pride in his work, and his reputation. He’s thorough, and honest. I simply can’t say enough good stuff about him.

I was looking for someone to work on my Aprilia and didn’t want to go to the dealership in SF. I can’t say how pleased I am to have found Marin Moto Works. Mike has an impressive resume and does fantastic work. They have all the special factory tools and computers (and know how to use them!)
Mike is conscientious and his prices are completely reasonable. They recently installed some new tires on my Aprilia and they are the first shop I’ve used who has been able to remove and install tires without nicking or scratching the wheels!!!
I recommend Marin Moto Works without hesitation.

Best service not just in Marin, but indeed the Bay Area. Mike is friendly, highly knowledgeable, and is also a major enthusiast himself. He had the tires I wanted in stock (Michelin Road 3’s that I love) and had me in and out in no time; although I didn’t mind hanging out.
Encyclopedic knowledge of European bikes, plus he’s got the Japanese covered as well.
As we spoke while my oil was draining, he wiped the bike down showing a high level of care for my machine and I knew it was being well taken care of. The bike was serviced and so gingerly, it was more of a spa day and I rode 150+ miles immediately after leaving the shop. I was that stoked. The new tires felt really planted and provided excellent feedback.
Although I live on the other side of the bay, I wouldn’t consider taking my bike anywhere else. Marin county lacked good motorcycle service… until now.
Kudos Mike, I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Glad to have someone who works on aprilia back in Marin. Thanks for the great help getting us going again.

Mike Nield is the owner and used to work at Scuderia SF and Marin BMW. He is trained in Aprilla, BMW and KTM. It’s nice to have someone who works on these since Marin BMW closed.