Santa Cruz Motorcycle Service

Would give a negative 10 review as owner shady. My friends just needed a tire patch and tube replaced and the owner said she needed a new tire! She believed him. When asked for a receipt, given blank sheet of paper with No date on it and not stamped with business name logo. Paid nearly $ 325 out of pocket. Their credit card machine was out of paper. Advice to owner, «go to Staples and get carbon-​copy invoice booklet!» Also, several months later motorcycle was wobbling and tire started slow leak. Turns outwhen taken elsewhere, they found tube had slice at valve stem area!!! My friend was smart not to return to shady businessman, as could cost her more. Didn’t care about warranty, or he may have said he didn’t do work, as receipt was sloppy, incomplete, and didn’t show biz name on there!
Our prediction is that Karma states this biz won’t last!!!

I crashed my sv650 in October 13′ it literally took 3 months for them to repair ascetic problems. During which I was forced to buy a truck because previously the motorcycle was my primary means of transport.
Periodically I would stop in and they continually hadn’t done anything on it, it was dusty in the very back of the shop. Behind 1960’s Harley’s that looked like they hadn’t been touched in years.
The main guy (Rory or something) was very knowledgable and courteous unfortunately he is almost never there and his assistants don’t have the time to explain things to customers and rush us off.
The hours are never what they say they are on the website, and when inquiring about rear sprockets the guy got mad (yes mad) at me for asking too many questions about my 4 thousand dollar bike I was leaving with them.
I would say unless Rory is personally working on your bike take it elsewhere, a damn shame because he is very qualified and polite. All in all the prices were decent but they got sad or would object when I would bringing parts so they could not mark up the price for ordering.
When I got the bike back it worked just fine but they hadn’t done half the work I requested (oil change, etc).

Ok, this is my second Unilocal motorcycle service review and I hope people take the time to read this if they are considering this place.
Want the short version/​summary? Super bad service. Mis-​diagnosis given, lack of diagnostics performed, bad advice given for a relatively new rider, lack of contact. In the end I was out $ 500 with a non-​functional bike. A $ 2000 estimate was given. I ended up learning about my bike from the manual and fixed it for a whopping $ 35. YES, THIRTY FIVE BUCKS.
Want to know more? Then read on fellow cautious repair shop user…
Initial issue and Initial contact: Heavy rains come in and my bike wasn’t covered. My bad and I recognize it. I stumble across this place. Initial impressions seem good. They have a guy tow my bike to the shop pretty cheaply. I’m told they can work on older sport bikes just fine (I have a 1990 ZX750-​F4). I get a call in about 24 hours from the owner to verify the issues I have with the bike: won’t start, ignition switch won’t turn easily, and seat doesn’t latch down easily. I also request a new chain since I think the current one is somewhat old (purchased the bike 4 months prior).
I’m told the gas tank has water in it due to a bad seal around the tank. The water is probably in the carbs and tank, therefore it won’t start. I’m quoted an estimate for carb/​tank cleaning and some general maintenance (changing brakes, fixing ignition switch so it turns easily again, changing oil, etc). I’m told a new chain isn’t needed, the one I have just needs to be cleaned and oiled and will give me several thousand more miles. Later on this «advice» could have KILLED me as this chain BROKE on me full speed on the highway shortly after getting my bike back from these jokers. Anyways, the repairs mentioned above are «completed» about a week later. I’m told everything is good and the bike is ready to go.
I go to pick up my bike and am told I may need a new battery soon as the current one doesn’t seem to be holding a full charge well. My bike is cranked in front of me and sounds pretty good. The ignition switch seems to move a little better and likewise the seat opens and closes a «little» better. The brakes are changed at least (could have done that myself) and oil changed. So, I’m pretty happy with this so far. The bike is shut off, I pay, get my gear out of the car I came in and go to crank it. UH OH… won’t crank. WTF? The owner says «wow, guess you need the battery for sure». So, we order the battery. It’s expected the next day. We’re now up to $ 500 roughly.
I go back, battery is installed and charged. Bike is ready to go. I drive an hour to work and later that night halfway back home I’m stranded. Why? Because the bike shuts off on me. Ran out of juice completely. WTF NOW? Bike goes back to shop. Several days go by and no one has called me so I call the place. I talk with the owner and I’m told he needs the service manual (red flag anyone?) to look up the parts for the electrical charging system (stator/​etc) since that’s the issue.
About a week passes, I get a manual and bring it to the shop. A week goes by with ZERO contact after this. I call and am told parts are hard to find but they’re working on it. A second week goes by with ZERO contact. It’s now 3 weeks my with nothing being done to the bike. I call up several times, get some run around, and eventually leave it at «tell him to call me back today». At the end of the day I get the call «bad news, I’ve found the parts but they’re expensive.» I’m given a detailed $ 2000 estimate for all the individual OEM parts to the electrical system. I paid way less for the bike so I take the list and my bike and try to fix it myself.
This turns out to be VERY wise as I learn a lot about the electrical system just by thoroughly reading my service manual over and over again. It details how to test each part of the electrical system. I take off 13 bolts to get to the stator and find the only thing wrong was a $ 35 alternator belt. Didn’t even have to test any of those $ 2000 worth of parts in my bike. Nice job SCMS! Didn’t even bother to LOOK at the problem area eh? Oh, I also now find that my air filter isn’t put on ANY of the carbs correctly and is also no longer completely connected on the engine. The owner admits this to me. Amazing job.
When I pointed these things out to the owner he says leave my bike and he’ll fix it. Sorry, I’m not going to wait for the «uh-​oh» call again guys. Learn your profession before practicing on my bike or at least say «I can’t fix this» and direct me to someone who can. Hope my $ 500 is worth this cold/​hard/​honest review of your lack of talent. I’d give this shady place 0 stars if I could.

Great customer service and reasonable rates. I had my front tire changed here and it was done in an hour for way less than I expected. Would definitely come back.