I saw on another bike forum a rumour that Moto Corsa are in trouble, the showroom and cafe have been closed for a few days, but the workshop at Ashmore is still open. As my Himalayan is booked in for a service and recall work next week my danger sensors have started to get nervous. Corsa Cafe say they are reopening next week and it always seems busy so hardly surprising and almost certainly a different company. The service centre also seems busy, although I’ve probably only been there three or four times. I hope the rumours are inaccurate and normal service at Gillingham will resume shortly.
That's a real shame, used to service my MV. Or is it only the Gillingham showroom that's closed, workshop still open? During the time I used them they were setting up and opening the showroom.
Always sad to hear if it’s true but personally I lost confidence in their service dept over their handling of an ongoing warranty issue with my last MV. At that time the Gillingham outfit was just getting off the ground, new people coming in and I think that’s when they took their eye off the ball a little and lost custom, certainly lost mine as I’d have been in the market for another MV.
Again from another bike forum. “They are in liquidation as of last week. Dave Arnold, former general manager, hopes/plans to open the Ashmore service centre as a new business soon and keep the service centre staff.”
Personally I got the feeling once they opened the Gillingham sales site they focused their interest on selling very expensive motorcycles to a very niche customer, those being ones interested in £50-£100k motorcycle ornaments to display in the corner of their home offices and really weren’t interested in joe public in the market for a £10-15k MV/Moto Guzzi. Some of their service staff were excellent though, and if they do carry on I hope they keep the good ones?
this… my mate bought a used 899 there and we had to wait while they charged the battery as the battery was flat when we picked it up…. The salesman’s attitude just stank
The workshop is definitely open, sounds like it’s unlikely the showroom at Gillingham is reopening, high overheads is what I heard. Whether the Brough story is part of the problem I don’t know, but I can imagine the only part at Gillingham that made money was the cafe ! I’m sure a number of people will sadly have lost their jobs. If you can, use the workshop they are nice people.
Maybe they'll go back to having a showroom at the workshop as before? Gillingham was a bold move in what turned out to be uncertain times. Location likely played a part as well away from any major urban sprawl.
Tbh I don’t think the showroom location/cost, I spoke with Jeremy a few times as I was looking to get an RSV4, he could do a little bit of a deal off RRP but basically wheels had bought all the RSV4’s and were knocking them out £5k cheaper, but even more than that, they said they weren’t interested in servicing and warranty support for bikes bought cheap from wheels, I can see why they were frustrated but I just kind of got put off. the 2nd occasion I seriously enquired, I was looking at the F3, and tbh the sales guy was a patronising pr*ck. I said to him ‘can you get a red one’ as they only had Matt black, and his response was “yeah we could but we don’t keep one here cause what’s the point”… it just seemed like it was all too much trouble. the guy who actually owns moto corsa has other businesses I believe. This to me smacks of a business operating at a deliberate loss/tax right off
They had the same attitude towards other MV dealers buying huge stock and knocking them out cheap, I see their principle but that doesn’t pay the bills, and maybe someone with money was happy to bankroll that attitude but in my experience those sorts of people get bored easily and in the end expect the business to stand on its own merits and when it doesn’t they cut their losses and move on. I would have thought service work was bread and butter, no one buys a bike every year (well most people) but they get them serviced and so turning away service work no matter where it’s from is foolish imo. Having their service dept 10 miles away from their sales site wasn’t ideal either. I’ve bought quite a few new bikes while mine was in for a service, it’s a captive audience, your bikes in, sales staff are there, the demos are all there and your waiting around……….it’s a no brainer.
I live just down the road, I was always shocked at how bad the sales staff were. Unfriendly, unhelpful and patronising. Shame it's gone, I would enjoy seeing the packs of KTM's or italian bikes ride past! I'd heard it was owned by a wealthy friend of Henry Cole, probably done as a hobby then got bored. When they opened there were problems with neighbours, they pretty much said they were aiming for a high end clientele not yobs on loud race bikes. Down the line they ditched selling brough superiors and started selling superduke's It always struck me that the only thing that made money there was the cafe.
My understanding is also exactly this, that the cafe was the only thing making any money, and they had recently re-fitted it. It's such an ace showroom, it really is, but they needed to have bikes being serviced on site. I personally would have fitted out the corner (where they had all the used bikes) as the workshop area along with the little PDI bay they had and then they could at least have 3-4 lifts in there, they had loads of room for service parts storage and could have kept the ashmore site as the mail order site. Or moved the ashmore one even into the same town would have been good. I remember, I rode my mates 899 home from there for him, they eventually got it started and he said "oh it's probably got no fuel, just ride as long as you can before you stop for fuel incase it doesn't start" We were gobsmacked.... We would have just walked away but the paperwork was already done, and my mate wanted to unload a year old GSXR which no one wants and the prices are rubbish on them. Another lesson there, don't run all the paperwork through in advance of seeing and getting a feel for the staff.
It feels like they're going back to their roots. As they were when I first used them though the then owner had grand ideas about Brough Superior and shortly after took on the Gillingham showroom. Sounds like the new owner is a bit more level headed/less ambitious. Good luck to them.
