Got my service done there this week, I mentioned that the panniers moving on my recent trip had made a mark on my Multistrada exhaust sleeve and wondered if they could tell me how much a new one would be. When I went to pick up Pete said as it was going to cost over £200 to replace he had submitted a warranty claim to see if he could get Ducati to replace it. Pretty good service even if they don’t cough up
Thumbs up for ProTwins from me. Been very supportive when/ and since I bought my MS V2S in March (my first bike so I asked lots of questions)
I've bought a few bikes off them over the years and even sold my 999S back to them a few years back. I found Pete, Rob and Malcolm to be very knowledgeable and helpful, but living in Norfolk, it makes no sense to travel all that way anymore, especially when I have the enviable talent of Carl Harrison on my doorstep. He literally is the best person I have ever dealt with when it comes to servicing or repairing mine and my wife's bike. He has come to the rescue on an number of occasions over the years when I've broken down or if I can't get to him to drop the bike off for some work, often collecting and delivering my bike back the same day (sometimes late at night) Nothing is too much trouble and he has a massive client base who won't go anywhere else. When my wife was knocked off her bike and broke her ankle, thanks to a myopic pickup driver, I called him and he dropped everything and within an hour had collected the bike at the scene and taken it back to his workshop, whilst we were en route to the Norfolk and Norwich hospital (the same day as it turned out, that Shane Bryne was admitted after his career ending crash at Snetterton). Carl prepared a quote for the insurance company, taking into account the fact that I would source some of the parts, and he would repair those that were salvageable, to keep the estimate low and the insurers less likely to write it off. It was back to it's former glory within a few weeks (also an excuse to treat it to a new paint job). It's often the people that make the difference to a business, which is where many main dealers fall short. Here is the end result of the rebuild I completed, after Carl had repaired the accident damaged components.
I'm not ragging them (just in case it came across that way), as they have a lot of experience to offer, but they cant hold a candle to Carl, in terms of sheer commitment to their customers. He is a one-off and a resource that many will miss if or rather when he decides to call it a day after 30 years+, meeting the needs of Ducati owners. Unlike many websites, each and everyone of the testimonials on his site are 100% genuine and not some bullshit posted up to enhance his credibility. I only know this as I designed his website and all the testimonials get emaied to me before I upload them, word for word.
Sounds like Carl needs his own thread, if it doesn't already exist. He sounds awesome. Shame he's a bit too far from me. I'm 10mins from Pro-Twins lol I popped in last weekend and they have a lovely 888 up on the first floor... #drool Agree with everything else, though slightly cold and unwelcoming sales chap and absolutely lovely technical people
Yes at times the management side of the PT team can seem a little less than personal when dealing with what is a large financial purchase for most people, at a time when you want to feel recognised for giving them the business and similarly valued as a customer. In Carl's case, it doesn't matter if you are buying a washer from him or having a complete restoration undertaken, he treats you with just the same respect as he would any other customer and for me that is priceless. It's evident by just how far some people are prepared to travel to use his services, which is why he has stood the test of time. No frills or lavish premises, just a good, honest, no nonsense business.
Yes, his pissiness over minimal spares purchases meant I sunk my 50 large at Snells and Aylesbury instead. Yeah, great business sense. I'm 5mins away from PT. I may just be buying a battery today to keep my boggo 916bip going, but tomorrow I may buy a new 1198 or a new 1299. Thats what the guy needs to remember. The other guys are cool though. But I'll still only use them as a last resort tbh. He fucked me off that badly.
I've never had any issues with Carl and used him very happily from the day he set up after he left Clarkes (but not so much recently with new kit under warranty). But he certainly has some critics that I know and when I did look for some help they weren't interested in helping sort out my superlight that "someone else had mucked up"
do you mean Brett Fraser? - Carl is the lovely splendificous other-end-of-the-scale person who works at Moto Rapido I believe.
Chris, I think this chap is talking about Carl Harrison - another bike shop altogether. There appears to have been a crazy thread divergence… We all need to get back onto the “What a fantastic bunch they all are at ProVT….” thread…
It's a SP4 upstairs as i've been on my hand and knees already looking at it some months ago, but has a slight problem for me, so no sale.
ah, ok, thanks - this is a case of me not delving back far enough in the thread/imbibing toxic atoms.
It's ok as i have heard a rumor that the rest of the staff have'd a whiparound for him.................a oneway ticket on the nest available space shuttle.
Didn't realise there was any confusion over Carl, but yes I was talking about a completely different person and business, namely Carl Harrison based in Norfolk not 'Carl' at Moto Rapido Surprised to hear that. I can only go with my own experience of him and the multitude of testimonials I am sent to upload to his site. For the most part he seems to be doing the right thing by people and as I said, has gone above and beyond to help me in the past, on numerous occasions, which is not the norm for most dealers.
