As any man will tell you, Italian women are zesty and get your heart racing, but at times can be very temperamental.
The same can be said for Italian machinery (especially older Aprilia V-Twins).
I have a 2004 Aprilia RSV1000R, and recently I was approaching the 12,500 mile mark (which is a Major Service).
I live in Brooklyn, and oddly enough, even though there is an Official Aprilia Dealership and Service Center about 3 miles from my house (ie: Vespa Brooklyn), even they won't work on an Aprilia more than 10 years old because of their finickiness, and the fact that their young technicians are not skilled in such things.
This left me with a quandary...
The next nearest dealership to me is across Manhattan and somewhat into New Jersey (Motorcycle Mall).
Motorcycle Mall is very well respected, but I didn't want to be limited to just one option, so I expanded my search for a reputable Aprilia Dealership/Mechanic to include neighboring states, because you never know, right?...you might find a dealership worth their weight in gold, and worth the trek.
I happened upon MotoPlex West Chester, in PA.
Non-sequitur...
I recently got my girlfriend into riding, and she bought a Kawasaki EX-300 Ninja "Winter Test Edition" prior to me reaching my 12,500 mile tune-up mark.
Being petite and only 5'3", she needed it lowered. I was able to do the rear end, but wanted pros to do the front end. There is a dealership in Philadelphia called Philadelphia Cycle Center, but due to some previous interactions, I didn't want to trust my girl's bike to them, so called MotoPlex and they said they'd be happy to do it.
So, I took her bike out there and got a look at the place.
The showroom is beautiful and well stocked, and their garage is immaculate.
In addition, they did a great job with lowering her bike.
So, when it came time for me to have the 12,500 mile service on my Aprilia, I decided to take the bike to them (even though they are 125 miles from me in Brooklyn).
Not only did I have a good previous experience with them regarding my girlfriend's bike, but their quote for the service was in line with Motorcycle Mall in NJ.
It was just a gut feeling I had to take it to them, and it turned out to be spot-on.
During the service, my Italian girl threw a hissy fit; temperature sensor errors, brake issues...she was just not a happy girl for some reason (and as all men know, sometimes women just get upset, and you don't know why, but you have to figure it out if you want to get some sanity back in your life).
Enter
Mark (Owner),
Mike (Service Manager) and
Matt (My Tech)
Matt has such a love for motorcycles that he'd show up to work even if they didn't pay him. You can tell just by talking to him that he lives, eats and breathes motorcycles.
(While Jeremy is not a tech, he's great at Sales/Coordinating Techs/Service Appts).
So, my girl was throwing a hissy fit and giving all sorts of weird diagnostics. Think of an episode of House M.D., where the patient goes in for a simple problem, but then things start to unravel and they have to be put in ICU while House figures out what's going on. It was one of those kind of episodes.
Matt (like House), ran every test he could on his patient to figure out why she was being finicky, and Mike and/or Mark were on email or the phone with me updates as to the progress, and doing everything they could get her back to me for a planned ride that was fast approaching.
Matt, like Casanova, was able to finally coo my Italian girl back into purring happiness. She is once again the ice-in-her-veins, fire-breathing-dragon I know and love.
The 3 of them couldn't have been more accommodating.
And to top things off, the final bill came in slightly under what they'd quoted me (I guess they had factored in worst case scenario (eg: needing buckets for the valves, etc.), and it turns out I didn't need those). YMMV, but when was the last time you paid LESS than what you were quoted? Yet another pleasant surprise...honesty.
I've been riding motorcycles for 40 years.
Also, I've been in Customer Service for the better part of 35 years, and I can't remember ANY other motorcycle dealer/service center I've been to being as PRO as they are (from the top on down).
Remember my previous comment about, "You never know...you might find a dealership worth their weight in gold"?....well, MotoPlex West Chester is, in fact, worth their weight in gold.
They will treat your girl better than an Italian Son treats his Ma.
And, no, they didn't pay me to write this review.
Well, they did, but through FANTASTIC customer service and mechanic skills, which is exactly what I was looking for.
If you read my other reviews....I punish where due...and I exalt praise where due, and I cannot extol the virtues of MotoPlex West Chester enough.
As any man will tell you....if your Italian girlfriend is happy; you're happy.
Any time I'm riding her and gently caress her throttle, and she passionately bucks underneath me, I'm a happy guy. read more