Salinas Motorcycle Center

Saw a used bike that was just posted on their website, and called to see if they could put a hold on it till I arrived. A short drive later and they were really welcoming with it sitting out in the open. The bike was in perfect shape. They took my trade in and work with me to get a fair price on the total package. They even helped unload my old bike and load up my new one.

Husband and I went hoping to walk out with a bike as soon as we entered nobody came to greet us or ask us if we needed help. There was a family with kids climbing on quads and touching stuff I guess nobody was working… Walked out without ever seeing the sales person. I’ll take my cash somewhere where they greet us well like the Harley Davidson in south main salinas.

Called this place to confirm the price on a Kawasaki Vulcan Custom. The salesmen, Benjamin, confirmed a price of $ 5999 and asked when I wanted to pick it up. I explained I wanted to sell my current bike before buying another one and would call him when my bike sold. The next day my bike sold.
Because I live 2 hours away I called to make sure the bike was still available and confirm the total price, including all fees. Before I could finish my sentence Benjamin spoke over me and said he doesn’t have time to play phone games.
Well, because I wanted to sell one bike before buying another doesn’t mean I’m not serious or a potential customer.
I will buy another bike, but it won’t be from Salinas Motorcycle Center.

before buying anything from here be sure to check everything out. I purchased a 2008 Suzuki LTR 450, BIGGEST mistake I ever made, the day after I started riding and noticed the clutches were burned. So I took it back and they blamed the whole thing on me, which made no sense, I could no longer give the quad back because we had already signed. The salesmen was very rude afterwards.

Went in here just to check out prices. A cookie cutter young sales guy approached us with a crappy sales act. He got very pushy and wouldn’t leave me and my wife alone. I saw that he wrote our names down and taking notes about us on his clipboard which I thought was weird. We got annoyed and tried to leave. He tried stopping us three times. He said he needed to enter our info into their system or he was gonna get in trouble by his manager. Wtf? And wtf do I care? I wanted to look at the Vulcan they had online. Would’ve bought it here after I got my license. But I didn’t even get to check it out because of the jabroni sales act with his obvious script. Gonna check out a Vulcan somewhere else

Would give negative stars if I could. The owner & management don’t care about customer service and try to sell you overpriced junk bikes. Stay away, shady individuals.

needed a part for my Polaris (ATV). asked about it, they had it in stock, made a great recommendation, and it worked.
been there many times for regular ATV service. always good. but this time it was worth the time to Unilocal them with a 5.

This is the worst place to buy anything they rip you off they dont care about the customer they only care about the money they get in i got the worst experience buying my motorcycle in bad business bureau this place is a D– i will never buy there again craiglist is better then this place save your money and reserch better places before you buy here i wish i had done that before i came to this store i learn my lesson

I only gave it one star because it won’t let you give no stars. By far the worst motorcycle shop I’ve ever seen. And I’ve been riding since I was 4 years old. Their salesmen are rude and just want your $$, their prices are higher than anywhere else, their parts dept is a joke. And their service dept/​mechanics leave much to be desired for.
If you call looking for parts, you will be asked 5 – 10 questions by the receptionist (or whoever answers the phone at the time. Possibly Ben, the very unknowledgeable owner) only to be told that you will be called back by someone in parts. Who will then ask you the same 5 – 10 questions, and maybe several more. Only for them to tell you they will look it up and call you back. You may or may not receive a follow up call that day. Very impersonal and incompetent team of individuals. I would stay far far away from this place as possible. I typically do business 1 – 2 hours south where the motorcycle shops know how to treat customers. The only reason I tried SMC again is because I work in Salinas & it’s close. Big mistake. Trust me. I would know. I used to work there years ago and nothing has changed. If anything, it’s gotten worse. This is not the type of shop for true motorcycle enthusiasts who are used to being treated a certain way. They don’t care about you here. Just about the $$.

This place is not so great… I’ve been wanting to write a review on this place for some time and never got around to it. I was in there some time back looking for my first street bike and they do have a hand full to choose from. A few problems though. Most if not all of their cruisers are trade-​ins. Since the bikes they offer are used and then traded in, they are a little beat up and worn down, and they expect you to be ok with that. There’s even one that was obviously low sided and just sitting there with the rest of them like someone’s really going to go for that! ESPECIALLY at that price!!! LOL!!! That puts this place in a nutshell but I’ll continue.
They have a bunch of ninjas if you’re into that, i’m not… but don’t seem to have any new cruisers. They do have a wide selection of other Motorsports like ATV’s, Mules, sports bikes, dirt bikes, scooters, wave runners… but I wasn’t in there for all that. There’s sort of a dark funk in there and I can’t put my finger on what it is. maybe the lighting. but it makes it hard to really see what you’re looking at.
Well I actually found one I liked and made an offer. Since this bike needs some attention, like new tires, registration was expired, and a couple of minor stuff, I asked for $ 1,000 less than sticker price. or the «sale price» I was assured. The «sale price» just also happens to be WELL OVER the Kelly Blue Book trade-​in and retail value. Well long story short they said no. Ok. no prob. wasn’t meant to be. One week later I got a call from them and they wanted to know if I was still interested in the bike, and they were now willing to «let it go» for my price. Sorry! Found a much BETTER, bigger bike for $ 3,000 CHEAPER on CRAIGSLIST, and it doesn’t have any problems! Have a nice day. Wow am I glad they said no originally because I would’ve been stuck with that inferior bike, and would’ve put more money into it! I thought about that recently and thank you guys for dropping the ball!
They must think they’re the only bike shop around or something… also on Craigslist you can buy used bikes for cheaper and in usually better shape because that’s the only bike that person is selling. It won’t sell well if it’s beat up or needs work/​service or whatever at the blue book price. Nobody is going to fix up something before trading it in, and that’s the whole point! Additionally, when you compare Kelly Blue Book trade-​in value, to retail value. the audacity to ask for more than retail value on a beat up trade-​in is ridiculous!
If you’re in the market for a new motorcycle check out Seaside Motorsports for the best selection of new NON Harleys, (I personally love Triumph motorcycles and dislike Harleys) or Indian Motorsports in Hollister for a great selection of Indian and Victory motorcycles. or Craigslist for a good deal on a used one. As with ANY purchase buyer beware!

This place aint that great, the mechanics suck. They installed HIDs which i bought from them, i waited 2 hours, and then another hour because the light was defective, shouldnt you test the lights first to make sure they work before you install them? So they made me come back to get it reinstalled once they order the part. Keep in mind i lived pretty far away so i was hesitant to drive back. SO i came back the next work day to get them installed, took about an hour, went home, a week later the HID DID NOT WORK. I got fed up with them so i did not return here to get it fixed. I took the bike to another place to replace the HID. Come to find out the mechanic from salinas installed the HID wrong, and one of the wiring got burnt, so i had to replace not just the HID but the whole entire harness, which cost me like an extra 80 bucks.

This place really sucks! I’ve bought two ATVs 4 years ago and since I had such a horrible experience with their sales staff four years ago i thought things would have changed.
Well things are still the same. The sales staff still uses the stupid sales tactics that they used before. The sales manager is still an idiot and can’t even give you an answer when you make an offer on their ATVs. After making the offer on one of their ATVs, all the salesman could say is, «whatever the price is you’ll be happy with it». Sounded like BS to me.
Go elsewhere to buy. Don’t waste your time here. It will not be a pleasurable experience.

DO NOT GO HERE! They are a total rip off when it comes to service. The service manager, Logan, and front desk person were very rude and would not work with us. Logan was verbally abusive and threatening even in his manager’s presence. Their customer service is non-​existent! They are not up front with their prices for service and kept adding costs that we did not agree to.
RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN FROM THIS PLACE!!!
I only gave them one star because Unilocal forced me to. Wish I could rate them with negative stars!!!

They won’t discuss pricing unless you come into their store. Then they won’t budge on prices (best price guarantee is a joke). They are 30% higher than surrounding dealers on price and somewhat rude too.
Forget it don’t even waste your time with these guys.

Best place to get your bike, Mark was awesome. He did everything from processing to driving the bike home. Love the place!!! 2012 Kawasaki 250cc it Rocks!!!

First Of All This Place Is The Best I Went There Today An They Where Super Busy I Needed Some Oil An Didn’t Know Witch one I Needed So Manger Saw Us An Helped Out An Was Super Knowledgeable He Got Us In An Out In Know Time At All This Is My Go To Place From Now On I Highly Recommend This Place

I really liked these guys. I was wanting to check in on a bike that I saw on cycle trader and over the phone they described the bike and it’s condition well.
The bike was in good condition and they «couldn’t help me load it» but after hours they did including tying it down using 4 tiny rings on the floor. The bike stood up in an enclosed trailer like a soldier all the way back to El Cerrito over a hundred and fifty miles away.
They tuned the bike up (Used 2009 Honda) very well and everything about the bike feels right and fits me perfectly. Even though the bike was small (250cc) they treated me with respect and professional courtesy.
All and all it was fun and I love my little bike. Good fun to ride around in the hills above Berkeley and Oakland. Ride to the gym and use the free bike parking in Berkeley, etc.
Thanks, everybody who helped me. Bill and Mark most especially.

This place wants my business, and they earned it!
I was just in to drop off my machines for service. The service personal was helpful and got me processed quickly. While I was at the dealership I was approached by a member of their sales staff, Mark. While I am not in the purchase market today I appreciate the way that Mark made sure that I was helped and informed, while not being pushy.
I will certainly check in with Salinas Motorcycle Center and Mark first, when I am ready to upgrade. I totally felt they want my business and treated me with respect and courtesy to earn it.

This place is full of clowns who don’t have the courtesy to even greet you. Not sure how anyone buys a new bike because there were literally no more than 8 new sport bikes on the floor and a ton of used garbage too. No gear to try on and a very limited selection of helmets. Don’t waste your time and even bother coming in here.

4 of July surprise!!! Im gonna say this first, they WILL NOT discuss prices over the phone which is BS! It’s 12:15, So I give them a call seeing if they are even open, talk to the sales guy Mike, he says «yes, we close at 4». Then he wants to find out what bikes I’m interested in, the ninja 300, which he tells me they have a few in stock. I say cool, problem is I’m coming from San Jose, I need to know if I can get it for a better price than what other dealers are offering. Mike tells me since it’s the 4^th, he’ll promise to do what he can.
Two and a half hours later in 101 to Monterey traffic, it’s 2:43p and they were f’in closed!!!
I will not be returning ever! And I hope, whoever you are, you’ll do the same.