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San Jose BMW And Vespa
Rating Details »
Categories: Motorcycle Repair, Motorcycle Dealers [Edit]
1886 W San Carlos StSan Jose, CA 95128
(408) 295-0205
9 reviews for San Jose BMW And Vespa
I have to recommend these guys for their service to my beloved Vespa, BleuBelle. Sadly I 'dropped' her in my parking lot at work, due to a patch of leaves. Although I was only traveling 4-5mph, I ended up breaking my right side mirror clean off and sustaining body damage elsewhere on the right side.
I had purchased her from Il Motorino in Santa Cruz, but I didn't want to pay the $60 just to transport her there, plus, they still hadn't correctly fixed the gas gauge problems I had been having since I bought BleuBelle in October.
I got a safety check - costs about $50 and they cleared her from having a bent frame and assessed the body damage. They also fixed my gas gauge (reads correctly now) and they adjusted my idle speed (it was too low). Although the gas gauge was under warranty, I did have to pay for labor for everything else, overall cost about $114. I do have the replacement parts on order. Sadly, they don't do body work, but they have someone they can refer me to for fixing the paint.
I have ordered extra parts from them in the past (a basket for my rack, and a cup holder) and delivery was swift to the store. (They must have a good supplier).
Although they have a good selection of helmets, you can get them cheaper at Santa Clara Cycle Accessories. They do have the coveted Scorpion Exo-700 Neon in stock. However, the 700 series of helmets is not well shaped for a more oval cranial shape. I found it left marks on my forehead and gave me a headache in the medium (my usual size) and was overly loose in the padding in the large size. Just an FYI for you lady riders out there.
02/13/09 Update! Dropped off my Baby last night for her repairs (her parts came in) They called me this afternoon and she's done already! Bad news though, due to the slacking economy, they cut back their hours and are no longer open late (post 6pm) on Thursdays. Sucky economy!
This is a review of their service department. I have been coming to San Jose BMW for service on my BMW F650 Motorcycles for about 6 years. It was kind of a "Devil you know" thing - they are friendly and helpful, give out loaner bikes, but their actual mechanical aptitude is poor. Perhaps it is because the BMW F650s are not that common, but this *is* a BMW house - you would expect them to be the best.
My first bike was a '97 F650. I had starting problems with the bike, and tried several times to get it repaired. After spending a lot of money, I decided it might be a carb issue, so had them rebuild the carbs. I picked up the bike and made it 3 miles before the bike died. Waiting 15 minutes, it would start again, and then die.
Finally I gave up, and bought a new '05 F650 from them. I sold the old bike to a guy, who had to re-rebuild the carbs, and quickly tracked the original problem down to a burned valve, which he fixed. As this is a comment on their service department, I won't go into the problems I had with the purchase procedure.
Being a new bike, my '05 has been pretty trouble free. They had to replace the sprocket and chain after only 10k miles, and when I asked them for some advice as to why, the response from the tech was "I don't really know much about chains" - not the sort of answer I expected from a dealership.
I recently took it in for a new front tire, and oil change. 2 days and 100 miles after the oil change, I walked out to the bike, and noticed that it looked a little odd. Looking closer, I realized that the engine skid-plate (the aluminum piece that sits under the engine) was hanging down, held on by just a few turns of one bolt.
While they were very apologetic about this, and fixed the problem, I am afraid that there is no excuse for parts falling off a motorcycle. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had been taking a corner and the engine guard had come off. They offered nothing more - no refund for the work done. Their apologies were sincere, but no offer of a refund, and no word from upper management (I'm sorry, parts falling off a motorcycle would seem to me to warrant a call from the owner).
So I'm writing about the Vespa side of the house. If you're looking for a new or used modern Vespa ask for Jeff aka "Bosco" and he'll give you the info.
When the Vespa section of this outfit opened, it really did not do a good job of catering to the scooter folks or do a good job of introducing new persons who were looking at Vespas.
Since Jeff has been on the floor, it has been a busy store with lots of sales especially since the gas price increases.
That being said, the service side of the house has had mixed reviews, but I have had some tires mounted there. I had to have one re-mounted as the tire was mounted in the wrong direction.
Their support of the scooter scene has increased with sponsorhip and promotion of local scooter rallies so I've gotta give them a thumbs up.
Stopped by San Jose BMW & Vespa tonight while my girlfriend and I were on our way to Gulzaar Halaal restaurant, which is next door (and great).
The signs and window displays were tempting us, 'vespa' 'vespa'.. so, being 2 girls who really want one, we had to check it out! Once inside, we were given a while to look and then a really friendly guy, Jeff Bosco Biafore, came up to see if we needed any help. He was so laid back and knowledgeable, a very cool guy to talk with. If I decide to get the ****** (are you CRAZY? I'm not telling you the one I want!) then I'll definitely go back to him. He even gave me information on safety courses that I can take before I buy one.
They all seemed really reasonably priced. He even had a used one that was decked out with accessories but still was only 4000 'out-the-door.' I think that means license, title, taxes, etc... haha.
Seeing Chinh N's review though, I think I"ll call first to make sure Jeff is there. Haha.
5 stars for Jeff Biafore.
Stand up guy, excellent rapport. I actually haven't bought anything in this store. But the 2 times I've been in there Jeff has helped me a) figure out if a Vespa fits in a Honda Element, b) refer me to Moto Amore for vintage Vespas. c) hooked me up with another Vespa dealer in Santa Barbara and even tried to get me 10% discount through his personal connections.
The store is nicely laid out and all the high end accessories and clothing for your modern Vespa is here. If you're looking to cut gas expense and pitch in for less emissions to San Jose, get a Vespa and get it from these guys.
AWKWARD.
Have you ever worked retail and you've thought, 'wtf is this person doing here? I hope so-and-so helps them,' when a person comes who totally looks like they don't belong in your store? Yeaaah. I felt that vibe here.
But the dude who's desk that's situated right next to the Vespas answered all my questions about getting a license and how fast they go and other stuffs. I was gonna bitch about how he could've done better by saying something like, 'once you've learned how to ride a bicycle and you still wanna ride a Vespa, just come back to us, here's my card,' but I'm dealing with guys at BMW, not Nordstrom.
What a joke. I had them pick up my bike. After working on it they dumped it in their lot, (ripped the seat, cracked the faring, scratched the rear. dinged the cylinder housing) and made me feel like an ass for wanting them to fix it.
Then they gave it back to me with the ABS faulting out and the gas tank NOT ATTACHED! It still does not run correctly, their factory mechanic took it for a test ride, never let the revs drop below 3000 and said it's "fine".
They NEVER once apologized for breaking my bike, keeping it over a month, never offering me a loaner and providing particularly bad service. On top of all that, the service manager told me I was "Lucky" they would work on my bike because they only like to work on the newer bikes.
Take a tip, don't leave your bike overnight, and if they screw up, don't expect to get it resolved. Go somewhere else. This place deserves to become Vespa only, no that's not fair to Vespa riders, it deserves to go out of business.
I've bought new and used motorcycles from all over the Bay Area and can honestly say that Chris and his crew have given me one of the best experiences so far, at least with my BMWs.
From the initial purchase, to follow up sales (parts, etc.) and service; they've been great.
That said, I do realize that a lot of shops churn staff and even ownership, so things can change overnight. But so far, so good!
As far as Vespa repairs and maintenance this is not the place to go. I had my belt replaced on my 2005 Granturismo here and yeah, it was done quickly, but when I got it on the road there were two problems. There was a bit of sliding and grinding on the belt when starting out that wasn't there before and also they had set it to idle at such a high rate that I had to hold my brakes in when stopped so I would stay stopped. When I took the bike to Moto Amore to actually get it fixed, he knew the problem right away and took care of it fairly priced. Now I've heard really good things about their BMW side, but as far as Vespa's go, it seems like they really don't fully understand what they are doing plus the repairs are overpriced.
