The Completely Motorbikes collapse ‖ what are your options?

Sadly the UK wide Motorcycle dealer Completely Motorcycles has entered financial difficulties, we do not yet know the full extent of the damage done but a lot of people will be without bikes, money or in the worst case a job. Very bad news...

Please note: the above reflects the information available at the time from various sources and the situation is updating. We hope that bike buyers and CM staff are able to get a positive outcome.

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[mengaw-yong]

Insurance companies are also killing the motorbike industry

[borderlands]

I used to do work for a company, and the secretary phoned me one day to say come in and demand your money. Things were looking shaky and she knew my invoices would not be honoured. Within days they had gone bust. Businesses do not go down overnight. There must be weeks, months probably, when the writing is on the wall and they're still trading knowing the receivers are hovering.

[GBPaddling]

And yet, most of the Main Dealers I've been in are arrogant beyond belief, never feel welcome in any of those places.

[mikecartlidge]

I worked as a mechanic for 48 years in the motorcycle trade, in the 70's and 80's I worked at a family run shop in Hull for many years. we had customers that bought their first bike from us, passed their test and bought bigger bikes from us, we gave the best service we could for people. In the mid 80's the company sold out to a supermarket type motorcycle retailer from west Yorkshire, things went down hill fast and, in the workshop we were told not to change the oil on second hand machines, I ignored that. They wanted more jobs pushed through the workshop using corner cutting practices as far as the quality of workmanship went. We heard tell that in their motorcycle sales invoices was a thing called sundry items and one salesman was bragging about charging fifteen pounds for a set of L plates, this was in the 1980's. From their take over I refused point blank to sign their employment contract and like a few of the staff that worked there I found another shop to work at and left.
The shop that this lot had taken over was on Beverley Road in Hull and did not last much longer before closure. As far as I am concerned the fewer supermarket chain type motorcycle shops there are the better.

[onwheels]

Awesome 👍. Let's get back to local Motor cycle dealerships and service.

[richardwalker]

Planet Ponzi shows it's hand. Debt fuelled acquisition binges work well when markets are rising and credit conditions are loose. That game has hit the wall. Whether it is motorcycles or anything else, I would not pre-order anything. You are right, stick with small independently owned businesses and don't go down the finance path, just buy what you can afford and make sure it's on the shop floor when you buy it.

[raymorris]

This is happening all over the country, my local dealer whent into receivership last weekend, KAWASAKI, RE and SUZUKI, 50 years they have been trading, Large dealer in Crawley has gone as well. The country is economically dying, motorcycle dealers are just the tip of the iceberg.

[joebloggs]

We've all been to motorcycle meets, race meetings etc, its not bikes and dealerships we're running out of its us, riders, no or very little new blood coming into motorcycling.

[bencluroe]

I think this is exactly why the likes of RE and CF MOTO are doing much better. There bikes are accessible to the average person, on average wages. The main players really need to look at their astronomical prices. The market of people buying them must be tiny in reality. I think it all contributes to the decline of motorcycling in general, it’s becoming unaffordable.
Just my humble opinion of course.

[twowheelsoneleg]

In Scotland we've just lost Saltire Motorcycles, a great dealership that will be much missed. IMO the motorcycle industry is struggling and the manufacturers are not willing to share the pain. While we like to complain about main dealers the truth is the bike companies screw the dealers at every stage, setting unrealistic sales targets and excessive charges for showroom décor, computer systems, training, special tools and much more

[AngelaBrace]

Who remembers Coburn & Hughes back in the 70's ? They went bust because although they sold tons of bikes, the margins were tiny as they tried to undercut all other dealers. This was made worse by the fact that most buyers just bought the bike and nothing else like gear & servicing etc. History repeats itself it seems !

[grahamx]

Anybody remember Carnell and Motorcycle City a few years back? You can almost predict it given the way they were buying dealerships. The directors have been in the motor trade for quite a few years and the reputation is less than squeeky clean. I live close to the area that you were riding (Ledbury, Ross on Wye) and you are surprisingly close to where some of the directors come from!
I feel sorry for the customers, staff and the BSB team. Very sad times given the state of UK motorcycling at the moment.

[stevedavies-ppdp]

Donkeys years ago I worked for a small independent motorbike shop part time ( mechanic ) and I remember the boss saying we’ve been invited to become a main dealer for ‘ I won’t name the brand but I imagine they are all the same’ . Wow I thought we gonna be posh 😂😂😂 but then as time went on he looked into it more and the level of debt he would have to take on to ‘decorate the shop’ the amount of debt in special tools etc but mostly ( and this where the figures got really silly ) spares and then the actual stock … you have to buy a certain amount of ‘all models’ and order and commit ‘the year before’ and depending how many you order is what discount you get ( that’s your profit margin ) …. Needless to say he stayed a very small scale independent bike shop . So today when you see dealers going bust ( remember bikers are a dying breed, more dying /retiring than taking their licence today ) and manufacturers now churning out £34, 000 toys, with voge and cf moto selling the same things for less than 1/3price … that leaves dealers not manufactures holding the baby

[sandj]

Very good video this.
Harley Davidson are struggling.
Some bikes are over £40, 000 new, not selling, poor product line and over £200/hour service costs.
Second hand prices are tumbling.
Classics aren't making what they did, and auction fees and commissions are extortionate.
It's the start of a perfect storm.
Small independants will, and deserve to, survive but a lot of the 'big box' dealerships will go to the wall due to prices, overheads etc.
Big reset coming.

[Mid-Knife-Crisis]

I visited the Hinckley branch on Saturday and was surprised it was closed for a stock take.
Apparently not!
When you have thousands of bikes sitting there and not selling, this is inevitable. Poor management and people can not afford expensive bikes at the moment.

[michaelp]

The state of the roads and the amount of cars on UKs roads have made me jack bikes in.

[TheLiamis]

The markets are full of cheap used bikes and for most of us a 1999 cbr is just as fast as a 2024 cbr r at 3 grand instead of 30 grand.

[maskedavenger]

The problem is, it costs an arm & a leg to get a full motorcycle licence these days . Back in the day, you bought a new or used small capacity bike on a provisional licence, rode it about for a while with L plates, took a test costing buttons for a full licence . Also the insurance on small bikes for 17 year was a few quid a year even fully comp . Now it’s probably cheaper for a 17 year old to get a full car licence . If it wasn’t for Indian & Chinese built motorcycles & fast food delivery, motorcycling would be even further on the way out . & many more dealers in the hands of the receiver .

[WyreForestBiker]

I fear there is much more to come, all dealers are struggling and when you see previously mainstream showrooms taking on Chinese and Indian brands just to shift some units it shows the traditional bike market is crumbling. IMO The Worcester Ducati dealership was always going to fail, a huge prime location showroom trying to sell enough Ducati's to make a profit ?
The 2nd hand market that was inflated by the pandemic has still not reset and there is so much overpriced stock in showrooms everywhere it's ridiculous.
The same thing is happening in the car world mostly driven by the EV charade, with dealers faking sales of EV's by registering new cars and immediately offering them as 2nd hand vehicles with huge discounts ... It's simple, people don't want over complicated overpriced bikes and they don't want EV's fullstop, despite what the industry tries to make us believe ....It's a financial Armageddon waiting to happen.

[chrisjonesbath]

Ah, that explains why Thunder Road Cwmbran was shut when I went there on Friday. Thanks for the update. I feel like I've dodged a bullet here. Sorry for all those who haven't.