Cycle Therapy NYC — Attraction in New York

I needed to get my bike inspected, but my usual place no longer offers inspections, and the nearest alternative required an appointment, which is incredibly inconvenient with my unpredictable schedule. So, I decided to give Cycle Therapy a try. They didn’t require appointments, which was a relief. However, they charge $6 upfront, so once you pay, you're committed.

The gentleman at the counter initially told me I’d have to wait 25 minutes, but I ended up waiting 40. I thought, "Okay, whatever, as long as I get this over with." When my bike was finally inspected, I noticed the inspector was extremely thorough—more meticulous than anyone I’d encountered before. I was shocked when it didn’t pass inspection.

The issues? My number plate light wasn’t working, which I knew about, but I didn’t realize it would be a problem. And to my surprise, half the LEDs on the rear left turn signal were out. Despite this setback, I was impressed with the inspector, Ace. He seemed calm, intelligent, and took the time to explain everything clearly. He reassured me that the bike was otherwise in good condition, aside from the light issue. I left determined to fix the lights and come back.

After installing a new taillight unit myself, I discovered my chain needed replacing—one link was completely dead, causing uneven tension. This delayed my return to Cycle Therapy for re-inspection by 20 days and added 173 miles to my odometer while I waited for the new chain and sprockets. Once everything was sorted, I returned to Cycle Therapy.

Upon arrival, Ace asked if I could come back in half an hour because he was busy and hadn’t had lunch yet. I chose to wait since I live far away. This time, the inspection was quick—just ten minutes—but then I was hit with another blow: the steering bearing needed replacing. Three weeks earlier, there had been no problems, and I had only ridden 173 miles since the last inspection!

When I asked for an explanation, Ace shrugged and said he wasn’t a technician, referring me to another guy who quoted me $50 for the part and over $300 for labor. After just 173 miles, my steering bearings were suddenly deemed unsafe? It was incredibly frustrating.

Not being a technician myself, I inspected the steering but found nothing wrong. Still unsure, I took the bike to my regular mechanic for a second opinion. He didn’t find any issues and assured me the bike was safe to ride. My mechanic would’ve been more than happy to find problems so I’d pay him to fix them, but he found nothing amiss.

Needless to say, I won’t be returning to Cycle Therapy. I’m frustrated by the experience, especially after the initial favorable impression. I’ll be sure to share my experience with my riding friends. Why do some shops operate this way? Is it really worth trying to make extra money by inventing unnecessary problems and ruining their reputation in the process?

This is the reply to the owner's response:

It seems there's been a misunderstanding. Either I'm being confused with another customer (which is understandable but concerning), or there's an attempt to undermine my credibility, which I truly hope isn't the case.

I generally don't write reviews; if I'm dissatisfied with a service, I simply don't return. However, my experience compelled me to express my frustration. Please take a moment to re-read my review and try to recall my visits. I’ve only been to your shop twice—most recently today, September 4th—not three times as you mentioned. I never argued about the plate light. I admitted that it needed to be fixed, and that was fair. In fact, that’s why I returned for the reinspection. If there had been an issue on my part, I would have acknowledged it, which is why I left without any bad feelings—I had a good impression of you at the time. Additionally, I’ve never used any sort of remote control, and I ride a Yamaha, not a GSXR. So, everything that you mentioned in your response is completely inaccurate. Again, I hope you're just confusing me with...

Use this shop at your own risk or if you love burning money.

My bike (1970 BSA 650) shutoff while riding it. Unfortunately, I was near this shop when it happened. I say "unfortunately" because I already had a couple bad experiences with them, but I was closest to it and didn't have money for a tow. I asked them to charge my battery, they said "we have to check the whole charging system". I just wanted the battery charged so I could ride to the shop I trust, but they insisted and I was stuck so I agreed. $100 plus $7.95 for "MISCELLANEOUS SHOP SUPPLIES". Then after a week of holding my bike they finally called and said "you need a new charging system". $350 labor, plus parts. A new stator for my bike runs between $100-$200 depending on the brand and quality, they certainly would've ordered the cheapest one (if they bothered to change it at all) and charged more for it. So they were looking to charge me at least $500. I told them to leave my bike as is and had it towed to a trusted shop. My trusted shop called, the very next day, and said I had a blown fuse and my bike was ready. A fuse for my bike is less than $10. That's the experience I had today. If you want to know more, read about my previous bad experiences.

My other bike (2000 Royal Enfield) had a malfunctioning break light. They would not pass it for inspection. They said it was probably a bad switch and it would be about $350 in labor to diagnose and fix the problem plus parts. Instead, I rode it to my trusted shop and it turned out to be a simple problem with the break switch located in the tool box that they fixed in front of me in 3 minutes with a screwdriver and the owner wouldn't take any money for the work. (Someone knocked my bike over while parking and the tool box got dented affecting that switch.)

Cycle Therapy is only good if you want to overpay for equipment or need a bottle of oil. If you bring your bike for inspection they will see cracks in your tires that don't exist and say you need new ones to pass then sell them to you for several hundred dollars. They caught me with that scam the first time bought a bike (1970 BSA 250) and sucked over $500 out of my wallet for the tires and mounting them. (After checking the date on them I noticed the tires were manufactured several years prior which is another problem). Had I gone to another shop for the inspection with the same tires I would've saved $500. Bike inspections are simply a revenue stream for them to get money out of you.

I've now had 3 bad experiences with them and would not recommend this shop to my worst enemy. They're friendly, they sound really knowledgeable, but if they act like you're their chum it's because they are sharks looking to feast on you. I did not post a review when the first two incidents happened because I was giving them the benefit of the doubt and don't like badmouthing businesses, but I am now convinced this shop is run in a manner that is either dishonest or their mechanics are so incompetent they don't know how to check or fix bikes. They have been in business too long to not know how to check or fix a bike so that narrows it down for me. This shop is like going to Best Buy to buy batteries for your laptop, that is totally fine, and being told it doesn't work anymore and you need a new computer and they'll migrate all the data from the old one to the new one for you for just a few hundred bucks on top of the cost of the new computer. If you go to this shop they will rob you.

P.S. I gave them one star that they don't deserve just because you can't post a review with no stars, which is what...

INSURANCE FRAUD & SO MUCH MORE

Do yourself a favor and take your bike to any shop other than Cycle Therapy.

My experience started when I was in a minor accident with a cab. I brought it in for an insurance estimate. CT charges 10% of the estimate total as a "Deposit". What this "Deposit" really is is a guarantee that they will get you to spend 100% of your settlement with them. If the estimate is for $1000 they hold $100. The only way you will ever see this deposit is if you send another $900 on the items listed on the estimate. Let's say you don't want to fix a small scratch on a fender but want to use the money for new tires? You are our of luck and they are $100 richer.

Now for the INSURANCE FRAUD. As you can see from above, they benefit from a larger estimate. With no more than a visual inspection they will begin running up a tally on your bike. My bike, for example, had a bent foot peg. They used this to claim the entire frame was bent. They ran the estimate up to $5,000 and collected their $500. While my insurance company was willing to pay the $5,000 to salvage the bike I had an emotional connection with the bike and decided to try fixing the foot peg mount first. Well, I did and guess what? The foot peg was strait as an arrow. I came back to Cycle Therapy and asked them to remove the frame from the estimate. They did and issued me another estimate for $1500. I asked for a refund and they said they needed to wait for proof of what the insurance company paid me. So, weeks went by and I finally received my settlement. I gave CT my information and they validated the $1500 payout.

Now, I asked them to refund the difference in the estimates (the deposit) which would have come to $350. They then claimed the frame was still bent. When I asked them to prove it they said they could see it through a visual inspection. Now they were holding my deposit hostage and coming up with any reason they could not to pay me. So, I asked them to get the specs from Triumph and compare- to truly verify. Well, they could not locate the specs and could not prove the frame was bent. They still insisted that it was bent so they could keep my money.

$350 is not the point here. I have been to the shop over 5 times and wasted so much of my time in frustration. I would be happy if they were to donate the $350 to a charity- but they don't deserve it and have been horrible and shady to work with.

I will submit another posting on their other shady business practices. I just wanted to get this post up to warn you guys- you can find a better shop out there. There are plenty of reputable places. Take the time to find one- this isn't it.

best of luck...