Cycle World of Athens — Local services in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

My husband bought a brand new Honda Shadow here in the summer of 2020, and the purchasing experience went wonderfully. Since then, it’s been a nightmare. Within the first month, he noticed the forks were squeaking when he rode. He took it back to CycleWorld and they seemingly fixed it.

Fast forward to a month ago, the problem is back. He takes it back to CycleWorld and they try to tell him this squeaking is caused by debris in the brake pads - didn’t make sense but we thought they knew better. So when they called and said it was ready, we headed up there only to find it hadn’t been fixed.

Another technician looked it over and said we had two options - to spray some sort of lubricant in there every time we noticed the squeak OR replace the seals for 220. Now, in that moment my husband was more concerned over whether this issue was something Honda had noticed and if they had a fix for it, but Cycle World didn’t seem too concerned about what Honda had to say. Although this squeak was just an annoyance, why recommend a 200 dollar fix instead of checking with the manufacturer to see if this was a common thing?

My husband decided to stick with lubricating the forks for now, and he went back to enjoying his bike. His first ride after getting the bike back he noticed the brakes were spongy and not as responsive as before. Considering they diagnosed the squeak in the forks as debris in the brake pads - this problem clearly came from them messing with the brakes, so we made ANOTHER trip out to them so they could fix their mistake. My husband goes to pick it up, and it is leaking brake fluid at the front brake master cylinder. When he brought that to the attention of Sid, he was effectively blown off. They wiped it up, took it for a quick test drive and told him it was fine. He just got home, and it is still leaking. He also noticed grease all over his white matte bike. How hard is it to clean up after yourself when you touch someone else’s things?

All of these experiences go to show once they have your money, they don’t care to put in good work. We went from being lifetime customers to never willingly stepping foot into CycleWorld again. My husband will be replacing his own O ring at the site of the leak, and any future issues will be addressed at another shop. CycleWorld has proven they are more concerned about getting bikes in and out than they are doing...

I legitimately have no clue how this place gets more than 2 stars. The salesman are incompetent, rude, and the prices are outrageous. If you are thinking of buying here, 10/10 times searching the web you will find a better deal elsewhere. I went in there to simply purchase a new pair of boots however, there were no boots in sight. Not along the walls, or in the middle of the store. There gear selection is a joke- including the prices. Also, no one greeted me as I walked in or out of the store. I was seemingly unnoticed by any one of the staff members and I literally walked the entire store. How in the world does a store full of over-staffed employees miss a paying customer walking in, around, and out of your store? I didn't make eye contact with a single person and that just goes to show me that customer service is seriously, and I mean seriously lacking in this place. Sales members were either talking to other sales members or on their phone. I rated this place 1 star for their collection of bikes and that's the only excuse I could come up with for even considering a 1-star rating. The same brand new 2018 Yamaha R3 bike I just purchased runs a solid 3 grand less elsewhere with ABS.

I will continue going to my local shop in Lawrenceville, GA called Cycle Gear for any motorcycle gear. They have LOADS of gear for any of your biking needs and their online store is easy to use, uses secure encryption, and doesn't lock up on the first screen (Which, Cycle Worlds webpage does not use a secure encryption- I would be skeptical about purchasing anything online that does not have the green-lock in the URL bar).

As far as for bikes, my family and I were referred to Marietta Mountain Motorsports to purchase a bike and the deals and sales team were so awesome, we purchased 2 new bikes. The sales team is amazing, the warranties are unbeatable, and the prices are incomparable. Yes, my family and I drove 1 1/2 hours away to Marietta for what? Customer service. Take your money to places who appreciate what you work hard for.

Cheers and epic...

I brought my 2011 GSX-R 750 in and asked that you get it up and running, I was told what was "wrong" with it and quoted 1000+ dollars for the "work" that needed to be done.

The technician that supposedly worked on my bike for weeks was fired.

I was then quoted $1200+ to replace my exhaust system because the wastegate actuator was "stuck". (The waste gate actuator is not needed, it doesn't boost or reduce power, and can be removed for free) and It wasn't stuck I could move it with my pinky finger.

The initial problem was the bike bogging down at half throttle, I was told this was fixed, and it started up again the same day I took the bike home. I essentially paid $1000 to be told false information, receive a still limped bike, have a battery & gas cap replaced, and have my breaks flushed. Worst experience I've ever had at any shop.

I, a garage mechanic then diagnosed the bike myself after the flop at your shop and realized it was the fuel pump & apparently a module had been replaced before I purchased the bike and needed to be re-installed. I haven't replaced it yet, because of life & money. But ALL your shop had to do was properly diagnose the bike and I'd be a happy rider today. The $1000+ I spent at your shop could've actually fixed the bike. Such a wasted experience. I then quoted the fix on the bike myself and it's $350 for parts, maybe 1-2H of labor.

When I called back to ask why the bike still had the same problem the answer was "we fired that technician, bring the bike back and we can look at it in a few weeks and provide a new quote" No sense of customer urgency, no sense of responsibility, nothing.

Absolutely disgusted.

I've had multiple people ask me what shop they should take their bike to and I urged them to steer clear of the corporate money...