Month: June 2020

Sunstate Motorcycles based on the Gold Coast, Fraser Coast and Sunshine Coast have been selling motorcycles for years, but are they still worth buying from?

We’ve created this totally unbiased review of their dealership. No – we don’t have any commercial or business relationship with these guys.

Just like you, we’re 2-wheel enthusiasts. We prefer to get on the dirt and the Frontaer brand is growing strong month on month across the world.

Recently we went into Sunstate Motorcycles and designed to detail our experiences.

Sunstate Motorcycles Review

There are some great dealerships and not so great dealerships out there. Reading online reviews is one thing, but actually going into the store is another. You could completely have a different experience, either positive or negative, compared to what’s online.

The Sunstate Motorcycles dealerships average low 4 star reviews. Is this bad? That depends on who left the negative complaints and criticism.

You see, there is a small minority within the motorcycling community who are inheritly negative and will find any reason to leave a 1-star review. Part not in stock? Not good enough. Busy store with customers? 1-star rating instantly.

This is why we take things with a grain of salt and recommend you simply head into the stores yourself, whether that’s Sunstate or anyone else.

Where they are

Did you know there are 6 stores in total? Some of them stock motocross gear while others are more road bike and jet ski orientated.

Each of these dealerships has their own unique motorcycles, parts and gear so it’s wise to figure out what you’re looking for first.

Social media channels

Social media is a big thing nowadays. While the older generation has been reluctant to get onboard, there is a bigger crowd of 20 to 35’s now riding motorcycles either on the road or on the dirt.

For this reason, dealerships do need to at the very minimum have a Facebook and Instagram page. Most importantly – they should be posting quite regularly like every 2 to 3 days.

That is certainly the case with Sunstate for both their Facebook page and Instagram page. Plenty of great content and it isn’t really ‘sales-ey’ like other dealerships we’ve reviewed recently.

What’s unique

These guys are independent and aren’t associated with just one brand. Therefore you’ll find them able to recommend other brands. For example, let’s say you’re looking to buy an adventure motorcycle. Well, the Triumph Tiger is one option, but so is the Yamaha Super Tenere or KTM 690R.

Also, their stores are much more family-orientated. You can go in there with kids in tow and not get a stern look. Kids will love checking out the jet skis and Polaris 4x4s as well as the little dirt bikes as well.

Final verdict on Sunstate Motorcycles

So then with that in mind, should you buy from these guys? If you value the trust and reputation of an established branch of stores with competitive prices – then sure! Their average review rating is also higher than the industry average which is excellent to see.

Not everyone is happy, but just remember the people who want to blow things out of proportion. Those are the type of people who you don’t really want to ride with.

Sunstate Motorcycles therefore, is one of just a few that we’d recommend for Queenslanders.

Yamaha World Adelaide is a well-known motorcycle and jet ski dealership located in Melrose Park, but do they live up to customer expectations?

We have created an unbiased review based on our opinions and research. Essentially there is no commercial business relationship between ourselves and Yamaha World in Adelaide.

We’re just like you and enjoy the world on 2-wheels! Looking for places to ride offroad? We’ve got you covered:

Yamaha World Adelaide review

We’ve been through quite a number of Adelaide-based dealerships over the years so we know a thing or two about what to look for. As a brand, our expectations are pretty damn high.

Some of these dealerships leave a lot to be desired. Others provide an outstanding experience and you look forward to going back for more.

So then how does Yamaha World in Melrose Park fare? Given the limited options in South Australia for a Yamaha dealership, then are easily the biggest in town and only 15 to 20 minutes south of the CBD.

In addition to selling new and used Yamaha motorcycles and wave runners (we really call them jet skis, don’t we?), you’ll find plenty of parts and apparel inside.

Customer experiences

When we look at how well a dealership performs, it always comes down to their online reputation. Some places don’t care about what others are saying while others do and place a strong emphasis about the entire customer experience.

Essentially, the best dealerships will bend over backwards to win a customer over for the long term.

Indeed that appears the case with Yamaha World as their online reviews are staggeringly high. But then again not everyone is happy. Why?

Well, the most common complaints stem towards not having all the parts in stock as well as the dealership is a little loud (they’re on South Rd after all…) as well as busyness on weekends. We recommend going in on a Tuesday when it’s pretty quiet in there, especially in the morning.

What they have

You’ll find the dealership to be pretty well full of dirt bikes, road bikes and jet skis. But if you look further afield you’ll also find the popular Yamaha merchandise.

Let’s not forget the genuine Yamaha parts and servicing on offer. Their mechanics are pretty knowledgeable and will point you in the right direction. If you urgently need a part from Sydney then they can order and have it flown over pretty quickly. That’s the power of a national chain of stores instead of an independent dealer.

What they really have is strong customer service as you’d expect from the Yamaha brand. Everyone is passionate and most of their staff ride very regularly.

There is also lots of parking and if you need to bring a trailer to pick up an unregistered MX bike then that’s pretty straight forward. Plenty of room there!

Their history

These guys have been in the same spot for years and years now. They have built a strong following of people who keep going back again and again because it’s so easy to find.

They are certainly one of Adelaide’s biggest and best dirt bike stores while also serving bitumen warriors and jet ski enthusiasts.

In recent years they have moved towards the online space with their Facebook and Instagram accounts starting to get some good content. Still, you can’t really order much from their online store and so you’re better off calling up if you’re chasing a particular part.

Final verdict on Yamaha World

If you’re in Adelaide and you love the Yamaha brand as much as we do, it’s hard to go past this dealer. They’re doing great today just as they did yesterday and will do tomorrow.

Are they any good? Yes. Are they perfect? No. We’re all human and have our off-days. And not all customers can be impressed either with their refund requests and therefore you’ll find those 1-star reviews rising on occasions.

What you will find there is expertise and a friendly team who knows their craft and that to us is essentially more than enough. The only other good alternative in town is Peter Stevens which is worth calling up for a price-match.

Either way – get that throttle twisted and we’ll see you out there on the trails!

Extreme Outdoors Australia sells dirt bikes and quad bikes, but are they worth it? We decided to create an unbiased review of what they have.

We have no commercial or business relationship and hope to simply provide consumers with a zero-affiliation opinion based on our research.

After all – we love Adelaide and have even written this incredible guide:

Yep! You got it. Now there’s no excuses about where you can ride.

Extreme Outdoors Australia review

These guys actually sell a lot of things from camper trailers to imported dirt bikes and parts. They are also agents for the popular Opus camper trailers.

Strangely there are no toy haulers in their range but we look forward to that changing quite soon.

What really got our attention recently was their dirt bikes. They are certainly cheap! When you compare the offerings to Yamaha, Honda and KTM both for kids and adults, you’re probably going to easily save thousands of dollars.

Imagine they sell a 250cc for $2,500 Australian dollars. Bargain!

But then can such cheap dirt bikes be plagued with problems which are deemed within months to be too hard to fix? Well, we had to find out for sure.

It seems in the last 5 years the industry has really evolved in the dirt biking world. Instead of ‘cheap Chinese’ it’s now a case of ‘Reliable Chinese’ because their bikes are starting to get a reputation for actually doing the job. What’s lacking is the suspension and power, but otherwise you generally get a solid bike.

Don’t just take our word for it though! There are many who share that same opinion too. We’re still siding with the big brands for now in the mainstream dealers.

Customer experiences

Most people are pretty happy with the experiences with this mob. These days Extreme Outdoors sells mostly caravans and camper trailers though they do sell some of their cheap offroad motor bikes on the side.

Are they made in China? Yep. No other country on the planet can manufacture things this cheaply.

But are they any good? Actually…for the most part – yes! If you’re looking for a kids weekend toy that isn’t being thrashed on the MX track and instead is just used to develop riding skills, then this is a good idea.

See – with these Chinese bikes they’re designed to be ridden once or twice per month. On the other hand, manufacturers like KTM, Honda and Yamaha make their bikes to a standard, not to a price. For that reason, you can really open them up and they handle well offroad.

It seems from customer experiences and reviews on their dirt bikes that they’re mostly reliable and do the job, provided your kids are just toying around.

If money isn’t an object, we’d easily recommend the established brands.

The final verdict

So should you buy from these guys? Well, their camper trailers pack a ton of value as do their caravans. Personally we love the Opus camper trailers which they also sell.

As for the dirt bikes, well it’s a trade-off. You can buy something cheap just for the kids to mess around in on the paddock.

The type of bike that will last 2 to 3 years. Or invest in a brand name like Yamaha and KTM which can last 20 years. The challenge is coming up with that sorta cash.

If your kids are just learning, then we’d go with the Chinese bikes. These aren’t as low-quality as they used to be with Chinese manufacturers really raising their standards.

What are you thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

DA Motorcycles in Salisbury Plain near Adelaide sells Hyosung bikes as well as lots of accessories, but are they worth ordering from?

We’ve written an unbiased review of their dealership and we don’t have a commercial relationship with these guys.

It’s good for consumers to get a good opinion as to whether they are worth buying from.

DA Motorcycles review

Consumers seem to really enjoy the service at DA Motorcycles in Adelaide. With an average of 4.5 stars the friendly staff and great service has left people quite delighted.

There are some complaints however arising from their lack of parts (need to order in) and busy showroom on weekends. That’s a given and unavoidable in most instances.

If you would like an alternative, we’ve featured the best online dirt bike parts stores to help source that hard-to-find part. The problem there is, if you live in Adelaide, that it will take several days for Australia Post to deliver.

Dealership evaluation

So what are they really like? Well inside you’ll have a unique experience. These guys are more-so into the parts and selling used motorcycles as opposed to the latest KTMs, Hondas and Yamahas.

There is an extensive parts, service and repairs department. Often it’s cheaper to take your motorcycle here than to use the original dealership.

Brands on shelf include Fox, Maxima, RJays and Motol as you would expect. They also have a pretty decent range of helmets on offer.

Store history

One thing we really like to check when doing research for our reviews is the history of the store. It’s evident from the DA Motorcycles website that they started a long time ago and haven’t put much effort into updates.

Now running for 10 years, they have built a loyal customer base. The friendly staff seem to go the extra mile based on old fashioned service.

Social media status

One thing that’s a bit odd is the lack of social media presence. They don’t really do Instagram or YouTube however have an established Facebook page with 4,500+ people following since 2012.

At this time of writing their last post was a few months ago. While other dealerships have pushed hard on to social media and content creation, DA Motorcycles haven’t really kept up so this is mild criticism from us (and really, a 1st world problem). It’s clear with so many reviews that they are serving a crowd who doesn’t really use social media as much.

Their unique edge

This isn’t your big dealership with massive marketing spend. What they do have is a great workshop and dedicated mechanics to look after your repairs and servicing, or even just recommend parts for you to do the work yourself at home.

What we really love is their family-friendly nature. You’ll find kids dirt bikes at this store which are the cheaper alternatives to the popular PeeWee 50 models, as well as kids dirt bike clothing to protect ’em when they inheritly crash on Saturday afternoon.

The store itself is quite large and is open everyday including weekends except for some public holidays. Try to go during the week when it’s a bit quieter.

Final verdict on DA Motorcycles

So would we recommend DA Motorcycles? Yes. Their average review rating is very high and our experiences show that they know dirt bikes very well.

The popular clothing brands are there as are the parts and servicing department to look after you for the long term. Very competitive on prices too as they’re a smaller store. If you order parts online instead from online, expect to be waiting days and potentially miss a great weekend ride.

By the way – we know our stuff and we’ve written a guide showing you the best Adelaide dirt bike spots. Check it out!