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Service in Houston?

9876 Views 19 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  jdg123, 
T
Can anyone recommend a shop in the Houston area for service? I am going to Katy tommorow to check out the Polaris West shop. Thay advertise Ducati on their web site and I want to look em over before I take the bike in.
Thanks
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G
whatever you do do not go to EX-IMPORT do not go to EX-IMPORT :( ... their is a honda store on 45north that sells and services Ducatis..... dont have a phone number....
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N
+1 on Eximport

No first hand experience with either, but...

http://www.motorcycles-unlimited.com/ has a good rep &

http://www.lunsfordshonda.com/ is the other Ducati dealer in town.

What are you needing to have done?
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T
Thanks for the heads up on Eximport, I need the 6k service and replace the cam belts. I checked the Katy shop out and although they are no longer a Ducati dealer they still provide service,can get parts, have the Ducati tech who serviced them when they were a dealer. The shop area looked nice, whatever that is worth. I think I will give them a shot when the time comes.
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S
I agree with avoid Eximport. ;)
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P
ttexan,

Of the three the shop on I45 is your best bet. Polaris is not a good shop to deal with,( they had their Ducati franchise pulled if that's any indication), Eximport is supposed to have a top notch mechanic, but I've heard good and bad. I've been dealing with Lundsford Honda/Ducati since 99 and for what you are looking for, (basic service), they are good. Anything requiring fine tuning I'd go to Advanced Motor Sports. It's a long way, but they are the best in Texas.

Al B.
97 900ss/sp
00 M900S
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Rainman
phonse said:
Anything requiring fine tuning I'd go to Advanced Motor Sports. It's a long way, but they are the best in Texas.
Click to expand...
I second that.

Al knows what he is talking about.
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JDuc
I have heard nothing but bad things about xImport...the shop just seems shady
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T
Thanks for all the responses guys. I was trying to avoid going to Lunsford but after reading phonse reply I think Lunsforf will be the place to go.
......Thanks to all
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guido
Metric Motorcycles

Hello, tttexan

If you don't want to make the trek to Austin or Alvarado (I think they are more than competent at AMS, but you will not get out cheaply...) try talking to Andy at Metric Motorcycles. They are just inside the N. Loop around Washington or thereabouts. He has hired a factory-trained Duck tech from ExImports and will perform very capable Ducati service at extremely competitive rates.
Since he is not an actual Ducati service place, I generally order any parts and bring them to 'em, and it greatly diminishes the wait time for service.
For instance, if I'm getting valves checked and belts changed, I'll have the belts and adjuster jam-nuts in hand when I bring the bike in, and generally pick it up the next day. I am not going to quote any prices (I'll let Andy do that) but I get out at about 1/4 the cost of AMS (of course, I'm also suplying parts).
Andy has a very well tuned machine shop, a dyno for setting up PowerCommanders and such, and is a certified RaceTech and Ohlins technician.
Personally, I think he deserves all of the business he can get. I trust him and his shop to do expert work at a reasonable price, something that's otherwise lacking in the Houston area.
I went to ExImport to purchase an oil filter and the two gaskets for my ST4S (drain plug and screen plug) and was told that the screen plug gasket would have to be ordered, "it would be a week to ten days"....
I left (empty-handed) thinking "you slackers are an actual Ducati repair facility?"......

Anyway, I think Andy and Metric Motorcycles deserves to be the "official" Ducati go-to-guy in these parts!

respectfully posted,
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TonyTuzz
+1 on Andy at Metric. I have had horrible experiences with eximport and lunsford. Having a Ducati sign out front is not what's important- what is important is having a tech with a brain, who thinks and cares about their work. Andy is meticulous, and a good guy.

He also does high performance work- head porting, cam degreeing, dyno tuning. He is the only shop in the area where I didn't get a blank stare when I asked about cam degreeing with my dyno tune...
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jdg123
i bought my supersport at eximport (they were the only shop around with a supersport in stock). i had no complaints about the sale. it actually went well. i had heard to be carefull of their service though. i called around for my 600 mile service and bob lundsford service center sounded friendly and down to earth on the phone. --and 40 bucks less than eximport. so i went to bob lundsford. they got me in and out with no appointment. no scams. no extra charges. and friendly service. i will definately consider bob lundsford for my next service.

just my 2 cents
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M
Motorcycles Unlimited (281) 444 0545 Patrick
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J
Stay away from Eximport. I have heard good things about Metric Motorcycles. They did the valves and belt on my ST4 (previous owner) and he spoke very well of them.
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TonyTuzz
matrix81 said:
Motorcycles Unlimited (281) 444 0545 Patrick
Click to expand...
Patrick is great, too, especially if you live on the north end. They supported me while I was racing. Unforunately, they are more into routine service than porting, degreeing, and dyno tuning which is where my focus is now...
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jdg123
TonyTuzz said:
Patrick is great, too, especially if you live on the north end. They supported me while I was racing. Unforunately, they are more into routine service than porting, degreeing, and dyno tuning which is where my focus is now...
Click to expand...
i live in plantersville so the farther north the better for me. where is motorcycles unlimited? is he ducati certified?
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M
jdg123 said:
i live in plantersville so the farther north the better for me. where is motorcycles unlimited? is he ducati certified?
Click to expand...

www.motorcycles-unlimited.com send him an email hes a nice person
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jdg123
thank you!!!
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TonyTuzz
jdg123 said:
i live in plantersville so the farther north the better for me. where is motorcycles unlimited? is he ducati certified?
Click to expand...
There's no real designation for Ducati certified unless you hire someone away from one of the dealers which I have been terribly unimpressed with.

Patrick is just a seriously ocd guy whose favorite subject is fixing things the right way. The Ducati focus seems to have occurred in the last couple of years when he started riding a Monster S4R as his personal bike.

Their race prep on my old bike (safety wire, with q/r clips, vinyl tubing protection, etc.) bordered on art and was extremely functional.

I would also recommend one of their $50 baseline suspension setups. It's the cheapest, best upgrade you can make to a new bike. Bring your gear.
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jdg123
TonyTuzz said:
There's no real designation for Ducati certified unless you hire someone away from one of the dealers which I have been terribly unimpressed with.

Patrick is just a seriously ocd guy whose favorite subject is fixing things the right way. The Ducati focus seems to have occurred in the last couple of years when he started riding a Monster S4R as his personal bike.

Their race prep on my old bike (safety wire, with q/r clips, vinyl tubing protection, etc.) bordered on art and was extremely functional.

I would also recommend one of their $50 baseline suspension setups. It's the cheapest, best upgrade you can make to a new bike. Bring your gear.
Click to expand...


The suspension set up sounds like a great way to get in and say hi.

I would worry about voiding warranty by having scheduled maint. done at a place other than certified ducati mechanic.
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