Flat Out Motorcyles for Parts

[Guest]

Very happy with price, availability, delivery and customer service from this place. Highly recommend them.

Flat Out
8118 E. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46219
317-881-6686, 317-882-2453
Email: chris@flatoutmotorcycles.com

http://www.flatoutmotorcycles.com/fiche_select.asp

[minime]

Just ordered a set of cables and the site is a bit picky with browsers. I went from Opera to Firefox to IE. Just beware of that so you don't make two orders by mistake.

[bwringer]

Flat Out's about 15 minutes from my office, so let me know if you need anyone to yell at them for you... :-D

I agree with all the above, although I've had no problems using Firefox or Safari.

[Tom MLC]

Chris is a member of this forum. You could send him a PM. Maybe he can help solve your browzer challenge. His handle here is Chris@flatout.

[roscoe G coltrane]

This may be an isolated incident, but I was less than thrilled at the service I got at Flatout. 2 1/2 weeks to get my parts when they said it only takes 2 or 3 days for the parts to come from the warehouse.After 3 emails I still got no response. I finally called them and got an answer. I now go to a Suzuki dealer in Greensboro about 20 miles away and the prices are the same when you don't have to pay ripoff shipping prices. At least they call you when the parts are in. bwringer, next time you're in the store, tell em to put down the crack pipe and get to work!!!:razz:

[BassCliff]

I've been waiting almost two weeks for a part from Flatout. I got a response to my email yesterday that said it shipped yesterday. It's just a taillight lens. It might take another 4-5 days to get here. I wonder where he had to order it from?

Still, I did get a response to my email within 48 hours, but I do not have a tracking number.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Nessism]

Not making excuses for them but they have to order the parts from Suzuki and then wait for them to arrive. Some times the parts are not available in the local warehouse so they have to wait for them to come in from an alternate location. It would be nice if they told you the parts will be delayed but alas, it's a lot of extra work from them thus many places like this don't bother.

[chiphead]

Although their prices are good,last order I did took a looonnng time to get to me,one part was back ordered, which I canceled, then they shipped it anyway over three weeks later, which I refused and sent back.

[bwringer]

Overall, I think they could do a little better at communicating what's going on, but then again, they are at the mercy of the Suzuki warehouses, which don't communicate with them. Basically, you won't hear anything unless they actually have something to tell you, and I think this kinda freaks people out.

Most parts show up at Flat Out within a week or so, but once in a while, orders for obscure vintage parts take several weeks as the order works its way through Suzuki's warehousing system. Things aren't always usable or where they're supposed to be after 20 years in a warehouse, so sometimes a part marked as available turns out to be unavailable. Flat Out, or any dealer, has no control over this once the order is submitted and does not receive any status information back until the part arrives, goes on backorder, or the order is canceled as no longer available.

Keep in mind folks -- they stopped making these bikes well over twenty freaking years ago. I regard it as a minor miracle that parts are available at all, and it's amazing how many parts are still available.

Flatout's parts prices are the best I've found, and there's a real live human being (Chris) who's in charge. That's good enough for me. Plus, they're located about 20 minutes from my office.

Indiana sales tax reduces the price advantage for me somewhat, so I generally use BikeBandit for small simple orders since they will ship to my office, and they charge very little for shipping. BB also seems to be located closer to these mysterious Suzuki warehouses, so they usually ship things out within three days. BB also has online fiches for several makes, and wide availability at good prices for a lot of aftermarket stuff, so it's very convenient when you have a variety of stuff to order for a Suzuki, your wife's Honda, your buddy's Kawasaki, and you need a couple of tools, etc.

The disadvantage with BB is that parts generally cost a bit more (about 25% more, if you don't take into account sales tax) and there's no one you can actually talk to if things aren't right. You can call, but from the reports here, service is pretty bad if the order isn't right. If everything goes right, they're great.

[BassCliff]

I've been waiting almost two weeks for a part from Flatout. I got a response to my email yesterday that said it shipped yesterday. It's just a taillight lens. It might take another 4-5 days to get here. I wonder where he had to order it from?

Still, I did get a response to my email within 48 hours, but I do not have a tracking number.

(Heh, replying to my own post. Is that against the rules?)

I received my part, 13 business days after ordering it (ordered June 7, arrived June 26). I guess that's not too bad. But the lack of communication and a tracking number is a little disconcerting. It was the correct part and arrived in great shape. Not too much to complain about, I guess.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Baatfam]

Just recieved a couple of parts for my pit scooter from flatout....
Came in about a week...
The weird part was that I only ordered two small parts with a total price of less than $10....and it was sent via UPS with signiture required...
Lucky I was home when UPS showed up...usually I'm not....

Other than that....I've always had a good experiance with them....

Bob T.

[Red Rocket GS1100]

Signature required? Flat Out Busted!

Yeah I just had a bad experience with Flat out. Who does Signature required any more?
I have a local guy that can get me parts in just a week. But I thought (wrongly) that it would be better if I can have them delivered.
Well, when delivery requires LIVE SIGNATURE and both you and the ole' lady work for a living that becomes impossible. SO now I have to drive 30 minutes away to FETCH my parts that amount to less than 30 bucks.
I will no longer do business with Flat out. Flat out is Flat out busted so far as I am concerned.

[Jaguarjoe]

I did an order with Flatout and then made another order just 5 minutes later. They held up both orders because one 99 cent part was back ordered. When I talked to Chris he sent me both orders in one package but charged me shipping like they were separate orders. I paid $19.00 shipping for one small bag of parts!

I'm not overly impressed with Flatout.

[ALB80-850]

Had ordered intake boots for my 850GL. It took about 10 days, but I received them on 10/8. The order seemed to be for less than I remember, the invoice showed a $25.80 discount. Not complaning. Happy with this order. Not happy about "live sign" though. I was on vacation when the parts came, they were delivered on the 3rd attempt.

Andy

P.S. I did get new "o" rings to go with the new boots:-D

[Johnny K]

I have ordered a good amount of items from flat-out. Have been very happy with them. I have talked with Chris on the phone and he gave me a discount on the vesrah gasket kit for my 82' 850. Sometimes parts have come a day early when not expecting it, but glad because I was there to "live sign". The only down side to their company would be the "live sign" when you do receive the product ordered. But other than that, I have had good experiences with them and will continue to buy from them in the future with what my bike needs.