Vallantine Motor Works - Seattle, WA

I've been taking my bikes to Mick Vallantine at Vallantine Motor Works since acquiring my first BMW in 2006. Mick did a great job at a fair price of maintaining my K75S, then my RTP, and now my RTP and my GSA.

It appears that Mick is scaling back his involvement in his business, as he has taken an indefinite leave of absence from his shop. Daily operations have been turned over to two mechanics - one named Mark and the others name I don't yet know. Mark reports that Mick has gone to Utah for the fall, and will be traveling through Southeast Asia over the winter. It sounded as if Mick might return in the spring, but nothing is definite. Mark says Mick still owns the shop's building at 3909 Aurora Ave. North in Seattle, but Mick is no longer wrenching there, at least for the foreseeable future.

I was disappointed with my first visit to the "new" shop, but I'm going to give them another chance to fix an electrical issue that wasn't properly addressed the first time around, and I'll keep this forum updated with my experiences with the new regime at Vallantine Motor Works.

That is great news. I knew Mick long before he opened his own shop. He needs a break. None of us are getting younger and times and circumstances change for all of us. I doubt he left the shop to dunderheads. Give the new guys a chance, they had a great teacher, but some electrical problems can get expensive if you want the shop to chase them.

Had a return visit to Mark and Dana at VMW to finish the electrical repair yesterday. Mark completed the job under budget and two hours ahead of time, so I'm pleased thus far.

I'd be much happier if my bikes stopped needing tires, service, repair, etc. I'd much prefer to be ignorant on such matters.