beemer shops in L.A. CA?

recently moved to LA from Miami Fl. I really wish i could have riden my bike the whole way, but at least i was able to haul it along.Its the first time i've traveled coast to coast, what an amazing adventure, if only i had more time and money.

While in Miami i had great help working on the bike from a few veterans in the game, John Long and a good friend Jim H. Now that im L.A. im not quite sure where to go for help, that is besides this great forum! mainly im currently looking into redoing the top end on my R90/6. not sure how bad a condition they're in, its running, just on real low compression i think something around 90/100. so im assuming my valves need some work and possibly replacing along with what ever else i can discover in the process. im not sure if i should bring the heads into a BMW Specialist or a local shop? i also was wondering if there are any meets out here, i was at the long beach swap meet over the weekend and only saw 1 beemer as i was leaving. i was hoping to meet a few locals and share or trade some parts. thanks

Join the airheads group and attend a local tech day to meet the locals. There's also a few MOA clubs in the area. Grab the Anonymous Book and see who's in your local area. Also realize that in CA, it's not unusual to belong to clubs centered in other parts of the State since we tend to travel year round.

You'll discover the Salton Sea east of San Diego, Big Sur, Grand Canyon, the east side of the Sierras, etc. Just remember that we really do have curves in the roads out here..not those 90 degree things back in FL ..oh and real mountain passes too!

beemerguru said:

Join the airheads group and attend a local tech day to meet the locals. There's also a few MOA clubs in the area. Grab the Anonymous Book and see who's in your local area....we really do have curves in the roads out here..not those 90 degree things back in FL ..oh and real mountain passes too!

Click to expand...

Thanks...

Anonymous Book ??

ive been dying to ride the curves for a while, and now that im here i cant until i rebuild my MC...

If you belong to the MOA, you get a free Anonymous Book every year (or should).

It lists BMW owners all over the world who are available to help if traveling near or far, need advice, a tow, parts, a place to work on your bike, maybe a place to stay while traveling, etc.

i guess i should change my home adress, the mail from here still goes to my dads house in miami. i havent checked in a while, nor have i received any mail from MOA that im aware of.

You're going to love it out here.

There are a couple of good BMW shops, but not in the immediate LA basin. Irv Seaver in Orange (Orange County) has mechanics that have been on the job for 20-30 years in some cases. There is also a BMW dealership in (I think) Woodland Hills that comes highly recommended.
But honestly, this forum is your absolute best resource. The info you get here can be taken with you to a shop, and you won't feel like you're in the dark about whatever repairs are recommended. Or, you can do what I did and decide to service your bike yourself. And I probably would not have taken it on had it not been for this forum. I have yet to be disappointed by any of the advice I've received here, and no question has gone unanswered.

Also, there is a BMW of Hollywood...but I've had a couple of bad experiences there. They are not strictly a BMW dealership, they sell several lines of bikes.
And if you would like a nice, leisurely day spent in the mountains and canyons, PM me. I start in Malibu, take the back roads up to Ojai for lunch, then home again. Roughly 180-210 miles depending on where you live. It makes a great day of riding...and the Eastern Sierras seem to be OWNED by Beemers these days!

This is Airheads??? Right?

Check with your local AirMarshall.

gertiektn said:

This is Airheads??? Right? Check with your local AirMarshall.

Click to expand...

???

In the Airheads Beemer Club, each state has a member who is designated the Air Marshall. They sort of oversee the activities of the state, maybe issue notices of local events, host Tech Days at their place or at other member's houses.

For a listing of Airhead friendly shops around the country, visit:

http://micapeak.com/bmw/Airhead-Shops.html

Irv Seaver in Orange is a well known name in the Beemer community.

There is also Long Beach BMW on Spring Street.

Having spent all summer in LA, a coworker and I planned on getting parts for our respective BMW's from a mom n pop shop called.. Gina's. I think.

I never made it there, so I can't remember the name. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Los Angeles area shops include:

Valdi's Motozone http://valdis-motozone.com/

Angel City Cycles http://www.angelcitycycle.com/service.htm

I've also heard a few disparaging remarks about the Hollyweird place...

Gina's is in Iowa... you may have been thinking of West Valley Cycle Sales http://www.westvalleycycle.com/ but I hear very mixed info about them, seems to depend greatly on your personal relationship there.

For used parts (only), Joshua Buck has his Parts Haus in Long Beach, but I didn't find the website for that.

Pauls1150 said:

Gina's is in Iowa... you may have been thinking of West Valley Cycle Sales http://www.westvalleycycle.com/ but I hear very mixed info about them, seems to depend greatly on your personal relationship there.

Click to expand...

That's it!

Laurie was the name I was trying to think of.

I stopped in West Valley last year while I was on a business trip just to see what was going on. I guess since I wasn't a "regular", they weren't real open with me. Nice enough, I suppose, but I just didn't seemed to be welcomed.

crazydrummerdude said:

That's it!

Laurie was the name I was trying to think of.

Click to expand...

Laurie Richter-Watson and her husband Don Watson own West Valley Cycle Sales. The shop was founded by Laurie's parents, Jay and Ruth, in 1950. They picked up BMW (in addition to NSU and Mustang) in 1955. They are the oldest continuously operated dealership in the country.

Their store is a tiny shop that only barely acknowledges BMW's corporate style requirements. Because they own their own building and the land under it, they charge significantly lower shop rates than dealers that have to make the rent. ($70/hour the last time I was in.) There are photos on the wall that show the same building when there was 25 feet of dirt between the store and the 2 lane country road they were on; outside the windows now is only concrete and asphalt as far as the eye can see.

The same independence that Laurie shows to BMW NA's edicts sometimes rubs people the wrong way. That is to say, Laurie can be more than a bit stubborn.

The coffee (in a percolator) is always on in the mornings; the shop regulars come by on Saturday to shoot the breeze; there's a monthly breakfast ride, a picnic, an Xmas party and other events during the year. If you want to visit an old time motorcycle shop and not a corporate boutique, this is the place to come.

Disclaimer: I have been a customer and friend there since I bought an R65 from them in 1981. I also did their website. (Read through the monthly newsletters there to get a feeling for Laurie's character.)