Who remembers Carnell's in Stacey Bushes Milton Keynes?

[FriendlyEllis]

We used to head up there on our mopeds (well my cool mate had a DT50..... I had a Melody) in the late 80's and sit on all the big boys bikes!!!

What happened to them?

Are there any 'Super Dealers' left and where are they?

Still like sitting on bikes I can't afford!!!

(Yes.... Before anyone says.. I am going to motorcycle live this week)

Just remember Carnell's being the nuts... Maybe just cause I was young.... Like the summers we're always sunny ..... And days with your mates lasted forever!!! (Sigh)
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Honda CB600F Hornet 2013 -> Kawasaki Z1000SX ABS Tourer 2015

[neatbik]

I remember Carnells in Birmingham, thinks its a J+S now though.

[Shaft]

Remember them well, got offered a job there, but decided I didn't fancy it, not my style.

Very hard sell orientated, in a market where car buyers weren't keen on that technique (they still aren't) and bike buyers were positively anti.

Expanded very rapidly, raped everyone who came through the door and then disappeared just as quickly, having got themselves a very poor rep along the way.

Never forgave them for taking over (and ruining) my favourite dealer, Cosmopolitan in Walworth Road.
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[Nb]

I remember them, its now a 360 play center which my daughter loves.
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Cbr1100xx blackbird gone, mk4 golf gt tdi chav now
Colin1 wrote 'Im grateful for what i can get, which isnt all that much.'
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[Polarbear]

I remember them getting absoulutly slagged off for crap service, ragging customers bikes, never doing what they promised. Ok it was a decent couple of hours wandering round looking at the shiney bikes, but buy from them

The only 'super dealer' round here (MK) , and I'm not even sure they would qualify for that title, is On Yer Bike.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Rogerborg]

[MarJay]

Carnell used to be Motorcycle City and they have always been shit.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[map]

[Copycat73]

yeah.. bought some tires there early 90`s ... as has been said didn`t last long....
there was another dealer opened up little bit south of carnells just off the A5 big building two floors lots of glass and a burger van out side... cannot remember the name
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[Matt B]

[Copycat73]

[Matt B]

Think it all went tits up in about 2003, can't be certain though.
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stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[Copycat73]

[andys675]

carnell's just jacked it in, they didn't go bust, but they realised if they did carry on it was going to, likewise when fowlers expanded to something like 'uk bike' and skellerns and pw in cannock all came under their wing, 13 outlets one year, gone the next

george white? writing was on the wall

motorcycles are a shrinking market in the uk, each motorcyclist needs to buy a helmet, gloves, pants, jacket, luggage etc, the big discount stores sell them a helmet for £20, gloves for £15, trousers for £30 and a jacket for £50, that takes that person out of the buying market for a while, and how much money have you made out of it? sod all really when you look at wages, rent, council tax, electric, heating, etc etc and then profit?
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Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.

[The Shaggy D.A.]

I remember Carnell's in MK, I bought my GT550 from there new in 93, I think.
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[FriendlyEllis]

[Matt B]

The closure of Carnell (or Riossi as they were rebranded as) was complex but basically down to a series of buyouts.

Old news from MCN in 2003:
There will be no Riossi dealerships left in the country by the end of the month, the firm announced on Thursday, June 5.
Five of the chain’s shops have been sold and the others will be closed by the end of the month if no buyers come forward.
Infinity Motorcycles, a clothing and accessories chain, has bought Riossi’s branches at Farnborough, Clapham, Purley, London’s Great Portland Street and Southampton.
Riossi’s parent company Dixon Motors issued a statement to MCN on June 5, saying it is negotiating with potential buyers for the other 15 stores.
But the statement added that " should negotiations be unsuccessful, these stores will close on June 30, 2003 " .
The move comes just over a year after Dixon Motors was bought out by Lombard, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland, for £110 million.
Dixon Motors chairman Paul Dixon said: " Disposing of the motorcycle division and concentrating on the core car retail business was always part of the strategy when Lombard acquired Dixon Motors. "

I didn't realise that Carnell/Riossi were also tied in with Infinity/Motorcycle City until I started looking back at it when this thread popped up. https://www.motorbikestoday.com/news/Articles/infinity_launch.htm
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stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[Copycat73]

[Matt B]

They rebranded and changed the name to Riossi, is that it?
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stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[Easter Bunny]

I bought a new 600 bandit in 97 from them, biggest load of shit customer service I have ever experienced, & they certainly knew how to charge something like £350 for a service in there

However their clothing range was excellent, boots were a bit limited
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The light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train!

[Copycat73]

[j00pY]

I can remember seeing mechanics from the Peterborough / Eye branch ragging customers sports bikes around Orton roundabout in the mid 90s. I never dared let them touch my bike. I loved riding up to the place though. I was young and it all felt magical seeing all those amazing bikes and all those really expensive Dianese suits.