Bought a lemon

[-Matt-]

[DieselASFC]

[shereen]

[shereen]

[CaNsA]

[shereen]

[CaNsA]

[Quornholio]

[Llama-Farmer]

Least you did a bit of your own research and got your monies back without coming crying to BCF straight away.
____________________
Current Bike: 1999 Honda CB600 FX Hornet
Next Bike: I want a CBR-RR. And I want an F800 GS-A. And a VFR 800. Can I have all 3?
Dream Bikes: Honda VFR750R RC30, Honda NSR500, Ducati 996 R

[el_oso]

[Quornholio]

[DieselASFC]

https://bikeonic.com/

He's changed his trading name once again.

So avoid bike-onic like the plague. Surely he could've been more imaginative with the name change...?

[MC]

Maybe he's changed?








Seems to be selling more overpriced expensive bikes now, but still focusing on the newbie market.
____________________
Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[Flatbadger]

His home page has a picture of someone committing an offence -

https://i.imgur.com/psY8yLw.png
____________________
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
You're in ISIS

[MC]

[Rogerborg]

Just so you know, by linking to his site from here, you'll drive it up the page ranking.

So, he's selling bikes out of his conservatory.

Again: does the Inland Revenue and his local rates board and council know that he's using that property for business purposes? Is he, for example, storing loads of bikes bikes full of fuel in a residential property?

If you actually care about Vinny keeping everything square and above board, less bawww here, more Google, phone, email.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Just_James]

[recman]

[Just_James]

[Just_James]

And look what he's got up for sale... of all things
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-HONDA-XL-125-Varadero-/271603078566?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item3f3cce15a6

Think I may arrange a viewing.... need an undercover cam

[Wonko The Sane]

[foxdie]

Well guys you can be sure it worked. Was thinking of buying a couple of 125's (housemate and myself) from them and found this thread as the second Google hit. Just had to sign up to say thanks for the warning.

[DieselASFC]

That was the point of the thread, if I can stop just one person getting shafted by Vinny and riding home on a death trap, then jobs a good 'un. So is his van and shop still sign written with Bike Onik, or has he forked out to change it to Bike Onic?

[Commuter_Tim]

[davemanc]

I too have just had an extremely negative and potentially life threatening experience with Vincent Candelin ‘currently’ trading under Bike-Onik - https://bikeonic.com/ at 588 Bury Road, Bolton, BL2 6JA.

I was well and truly suckered in, he seemed like an affable bloke, there was little or no pressure to buy and the shop seemed quite busy. People would just bob in for a brew and a chat and he came across as a really friendly and honest guy. Little did I know at the time how quickly this would change once this man has gotten his hands on my money.

I’m kicking myself now; I read a couple of bad reviews about Vincent Candelin and Bike-Onik on another bike forum but still decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I wrote them off as just one or two disgruntled customers who’d had a bad experience. I allayed my concerns by telling myself that they had probably just been isolated incidents and that people only bother to post when there has been an issue. Whilst this is true and people do generally only give feedback after they have had a problem, when so many people are complaining en masse and the complaints and stories are so similar, following almost exactly the same pattern, something certainly isn’t right.

I misguidedly surmised that for him to be selling bikes at his current location for so long that he must have been doing something right. I naively assumed that if he’d been trading on Bury road for many years (as I was led to believe) and customers were still coming in and purchasing bikes from him the stories I had read must have been exaggerated or nothing more than isolated incidents. How little did I know? I so wish I had done a little more research and followed my initial gut instinct to stay well clear of Vincent Candelin and Bike-Onik.

After a more extensive search after the fact I now know from the many, many stories on numerous bike forums and blogs that this man is a notorious menace who has had a seriously negative impact on a great many number of peoples lives. It transpires that Vincent Candelin has not been trading as Bike-Onik or even as the same company in that location for as many years as I had been led to believe and he had in fact changed location and company name on multiple occasions; no doubt in an attempt to avoid swathes of bad publicity, disgruntled customers and small claims & County Court Judgments. In the past few years alone he has traded under a multitude of names including Bike-onyck, cando motorcycles, e-two motorcycles and e2 motorcycles to name just a few; all as separate companies and in many different locations in and around Bolton, Bury and Tottington. Bankruptcy has been filed on more than one occasion.

I bought a used 125cc motorbike for a little over £1600, I was given the usual ‘finest example I’ve seen in a long time’, ‘Absolutely tip top’ etc. and was happy enough with my new purchase. The day after the bike was delivered I decided to take it out for it’s first ride, less than 5 minutes in and I hit my first and what could have been my last problem.

Foolishly, still naively believing Vincent Candelin was the honest and upstanding person he’d led me to believe I called him rather than an independent mechanic. He came out the next day with his young mechanic to take a look at the bike and was nothing but apologetic. I was told that an after market part had been fitted and the bike had “Slipped through the net” and “Gone under the radar” and had not been properly tested. He explained that once the brake fluid had warmed up and expanded the effect was the same as the brakes being gradually applied until slamming on full and thus locking the front wheel. Unfortunately I was well aware of this effect first hand as I had ridden no more than 500 metres on the motorcycle the day previous when without the brake being applied or even covered and travelling up hill the front wheel locked completely and I was thrown off straight over the handle bars with the bike landing in the gutter and myself landing right in the middle of the other side of the road! Fortunately I live on a relatively quiet road but if I had collected the bike from Bike-Onik myself and this had happened on my way home on Bury road I would have been thrown clean into oncoming traffic and might not be here or in any fit state to share my story today.

My father also bought his first motorcycle from Vincent Candelin’s Bike-Onik at the same time as myself and true to form a dangerous fault with the bike was quickly identified. The rear tyre had apparently been run for an extended period whilst flat and had lost all integrity on the sidewalls. A problem that would have been instantly identified had the motorcycle been properly tested, serviced or MOT’d was fortunately eventually noticed by a colleague of my father on first inspection after he rode it to work for the first time. He was appalled and could not believe that a bike had been sold from an apparent dealer in such a dangerous condition. I dread to think what could have happened if it hadn’t been spotted, the tyre could have quite literally been ripped from the rim whilst he was cornering.

24 hours had passed after the repair and due to the dangerous nature of the fault on the bike, the accident it had caused, the research I had now done on Vincent Candelin & his trading practices as well as the seriously dangerous fault that had been discovered on my father’s motorcycle also bought from Bike-Onik I decided I was not willing to take the risk any further and would hold Mr. Candelin to his word and return the bike for a full refund.

Vincent Candelin’s affable friendly character was now gone, replaced by an unrecognizably defensive, dishonest and offensively rude person, intent on retaining my money whatever the cost. I was instantly reminded that the bike was sold as salvage regardless of his previous assurances and that it had been dropped and would now be unsellable. I protested stating the bike had only been dropped due to a dangerous fault on the bike that he himself had admitted to overlooking just 24 hours earlier. He instantly lied again and said the bike was dropped due to rider error and he adjusted the brake as a courtesy. He said whatever he “may or may not have said” about any apparent faults merely served to instill confidence in me as a rider and he was trying to do me favour (Cheers Vince), therefore the bike was indeed fine and it was “simply a case of tough luck”. He said he might see his way to take the bike back and swap it for something else but to do so would require a service charge of at least £150. I was informed that I was lucky that it was only £150 and it should be much more. Needless to say I refused the offer of another death trap.

Venomously Mr. Candelin even called into question my manhood when I told him that I no longer felt safe riding the motorcycle. If you are reading this Vince I just want you to know I do have the balls to ride a motorbike, just not one of your motorbikes. I have since gone out to a proper recommended dealer and have bought a safe and reliable bike.

Be aware if you buy a motorcycle as salvage you have little or no recourse. Hopefully you will save yourself the time, stress, hassle, money and possibly even safety and not get to the point of handing your hard earned money over to Vincent Candelin, but if you do when you inevitably ask as I did “Why does the receipt say sold as salvage?” prepare yourself for a slick and polished performance. You will be assured that that this is “Usual trading practice”, that “It is to cover me from a bad experience I had with a past customer who tried to take me to court”, You will be reassured “Don’t worry about that, if the bike isn’t right for you we can swap it for something else or even give you your money back, all I want is for you to be happy” These are lies. This is not usual trading practice; if you buy a motorcycle as salvage you have bought exactly that, salvage! This lie is just as incredulous as his promises to exchange the bike for something else or even give you your money back. After a struggle he may eventually agree to exchange the bike for something else, but do not expect to get the full amount you paid for it, expect to lose a fair chunk of your initial outlay as a ‘Service charge’ or due to ‘Wear and tear’ regardless of whether the reason for the exchange was due to a faulty motorcycle or not, and even then you are likely to be swapping one bad penny for another.

See you in court he said, taking smug comfort from the knowledge that I had neither proof of fault as I had foolishly allowed him to repair the issue himself and no legal recourse due to the bike being sold as salvage. Be under no illusions once you have handed over your money to Mr. Candelin you will not see it again without a lengthy and costly fight and given his propensity to claim bankruptcy and start over being legally in the right may be no guarantee you will ever see your money returned. This man is well practiced at keeping other peoples hard earned money, and you will not get it back without a fight, if ever.

It’s sad that the majority of Vincent Candelin’s stock appears to cater for the learner rider. I’m guessing as they are a little greener and easier to fool and are possibly least likely to have heard of his notorious reputation and borderline nefarious activities. It’s distressing that this kind of rider typically lacks the skills and experience to successfully maneuver and avoid the dangers that Vincent Candelin’s shoddy practices expose them too.

He may well say “If there is a problem bring it back, we are more than happy to fix it” that’s all very well if you are buying a tin opener but not if you are buying a motorbike, a machine that has the potential to harm not just yourself but those around you. That one problem may just be your last and cost you or someone else their life. But hey Vince is covered, his conscience is clear, after all he sold you the bike as salvage, you shouldn’t be riding it on the road anyway as far as he is concerned.

I seek neither pity nor sympathy and entirely blame myself. Given the stories I had seen online of peoples past experiences with this man and his motorcycles I should have run a mile. I should have also never handed over my hard earned cash for a motorcycle that was essentially sold as salvage, no matter how good the sales pitch. I’m telling you my story so hopefully I can save you from having to learn the hard way, saving you the money, stress and risk that dealing with this man invariably entails.

DO NOT BUY A BIKE FROM Vincent Candelin. Go to a dealer or someone recommended by a friend or colleague and ride safe in the knowledge that the motorcycle you are trusting with your life has been well maintained, serviced and is fit for purpose. Do not make the mistake that I did. Your life is worth too much to gamble on one of Vincent Candelin’s deathtraps just because he seems like a nice guy. He isn’t.