An Experience for Everyone - Time to Just Do It

Ask yourself a question - Would I ever ride a motorcycle? Or - Have I ever been interested in motorcycle? Or Are motorcycles safe? For the average person the answer to the first two questions is No, and to the third is Yes.

These are the people who are the mainstay of our Harley Rides clientele. 99% of all the people we take out for a Harley Ride as a passenger on the back of our Harley Davidson motorcycles fits the above description. The majority of the people we take out for a ride, are people who have had their ride booked by a friend or family member as a surprise for their birthday, anniversary or some other similar occasion.

Many people will quite happily organise a ride for someone else and not take the experience themselves. Why? Because they have quite a few pre-concieced ideas, which during a Harley Ride are quickly dispelled. You see, the truth is the is experience is far different from the expected and its very safe. Don't believe me? Then you are the person who should Just Do IT.

Post by Harley Rides in Melbourne.

Post by Harley Rides in Melbourne.

Post by Harley Rides in Melbourne.

We now Produce a Video for most of our customers.

Recording the joyful looks on the faces of our customers has become much easier over the last few years, with the advent of modern technology. And, we can proudly say that we are the only Harley Ride company in Melbourne who provide this service.

Only, this past weekend we filmed three girls we took out for a sidecar ride.

The previous Friday it was a group from Singapore - here for the Longest Lunch - sponsored by Tourism Australia.

And the previous weekend it was another person we took for a ride down the Great Ocean Road to the 12 Apostles.

And one more when we took two out for a ride around the City.

Yes, we now have a large collection of videos, and will be adding another to the collection this coming Saturday when we take a 75 year old girl down the Great Ocean Road to Apollo Bay. She is ticking off things on her Bucket List.

The Best Way to See Melbourne

Just ask anyone how has come out for a ride with us. Its only after the ride that the lights come on. As you can see here by the reaction we got from Mike.

Not All Operators Are The Same Quality

Not all Harley Ride operators in Melbourne are the same and we take pride in being the trend setter in the industry. It may surprise people to know that our industry is very small, and that we all tend to work together. 

But, there is one the operator in the Melbourne Harley Ride Industry who has been used by us on one of our group rides in the past. BUT, that was in the past, I now no longer use him because he doesn't come up to the high standard my company has become known for. 

Only this past week he was involved in an accident that appears to have led to his motorcycle being written off. On a job he attended in December 2014 he was seen arriving with two dogs in his sidecar, which then remained in the sidecar while his passenger sat on the back of his bike for a group ride out to a local Yarra Valley winery. Recently one of our customers, who had been out on a ride with this other operator told us about a frightening experience they had with him, when the axle nut on his bikes rear wheel fell off, and they almost had a serious accident. Shen chose not to come out with him for her next ride. We were not surprised.......

There are a number of Internet Agents Sites for whom this other operator is a supplier. These site supply a wide range of adventure activities. It may interest anyone reading this to know that none of these agents do quality or safety checks on their product suppliers. 

Our business is about "making people happy". If I was in it for the money, then I certainly wouldn't be doing it. Motorcycles are my passion and sharing that experience with our customers is why I am in business. All the riders I use service and maintain their machines to the highest standards. Safety is the priority.

Examples of the type of Internet Agent sites are Red Balloon, Adrenalin and Experience Oz (this last company were the ones who used my Harley Ride images without my permission last year).

Here are some images from some of our recent rides, where we put a huge smile on their faces.

The standard that we apply   is that all the bikes we use are regularly maintained and serviced by Authorised Harley Davidson mechanics. The individual in question services his bike by himself and he is not a Harley Davidson qualified mechanic. Next time you are comparing products on the internet, ask yourself, "Does the low price equal quality?" You get what you pay for - if it is cheap then there is normally a very good reason why.

Beware of What You are Paying For

Would it surprise you that many of the product images you see on the internet are not actually truly representative of the product being sold? That many of the Affiliate Marketing web sites, which accept your money for a Hotel or Tour booking don't have anything but a passing and informal relationship with the product or service in question? Many of these Affilate sites don't even have a quality process in place, to guarantee that what you are paying for is of the highest quality, or that the Tour you have booked maintains the highest safety standards and holds the appropriate accreditations etc.

To our horror, we stumbled on one such fraudulent web site last week. One displaying images that we know were not theirs and not representative of the product or service they were selling.

How can we prove this "outrageous" claim, you might ask? Well, as it turns out they were using an image captured by HD Chauffeur Ride Pty Ltd Director - John Karmouche, an image captured by John himself using a GoPro camera mounted on the handlebars of his 2012 Heritage Softail Harley Davidson.

The problem? This web site was not selling Harley Rides on behalf of HD Chauffeur Ride Pty Ltd. We know the company who supplies their product. We also know that their quality standards have never been checked by the Affiliate Booking site in question. If they had done so, we feel things may have been different. Below is the offending image:

John's Photo

And here is the offending web site page:

Offending Website Using John's Image

We have contacted the management of this site and alerted them to their copyright infringement, and they have since removed John's photo from their site. John is considering what further action he will take in regard to this blatant copyright infringement.

Why book via one of these affiliates, when you can quite easily go direct to the supplier. Maybe that's because the Harley Ride company in question here doesn't have Credit Card booking available on their site, or is doing things on the cheap by not maintaining that facility. HD Chauffeur Ride Pty Ltd, does maintain and operate a Merchant Facility. Maintaining this facility is not cheap. It also leaves one to ask what other cost shortcuts is the Harley Ride company in question taking (who this Affiliate Site is taking your money)? What is the quality of the motorcycle they utilise? How often are they serviced? Is the bike repaired by a qualified mechanic? What safety standards are being bypassed? The list of questions left unanswered is long.

Why doesn't HD Chauffeur Ride Pty Ltd use Affiliate sites? Quite simply - its because they charge a 25% booking fee, that we don't add if you book directly via us. Compare the rates charged by this Affiliate to us - the rates are identical. Ever wonder where these rates originate - from us as it turns out. Here in Melbourne, HD Chauffeur Ride Pty Ltd sets the standard, behind which everyone else follows. They can't offer a cheaper rate - so one is left to ask why use them at all?

HD Chauffeur Ride Pty Ltd takes pride in maintaining exceptionally high standards. All of the bikes we use to take our customers for Harley Rides are up to date models, serviced only by qualified Harley Davidson mechanics. No safety corners are taken. Safety and quality is expensive - but its an expense we are proud to say that we are prepared to wear - even if it means losing business to cheap and nasty alternatives that utilise Affiliate web sites to save costs.

At the end of the day, we can only direct you to the Testimonials left by our customers on Trip Advisor on on the Testimonial page on our site.

Harley Davidson Riders @ www.harleyrides.com.au

Harley Davidson Riders @ www.harleyrides.com.au, a set on Flickr.

Our riders, their bikes and their passengers during our Harley Tours and Rides.

Groupon Discounts - the truth behind their facade

Just over a year ago, I was getting calls a couple of times a week from Groupon, Living Social and their "coupon clones". Their claim was that they could bring my company, "heaps of new work, and that there were thousands of customers queuing up to buy my product that I was supposedly missing out on.

The problem is, as I pointed out to them, that volume sales doesn't match the service I provide. One of my competitors in the Harley Rides industry had already been burned getting involved with several of these discounters, and I didn't want to suffer the same fate.

My focus is on providing a Quality Experience for my customers. Providing Quality requires that the Harley Davidson motorcycles I use to transport my customers, are maintained and serviced to the highest standards. This means that their safety is guaranteed - that no short cuts are taken.

To achieve this goal I never service or repair my motorcycle - I'm not qualified to do that. I pay a qualified Harley Davidson mechanic $100 per hour plus the cost of parts to perform that task. This means that my bike and all the bikes I use are in tip top condition.

But, some of my competitors in the Harley Rides industry here in Melbourne, don't take my approach. They cut corners and maintain very old machines that are more prone to breakdowns. One of those uses Red Balloon and Adrenalin Tours as agents for their Harley Rides business and has fallen foul of Groupon and Living Social and lived to regret that experience.

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/consumer-watchdog-targets-website-product-reviews-and-discounts-20121214-2bf7b.html#ixzz2FFodeWK2

Why book through a multinational holiday or "experience" promotional website?

To book accommodation, restaurants, holidays, Harley Rides etc go direct to the person who owns and operates the business he/she does not have to pay large commissions. Visit our website here at Harley Rides in Melbourne or call us direct on Freecall 1800 182 282 - our technical advice is free - you don't get that at Groupon etc. And as for Red Balloon and Adrenalin - they don't even conduct quality checks on the products they supply. All they are interested in, is getting their 25% Agents commission. At Groupon, after factoring in a 50% discount or something similar, and after they take their cut - that leaves the supplier with almost nothing. In my case not enough to cover my costs. And I'm not prepared to cut corners to get more business at the expense of scarificing my customers safety

Mr Rob Sims, ACCC ''People are buying a voucher and the circumstances are such that they cannot actually redeem it, and therefore they just lose their money. Many do get a discount, but some just lose their money,'' Mr Sims said. ''That is unfair on the small- business person who either breaks his or her back to try and meet them, or just suffers the reputational damage. And it is unfair to consumers.''

The owner of a Sydney driving school told the Herald his business was damaged by a group deal. He made no profit and had to put his own customers aside while fulfilling vouchers.

''It is not worth it [because] I made no profit at all and the price they advertise my business is too cheap for me. I cannot afford it [and] they take too much [commission].'

Before you do book something online - do your research. We have many good reviews on Trip Advisor - Harley Rides in Melbourne and are recommended by Tourism Australia . After reading many reviews, its pretty easy to tell which ones are fake.