Vallantine Motor Works

Experienced and honest. I’ve been a customer for 3 years. They fix my commuter bike quickly every time it breaks. Mark and Dana are excellent at diagnosing problems and explaining them to me.

These guys are great. Honest, direct, great mechanics.
I brought in a recently purchased 1971 R60 /​5 that needed troubleshooting and a bunch of work. Great communication and results. I will be a customer for many years.

My first service on my R12ST went great. No surprises or issues. It’s great to have a choice of service for these over engineered motorcycles.

These guys are honest. They are friendly and easy to work with. They do excellent work, and are experts on BMW motorcycles.
All that said, I want to correct what some people are saying about pricing. These guys are not cheap. I have been using them for a few years now, and have observed the prices increase over that time, no-​doubt due to increased demand for their excellent service. In my experience, the prices are comparable to what one would pay at the dealership. That said, they will tell you when you don’t need something done, when there is a cheaper alternative, or even occasionally when it makes more sense to get a repair done at the dealer (for example, on a part that fails frequently where the dealer warranty would cover both parts and labor).
I’ll continue to use these guys as long as Mick Vallantine still runs the shop. I’ve noticed over the years that I see less and less of him. Most of the work is done by the two mechanics he has working for him. But he’s still in control and the honesty and integrity that made his business a success are still there.

These guys are straight with you and honest. They could have taken me for some money, but they told me straight up that they didn’t have the machine necessary for measuring if your air fuel mixture is correct, and recommended I go to ridewest. When a business turns business away out of honesty, I am a customer for life. I can only assume that they are as professional as they are honest.

I purchased my 99 R1100RT from Ride Worst BMW a little over 3 years ago. It was not a good experience. The salesman was deceptive about the condition of the bike. The battery was shot, the brakes were worn, and I discovered 3 bare wires that could shorted out, or caused a fire.
My riding friends who own BMW’s all told me, «If your bike ever needs service or to have something fixed. You take it to Mic Vallantine and not to the Stealerships in Seattle and Fife. «and they were right.
On Thursday, April 26, 2012, while I was riding to work at 6:00am on 405. My bike lost all power. The engine just quit running. I was barely able to merge from the HOV to the outside shoulder without getting killed with the traffic here.
Lucky for me this happened just a couple of miles from my house. So I was able to get home. Hook my bike trailer up to my Jeep and recurred my bike from the side of the freeway pretty quickly.
I shamefully drove my bike to work on the trailer like it was a carnival ride. Later that morning I made some calls to a few shops including Mic Vallantine. I could not believe the response I got. The «Stealerships» pounced on me like a pride of lions on a wildebeest. They wanted to change me for a diagnostic tests, Tune it up, changes the fluids, adjusting the valves, checking the compression, leak down test, etc… The onlything missing was the prostate exam and MRI. Estimated cost was almost $ 1000
Then I remembered what my friends told me, so I called Mic. What a great guy. He told me to bring my bike down around 1:00pm or so and he would be able to have a look at it. I am thinking, «What, you don’t have to do a prostrate exam and MRI like the guys at Ride Worst? Mic’s experience with BMW motorcycles is like nothing I have ever seen. I described my problem and he knew right where to look. No hassles, no quasi experts telling what I need, and no BS.
At 3:45 that same day Mic calls to tell me not only is my bike fixed, but he also sync’d my throttle bodies, adjusted the cables, and the bike runs better than ever. All in 1−½. I could not believe it. Plus it only cost $ 136 for everything. While Ride Worst wanted around $ 300 to tear everything apart and give you a best guess of what they think the problem might be. $ 300 — 400 in parts and another $ 250 in labor to put it all back together. $ 136 vs around $ 1000. You do the math.
Bottom line is if you want your BMW Motorcycle fixed right and fixed right the first time. Take it to Vallantine Motor Works. Mic is a great guy and has earned my business and respect for life.
It is rare that you meet a honest mechanic that looks at his customers best interest and not trying to fatten their wallet at your expense.
I can’t thank you enough Mic. You rock.