Walt Healy Motorsports

Took my bike in for a tune up. got it back and they rolled it out and handed it to me. Went to put it on the kickstand and it almost fell over. it was bent in a U shape! It wound up taking them 6 MONTHS to get in a replacement part and their whole attitude in dealing with it was terrible. Spent the entire summer without a kickstand. I noticed one of the mechanics had the same model of bike not hard to figure out what happened. Will never deal here again.

Very cool store. There is a lot of selection (from gear to bikes to ATVs to snowmobiles) and the staff members know their stuff (at least the two I talked to). Unfortunately, some of their prices are quite high ($ 185 for gloves that are online for $ 159), but that might just be the Amazon Effect. For something like a helmet – where trying it on is an integral part of the process – I would be willing to pay an extra $ 10 or $ 20 to a local retailer. However, for gloves, there’s no reason they should be over $ 25 more.
The companies they deal with (Yamaha and Suzuki, among others) offer test ride days here. There is a Yamaha test ride day tomorrow (Thursday, July 18, 2013) from 10 – 4. If you can make it, have fun!

Through the years I’ve bought a couple of dirt bikes, a street bike, and a quad from Walt Healy. You could say I was a longtime customer, dating back to when Walt himself could be found at the dealership.
However, I haven’t been in to WH for a few years now. Essentially, I just stopped going.
In the end, it wasn’t the products or sales that made me rethink returning…
It was a couple of bad installations by their service department that made me go, WTF!!!
Yeah, stuff that just stopped working after the warranty was up. So I took them in to the closer, more convenient Yamaha dealership (Seitzco, which is sadly now gone) … and discovered that a light bar that stopped working was due to someone forgetting a gasket around a headlight, so water shorted everything out.
Not to mention, all the wiring was not wrapped/​shielded, and just wore through from vibration.
The second was a quad thumb warmer that burned up, again due to sloppy and incorrect installation.
I know WH has good people on staff, and can do a good dyno tune. But if the rookies or unqualified are allowed to completely mess up things I’ve paid good money for… I might as well not take the chance anymore
Losing headlights and turn signals while riding is kinda a big deal.
That being said, I would still consider purchases here (for good prices), and routine scheduled maintenance done by qualified techs.
I’d stay away from the aftermarket-​type work.
Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012 — ²⁴⁄₃₀

I purchased my Suzuki Boulevard used from a private seller, and thank the maker I did, because they took the liberty of stripping all the screws on my bike. When it came to winterizing my bike, I struggled to get a stripped screw out, but more importantly, where the bleepidy bleep am I going to get ONE screw for ONE 2005 S50? Blargh!
I began my search on the internet where I discovered the part number I required. The internet is the be all, end all of all things awesome. But I don’t need to tell YOU that Mr. Internet Reader, now do I. Fast forward 5 minutes :
«HOW MUCH FOR SHIPPING??? 90 $ for a 2.15 $ screw??»
Also followed by some of this: «$&%*!@» Looney Tunes ACME swearing.
How much does one have to pay to get a screw around here? I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. What I am I saying is, I was totally screwed.
I found a Suzuki specialty store (They classify themselves as bikes AND parts!) named WALT HEALEY MOTORSPORTS. The internet isn’t failing me just yet because they lead me here. I was avoiding the big boy shop (to be unnamed) for obviously reasons. You know, because I’d rather light myself on fire than visit them again and be ignored. I phoned Walt and Joe McHappy answers the phone. I don’t know if that was his name, but let’s say it was for review sake.
He says «No problem, I’ll order that in for you right away, it’ll be about five dollars.»
Me: «How much for shipping» *cringes and waits to hear «90 $”*
“Oh, no worries, five dollars all in»
Ahhhhh-​ouuuu-​gaaaa! cue * Looney Tunes in love, eye popping excitement*
«The only thing is though, I JUST put my order in so you’ll have to wait about 2 weeks, is that okay?»
«No, this is unacceptable as it’s the middle of winter and I need a screw for my bike right away». I didn’t say this, but could you imagine if I did?
I was beyond elated. I couldn’t believe all my struggles with shipping on the internet were so quickly resolved in a 2 minute phone conversation with a LOCAL shop. I was so happy in the end to support a local store, and I’ll go to them from now on for all my Suzuki needs.
Sure enough, this fairy tale romance ends with a phone call about 10 days later saying my screw was in and could be picked up anytime. The Princess was finally reunited with her screw and they lived happily ever after. In a Ziploc Bag. In her basement. Until Spring.
The End

*** This Review is for Walt Healy Motorsports located at:
4520 — 12^th Street N.E., Calgary, Alberta T2E 4R2
…
(Summary at the bottom, if you’d rather not read the whole Saga)
My tale begins back in 2009, when I first laid eyes on the 2009 Yamaha R6 at the bike show in January. In that instant, I was smitten — I knew that it was the bike for me, and no other bike would do.
Sadly, also at that instant, despite being filled with all the wanting and yearning humanly possible for an inanimate object, I did not have the money to purchase it. For two long years, I saved and yearned and dreamed of the day when my R6 and I would become one.
Thanks to Walt Healy, that dream became reality just this April.
Now, Walt wasn’t the first place I tried taking my money to. In fact, I’d never really paid much attention to them, going instead to visit my future bike at the larger, more obvious choice of retailer (which shall remain un-​named here). At the bike show, I spoke with the people representing this store … they insisted I needed to buy it right away because they were flying out of the store at record speeds. That was in January 2009.
When I had money and went back in November, 2010, they had about 20 left in the colour I wanted. For the entire summer, my R6 was priced at $ 8,999. A steal, really, considering it would be brand new, just an older model.
I walked in, found a salesperson, and pretty much said «Take my money, I want this bike.» The salesperson was about to agree … until an accountant, overhearing, ran out of his little office and insisted that «No, that’s not the price … our SYSTEM says $ 8,999 … but the INTERNET says $ 9,999! We can’t sell it for less than what the internet says it is!» Yes, that makes perfect sense. The internet is so much more accurate than what your in-​store system says.
So I left, disheartened … not realizing this was a blessing in disguise. For once I left that big retailer, I was told of Walt Healy, the smaller shop off McKnight, named for, and founded by, a famous local motorcyclist.
I entered the store and told the clerk my tale of woe. With a sniff, he brushed off the antics of the Bigger Retailer as the norm, and told me that he’d sell me the very last R6 they had in my colour for what that Other Store had in their system — $ 8,999. They’d also store my bike at no extra charge (even though they barely had the room for it), so that I could have the pleasure of riding it home when winter dissolved. Lastly, once my bike was bought, I would get a 15% discount on anything I ever bought at Walt Healy — parts, service, and/​or accessories.
So I put my deposit on my darling of a bike, and started paying it off in chunks all winter. I bought new boots and a new helmet (discounted), and once spring made its first foray into Calgary, I went back to bring my bike home. My little dream had become reality!
And once the bike was out, did the great service stop? Heck no … because my R6 is a bit too tall for me. I needed it lowered, so I called and I ordered a kit.
I went back on one of their busiest days, and sheepishly asked if I could have my lowering kit installed … could they fit me in? Within five minutes I’d not only been booked in and handed them my key, but they’d also made an appointment for my first oil change the following month. And all the clerks who’d helped me buy the bike, and then the gear to go with it, stopped by to say hello and ask how the bike was. It felt like visiting family.
SUMMARY:
Walt Healy came up above and beyond my expectations for a retailer. Their service is among the friendliest I’ve had (often tough to find in our fair city), their staff knowledgeable and passionate about what they sell, and they will try their best to offer you exactly what you want or need. Their in-​store selection may not be the biggest, and their show-​room small by comparison to the Big Retailer, but they will happily order anything you want, offer feedback if you ask for it, and they will always do their best to please you. This is definitely my go-​to place for all things motorcycle.