Dr Brown’s Motorcycles

He is the grumpy, but wise Grandpa of motorcycle knowledge. If you don’t have thick skin, well then you better prepare yourself because he will chew you up and spit you out with his knowledge.
If you plan on buying from his shop, make it clear from the start and he will do his best for you! Don’t come here trying things on just to buy it else where. He has been competing against other bigger motorcycle shops for a long time. But I can guarantee that he is the only one that does not sugarcoat his customer service.
I came here looking for a tail piece and he installed it on for me without me asking all at an affordable price. He was careful and guided me through the process. Sure he may be a little snappy, but like I said, you better have thick skin!

Such a great guy and my kind of mechanic and tuner. Straight shooter, No BS and very professional. He has the hookup on EVERYTHING, parts and GEAR.

I called Dr. Brown about my bike, and he said to come into his shop the next day. I asked if I needed an appt. or if I should call ahead of time, and he said that I didn’t need to do anything. When I showed up during his regular business hours, the sign on his window said «closed». I called him several times, and waited for more than 20 minutes, but he never showed up.

I went in to this shop today to ask about helmets. I inquired about wanting to try on a couple helmets for sizing. The guy who I assume was the owner was completely rude and flipped out and said that if I wanted to try on a helmet he would have to have a 50 $ deposit on a helmet. He went on to ramble about how people my age are scum because all I’m going to do is try on the helmet then buy it online. He went on to say how people like me are destroying his business. Even though my intention was to find a helmet I liked so I could order the color I wanted and come back at a later date. I will never come back here again. This is the worst customer service I have ever experienced.

Small shop but has everything you can imagine for your bike. Gene also fixes bikes and will talk your ear off with life and bike advise if you buy something from him.
Support your local bike shop and keep this amazing business alive!

Walking into Dr. Brown’s place is like stumbling upon an archeological dig or a shrine to motorcycles that’s a little overwhelming at first. The longer you stay, the more you discover in the nooks and crannies. Then there’s Gene.
I like Gene. He’s my kind of grumpy. And he’s one of those mechanics who doesn’t lord his knowledge of bikes over his customers. I’ve been to places they’ve sold me parts, given me grief and a «good luck, buddy» look because I opted to do it myself and didn’t want to bring my bike in and leave it there for a few weeks.
Gene will make sure you’ve got what you need and give you some pointers on the parts of the process that he knows will be hardest or the most frustrating.
Being new to Portland and starting a total rebuild, it’s been great to have a place to get what I need without being pointed to a book (because they have no idea what I’m asking for) or made to feel foolish.
As long as his door is open, I’ll be coming back.

Dr Brown is Gene Brown, the crankiest guy in Portland, let alone motorcycles. But if you are a little patient, recognize he is a small shop, and that he is trying, he will not steer you wrong. His service is good and he is a well of information. Thanks, Gene.

Everything I read about Doc Brown before I went there the first time made me think, «OK he is one of those old guys (like me) that doesnt suffer fools very well and Im just gonna have to take a deep breath and smile while he rants or whatever.»
Simply not true, he is professional, kind, knowledgeable, up front and was more than fair to me in our first transaction. Oh and god forbid, he came out from behind the counter and sat down (in modern sales-​think, the sales person is NEVER, EVER, supposed to make themselves comfortable in front of the consumer, I worked in retail sales for over 16 years) and we talked and chuckled about something related to motorcycles or life or both.
So why do people see him as grouchy, gruff, opinionated, etc. Consumers have been conditioned to expect flash and fakery rather than honest human interaction thats why. Anyone with an opinion is bad for business and not «sensitive» to the consumers feelings or needs.
The sales world is now run by people savvy to the average consumers childish need for ULTRA (fake) SHINY, HAPPY people, to soothe and baby them. People willingly go out of their way to pay extra to be treated like infants in well lit, sparkly shops. So when people encounter someone like Doc Brown they react to his «un shiny-​ness» by crying that they were not coddled in the way they have been SOLD they ought to.
I am going back there today, 15 miles away from my house, passing no fewer than 3 shops to get to his. In order to do business with a motorcycle shop that is just that, a shop run by a guy who wrenches and rides and enjoys talking about YOUR bike, or bikes in general, not the one he wants you to buy from him. Oh yeah, and he knows more about motor oil and which is good for your bike than almost all of the rest of the shop folks around.
What more can you ask for?

This place is great! He called to ask if he should continue spending more time on an electrical job in case I didn’t want him to rack up too much labor. I risked it told him to continue and he solved it no problem plus lowered my overall bill. Great old guy who does honest work

This is a small shop run by an old timer that knows and loves bikes. You will get unvarnished advice about what you bike needs done. I’ve been invited back into the shop to look at the work being done. I had tools handed and told what to do to solve my own problem. Support this shop. Buy your gear there (it’s the same price anywhere. even online. i’ve checked).
Very nice folks. Very competent.

I recently moved to Portland, and brought along my ’75 Honda CB360 that decided it no longer wanted to idle right before I left, which, of course, didn’t leave me enough time to take it to my regular mechanic.
After I got to Portland, I asked around, and was pointed to Dr. Brown’s. I called and arranged to drop the bike off later that day.
Now, if you’re expecting a big spotless shop with a full staff and prices through the roof, this is not the shop for you. If you want a guy that has been fixing and racing bikes probably longer than you’ve been alive, doesn’t bullshit you, and doesn’t cost you an entire paycheck for a damn oil change, go to Dr. Brown.
The shop is an old converted house that acts as a retail store with a garage behind it. The retail space alone is worth a visit… it’s a massive collection of motorcycle and pop-​culture memorabilia in every nook and cranny of the cramped shop, along with a lot of legit motorcycle gear and parts (and anything else you want can be ordered).
This is really one of those unique places you would only find in Portland, and after the experience I had there, Dr. Brown is now my new regular mechanic.

I don’t know if I can say enough good things about this place, but I’ll try.
After wanting a motorcycle for a few years, I finally took the plunge and got a lovely ’73 cl350. Loved the motorcycle, but it was apparent that at 37 years old, even though it was in great shape, it needed some TLC.
I dropped it off at Dr Brown’s, and I immediately knew it was in good hands. The way Gene just seemed to know about things on the bike put me at ease. He immediately, before I had yet to spend a dime started telling me some small things that were wrong and how I could fix them.
I left the bike with Gene for a few days, and when I picked it up, it not only ran like a new bike, but the bill was SHOCKINGLY low. On top of that, he took me back into the garage, and showed me some tricks to keep the bike running in tip top shape.
Before sending me on my way, he told me to stop in after a few weeks so he could have a look at the spark plugs to make sure everything was good.
Gene and Sax are two very knowledgeable people intent on running an honest and trustworthy repair shop.
Gene seemed to place more of a premium on my bike running safely and reliably than taking my money. Suffice to say, they’ve earned another satisfied customer.
On the website, they mention that if you don’t buy things from them, don’t expect help. The opposite goes for if you do purchase parts, etc. from them… every person who was purchasing something while I was there got quite a bit of free advice not just about what they had just purchased, but a heaping helping of free wisdom pertinent to their motorcycle. I possibly wouldn’t expect this treatment all the time, or on the first visit, but it was evident that Gene and Sax had a very friendly rapor with what appeared to be regular customers.
DISCLAIMER — Gene sells himself as a grouch, I would say a more accurate description is a people person in disguise!!!

I just started riding a motorcycle last year and am still green. I also have a green Kawasaki Ninja that was giving me some problems since I hadn’t ridden it all winter. I stopped in to Dr Browns to have them look at it and fix it. On the way over it was riding fine. When I showed it to Gene, the owner, he suggested that the symptoms were common when a bike isn’t ridden for a long period of time. He thought I should continue to ride it and if something seems funny to bring it back.
He then proceeded to show me how to adjust my idle. He took my bike in the back and filled the tires and oiled the chain. I was very impressed.
Most places these days would charge for those simple services after I had dropped a grand on service. I didn’t pay Dr Brown’s anything and they performed these services and gave me sound advice.
I will definitly be back when I need repairs, parts, accessories, whatever. There prices seemed very reasonable but even if they were high I would still support them because of how they run their business.
You can tell a lot about a business by the little things.