Motohaven

I can't begin to express my appreciation for John, his techs along with their professional and personal service.I've been a long time customer of John dating back to his days at Golden Gate Harley. John provides all levels of service and more importantly knows most everything about Harleys and what issues they can experience. Already talking about when I will need to go back after summer for its annual service. Needless to say I can't say enough!

My Dad gave me some advice, as he wanted me to grow into a lovely, upright citizen:* Never get involved with a married man* Don't have a child out of wedlock* Never run with a Popsicle/lollipop in your mouth* Stay away from motorcycles*cough-cough* Yesterday, I found myself wondering why it took me so long to actually get on a hog. John at Motohaven made it so easy and convenient - extremely affordable day rates; a reasonable deposit, and essential wardrobe outfitting: leathers, helmets and gloves available in a wide array of sizes. With one note - the smallest gloves they had were mediums... but it wasn't the end of the world. As I love hogs... (bacon, rillette, pork belly) it was natural for me to instantly become enamored with the Harley Fat Boy... It's a sexy, sexy ride...! And, there's the added bonus of... a very pronounced, very enjoyable ummm... vibration that put a blissed out smile on my face. I've never achieved that state of giddiness sans D Cell batteries. Probably too much information, but I'm just trying to give you guys the big picture. (Vibration included in the day rate).So... I was not the driver, and I was a bit wary at first, when John showed me the rather innocuous "grip strap" - it wasn't even as wide as any of the belts that I own, but it felt (and was) very sturdy. So, with my Dear Dad's cautionary advice ringing in my conscious mind, I mounted the hog, and then smiled, because I realized I was batting 1000. It was pretty overcast on Monday... and there were times on the freeway that I was grinding my teeth with equal parts exhilaration and anxiety... The other thing about sitting in the bitch seat is: I felt compelled to tilt my helmeted head to one side or the other, so I could see where we were going. The blustery conditions made that a bit uncomfortable, as we hit the highway and then wound our way through Napa and Sonoma, en route to lunch in Yountville. The side roads less traveled were much more enjoyable, cruising at 35 mph; I must confess that doing 75 on the highway was a lot more... windy. But I digress!I'm definitely going to go for another ride when it's more summery weather... it was a bit chilly - and that was my fault... I didn't suit up with the proper layers under the leather jacket that was provided. That said, I am eagerly awaiting the warmer weather, and another chance to have a culinary splurge on Washington Street.The sensation was akin to flying - the wind swirling around me, as I risked multiple compound fractures and possible massive head trauma... an absolute high. When you find yourself pining for a mini-vacation and want to consider an alternate style of enjoying the decadence of Yountville, I can't recommend renting a Harley from Harleymc.com enough. Trust me... you'll arrive with a smile on your face. Wooooooo-hooooooo!

Motohaven is the best Harley shop in the Bay Area. I have a 2001 Heritage and a 2012 Street Bob. I started taking my bikes to John about a year ago because my buddy, who is a retired CHP motor, recommended him. John, Norm and Gary did a super job rebuilding my street bob, top & bottom with a new Baker 7 speed tranny. John knows the industry wether it's painters, powder coaters, welders or fabricators he knows how and where to go to get you exactly what you want. John also collaborates with Craig Corwin the Merlin motorcycle mechanic.The street bob rips!!! He has my Heritage running the best it ever has. John's old school, hard working, honest, dependable, and does clean meticulous work. He is a man of his word.

I have had several services at MotoHaven over the last couple of years. All done with professional results. Marty has installed a full 95" kit on my 06' softail and taken good care of it on a regular basis. Very Satisfied.

I've been taking my bike to John for many years now. I trust him fully to make sure my bike is safe and sound. I highly recommend him.

After some bad experiences I was referred to see John at Motohaven.John is a straight forward no BS kind of a guy.When he takes you bike in for service he takes ownership of it. He makes sure it is safe. He went well out of his way to fix several things that needed attention on my 95 fatboy.He may not be the cheapest, but you get what you pay for. I rather pay more and know its done than safe a few bucks and wonder if someone cut any corners.He also has a great rental fleet of bikes with everything you need. He earned a customer for life in me.Thank you John. I'll see you in 2,500 miles.

NEVER. EVER. AGAIN.DO NOT RENT HERE..BEWARE!!So you would think that in the internet day-in-age, a business might want to at least try to give decent customer service, but I guess these snobs are stuck in the past where Harley's were actually once considered a good bike.I have been riding for several years with most of my experience coming from Japanese bikes. I decided to go up to Lake Tahoe for a 4-day weekend and I thought it would be awesome to rent a Harley Electra Glide Classic since I wanted to try out a touring bike as well as a Harley. So first off, they have the wrong address on their site under "Directions" as well as on Yelp, so we got lost and a little delayed. When I finally got the right address and got to the shop to pick up the bike, it was there ready and looking good! The woman working there allowed me to pick out a helmet, but they had pretty awful selections and she wouldn't even help me with them. She just said "this is what we got..grab what you need".I was then introduced to the person for whom this review is primarily based on..John (I believe he is the owner). He started out very grumpy and seemed almost annoyed that I was renting his "favorite bike" for an entire 4 days (the lady told me this was John's favorite bike and to take good care of it)! When I told him it was 4 days, he said "well..no one told me that". Umm...I booked the reservation over 1 month in advance! John proceeded to show me all the intricacies of the bike in a very unpleasant manner. On the way to Tahoe, the bike started leaking coolant..hmm, not a good sign. Anyways, that finally stopped (not sure why), but the bike was definitely smoking for a while.The Tahoe trip was awesome and the bike got a lot of good looks. On the way back, we were stuck in Labor Day traffic, which was bumper to bumper for several hours. Well, half way home on the middle of the interstate in 90+ degree heat, the bike decides it doesn't want to hold 1st gear anymore and dies every time the bike comes to a stop. Wow..a $20k+ bike that is rented out by "Harley mechanics" can't even withstand interstate traffic. Never had that problem with a Japanese bike or even a Victory (which blows the lid off a Harley by the way).They wouldn't allow me to return the bike on Labor Day, so I had to drive the bike 45 minutes north of my house to return it at 8am in the morning on a workday. The commute going back to work was 2 hours! Definitely not convenient! They even threatened to charge me for the "extra day" rental, but I talked them out of it! So a few exits before I arrived at their shop, I stopped off to fill the tank. When I pulled up to the shop (tank still on full), John said that it wasn't "topped off". He said "I gave it to you topped off, so you should give it back that way". No other rental place I have seen is this anal. He says he is going to have to charge me $25 dollars to "top off" an already full tank, which cost $16 to fill up!! Then, he looks at the bike and notices that there is some sticky residue over the entire bike. I must have driven through something, because it was also on my gear as well. He looked at me with the most annoyed look ever and started hounding me about how the bike got that way. I told him the bike was a $165 per day rental (including insurance) and I was going to get my "rides" worth, so I rode it pretty hard every day. They never mentioned I had to clean it for them too!! The way he spoke to me was like he was insinuating that I poured soda all over it!! Anyway, the whole time he could see I was fuming and he said "no need to get so angry"..???? Really?? All this place needs to do to get a decent review is to make the rental process easy and to give decent customer service.So at the end of the day, I was criticized for the bike being dirty, the full tank not being full (and being charged to fill the entire thing plus more!), borderline heat stroke from being stuck on the interstate (and almost missing my lil bro's birthday dinner), and a pounding headache from their rental helmet which was the crappiest helmet ever. He also made some smart comment about him having to come in early to collect the bike from me. Wow! I think I was probably more inconvenienced than him!!I don't know who this guy thinks he is, but if he "loves" this bike so much...then don't rent it out!! Don't guilt trip me the entire time! I would give this place a negative rating if I could. I am telling all my friends and the Yelp universe to NEVER rent from this place!

I am what is probably a typical Harley rider. My bike is a very special piece of machinery, and I don't let just anyone touch it with a wrench. There are many Harley dealerships in fact, that would never be allowed to work on my bike. Motohaven is completely different. It is run by mechanics and bikers who know Harleys well, and have been working on them literally for decades. John (the owner) and Marty (the chief mechanic), and Steffan (the do-all) run the place the way old school bike shops used to be run before all the glitter and nonsense started. The place is a place of business, not show biz. You get solid value for your money, and a business that stands behind its work. Advice is free, and given freely if you're asking questions. I have had these guys work on my bike for years, and often asked for them specifically to work on my bike when they both worked at a now-defunct local Harley dealership. Both Marty and John have a local reputation of excellence, with no overcharging BS or upselling. You get what you ask for, and if you need more work, they suggest it because you need it, not because they want to make more money.I took my bike to Motohaven a couple of months ago for service and detailing. John got my bike right in on the lift and got to work on it. Between the servicing and detail work, I found out the bike was going to need to be at the shop all day long. I casually mentioned that I didn't arrange for a ride, so John gave me a bike to ride, free of charge, until my bike was ready. Now, don't get me wrong, John did that because I'm a long-time loyal customer, but the simple fact that he would take a potential rental out of the fleet and let me ride it tells you what kind of a guy he is. For him, Marty, and Steffen, it really is all about motorcycles and riders. if you want technicolor leathers and helmets with Sponge Bob stickers all over them that match your boots and gloves, and you want to ride a bike that sounds like a psychotic mosquito, serviced by a recent graduate of MMI who isn't old enough to buy himself a beer, this is not the business for you. If you want value for your money, and a team that stands behind what they do and then some, then go see these guys. You won't be disappointed.

Went in with my Harley-loving Italian boyfriend and were treated incredibly rudely. We were looking for a specific part number and were told that our foreign transcription of the numbers (mind you, no letters) were indecipherable. He blew his cigarette smoke directly into our faces. We left grateful to never return.

I was not going to write a review after my experience however after reading some similar comments from Jeff M. in 2011, my experience was all too familiar. DO NOT RENT HERE . . .BEWAREWhen I picked my bike up from John he was not very inviting. He almost seemed irriated, or at least spoke down to me. Their rental form indicates a space for how many years of riding experience, however I was treated like a five year old. I have decades of riding experience on harleys and as a ridercoach teaching the safety class. I explained again my riding experience. He asked in a rude tone that, "Didn't I need gear?" I said no thanks I have my own. Then there was a disagreement about some gas tank nomenclature which showed me no matter what I said I was not going to be right. I overlooked this. I took the bike down the street to test the brakes before putting my wife on the back. While I did so, he continued in a rude tone about, "Isn't he forgetting you?" When my wife politely said no he testing the brakes, he jumps back with, "Yeah he needs all the practice he can get." All of this went on out of my earshot and told to me later by my wife.So really it is less about what he said but how he said it, and made us feel as customers. When I confronted him on his statements the next day when I returned the bike he denied being rude to my wife. He stated all customers lie about their riding experience and he could show me all the damaged parts to prove it. He continued to talk over me while I tried to finish my point.I have rented from here before and dealt with very nice staff and the bikes have been in great shape which really is a bummer. So again like Jeff indicated the customer service was below poor, and I walked away from the experience in essence being called a liar like every other customer.