April Activity

Well hello again and apologies for not having been in touch sooner!! The great thing is though, now that it is difficult finding time to put pen to paper means that at last the season seems to be upon us and we are becoming busier by the day.
Where do we start then, well the beginning of April has seen the Prestcott Festival 2013 come and go. James F and Joe were there for the day and although we had a more low key display than last year, it was felt that the position was excellent and resulted in excellent foot flow throughout the day and increased interest in what was new and available for 2013.

Models that were on display included the full 2013 range of Kawasaki's including the new Z800, Ninja 300 and new ZX636. We also had representation from all of the franchises that we have, Yamaha, Suzuki, PVG, Peugeot, Vespa and Aprilia. The main attraction seemed to be the new Aprilia Caponord, which was there two days before it's official launch on the following Tuesday. New for us this year though were the windsurfer style flags which really lifted the display and as a whole looked fantastic in the light winds. Hopefully throughout the summer months we shall have them out at the front of Bristol Road so that it gives the roadside some extra life and will clearly identify us for new customers who may have difficulty in finding us as we are set back a little from the road. Thanks again must go out to both James F and Joe as they were on the go from stupid o'clock in the morning to an even more stupid o'clock in the evening.

From Pescott to Cheltenham on the following Tuesday saw the official launch of the new Aprilia Caponord. James F was again selected to go and absorb all of the technical spec in regards to its new and exciting features. He was however rewarded for his efforts this time with a free lunch followed by a group ride out to experience the bike for real. We have put all of these details on the home page of the website should you wish to take a look and if you then want to have a go on the machine for real yourself, then just get in touch with us or call in, as we do now have the demo available for booking. If you can't find the details of the Caponord then below is the relevant link, just copy and paste it to get straight to the page.

http://www.frasersmotorcycles.co.uk/new-bikes/aprilia/aprilia-road-/caponord-1200-travel-pack/

If that wasn't enough for one man (James F), his endless stamina was again in full test as he was sent out for a ride out with the Gloucestershire Bike Night riders to Bristol on Saturday just gone. They all ended up in Bristol for this years Bristol Italian Automotive Festival. As it was an Italian themed day, what better bike to take than the new Caponord. Good job he did, as the bike again created a lot of interest amongst the public and with the huge crowd of people that attended, it gave the bike a great opportunity to been seen in the flesh.

I know what you are all thinking now though, what about the rest us? Is it fair that one man gets all the jolly's and free lunch? Well just to share the lunch theme over the last month, James H was sent to Kawasaki HQ for a training course and enjoyed a fine selection of sandwiches and just yesterday had the best of the lot, with an all expenses paid trip to the Belfry for a round of golf and dinner courtesy of Close Motor Finance's Annual golf day. Sun tanned, stuffed and some six or seven golf balls lighter(too much water on the course), he has returned, nursing a couple of rather large blisters on his feet. Not to be left out though, Jon B has the joy of Kawasaki's hostility next week when he too has a course to go on, on his birthday as well!! That just leaves Bruce K, well someone needs to hold the fort and sell a few bikes don't they !! He wouldn't have it any other way though!! Loves his job!!

On the promotional front, just last week we have a selection of used bikes on the home page of the website giving anyone the chance to save up to an incredible £1400 on selected machines from the prices quoted. Fraser's Lucky seven, please take time to check it out if you are after a second hand bike.

I'm sure when you take a look you will see that this is a selection that should have something for every type of biker from cruiser to sports to tourer to twist and go. And if that isn't enough we also have two, one in black and one in red, of Suzuki's latest Inazuma 250's with £500 off, now at an amazing price of £2999 plus otr. Please contact the team on the usual number or by email if you want to jump in and reserve any of these amazing deals.

Well that seems to be that for the moment as we carry on steaming ahead and we are all looking forward to the season being a long, warm and dry one so that we can all get out there and enjoy our bikes. We very much look forward to seeing you all soon. SS

More Dates

Can't believe its been nearly four weeks since my last diary post, that's a real sign that we are now starting to build up some steam towards the new biking season. Since we last caught up we have had our first tour into the outside world at the Eastgate Shopping Centre, which I must thank Jerome for manning admirably over the three days. As our first exploration into the world of shopping centre's it went really well and I must thank any of you who came and said hello and had a chat with Jerome. You can never truly measure the exact success from doing these type of displays and exhibitions, but we do think it is a great way of getting the general public to know more about Fraser's and getting across the message of how great two wheels can be. Thanks too to our friends at Piaggio for lending us the Vespa backdrop which made the scooters stand out from the other exhibits.

Also, last Saturday here at the main showroom on Bristol Road, we had our Kawasaki Demo day. Given that at the start of the week we were experiencing a wind chill of minus seven with wintry showers, the weather on the day itself was surprisingly good to us. Apart from a wet and damp start, the majority of the day was clear and all 10 of the Kawasaki models that we had for demo, went out over the course of the day. For any of you that weren't able to come and have a go on the day, 9 of the 10 bikes that we used are ours and available throughout the week, so feel free to come in and try them at your leisure.

As for campaigns on New bikes, all of the manufacturer's are currently offering 0% or low rate finance on them. Suzuki have 8.9%APR on PCP deals on most of their range, Yamaha are doing 4.9%APR on most of the lightweight models, Kawasaki have several bikes on 0% 24months and 2.5%APR on 36months and finally Piaggio and Aprilia have schemes from 0% up to fixed APR's of 10.6%. With all these fantastic rates available you won't find a better time to change your bike and could get far more bike for your money than you thought. Needless to say get in touch with the sales team if you feel the urge or temptation to change and they will look after you and work out some figures. If it's used bikes that you are looking to chose from then feel free to come on in and have a good look round. We are now carrying upwards of 125 used bikes in stock so there should be something for everyone in stock.

As for dates for your diaries then we have just received details of this years dates for Cotswold Bikers Nites, details below, all welcome

• 10th APRIL - The Hunters Inn Longdon, Gloucestershire. GL20 6AR
• 17th - The Apple Tree, Stockwell Lane, Woodmancote, Bishops Cleeve GL52 9QG
• 24th - The Hawbridge Inn Haw Bridge Tirley GL19 4HJ
• 1st MAY - The Star Inn 23 Bridge Street Pershore WR10 1AJ
• 8th - The Hobnails Little Washbourne Tewkesbury GL20 8NQ
• 15th - The Duke of York Tewkesbury Road Berrow WR13 6JQ
• 22nd - The Bell Inn High Street Moreton-in-Marsh GL56 0AF
• 29th - The Queen Elizabeth - Main Street Elmley Castle Pershore WR10 3HS
• 5th JUNE - Park End Paganhill Stroud GL5 4AZ
• 12th - The Hope and Anchor Inn Wye Street Ross on Wye HR9 7BU
• 19th - The Swan Worcester Road Hanley Swan WR8 0EA
• 26th - White Hart Broadoak Newnham on Severn GL14 1JB
• 3rd JULY - The Fleece Inn The Cross Bretforton Worcs WR11 7JE
• 10th - Village Inn Twyning Green Twyning GL20 6DF
• 17th - Imperial Gardens Imperial Square Cheltenham GL50 1QA
• 24th - Croft Farm Waterpark Bredons Hardwick Tewkesbury GL20 7EE
• 31st - The Ship Inn Moor Street Framilode GL2 7LH
• 7th AUGUST - Lower Lode Inn Forthampton Gloucestershire GL19 4RE 
• 14th - The Harvest Home Evesham Road Greet Winchcombe GL54 5BH
• 21st -  Full Pitcher New Street Ledbury HR8 2EN
• 28th - The Five Mile Hse Old Gloucester Road Duntisbourne Abbots GL7 7JR
• 4th SEPTEMBER - The Drum & Monkey Newbridge Green Upton WR8 0QP
• 11th - The Aviator Bamfurlong Lane, G'shire Airport Staverton,GL51 6SP
• 18th - TBC
• 25th - Gupshill Manor Gloucester Road Tewkesbury GL20 5SY
• 2nd OCTOBER - Anchor Inn Fladbury WR10 2PY

Our next outdoor appearance will be at this years Prestcott Festival which is on Sunday 7th April. James F will be appearing live on the day and available to chat to you about all of the bikes that we have, and I'm sure if you asked him nicely to take a deposit on the day then he will be more than happy to oblige. This will be our third year running at the event and in those three years it has really grown in popularity and represents a fantastic day out for the whole family. For details about the day you can pick up a flyer from us here in store or visit the official website www.prescottbikefestival.co.uk.

Before then we have the Easter weekend to look forward to and the clocks going forward, which will give us some quality time to get out and about on two wheels after work. Good job!!

As most of you are aware the whole art of Blogging is a new experience for me this year so I can only apologise for the change of font that seems to be affecting my typing now. Mind you for any of you that have recently received a letter from Jon in sales, you will of course be familiar with this type of effect!!

Have to say this is really starting to get on the old nerves now, so to prevent further mental discomfort and potential stress I shall bid you all fair well for now and be back in touch before we go into Easter, hopefully with some more new offers to shout about. SS

March Promo's

Here we are then, just three whole days left before the 1st of March 2013. It must be a sign of old age but this year is nearly already two months down and it only feels like a short time ago we were celebrating the start of 2013. Some things don't change though which at the moment, seems to be the outside temperature and the limited amount of sunshine hours. With any luck though this will all change during March, which was pretty much the best month for weather last year. Lets just hope that we see a similar change in temperature this year, but this time it stays with us throughout the season.
This year as a new initiative for us, we are hoping to start actively promoting our business in and amongst the local area, as well as holding specific demo days for the manufacturers here on Bristol Road. It all starts later this week when we shall be sending young Jerome into the city centre of Gloucester to the Sports and Leisure Exhibition in the Eastgate shopping centre in Gloucester. The event runs from Friday the 1st of March through to the Sunday the 3rd March. We have kindly been given the Vespa backdrop by the PVG Group to use, so to start off with, we shall be displaying a couple of new Vespa's together with another couple of low capacity models. Last year saw a massive national increase in sales for the Learner Legal machines and low capacity bikes/scooters. So with this in mind we are actively looking to get the message out to the public that getting out and about on two wheels can save you hundreds of pounds each year as a commuting vehicle, rather than running an expensive second car. I know you lot out there already realise and enjoy the benefits of this, so I will leave it up to young Jerome to work his magic and spread the word to the "Yet to be converted masses". If you are out and about in the City centre though, I'm sure he will be happy to see a few familiar faces and regular customers, so please go and say hello. I'm also going to squeeze Ian's arm tomorrow to see if we can get some form of discount offer to hand out over the weekend, which can then be used in store for a limited period to be spent in his parts and clothing department.
March also see's the first of our Manufacturer supported Demo Day's. On Saturday the 16th March, we shall be holding an official Kawasaki Demo Day when you can come on in and take out most of the Kawasaki range. We will have rides available on all three of their new models, ZX636, Z800 and the new Ninja 300 together with the ZZR1400, Versys 650 and Versys 1000, Z1000SX, ER6F and hopefully we will also have a ZX10R. Given that Bruce has now been re-homed in the new Kawasaki area we will be getting him to organise the times available for each bike so if any of you would like to take advantage and have a go on one of these great new bikes, then please get in touch with him and get yourself booked in. If you can't make the actual day, then speak to any of the sales team regarding a test ride, and they will try and get you booked in. If you want to find out how any of the bikes perform in the sunshine then just ask Rachel, our service manager, as she was fortunate enough to have a few days in Spain testing all three new models both on the road and on a race track.
On a personal note, the 27th of February sees our newest member of the sales team celebrate his first year on the sales floor, so congratulations to James 2 and here's to another successful year for the team as a whole. Finally the Kawasaki showroom area is now almost complete barring the trim around the edge of the raised area. Pictures attached, and I'm sure you will admit it looks fantastic, come on in and have a sit down on our new lime green sofa !! Look forward to catching up with you all again soon !! SS

February

In a flash, January has been and gone and here we are already into the second week of February. January is always a strange month and you can never predict what it will be like for the bike industry. Overall it was a very promising month as far as bike sales went, apart from the 7 days when we had the snow. For some reason people seemed to be more interested in clearing the supermarket shelves of root vegetables, fresh milk and chicken, rather than looking at motorcycles. Hopefully when we get a major weather warning for the next heatwave, we will experience a similar problem of panic buying and end up with an empty showroom because of a surge in demand for bikes !! Hard to believe though in just under 3 weeks time we will be into March and the new registrations, that coupled with lighter nights and with any luck the first decent breaks in the temperature.

For those of you who are genuinely thinking of a change in bike, then I feel it's only fair of me to keep you all posted with our latest offering which went live on our homepage last Friday. Up until the end of March, as an exclusive to Fraser's, we have re-introduced up to £750 Cash Back on selected new Suzuki's. This offer is additional to Suzuki's current National campaign of up to £800 worth of Free Accessories and low rate finance through Close Motor Finance.



We are only able to make this offer available on our current stock bikes, so please get in touch as soon as possible if there is a bike that you would like a quote on or further details on. You can contact the team as usual via email, sales@frasersofgloucester.co.uk, through the website or simply give us a call on 01452 306485.

I have to say it's always a tough thought process trying to make new offers look fresh and appealing and if any of you that take the time to read my post's have any (polite) suggestions, then I would love to get your feedback and input. If you are sat at home thinking that you would like to change your bike but it needs something extra to twist your arm, then let me know what it is, there's no harm in asking. If we can't help this time we may well be able to help in the future, you never know. 

On my last post I put a photo of the new lights on the front of the showroom and explained that we were undergoing  an internal refit as well. It's always nice to have a look at what's going on so I got James F to use his vast photographic skills, to take a few snaps of the new Kawasaki area inside. Because Kawasaki wanted a specific type and colour of flooring, we have had to create a slightly raised area to protect the current floor surface and then tiled on top of that. When it's all finished and full of bikes, then I'm sure you will all agree that the new area will look fantastic.

However in order for the work to be completed, Bruce's old sales desk has been dismantled, so he feels a little bit homeless at the moment. Don't worry though, he will be being re-homed in the area, with a brand new state of the art black coloured chip board desk, no expense spared!! So exclusive is it, he even had to build it himself!! You never know, if you need a hand putting up your new flat pack wardrobes or chest of drawers at home, then I'm sure he would happy to help, the normal currency accepted for such work carried out is usually taken in a liquid form. The higher the % by volume the better.

Anyway, enough from me today as I must crack on and get some work done, I look forward to catching up with you all again soon with our latest news and offers. SS

Refit Update

Regular visitors to our showroom would probably have noticed that we are currently undergoing an internal refit of the Kawasaki section of the showroom, together with a face lift of the front of the building with some new illuminated signs. We are hoping that all of the work will be completed during the course of next few weeks, with a minimum of fuss and disruption to our daily business. Yesterday saw the installation of our new signs on the front of the showroom and last night they were lit for the first time.

The top sign is still to be finished, but I'm sure you will all agree the whole appearance gives the place a fresh and up to date feel and looks stunning when lit in the evenings. Looking at the difference the new signs have made to the feel of the place, we can't wait for the internal work to be finished to give a completely fresh look to the inside as well. Once the Kawasaki section has been finished the intention is to create a similar section for the Piaggio and Aprilia bikes and scooters, towards the rear of the showroom. Once that has been sorted the hope is that all of our supporting manufacturers will have clear and defined areas that are instantly recognisable for our customers when they come in. Please feel free to come in and take a look around to see what we are doing, so that you can also get a feel for the difference that this will make to the showroom.

Refit aside, I'm sure you all share our relief to be heading out of January and with the light now stretching towards 5.30pm at night, we haven't got too much longer to go until we hit March and the clocks go forward. For those of you who made your New Years Resolution at the start of the year to get a new bike, well now's the time to come in and see us to place your order for March the 1st for the new registration plate. By getting your order together at this stage, should not only ensure that you get the colour choice that you want, but will mean you should be able to ride away on your brand new bike from the start of the season, as most years availability on new model choices and colours, can sometimes be difficult to obtain. If you have decided to change your bike but not go for a new one, then still come on in and let us know what you are looking for. If we haven't got what you want for now, we may well have the exact thing that you are looking for coming in by way of part exchange, so we can offer you first refusal when it lands.

Ultimately lets all keep our fingers crossed that the weather starts to really pick up so that we can just get out and ride!! Here's hoping to see you all soon !! SS

Hello again !! Well at last !! We have a car park again after a week of looking like a back drop from a scene in Ice Station Zebra !! Hopefully now we can all get back to normal and start looking forward to a decent spell of weather, so that we can get the bike out. Although the snow has caused its usual disruption to the business, it has meant that we have been able to put some ideas together and get some fresh offers on to the website, which hopefully will be of interest to you, or indeed someone you may know. We have just launched our "Pick N Mix" campaign which runs up until the end of February on six great models. The bikes have been selected to suit people who are about to, or who have just taken their bike test, get out on the road whilst keeping the cost to a minimum. For details of this, please check out our website where there is a link on the home page. www.frasersmotorcycles.co.uk



Rachel, our Workshop Manager, has also asked me to let you all know about our free collection and delivery service that we are running until the 28th February. If you are within 15miles of us and you book your bike or scooter in for a service, then we will get our van to collect and return your bike to you, at no extra cost. Least that way it means you don't have to risk the Icy conditions, or get your bike covered in salt from the roads. Just give her a call on 01452 306485 and get your bike booked in !!

Hopefully these two offers are just a taster of what we will be doing for the rest of 2013 and needless to say if any of you out there have any questions relating to anything we do have offer wise, then please get in touch either by phone, email, or just come in and have a chat to us. Also if you are thinking about changing your bike for something that isn't part of any campaign that we are running, then let us know what it is you would like and we will see if we can accommodate it?? You never know.

Any way, enough of the commercial spiel, some news on the team here. Jon is due back to work on the 1st of February after his annual sabbatical, so I'm sure he will have a tale or two to tell (especially as he's been to Thailand!!), Vicky returns from her tour of India next week and here in the showroom we are looking forward to the refit of the Kawasaki section being completed, which should look really smart when it's done. That's all for the time being, hope to catch up and see you soon !! SS

Welcome

Tuesday 22nd January 2013. Today is the launch of our new Blogg page here at Frasers of Gloucester. Over the coming weeks and months, we intend to keep you up to date with the day to day happenings here, in Gloucester's largest independant Motorcycle Dealer. Our intention is to keep all of you up to date with up and coming events, reporting on them and giving you a view on them, from within the business. Along with events, we shall try and keep you all posted on new offers from all of our departments, together with a more light hearted insight in to the day to day banter that goes on between the staff that makes working at Fraser's fun. Hopefully this way you will get to know more about the our staff that work here and make your experience of shopping at Fraser's a personal and friendly one. We look forward to catching up with you all again soon !!