SCD Racing

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sicivicdude

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Apr 7, 2010
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Per the user agreement, commercial signature links aren't allowed so here's the thread about it!

I launched a website at the beginning of the year to showcase some of the work I've been upto!

SCD-RACING is the place. I've posted pictures some of the blaster, polaris, and banshee work I've been doing lately. Hope yall enjoy!
 
Not bad for a “rushed web page” but you have a ton of work ahead of you if you expect to make money from this site. Take it anyway you want to but here’s what I see.

1. You don’t have a phone number in your contact information.

This makes it very hard for customers to do business with you. Think about it James……. If you need something (porting, parts, advice) and you can’t even get in touch with the company by phone, why bother calling? Customers don’t like to be dicked around. You’re making it very hard to do business with you.

2. Get your Frankenstein Blaster off the front page.

Boss, I know you love the thing but let’s face it; it’s a ten breed mongrel that resembles a wheel barrow with a rocket launcher on it. Be honest and ask yourself a question…………………Who the hell would pay you do this to a quad?

3. Be honest with your customers.

You started in a small garage in 2011. You state you’ve grown. Into what? A small garage in 2013 with some new equipment? Let’s face it Boss. It’s time to put up or shut up if you want to play with the big boys. Size doesn’t matter. I also started in a garage back in 1983. Part of that start was a state tax number and a license to do business in my town. Flying under the radar gives your customers the impression that they can’t trust you.

4. Post testimonials.

At the risk of sounding like a dick……….OK, I’m a dick! Your photo gallery isn’t doing you any justice. Your customers want to see very clean work. I’m not seeing a lot of it on the site. The A arms do look nice. Only post pictures of the best work you can do. An even better strategy is to post testimonials from satisfied customers with pics of the work you did for them.

5. Don’t sell out.

What I’m talking about here is your family, property, and your future. All it takes for everything to go to hell is one weld to break and kill someone. Trust me….. You will be sued for every dime you’ll make as long as you live. With business comes liability. Get an insurance policy for at least $2,000,000 if you intend on offering suspension components. Trust me……it’s only a matter of time.

Take it as you like James but I know what works and I’m just not feeling it from what you have on line. As an on line presence, you’ve made yourself very visible to the last things you want. IRS, State and Town. Not your customers.
 
Hey James, nice to hear from you!

Glad to hear you are following your passion.
I am not qualified to comment on website esthetics, I am quite esthetically challenged.
Some of Ken's advice rings very true for me. Over the years I have had property rentals, a restaurant, a taxi business and even a gunshop back when I was your age. The taxman watches carefully and will bite with a vengence. Usually there are enough costs involved with starting up a business to offset earnings in the early years, but you have to plan for it and keep records. I had inspectors fish for bribes too, and gave me big troubles when I didn't pay. I still don't know the best way to handle that one. I was sued by customers too, successfully in a couple cases, luckily only for hundreds and thousands not hundreds of thousands. It is a rat race. Cover your butt!

You have good knowledge and ideas, I'd recommend you and hope to hear from you more often.

Steve
 
I know what I like to see on a website offering machining and services, and that is qualifications gained and where.

I also like a contact number to be able to speak to either the proprietor or at least someone in their employ.

I like to see good quality photos, well lit, and interestingly posisitioned items that take my eyes to the positives.

I like to see photos that reflect good work ethics.

What I do not like are photos of dirty, unfinished items still wearing gaskets after machining. It is far better not to put up a photo, than put up a poor one.

I too do not like are seeing porting showing no signs of adequate chamferring. The photo should be of the finished product.

I to, am not keen on some statements in the break in proceedure on page 4.
 
I like my work better...:D
Notice the proper port chamfering,lapped gasket sealing surfaces,correct cross hatching,and quality work?...Just saying. You can keep those triple exhaust ports. A properly designed single exhaust port works just fine.

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Found this on ebay a few weeks ago. Was this some of your work? Thats the word on the street. It looks EXACTLY like the work on your web site. I think it had triple exhaust ports too....B)
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B)
 
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I was also curious if you use Ken OConnor's method of installing a crank shaft,or just farm it out to another shop to get it done?I:I
 
Being a former customer of SCD I figured I'd contribute. Last year when I had the mod bug I decided I wanted some +3 +1 a arms. Great product at a great price. Unfortunately, that doesn't really do much for people reading this. They want to know how they ride. And I can't tell you that! I never rode them!

Anyways...I also decided I wanted a port job and headwork done for a +3 stroker crank. At first, (with virgin eyes) I was impressed. The ports were huge, and things were different. After seeing many professional port jobs and milled heads I came to realize this work was not-so professional. I was informed by a professional machinist and someone who does port work on a daily basis that this was a hack job. (Not mentioning names) I was told the port timing was all off, and that they'd be surprised if the engine ran. All work was done with a die grinder. Including the head work! Shortly after coming to the conclusion this top end might not work, I figured I'd assemble it anyway and give it a shot. Turns out, the head that was supposed to be milled for a 3 mil stroker crank running NO spacer plate, wasn't milled enough. The piston could not reach TDC due to the piston hitting the cylinder head. That is all. I:I
 
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A while back someone asked the question, where all the brotherhood and camaraderie went around here. It left when people who are getting rolling get bashed for being competition.

Ken, if in 1985 someone had "looked in" on your operation, would they have seen the operation it is now? I highly doubt it. Everyone has to start somewhere. I do consider tooling, knowledge, capacity, and repertoire to be "growth", don't you? What do you consider growth, only square footage? I think your definition of growth is severely narrowed by your desire to bash competition any way you can. Also, I previously had my phone number on the website but after finding out that your "cronies" have a tendency to list people's personal information on their local CL in the "M4M" section using doctored photographs (explicit in nature) I pulled it back off. I will wait to add one once I get an actual business line. Thanks for that suggestion. Also, because I choose not to fight back doesn't mean the hornets are harmless. If I were harmless, you wouldn't have nearly the sass mouth you do about it.

Joeak47, you openly admitted to printing out a picture of a head that I cut and using the printed picture for measurements to cut the head you pictured. You also purchased "sport port" port maps to do the port job. Granted, you did an excellent job on the work (I commended you on the work, at the time too!) but you understood and innovated nothing. You simply copied other people work directly (buying port maps) or indirectly (printing and copying my picture). It's fine bud, everyone has to start out somewhere but heckling someone else while doing far less yourself (innovation and experimentation) isn't wise. You have the skill set to go far but a poor attitude about other people will severely limit your opportunities.

Prime, I flat out told you before assembly to roll it over and check it. Did you? No. How exactly am I supposed to make something right (as I possibly could considering the limited nature of my tooling, at the time!) if you don't tell me its wrong and then run to someone else? Also, after that instance I sent two other people away who were looking to get head work done (based on our conversations about your setup) until I got my Atlas lathe setup after which I contacted YOU about making that right ( I made the contact, remember?) and cutting another head. You flat out refused citing an impending sale on Ebay (which you nearly cost another member their Ebay seller rating over) after you parted out the entire quad. I didn't feel like airing either your or my dirty laundry over the entire affair at the time so I let it slide.

I do appreciate everyone's otherwise positive comments and suggestions. I have been in contact with my lawyer and the State of NC about the best route moving forward. I have been keeping close tabs on costs and profits (LOL joke) for some time now. So far I haven't come out of the red so there isn't much for "the man" to come after anyone for.

Best, long time no see man. Haven't been around a lot for various reasons. I'm not too aesthetically gifted either (as you can see from the design!) but I'm doing in typical SCD fashion and doing it myself and I wouldn't have it any other way!!!!!!!!!

Blaaster, you have to understand.... I didn't take the vast majority of the pictures with the intentions of making them advertisements. They were mostly taken to show folks what was going on so most aren't finished (in progress) or with very good backlighting. As I work I'm getting the photography down a LITTLE better. I still have a major impediment to taking high quality photos.... I do the work in my spare time and not much is left afterwards for being a professional photographer LOL.

About the break-in procedure.... This guy is a little fanatical (he's a believer) but his logic is sound I'd also like to point out that I have never, in all my various incarnations of engines I've had, EVER siezed a top end, thrown a crank bearing, or wallowed out a crankshaft. I have, however, broke in every engine I've had with 3 10 minute IDLE periods, re-torqued, and then beat the CRAP out of them. Chock it upto good luck if you'd like but I'm sticking with it.

Surf and 3mil, thanks guys. I told you not to and you did anyway. That's more than "customers", that's friends.

And I'll close on a few philosophical notes (take them for what they are). Everyone takes it so serious but what did we all come here for? Riding, not internet bench racing. We all have the same passions but we let silly divisions and bickering get in the way of that and for what? profits? macho-ism? internet fame?

How about this, how about we all go out and go rip up some dirt and remember what it's all about?
 
THIS PLACE HAS HAD ZERO DRAMA SINCE YOU AND YOUR CHRONIES LEFT HERE....... ZERO !

THATS HOW IT'S GOING TO STAY. PERIOD.

THIS THREAD IS JUST ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO TROLL THIS WEBSITE,
PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND IT THIS TIME:
Yamaha Blaster Forum - Announcements in Forum : Miscellaneous

YOU KNEW FULL AND WELL THE RESPONSES THIS THREAD WOULD INCITE, THATS TROLLING.
ANY FURTHER ATTEMPTS WILL BE REWARDED ACCORDINGLY.

NOBODY ON HERE MISSES ALL THE BULLSHIT THAT COMES WITH YOU AS AN ACTIVE MEMBER.
(remember all the trolling of joeak's and oconnors threads you did, the daily bashing of everyone in chat, the bullshit you caused back in dec./jan. ? and posting how to delete accounts and unsubscribe ?? )

AND AS EVERYONE CAN CLEARLY SEE, IT HAS BEGUN AGAIN.

WE ARE NOT GOING DOWN THIS ROAD AGAIN,
EVER I:I

THREAD CLOSED.
 
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