We have the tools with us to do a full service on the bikes, but don't carry things like an oil pan or 11 litres of oil around. We make sure we have an oil filter with us and usually go to a local motorcycle shop to buy the engine oil. We usually look for Yamaha or Honda dealers, as they are plentiful and easy to find. Sometimes we can perform the service there, other times the loan us an oil pan. Today it went a little different though!
We found a Honda dealer just 10 km up the road in beautiful Avanos, part of Cappadocia. The strange thing was that Honda Turkey gave a different address to what the shops' Facebook page showed us... so we put both addresses in the GPS just in case. In the end we didn't find the Honda dealer at either address... Looking in the GPS, to see if that showed anything else, a total stranger came up to us and asked if he could help. We told him we were looking for a motorcycle shop. 'Just 500 mrs straight ahead, look for the Kuba sign'. We thanked him and continued.
Kuba isn't the name of the shop, it's a motorcycle brand they sell. The shop itself is called Yurekli Motor, operated by the classic two brothers setup: one doing the sales, the other the mechanic. As far as I understand it Kuba is a Turkish made motorcycle, one of the models advertised even comes with a 3 year warranty. Talking about Turkish made motorcycles, before I came to Turkey I knew of just one Turkish brand: Kanuni, as they continued to make the MZ two strokes for a while. If I have been well informed then there are actually 4: Mondial, Kanuni, Kubamotor and Bisan. Mondial is the one that caught my eye, thinking it was Italian. They were, a long time ago, but today Mondial in Turkey makes quite a range of motorcycles.
Anyway, back to Yurekli! We had an enjoyable morning there. Enjoyable? Yes, because the language differences lead to quite a few hilarious moments. Also enjoyable because despite the language problem we all tried our best to communicate. The whole atmosphere was positive and that makes all the difference. They sell Castrol, Motul and Mobil oil, chain lubes, brake pads, have quite a range of helmets and clothing, stock tyres in bigger sizes and had quite a few new and secondhand bikes for sale. I was really surprised how much stuff they have. Meanwhile the workshop has all the tools you could possibly need, right up to oxy and welding gear, and of course two very competent mechanics. If you're riding through Turkey then Cappadocia should be on your list of things to see anyway and Yurekli would be a good place to service the bike. They can be found at N38.71778° E34.84169°
