Alright, let me tell you about my run-in with Gillis Power Sports the other week.
So, my trusty old ATV, the one I use for hauling wood and whatnot, started making a real racket. Sounded like something in the transmission was giving up. Not good. I tinker with stuff myself mostly, you know, oil changes, basic things. But this sounded deeper, maybe needed a specific bearing or gear I didn’t have lying around.
Figuring Out the Problem
First thing, I spent a Saturday morning pulling things apart. Got the schematics out, the ones I downloaded ages ago. Pinpointed what looked like the busted part. Looked like a specific cog, teeth were looking pretty worn down. Okay, got the part number. Now, where to find it?
Tried searching online first. Found a few places, but shipping costs were crazy, or they were backordered for weeks. I needed the machine running sooner rather than later. Asked around, mentioned it to my neighbor, Dave. He said, “Why don’t you try Gillis? They’ve been around forever.” Hadn’t thought of them, usually just drive past.
Heading Down to Gillis
So, next Tuesday, I took a drive down there. Walked into the place. It’s a decent size shop, lots of bikes and sleds around, smelled like oil and new tires, you know the smell. Went up to the parts counter. There was this older fella working there, looked like he knew his stuff.
I explained what I needed, showed him the part number I scribbled down. He squinted at my note, then tapped away at his computer for a bit. Didn’t say much at first.
- Checked his screen.
- Mumbled something.
- Walked back into the warehouse area for a minute.
Thought maybe I was out of luck. He comes back holding this dusty little box. Blows the dust off. “This look like it?” he asks.
Bingo. That was the exact part. Couldn’t believe they actually had it in stock for a machine as old as mine. Must keep a deep inventory back there.
Getting it Done
Paid the man. Price wasn’t cheap, but wasn’t outrageous either, ‘specially considering I didn’t have to wait for shipping. He didn’t try to upsell me anything, just got me the part I needed. I appreciate that. No messing around.
Took it home that afternoon. Spent the evening putting the ATV back together. Fired it up, and the noise was gone. Ran smooth again. Felt good getting it fixed myself, but gotta say, finding that part easily was the key.
So yeah, that was my experience with Gillis. Straightforward. Went in, needed a specific thing for an old machine, they had it, I bought it, left. They seem to know their parts, which is more than I can say for some places these days. Worth checking out if you’re stuck finding power sports bits and pieces.
