Ephrata Honda explains how Omegasonics helped convert their carburetor cleaning service into a viable profit center.
BUSINESS TYPE:
✓Motorcycle, ATV dealer/repair
PART/PRODUCT CLEANED:
✓Carburetors
✓All powersport engine components
✓Motorcycle fork assemblies
SUBSTANCE(S) REMOVED:
✓Dirt/Mud, Varnish, Grease, Carbon
OMEGA CHEMISTRY USED:
✓OmegaClean
OMEGASONICS SYSTEM USED:
✓Omegasonics Pro Plus
INCREASED PROFIT CENTER:
✓Flat-fee carburetor cleaning service
MONEY/TIME SAVED:
✓Elimination of toxic chemicals/aerosol products
✓limination of chemical delivery/disposal service
✓3.5 hours labor saved, carburetor cleaning, four-cylinder engine
✓1.5 hours labor saved, carburetor cleaning, two-cylinder engine
Download the Ephrata Honda PDF
A Motorsports Business at the Crossroads
Ephrata, PA, lies halfway between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Located near the town crossroads is Ephrata Cycle and Sports, Inc., a family-owned dealer and service center.
Chuck Aughinbaugh, the owner/operator, has been in the business for over 30 years, selling and fixing racing bikes, cruisers, and ATVs. A lot of his time was spent tearing down carburetors and other components for cleaning, but he’s putting much of that time to better use since bringing an Omegasonics Pro Plus into his shop.
Racing and Street Bikes Have Unique Carb Cleaning Needs
Chuck’s customers work hard and play hard. Mud-caked Honda CR racing bikes come in regularly for service as do vintage GoldWings, pulled out of the barn after years of neglect.
All present their special needs. The aluminum engine cases on the CRs absorb mud and grease. Dirt packs deep into the fork tubes and legs. The big cruisers sport four-stack carburetors that turn “green” when coated with residue from today’s fuels.
To run right, the four stacks need to be stripped clean. Hours of hand labor and gallons of toxic chemicals used to be the only way to get the motocrossers back on the course and the cruisers back on the turnpike.
Time and Toxins
For many years, Chuck used a solvent recycling service that came to his shop and exchanged his 30 gallon sink-on-a-drum on a quarterly basis. The unit pumped solvent into the sink where the dirty parts would soak and then were brushed by hand.
Everything had to be disassembled before cleaning, especially carburetors, creating a four hour job on a typical four-cylinder engine. Though Chuck evolved from 30 gallon solvent drums to smaller containers and more aerosol cleaners, the shortcomings still remained: time and toxic chemicals.
Enter the Pro Plus
After checking out Omegasonics at a tradeshow, Chuck purchased the Omegasonics Pro Plus with a 33 gallon capacity and 2000 watts of ultrasonic power. For his cleaning solution, he chose OmegaClean, an Omega cleaning agent that removes oil, grease, light carbon, and contaminants from a variety of metals.
OmegaClean’s buffers protect aluminum finishes and its silicates guard against flash rusting. Omegasonics immediately tackled two of Chuck’s toughest cleaning jobs. Fork tubes and legs fit completely into the Pro Plus, allowing for deep interior cleaning without special tools or disassembly. Carburetors also get the Omegasonics’ treatment, with very powerful results.
Time Savings and a Profit Center
Chuck explained his new carburetor cleaning process: “When I’m cleaning a fourstack, I leave them on the plate. The only things I don’t put into the machine are floats and the occasional vacuum diaphragm.”
The manual labor component of a four-stack’s cleaning process has dropped from four hours to 20 minutes. The actual cleaning time is 40 minutes in the Pro Plus. “When parts are cleaning in the Omegasonics, that’s hands-off time that I can use to do other jobs,” said Chuck.
Today, Ephrata Cycle and Sports charges a $25 flat fee for cleaning a carburetor. “It’s become a profit center,” Chuck revealed. “We can do plenty of carburetors without tying up manpower and the results are excellent.” Customers save money as well, versus the previous hourly rate to teardown a carburetor and clean it by hand.
The Value of Omegasonics
Chuck finds the Omegasonics Pro Plus enhances the value of his service. “When we do an engine teardown on a racing bike, we always clean the case in the Omegasonics Pro Plus. When the customer gets the bike back with that shiny cover, he feels that much better about the money he’s spent with us.”
Chuck concludes, “Omegasonics has paid us back substantially. We save hours in labor, and the cost and hassle of dealing with toxic chemicals is eliminated. It makes a difference our customers can actually see.”
