MPS RACING NIGHTMARE EXPERIENCE

roofmc79
Posts
39
Joined
2/23/2017
Location
Little Falls, NJ US
3/3/2017 4:39am Edited Date/Time 6/7/2017 8:36am
Hey all I want to share my nightmare of an experience dealing with George Fanelli. I was stupid and didnt do enough research on who not to use. MPS put it in me real good. I called him first and and told him I have a 250F frame and he tells me he wouldnt use a 250f frame and he has to check his inventory but he thinks he has a 450f frame. Now I already bought a 250f frame so this kinda sucked im thinking. So he gets back to me 2 days later and sends me pics of the frame he has.He tells me 500$ for the frame, subframe, and tank. 1500$ for the conversion. So i pull the trigger and move forward with the "guy". He wanted the 2000$ up front at first I didnt agree with that so he told me to send half. I wind up sending him a 1200$ deposit. After I sent him the deposit we are talking on the phone and he begins to tell me how so many people on this forum dont like him and there being key board cowboys etc. He says they bust his chops about his work. Ok, now bells start going off in my head. Later that night I start looking at some of the posts that he's talking about. Needless to say when I see the pics of his work my jaw drops. So now Im trying to justify in my head, oh thats 2013 he has to do better fab work by now. Next day I ask him to send me pics of his recent work and he gave me this bullshit story that he doesnt post any pics of his work because someone might try and copy his design. He said if they copy his design and it fails he can get sued lol Now I know this is total bullshit and im starting to get pissed because I know anyone that does nice fab work and uses a computer posts pics of there work. Oh yea he also told me to call GM and ask them to send me a pic of there welds and see what they say to me. So we are going back and forth and he finally sends me this pic of a frame where you cant even see the work that was done. He tells me thats all u get with a smiley face. At that point I wanted to ask for my deposit back but started to see what type of business man he was and felt I didnt want to lose my 1200$ it all together. So I just tell him please please please make sure the welds are really nice. He told me Ill be more then happy with it when its done. Almost three weeks go by and I ask him hows he making out ? He tells me it should be done hopefully next week. Im not a pushy person but he told me he was starting it monday which was 3 days from when I sent the money. Normally I wouldnt of been aggravated because I know shit comes up but I was already pissed because of him not sending pics so I tell him Im done I want my deposit back. He tells me Im not getting my deposit back. (no surprise there) Make a long story short the following week he asks for the balance and I told him I need pics. So after hours of back and forth and he finally sends me a pic of the Y and it looked like absolute shit needless to say. It looked like the welds had multiple babies and then he scotch brite the shit out of it. You can literally see dirt in the weld. I dont weld for a living but I do mig weld when needed and I do know any time u mig or tig weld, the metal better be clean especially aluminum. After telling him how I felt he told me it would be an additonal 250$ for show quality welds.Then he begins to tell me he woudnt of used a 250f frame but thats what I wanted. WHAT?????? I told him he said it was a 450 frame and why would I buy another 250 frame when I have one. He tells me that "WE" decided that because I didnt want to ship the frame lol. Just straight out lying now. I sent him a copy of the text of me saying I bought a 250f frame and want to do the conversion with my 97KX500. He says where does it say in a text that he was gonna give me a 450 frame. I TOLD HIM HE TOLD ME ON THE PHONE THAT HE HAD A 450 FRAME BUT JUST HAS TO CHECK HIS INVENTORY. He says thats not true. At this point Im just so disgusted. So I ask him to send me pics of everything, subframe exaust mounts, down tubes and head stay. Again it was like pulling teeth but finally after another week and a half goes by he sends the rest of the pics. So that just tells me he wasnt done but of course he was trying to get paid. He did tell me it was 100% done a week and a half ago by the way. The head stay looks like it was done with Home depot flat stock. Just total garbage. So now Im out 1200$ and this jerk off will find some other sucker to buy it. Making double for complete garbage. After all of this he tries to make me feel like Im fucking him lol. I felt like I was on the twilight zone dealing with this "guy".
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JW381
Posts
10643
Joined
7/21/2009
Location
Harrisburg, OR US
3/3/2017 7:59pm
Post pics!!

The Shop

roofmc79
Posts
39
Joined
2/23/2017
Location
Little Falls, NJ US
3/4/2017 5:59am
The pic of the frame with the gas tank is the first a pics he sent me when I practically begged him to send me a pic of the progress. As you can see theres not much to look at. The guy is sneaky. He knows how to take the pics so u can barely see anything. After that pic I asked for more pics and he said I already sent u one. lol. All those pics were sent within a two week span of asking for pics. As you can see the guy takes NOOOOOOOOOOOO pride in anything he does. LIKE CLEAN THE FUCKING PARTS FOR GODS SAKE !!!!!! Whats crazy is he said hes been doing this for 13 yrs. Usually peoples skills get better through the yrs, just not in his case as you can see. Oh he also said everything was in mint condition
imoto34
Posts
3781
Joined
1/28/2010
Location
TN US
Fantasy
3151st
3/4/2017 6:29am
So have you not had your money returned? Start with your lawyer sending a simple certified letter and go from there. Theft is theft. I would already been to his shop and house.
scooter5002
Posts
4761
Joined
6/6/2010
Location
Nanton Alberta CA
3/4/2017 9:17am
Picked my frame up almost 7 years ago, and nothing has changed. Still a hack, still a complete asshole.
1
3/4/2017 9:44am
That's a shame. I'm sorry for your loss.
For others needing info, 'Cr500 Conversions' on FB is a page dedicated to the info needed to build and buy the bikes. M-Worx, MRE, and a few others are top quality work. Some of which can actually rebuild/repair these slop builds.
Eric_Karwat
Posts
11
Joined
7/30/2015
Location
Joliet, IL US
3/4/2017 10:40am
Hear about his work being garbage on the Facebook page "CR500 conversions " all the time. Like stated above great guys on there who are reputable builders can fix these hack jobs . Kevin J Spina on there does amazing fab work An repairs even builds !
roofmc79
Posts
39
Joined
2/23/2017
Location
Little Falls, NJ US
3/4/2017 2:36pm
imoto34 wrote:
So have you not had your money returned? Start with your lawyer sending a simple certified letter and go from there. Theft is theft. I would...
So have you not had your money returned? Start with your lawyer sending a simple certified letter and go from there. Theft is theft. I would already been to his shop and house.
No I havent imoto34. I just dont want to spend any more money then I already have with this guy. He claims to sell 1000s of bikes all over the world. I told him to sell it to someone whos willing to buy it and send me my deposit back once its sold.. He laughed and said this isnt Walmart, he said this is a custom build no one would give me my deposit back. Which tells u right there what kind of guy he is. I know its a dead issue so I told him Im gonna make it my lifes works to let everyone know how he runs his business. I will never stop also. He scumbagged me right from the beginning so Im gonna return the favor. The only difference is i wouldnt be lying about anything.
roofmc79
Posts
39
Joined
2/23/2017
Location
Little Falls, NJ US
3/4/2017 2:56pm
Picked my frame up almost 7 years ago, and nothing has changed. Still a hack, still a complete asshole.
Unreal, 7 yrs and still produces shitty work. He thinks his work is the best out there. He thinks people want to copy his "design" lol. He claims thats why he doesnt post pics.
TXDirt
Posts
7384
Joined
7/29/2015
Location
Plano, TX US
3/6/2017 7:45am
Atleast you didn't throw good money after bad. It would have been easy to double down and send more money on the "hope" it turns out right. But you made the tough decision which was to fold your cards. Lesson learned and you made the correct call.
roofmc79
Posts
39
Joined
2/23/2017
Location
Little Falls, NJ US
3/6/2017 8:56am
TXDirt wrote:
Atleast you didn't throw good money after bad. It would have been easy to double down and send more money on the "hope" it turns out...
Atleast you didn't throw good money after bad. It would have been easy to double down and send more money on the "hope" it turns out right. But you made the tough decision which was to fold your cards. Lesson learned and you made the correct call.
Exactly TXDirt, I saw all the bad reviews from 2-3 yrs ago and then saw what he did for me. I knew it was a dead issue. So instead of stressing myself out even more dealing with this loser I decided to fold. Ten yrs ago I would of jumped in my truck and been waiting for him at his shop. Lucky for him I've grown and matured.
roofmc79
Posts
39
Joined
2/23/2017
Location
Little Falls, NJ US
3/6/2017 8:59am
That's a shame. I'm sorry for your loss. For others needing info, 'Cr500 Conversions' on FB is a page dedicated to the info needed to build...
That's a shame. I'm sorry for your loss.
For others needing info, 'Cr500 Conversions' on FB is a page dedicated to the info needed to build and buy the bikes. M-Worx, MRE, and a few others are top quality work. Some of which can actually rebuild/repair these slop builds.
Thank you Cr500 Conversions
3/6/2017 1:16pm
Roofmc. Don't sweat it. Want it fixed? Get it, and we'll work out a deal on getting you bike in good order.
Bermworm
Posts
300
Joined
9/3/2013
Location
CA
3/7/2017 4:56pm
Roofmc. Don't sweat it. Want it fixed? Get it, and we'll work out a deal on getting you bike in good order.
"Cause most moto people ARE cool people thanks for restoring my faith
roofmc79
Posts
39
Joined
2/23/2017
Location
Little Falls, NJ US
3/8/2017 8:04am
Roofmc. Don't sweat it. Want it fixed? Get it, and we'll work out a deal on getting you bike in good order.
Thank you Cr500 Conversions, but I wouldn't give that guy another dime of my money. Im not sure which way I'm gonna go with the 500 at this point. How can I see your work anyway ? I am waiting on an approval on the Cr500 conversions Facebook page. Not sure if that's you though.
socalsand
Posts
78
Joined
2/5/2017
Location
Apple Valley, CA US
3/10/2017 1:27am
roofmc79 wrote:
Hey all I want to share my nightmare of an experience dealing with George Fanelli. I was stupid and didnt do enough research on who not...
Hey all I want to share my nightmare of an experience dealing with George Fanelli. I was stupid and didnt do enough research on who not to use. MPS put it in me real good. I called him first and and told him I have a 250F frame and he tells me he wouldnt use a 250f frame and he has to check his inventory but he thinks he has a 450f frame. Now I already bought a 250f frame so this kinda sucked im thinking. So he gets back to me 2 days later and sends me pics of the frame he has.He tells me 500$ for the frame, subframe, and tank. 1500$ for the conversion. So i pull the trigger and move forward with the "guy". He wanted the 2000$ up front at first I didnt agree with that so he told me to send half. I wind up sending him a 1200$ deposit. After I sent him the deposit we are talking on the phone and he begins to tell me how so many people on this forum dont like him and there being key board cowboys etc. He says they bust his chops about his work. Ok, now bells start going off in my head. Later that night I start looking at some of the posts that he's talking about. Needless to say when I see the pics of his work my jaw drops. So now Im trying to justify in my head, oh thats 2013 he has to do better fab work by now. Next day I ask him to send me pics of his recent work and he gave me this bullshit story that he doesnt post any pics of his work because someone might try and copy his design. He said if they copy his design and it fails he can get sued lol Now I know this is total bullshit and im starting to get pissed because I know anyone that does nice fab work and uses a computer posts pics of there work. Oh yea he also told me to call GM and ask them to send me a pic of there welds and see what they say to me. So we are going back and forth and he finally sends me this pic of a frame where you cant even see the work that was done. He tells me thats all u get with a smiley face. At that point I wanted to ask for my deposit back but started to see what type of business man he was and felt I didnt want to lose my 1200$ it all together. So I just tell him please please please make sure the welds are really nice. He told me Ill be more then happy with it when its done. Almost three weeks go by and I ask him hows he making out ? He tells me it should be done hopefully next week. Im not a pushy person but he told me he was starting it monday which was 3 days from when I sent the money. Normally I wouldnt of been aggravated because I know shit comes up but I was already pissed because of him not sending pics so I tell him Im done I want my deposit back. He tells me Im not getting my deposit back. (no surprise there) Make a long story short the following week he asks for the balance and I told him I need pics. So after hours of back and forth and he finally sends me a pic of the Y and it looked like absolute shit needless to say. It looked like the welds had multiple babies and then he scotch brite the shit out of it. You can literally see dirt in the weld. I dont weld for a living but I do mig weld when needed and I do know any time u mig or tig weld, the metal better be clean especially aluminum. After telling him how I felt he told me it would be an additonal 250$ for show quality welds.Then he begins to tell me he woudnt of used a 250f frame but thats what I wanted. WHAT?????? I told him he said it was a 450 frame and why would I buy another 250 frame when I have one. He tells me that "WE" decided that because I didnt want to ship the frame lol. Just straight out lying now. I sent him a copy of the text of me saying I bought a 250f frame and want to do the conversion with my 97KX500. He says where does it say in a text that he was gonna give me a 450 frame. I TOLD HIM HE TOLD ME ON THE PHONE THAT HE HAD A 450 FRAME BUT JUST HAS TO CHECK HIS INVENTORY. He says thats not true. At this point Im just so disgusted. So I ask him to send me pics of everything, subframe exaust mounts, down tubes and head stay. Again it was like pulling teeth but finally after another week and a half goes by he sends the rest of the pics. So that just tells me he wasnt done but of course he was trying to get paid. He did tell me it was 100% done a week and a half ago by the way. The head stay looks like it was done with Home depot flat stock. Just total garbage. So now Im out 1200$ and this jerk off will find some other sucker to buy it. Making double for complete garbage. After all of this he tries to make me feel like Im fucking him lol. I felt like I was on the twilight zone dealing with this "guy".
Man your story pisses me off just reading it. I just passed on a nice Service Honda AF500, was a nice bike but I just wanted another regular CR500. Found a super clean 95 for less than half his best price.

Anyway, I looked at a Honda AF500 about 10 years ago built by sand cars unlimited in Anaheim Calif. Super quality build and beautiful welds. The owner use to work for the original business called "sand toys" in the 70's and took over the business. If anyone is in California looking for an AF500 conversion he could be the guy.
If I remember correctly he ventured off into the AF builds back then when the economy was bad and sandrail builds were slow. Not sure if he still does or would build another on request. But one thing for sure is he can fabricate and weld.
ThorsMX
Posts
93
Joined
1/26/2016
Location
Eureka, CA US
6/6/2017 4:45pm
roofmc79 wrote:
No I havent imoto34. I just dont want to spend any more money then I already have with this guy. He claims to sell 1000s of...
No I havent imoto34. I just dont want to spend any more money then I already have with this guy. He claims to sell 1000s of bikes all over the world. I told him to sell it to someone whos willing to buy it and send me my deposit back once its sold.. He laughed and said this isnt Walmart, he said this is a custom build no one would give me my deposit back. Which tells u right there what kind of guy he is. I know its a dead issue so I told him Im gonna make it my lifes works to let everyone know how he runs his business. I will never stop also. He scumbagged me right from the beginning so Im gonna return the favor. The only difference is i wouldnt be lying about anything.
Next Tax season wright it as a donation to MPS, you have the proof

I know it doesn't help in your case but maybe it's a start of a Fed tax related fraud that i'm sure he's already trying to battle.
ThorsMX
Posts
93
Joined
1/26/2016
Location
Eureka, CA US
6/6/2017 4:47pm
Roofmc. Don't sweat it. Want it fixed? Get it, and we'll work out a deal on getting you bike in good order.
Dude you could make bank advertising "We Fix MPS stuff!"
roofmc79
Posts
39
Joined
2/23/2017
Location
Little Falls, NJ US
6/7/2017 8:36am
roofmc79 wrote:
No I havent imoto34. I just dont want to spend any more money then I already have with this guy. He claims to sell 1000s of...
No I havent imoto34. I just dont want to spend any more money then I already have with this guy. He claims to sell 1000s of bikes all over the world. I told him to sell it to someone whos willing to buy it and send me my deposit back once its sold.. He laughed and said this isnt Walmart, he said this is a custom build no one would give me my deposit back. Which tells u right there what kind of guy he is. I know its a dead issue so I told him Im gonna make it my lifes works to let everyone know how he runs his business. I will never stop also. He scumbagged me right from the beginning so Im gonna return the favor. The only difference is i wouldnt be lying about anything.
ThorsMX wrote:
Next Tax season wright it as a donation to MPS, you have the proof I know it doesn't help in your case but maybe it's a...
Next Tax season wright it as a donation to MPS, you have the proof

I know it doesn't help in your case but maybe it's a start of a Fed tax related fraud that i'm sure he's already trying to battle.
Lol never thought about that. Thanks Thorsmx
Jake_CR250R
Posts
320
Joined
1/30/2012
Location
Ozark, MO US
8/26/2017 7:04am


More from mps... Bet it's a fake/replica because wouldn't a factory part most likely be magnesium not an alloy?

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