Author Topic: Raceway Services  (Read 9691 times)

rldebuse

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Raceway Services
« on: November 21, 2012, 11:17:21 PM »
I have only heard good things about this company.  I have not used them myself.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2012, 04:26:16 AM by admin »

Doodle Bugger

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Re: Raceway Services
« Reply #1 on: November 26, 2013, 09:07:38 PM »
I had a Briggs & Stratton NP engine for a Doodle Bug Scooter done by Raceway Services in 2011. The engine was not stuck, but was still in rough shape when I sent it off and it came back looking and running better than new. Absolutely concours/show quality work. Jim Petitti, Raceway's 80 year old owner (at the time), personally did the rebuild on it and was the one that was interested in the old stuff.

Jim is not a young man (81, I believe) and has been dealing with cancer for a while and is currently confined to a powerchair. Within the last year he decided that it was time to "retire" and he sold the business (which really is primarily an Ural, Royal Enfield, and new-production Whizzer dealer). The new owners (a father & son-in-law team) have said online that they are relatively new to motorcycling and have not operated a motorcycle shop prior. They've renamed the business Raceway Ural and have dropped "services" from the name. A handful of the original employees were retained (at least for now) but the bulk of the employees are new from what I understand. Jim stayed on as a resource for the new owners during the transition but is no longer doing any rebuilds and isn't really involved or responsible for day-to-day operations any longer.

The antique motorbike & scooter stuff was always kind of done "on the side" and not very widely publicized because it was really Jim doing pet-project kind of stuff as time allowed with the equipment he had access to because he owned Raceway Services. I don't recall ever seeing one of their vintage scooter ads until now.

With Jim no longer doing rebuilds and the shop sold, I'm not sure that Raceway can or will take on the old stuff anymore. Don Jackson (THE Doodle Bug guy - Yesterdays Rides Metalworks in Newberg, OR) was really the main reason that Raceway ever diad any of the antique stuff anyway: he supplied them with a steady stream of Doodle Bug engines for restoration. I know that with Jim calling it quits, Don is now sending his engines out to a different rebuilder and is not using Raceway for any of the old stuff these days, for what that's worth.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2016, 06:58:32 PM by Doodle Bugger »

Doodle Bugger

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Re: Raceway Services
« Reply #2 on: May 07, 2016, 07:05:04 PM »
For those that might be interested in a bit of an update, I just learned today that Jim Petitti passed away on November 20, 2015 at his home in Salem, Oregon. He was 82 years old. Jim and his business, Raceway Services, was best known for their work with Ural Motorcycles, though Jim loved anything on wheels and took a great interest in vintage scooters and small engines.