The Superbike Factory Story Seems To Get Uglier, As Told By A Branch Manager

If you've ever been in a middle-management type of position, then you're probably going to find what Jack Robinson has to say in this video interview with Two Wheel Rider very relatable. For those unfamiliar, I'm talking about a position where you're in charge of a small group of people, but you likely don't have a whole lot of power (if any) to effect any real change within the overall organization. You'll answer for yourself and your team if anything goes wrong, but trying to improve working conditions with the upper brass will probably get you a shrug and an "ask me next week" at best.

We've talked a bit about the UK used bike chain Superbike Factory and how it went into administration with no (public) warning a couple of weeks ago. Since that time, a previous employee came forward and shared some of the strange things he'd witnessed while he was working there, as well as what finally made him quit.

And now, the store manager of the Superbike Factory Crawley-Sussex location (which was formerly a well-respected motorcycle dealer called P&H Motorcycles) has come forward to talk about the final days at his location. Crucially, Robinson says he'd been at Superbike Factory Crawley ever since SBF first took over P&H Motorcycles. He also added that SBF had retained most of the staff from P&H Motorcycles, which is why that location had a fairly well-functioning mechanics workshop set up, complete with certified motorcycle mechanics. He said he's not certain how (or if) such a situation existed at SBF's other locations, a topic that seems to come up routinely if you read online forum discussions of customer experiences at various SBF locations.

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SBF took over the site of the former P&H Motorcycles in Crawley toward the end of 2024, and retained much of its existing staff to staff its newest location. According to Robinson, he'd already been in the motorcycle business a long time; he'd walked away for a bit, only to find himself right back in it. Likewise, he said that at least at his location (and probably others) most of the everyday people working there were fellow riders and enthusiasts. People with passion for bikes, and passion for helping fellow riders; you know the drill. 

But things, Robinson said, started to take a turn for the worse around December 2025. That's when a new CEO came in, he said; someone who seemed much more concerned about turning over bikes as quickly as they possibly could. SBF got its stock through two primary means: Taking trade-ins from people walking in the door, and WeBuyAnyBike.com. Incidentally, sometime in between the last time I wrote about the SBF saga and now, the administrators have finally switched off the WeBuyAnyBike.com website and placed an administration notice on its front page.

Now, on the showroom floor, you had the passionate riders trying to sell bikes (and accessories/gear/service) to other riders. And in management, says Robinson, you seemed to have a new CEO who only cared about moving as many bikes as possible, not about customers or customer service or even motorcycling, really. Clearly, there was going to be some serious side-eye and maybe a sense of conflict (or more than a sense) between the front-line workers and upper management regarding strategy.

In December 2025, Robinson said a number of staff at Superbike Factory were made redundant. He did not specify what that number was; just said that although 270-plus employees losing their jobs one Monday toward the end of July 2026 was bad, it wasn't the first time SBF had suddenly dropped a bunch of people at once.

What Was It Like At The End?

But the most harrowing stuff, both for Superbike Factory employees and for its customers, seemingly came at the end in Robinson's telling. It's probably worth watching the entire 40-ish minute video, especially if you're someone who was directly impacted by what happened. But here are some of the highlights:

• Up until the final Friday that SBF was open, employees were instructed to keep selling bikes, and keep stock moving through as much as possible.
• At the same time, on the WeBuyAnyBike.com side, Robinson says they were told to stop taking in new bikes around two to three weeks before the administration declaration happened.
• There was at least one person who sold their bike to SBF on the last week it was open. That person signed over their title, and was reportedly told they'd receive their money for the sale of their bike within 3 to 4 days. But within 3 to 4 days, SBF was evidently winding down its operations for good as it prepared to go into administration. For that person, and others with bikes recently sold to SBF or in for service with SBF, it's unclear what happens next; for at least a time, they will likely be without either their bikes or the money they're owed.
• If you saw social media posts that showed photos and videos of computer printouts posted to SBF locations at the end, all of which said something about "IT Problems," Robinson explains that a bit, too. Apparently, during the last few days (prior to all the staff being told to go home Friday like usual and then come back Monday afternoon at 2pm for a meeting, which is when the administrators reportedly told everyone they were redundant effective immediately), all the SBF staff had been locked out of communications with each other. SBF relied on Microsoft products including Outlook and Teams to keep its organization in contact, and suddenly no one could access it. They also couldn't access their computer systems, and Robinson says his laptop was locked out entirely. And yet, everyone was still encouraged to keep selling bikes to unsuspecting customers as normal. 
  
  If you read this last paragraph and you find yourself feeling secondhand rage like I do, you're not alone. Congratulations; you're a decent human being with a heart.
• All of the 270-ish Superbike Factory employees that were made redundant at a single 2pm Monday afternoon meeting in July are apparently still waiting on some pesky key information they need from SBF in order to even begin to process their redundancy claims with the UK government. 
  
  That's right; according to Robinson, at this meeting where they were all told that not only were they being made redundant effective immediately, but that they also had just done around 3 weeks of free labor (because they weren't getting paid for any of July up to the date they were made redundant), they were also NOT provided with any case numbers or employer ID numbers that they would need to start the claims process with the government. 
  
  Not only were the employees not given guidance on how to do the process; they reportedly weren't even given the information they needed in order to attempt to navigate the process on their own.
  
  
• On July 28, 2026, the Joint Administrators who are currently handling the Superbike Factory administration process posted an eight-page Customer FAQ to provide some guidance to customers who had any open business with Superbike Factory in progress when the company went into administration. If you are a customer, you can also direct enquiries to the administrators via email at SBF@kr8.co.uk. They advise that it may take some time to respond, as they are receiving quite a high volume of enquiries at the moment.

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