a lil update! :)

Oh, hi there! Long time no hear from me eh? Can't believe it's been two months since I last posted here! It's because I've been very busy in real life. My own family of four moved to our country's capital city last October 1, and I've been packing up / unpacking stuff / settling in / adjusting to life where we're on our own. Thankfully it has been a good two months ^__^

On that moving part note, my parents' main motorparts store has also moved to its new space last October! Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply's main branch is now officially located in Sudapin Shell Station, a few meters from the Barracks area along the "Tourist Road" going to Mt. Apo. Since we don't pay rent here, all our motorcycle parts are much, much cheaper than other stores. So if you're along the way and / or want to save a lot, do drop by! A cousin of mine is manning the store and will be happy to assist you ;-)

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Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply
Main: Sudapin Shell Station, Tourist Road, Kidapawan City
Branch: Jose Abad Santos St., Kidapawan City
For motor parts orders, text +639177184774

our second branch :)

Just a quick post to show you Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply's second store branch. Yep, believe it or not, we have another shop! My parents may be n00bs in the motorcycle parts business but they are not afraid to expand ;-) Our first motorparts store opened August 2011. Three months later, my parents and my relatives who handle the day-to-day operations of the store, are just getting the hang of managing a business. And then they heard that a motorparts store is closing near Kidapawan's Public Market. My parents decided to buy the store (stocks and all), rename it and voila! On November 2011, we had our second store --

Yeah, it doesn't look much, LOL! I'll even go far to say it's looks a bit dingy :p But hey, it's near the public market so being dingy is just normal. Hehe! One good thing: the rent space is much cheaper here. Also, there's lots of motorcycles as the market has a terminal for public vehicles. Below is the interior shot of the store. That's my cousin in blue shirt, he's the one manning this branch :) Notice the motorcycle engine oils we have on stock. Yeah, we have lots because we also sell it wholesale.

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Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply
Main: National Highway, Kidapawan City
Branch: Jose Abad Santos St., Kidapawan City
For motor parts orders, text +639177184774

we're moving!

By October (next month), the main store of Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply will officially be located in Shell Sudapin Station. For those of you who live in Kidapawan City, especially in Barracks / Sudapin / Manongol (and up to the foothills of Mt. Apo) areas, this Bulilit Shell gasoline station might be familiar to you already. It is along Tourist Road / Ilumavis Road and opened last June 2012. Bulilit means small by the way. So, why the move? To save on rent space of course! And what we save will hopefully be profit, and enough to conduct a medical mission this year ^__^ Anyway, here's a shot of the Shell Sudapin Station (that's my kid in red, hehe):

As you might have guessed, this gasoline station is another business of my parents. My father's dream business actually :) But lest you think we're rich, no, we're not. If you look at the Shell Sudapin Station carefully, it only has two bays, with 6 pumps each. Yeah, it's a very small gas station, one that my father can actually afford to put up. Hehe! Anyway, back to the moving of our Kidapawan motorparts store. The big question is: does it make sense to move it to a gas station? In our case, it's a big YES! Coz most of the station's customers are motorcycles and tricycles (perhaps around 90%). In essence, our gas station coupled with the motorparts store will become a hub for motorcycle drivers and bikers! The drivers will fill their motorcycle tanks with gas, buy motor oils they need in the shop, have a motor part repaired, and perhaps eat a snack in our mini-grocery while they wait. Perfect setup if I may say so! ;-)

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Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply
Main: National Highway, Kidapawan City
Branch: Jose Abad Santos St., Kidapawan City
For motor parts orders, text +639177184774

Shell Motor Oils and Lubricants - Part 1

Part 1 of a three-part series

Ever since I was young, I see plastic bottles of Shell Oils and Lubricants everywhere. Engine oils / motor lubricants / motorcycle oils are ubiquitous in my part of the world. The brand names Helix and Rimula are as familiar to me as He-Man and Sheera (yeah, I'm that old), and so writing about Shell Oils and Lubricants for motorcycles is not so hard for me as compared to writing about motorparts ;-) As I've said in my previous post, Solito Motor Oils and Auto Parts Supply was originally a store for selling motor oils and not motor parts. But since there was demand for the latter, my parents eventually decided to sell motor parts too. Anyway, here are the Shell motorcycle oils that we sell in our Kidapawan motorparts store:

photo credit: www.shell.com.ph

Shell Advance 2T (1L)

Shell Advance 2T (200ml)

Shell Advance 4T AX3 Red (1L)

Shell Advance 4T AX3 Red (800ml)

Shell Advance 4T AX5 Yellow (1L)

Shell Advance 4T AX5 Yellow (800mL)

Shell Advance 4T AX7 Blue (1L)

Shell Advance 4T AX7 Blue (800mL)
Shell Advance 4T Ultra Gray (1L)

Shell Helix 15W/40 (1L)

Shell Rimula R3 15W/40 (1L)

Shell Rimula R3 15W/40 (4L)
Shell Rimula R3 40 (1L)

As you can see above I grouped Shell Oils and Lubricants into three. The first group consists of Shell products for 2-engine motorcycles; the second, for 4-engine motorcycles; and the third group are for heavy-duty engines in trucks and other vehicles. In my second and third post of this three-part Shell Oils series, I will elaborate on the need for different motor oils for different engines.

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Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply

Main: National Highway, Kidapawan City

Branch: Jose Abad Santos St., Kidapawan City

For motor parts orders, text +639177184774

our lil motorparts shop

When my parents decided to open their first business store, it was supposed to sell mostly Shell Oils. They began scouting for a great store location in Kidapawan City and eventually found one in a commercial building along the city's National Highway. In that said building, there was a motorcycle shop two doors down that sells everything motorcycle related. My father thought his motor oils will sell well since there's lot of motorcycle owners congregating in the said shop, and for sure they'll eventually find their way to our store.

Find their way, the motorcycle enthusiasts / bikers eventually did. But more than wanting to buy Shell motor oils, they also wanted to buy motor parts that weren't available with our motorcycle shop neighbor. And so my parents decided to sell motorparts also. Eventually we took orders for high-end brands like Racing Boy, and other special orders with downpayment ^__^ And before I end this post, I'll share with you an interior shot of Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply. Note our huge stock of Shell Oils on the right side!

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Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply
Main: National Highway, Kidapawan City
Branch: Jose Abad Santos St., Kidapawan City
For motor parts orders, text +639177184774

we sell Racing Boy products!

If you're a motorcycle enthusiast, chances are, you've heard of Racing Boy. If you're not familiar with this motorcycle brand, let's just say you're missing a lot of great stuff. And by great stuff, I mean premium motorparts ^__^ Anyway, our store Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply carries Racing Boy products. Here's a partial list of what we have:

Racing Boy Auto Chain Tensioner

Racing Boy Bar End

Racing Boy CDI Hyperband Kerana

Racing Boy CDI Hyperband R150

Racing Boy CDI Hyperband W110/Sniper

Racing Boy Hand Lever Beat/R150/Mio

Racing Boy Hand Lever W125

Racing Boy Handle Grip Ordinary

Racing Boy Handle Grip Silver

Racing Boy Momo Shock Sniper

Racing Boy Oil Filter Cover R150

Racing Boy Rear Set R150

Racing Boy Rear Set Sniper

Racing Boy Rotordisk W125

Racing Boy Stabilizer R150

Racing Boy T Shirts

And if what you want is not listed above, you can order it from us. Just text / call us at +639177184774 for your inquiries.

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Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply
Main: National Highway, Kidapawan City
Branch: Jose Abad Santos St., Kidapawan City
For motor parts orders, text +639177184774

we do motorcycle repairs!

Yep! Aside from selling motorcycle parts, motor oils and other auto parts, Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply also repairs damaged motorcycles ^__^ Also, if you buy motor parts from us, we will install that motor part for free or with minimal labor fee onsite. Why is there a minimal fee sometimes? It’s because some parts are quite hard to install, time-consuming and requires expert labor. Here’s a picture of my cousin installing a motor part at the rear end of a motorcycle while the customer looks on:

And if you decide to decorate your motorcycle, the store also offers painting and decal jobs. If you want to upgrade to an electronic motorcycle control system, we can install that too. One of my cousins who works at the motorparts store is a licensed electronics and communication engineer (hi Binot Nhotzkie!) and an avid motorcycle enthusiast, and he does the delicate electronic jobs :) One thing I can say is that we’re really lucky to have him in Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply store!

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Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply
Main: National Highway, Kidapawan City
Branch: Jose Abad Santos St., Kidapawan City
For motor parts orders, text +639177184774

what's in a motorcycle?

I admit I know nothing much about motorcycles and other automobiles. I'm not just into those things, and I must also state that I'm also scared to drive- there's just too many bad drivers out there that can cause accidents even if you're an overly cautious / safety conscious driver yourself.

photo credit: http://www.how-to-draw-funny-cartoons.com/cartoon-motorcycle.html

Anyway, for the sake of this motor parts blog and for the love of learning, I taught myself some basics googled stuff about motorcycles ;-) And I found this fantastic list of parts of a basic motorcycle- that's from A-Z! Wow! And yes, our Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply store has most of these items for different motorcycle brands :) Just drop us a comment here or text to +639177184774 if you have product inquiries.

Air Cleaner
Battery
Choke
Clutch Lever
Crankcase Cover
Crash Bar
Cylinder
Cylinder Head
Engine Stop Switch (KILL)
Foot Pegs
Front Brake Lever
Front Disc Brakes
Front Master Cylinder
Front Suspension
Fuel Petcock Valve
Gas Cap
Gas Tank
Gear Shift
Headlight Switch
Highway Peg
Horn
Horn Button
Ignition Switch
Left Side Mirror
Muffler
Oil Filter
Oil Tank
Passenger Back Rest
Passenger Pegs
Pillion or Passenger Seat
Primary Chain Cover
Rear Disc Brakes
Rear Foot Brake Pedal
Rear Master Cylinder
Right Side Mirror
Rocker Box
Seat
Shock Absorber
Side Stand
Spark Plug
Speedometer
Starter Switch
Tachometer
Tail Light
Throttle
Turn Signal
Turn Signal Switch
Warning Lights/Neutral Light
Windshield

Thank you MotorcycleViews.com for this motorparts list! ^__^ The site also has excellent photos (with labels) that depict the different motorcycle parts. If you're interested about these stuff, you should definitely visit this site like I did. I surely learned tons!

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Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply
National Highway, Kidapawan City
For motor parts orders, call +639177184774

welcome to our motorcycle parts blog!

It's been a year since my parents have put up their very first business- Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply in Kidapawan City. The store (that's it below) opened last August 19, 2011 along the city's National Highway with some fanfare (radio ads and a little motorcade). This motor parts business is actually a pet project of my mother with two goals in mind:

1. to give employment to our relatives, and

2. use the yearly profits to fund medical missions in Kidapawan (I'm not kidding).

Goal number 1 has been met- with my aunt, cousins and distant family relatives employed :) Goal number 2 is yet to be accomplished- hopefully this year we will have enough profits to have a medical mission.

So why am I starting this blog just now, one year later after our motor parts business opened? It's because I thought the store wouldn't last / prosper for several reasons:

1. my parents have ZERO background on motorcycle stuff (Thankfully a cousin and an uncle are nuts about motorcycles and they helped. Also, my parents are fast learners- now they can spout motor parts stuff as if they're experts- and very industrious- they personally buy / transport the store stock every week),

2. the store opened on Hungry Ghost Month which is a big no-no in the Chinese business culture as it is bad luck to do any transactions during this time, and

3. the employees are our relatives, and studies have shown that employed relatives are much more likely to slack around / abuse the owners' good intentions.

Thankfully, despite the problems I saw in my head, my parents' motorparts business survived the first year! Not sure if it's profitable though, or even breaking even. LOL! All I know is we're not bleeding that much cash (my parents don't get paid for their work, only the employees, so the overhead will not be big). I guess when you open a business that you offered to the Lord for the betterment of other people, it will find a way to survive ;-) And so here I am, blogging about Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply and trying to expand the store's reach online. If you have any motorcycle product inquiry, don't hesitate to contact us!

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Solito Motor Oil and Auto Parts Supply
National Highway, Kidapawan City
For motor parts orders, call +639177184774