| Author | Message | ||
     Jersey_thunder |
I'm not sure where to begin, except in utter disbelief. Back in May of 2010, I brought my 2008 Buell 1125R to Kosco Harley Davidson for engine work under warranty. They returned the bike back to me in mid July 2010 just prior to a track day at Monticello N.Y., run by Sport Bike Track School. In less than 3 laps, the motor locked up again. The day was rainy and track speeds were extremely low. Coincidently, two of Kosco's employees plus 13 of my customers were with us at the track and can verify the fact that the motor locked up under these conditions as described. We returned the bike back to Kosco shortly after that track day. Four months have gone by and we were just notified that they will not cover the second repair under the warranty. Nothing has changed from the first day we brought the bike in for warranty work other than then never did it correctly the first time. Their explanation to us is ...one of their techs mistakenly told the warranty company that the bike was raced and that the engine blew at 130mph . As I stated previously I have 15 witnesses to which bike locked up and under what kind of conditions caused it. I spoke to the warranty company also, and they tell me they have to take the word of the tech and there's nothing further they can do. The end result is they failed to repair it correctly the first time,my bike is in pieces and they refuse to repair it, I'm out a $10,000.00 bike with low miles on it and now I'm told to " get it out of there ".... I'm not sure how this is even remotely possible...it is beyond belief...I'm asking for a explanation and for my bike to be repaired properly. Nobody at Kosco has a explanation for me why they fixed it the first time and now won't cover their work? I'm an extremely reasonable person...and this makes absolutely no sense or logic. claim number # 1153661 Thank you, Tony Braico 1-845-258-6700 I'm posting to show what it going on with MOST dealerships...shame | ||
| Zac4mac |
Sux Tony. A track day is NOT racing. Keep at them to make good on their end. Stay cool and note every detail as you go. I'm glad I don't see crap like that where I work. If there's ANYTHING I/we can do, let me/us know. Zack | ||
| Tmchcrk |
Wow, that makes my stomach turn inside out and my blood boil. Very sorry to hear the situation your in. My only thoughts on this is where does it say in your warranty contract you can't ride your bike at 130 mph our attend a track day. Best wishes man....best wishes! | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
THE WARRENTY TOLD ME NOTHING THEY CAN DO !!! KOSCO HARLEY TOLD ME TO "GET IT OUT OF HERE" IF IM LYING ILL TATTOO THERE NAME ON MY FOREHEAD.. I BEEN FREAKING ROBBED AND RAPED AND NOTHING I CAN DO KOSCO HAS A FACE BOOK...LET THEM KNOW HOW YOU FEEL THERE ARE PEOPLE ON THIS SITE THAT KNOW IM TELLING THE TRUTH | ||
| Tmchcrk |
Might be time to lawyer up. It will cost some coin but your bikes in F$%&## pieces.  | ||
| Dannybuell |
what Tmchcrk said, get a lawyer. | ||
| Fibersnake |
Get a good lawyer and have them send a letter of your demands to be made full (i.e. bike fixed properly at no cost to you) with a fixed time frame to reply and if not have the lawyer proceed to suing them and if they are saying that HD or warranty company is denying the claim also, make sure that those parties get notice of intent to sue also. Have the lawyers that will work it on contingency funds (i.e they get there fees if they win) and such should be including in the law suit. Never good to have to sue, but if the company is being that much of A holes, do not lie down and put up with it. Make sure that the lawyer if going to suit, seeks full history of previous work that was done, get witness statements, warranty info and all papers. Do not let it lie and settle for what is due. May even be able to not only throw in the bad work and the right to have it fixed, but also that their bad work created a very great safety hazard for you due to locking up. Good luck and keep us informed! | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
IM PULLING IT OUT....AND DOING IT MY SELF.. I OWN A BIKE SHOP AND WORK ON THEM...BUT I FIGURED IF ITS WARRENTIED...RIGHT? I WAS WRONG...THATS WHY I OPENED MY OWN BIKE SHOP..TIRED OF GETTING SCREWED BY DEALERS...THERE ARE SOME GREAT DEALERS..DONT GET ME WRONG...BUT KOSCO HARLEY DAVIDSON ISNT ONE OF THEM... IM JUST AMAZED THIS IS EVEN POSSABLE... ERIK SAID HE'LL HELP ME WITH THE BUILD ANYWAY HE CAN...I STILL HAVE MY 1125R Erik Buell Racing RACE BIKE...F!!! HD... | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
GOT A LAWYER? | ||
| Fibersnake |
One item that may be problem and could go to their side, is that (at least on 2009 O&M book) under the warranty section it does state in Exclusions section the following "2. Which has been abused, misused, improperly stored, used "off the highway" or used for racing or competition of any kind" The "off the highway" part may be the broken straw, still if nothing else you could investigate their possible work. | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
THEN THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT THE FIRST TIME !!! | ||
| Fibersnake |
So lets say that getting it fixed due to warranty is out of the question (highly likly due to Exculsions Clause in the Warranty), the other option is to have the failure evaluated by a third independant party and if the failure was caused by the previous work, then you may have a case. The risk is that their work is not the root cause of failure and it was due to some weakness in the motor itself that was beyond their control. If that is the case or it was due to stress that the track day put on it (I know that is BS and they should hold up, but still possible), then you are out of cost for independant investigation, if there is found to be failure due to their improper repair, then may have a case, but you would still have to work the judicial system and could still loose. Not knowing your situation and how much you may want to take this, but assuming that you are not going to be made right due to the warranty Exclusion, and you wanted to go through having the root cause found by a indenpendant third part, you could possilbe send it to Erik Buell Racing for investigation (but even that may be contentesed since they do have some interest, especially if it was due to failure from design or original build), barring that there is some firms that can do a complete root cause annyalis. Suck anyway you look at it, and more than likly the risk of putting fault on them is going to cost you big bucks and even if you win, it could take years before you see anything since the can appeal and drag it out. Best thing to do IMHO and not knowing all the details and how much you want to fight it, is to work with Erik Buell Racing and your skills and get the motor redone and go out a ride it when you do and pass on you lesson to other. Good Luck | ||
| Fibersnake |
So the first time was after having it "off highway" also. YOu are right, maybe they shouldn't, but they did and could make it even harder to press as a warranty issues. Did they ever say what was the root cause of the first failure? | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
LOOK...I KNOW THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT...I JUST WANT TO TELL EVERYONE HOW DISAPOINTED I AM WITH HARLEY DAVIDSON..AND THEY WILL NEVER SEE ANOTHER PENNY FROM ME NEVER QUIT!!! | ||
| 01lightning |
WTF? what a huge waste of time. I'm sorry to hear this Tony. Friggin hd dealers SUCK. Cant wait to see ya out there next year...was just talkin with Chris about the race bike. SWEEEEET. Dude....build it yourself, at least you'll know its right. Did Chris go down when it locked up the 2nd time? | ||
| Usanigel |
Get an estimate for repair from another shop. Take Kosco to local court, judge will most often side with the customer. Don't repair yourself as your wages will not count. If you repair before court then take the final bill with you and that is what you will be paid on. Document everything but keep it simple. GOOD photos are a must. Be organised! Lawyers will cost you! You might as well cash in the extended warranty if you have one, bike is now labeled as a race bike. | ||
| Dktechguy112 |
That sucks! I can't believe they did that. Call Erik Buell Racing if you want to fix it yourself, they should be able to get you a motor at much better price then harley. | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
ENOUGH OF MY RANTING..... I GUESS I'M MORE DISAPPOINTED THAT SOME PEOPLE UNDER " IT'S JUST BUSINESS" JUST DON'T CARE .. GOOD LUCK KOCSO HARLEY DAVIDSON... I SLEEP WELL AT NIGHT... ILL DO IT MY SELF... THIS JUST PROVES WHY I OPENED A SHOP... | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
This definitely sucks. I'm sure hindsight is 20/20 but obviously there should have been no mention about track days or any other high speed riding when your bike was brought in either time. As far as the dealer or the warranty company is concerned, you were idling down to the store to get a jug of milk. Also, if it was me, I would have given the bike a thorough, extended shakedown before riding it really hard. Anyway, I'm sure coulda shoulda woulda doesn't help you out a whole lot now. On the plus side, I've seen 1125 motors on eBay for around $1500 so you won't we out a huge chunk of change if you do the work yourself. Or, as others have said, if you can afford the outlay if you lose, get an attorney and sue. | ||
| Curve_carver |
There's is a warranty clause in your book about offroad. I don't have it in front of me right now but any offroad activity is considered against warranty. But once again buell sponsiderd track days??? Im a builder and a Motörhead myself but sometimes it not worth tearing into. You have your options and you need to just think clearly and decide to walk away from Harley and take the easy and less stressful route. I feel your pain. | ||
| Jetbuilder |
This is bull shit! Buell as a company not only sponered and encouraged track days they even gave us bikes to use in the process! Now the same activity voids the warranty!!!!! I say lawyer up and sue the crap out of HD. I am wondering if a class action lawsuit needs to be started by owners over the Company (HD) not living up to there parts and warranty agreements! | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
I DO OWN AND SPONCER A 1125R RACE BIKE..STREET AND TRACK A S1...OWNED S2/M2/X1....I PULL PEOPLE OFF IMPORTS AND CONVERT THEM TO BUELL RIDERS...IM A DIE HARD BUELLAGAN..I RESPECT AND LOOK UP TO ERIK BUELL...ERIK STILL CARES..I KNOW THIS...THATS ALL THAT MATTERS...I WOULD LOVE TO MAKE THIS RIGHT...THIS ISNT A BUELL THING..ITS THE ONES THAT HAVE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE ONES WHO HAVE NOT... I CANT AFFORD TO FIGHT HARLEY DAVIDSON... BUT I CAN PROMOTE Erik Buell Racing....I NEVER WALKED AWAY FROM A FIGHT...THIS ONE I MIGHT | ||
| Court |
Count to 10. | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
COURT. I TOOK A DEEP BREATH...BUT IM STILL OUT A MOTOR... | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
Tell me court. U know me awhile. Just let them get away with it? Forget it. Don't answer. We have let the system beat us down and we as a consumer have very little recourse. I'm just calateral damage for a large corperation. So be it. ill deal with it. For now.  | ||
| Black |
Jersey_thunder, Let us know what we can do. | ||
| Fast1075 |
What broke? | ||
| Jersey_thunder |
I'm picking the bike in pieces tomorrow I don't want them to touch it! When I pull it apart ill find out what Let go Black, to be honest keep supporting Ebr. He is a great guy and I believe his success is a big kick In the ass for harley and pray that Harley wakes up before they loose It all and more hard working americans Loose their jobs. | ||
| Court |
>>>>>Tell me court. U know me awhile. Just let them get away with it? I don't think I'd do that. My point is . . . I don't want you wasting time or money doing something like "lawyering up" or filing a "class action" (there is no basis here) suit and pissing your money away only to find out you've gotten no where. You've got the cards pretty well stacked against you here. It's unlikely the Kosco (and it's been years since I've dealt with them, so I can't say. . . I used to have pretty good luck with them) gang is willing to ante' up . . . . in terms of warranty . . . well, that's pretty much a written contract and you can read it and see what it covers. Little doubt that it SHOULD not have locked up . . . I mean the AMA guys are racing pretty much stock 1125's and there's no doubt the motor is up to it. It sure looks like it points back to work that was done . . but, and this is the tough nut to crack here, absent any goodwill and stepping up to the plate on their part it's nearly impossible to prove. By the way . . . the stuff about misrepresenting the conditions is pretty well out. I'm not sure if HD can read a Buell ECM like a car unit . . . but the last thing you want to do is surrender your honesty in the deal. My first step would be to call Harley-Davidson Customer Service, be honest with them, and ask for any help they can provide. There are several things . . . like they have 1125R motors they likely be happy to part with . . that may collectively work in your favor. First and foremost .. don't allow yourself to be stirred into an internet pseudo-froth. | ||
| Curve_carver |
Everything is stacked up against you jersey. You already know what will come of it if you decide to sue. Its not worth it. I know your a hands on guy like me. You have to look at this bike as an investment and not a war to get Harley back. As of now you probably have lost all of your warranties/recalls except for safety recalls. Your bike has been labeled in the Harley system. Don't let this fury get to you. Yes we the consumer have no say or power in anything anymore. The only way a person such as yourself could get away and win in this situation is for the bike to be titled in a woman's name or the owner be a complete recluse and have no advertisement of themselves. Which in this case neither has been done. << "Just some tips" I know plenty of guys that do this. Just for this reason. When it breaks the woman takes it in and says my bike is broke. Oh no well take care of you.They have nothing to hold against her but damn shes got nice tits. Heck the last time I took my buell in they were pointing at the rubber under my fender from my 5 day dragon spree. They threatened me.I'm like are you kidding me? Like I said they sell chrome not sport bikes. My take is the 1125 program was under developed and needed more critical testing. I don't know who is to blame for putting all 9000 1125 owners in this position that were in now. Now Harley is weeding through all the warranty claims giving first strikes and second strikes for the bigger claims.Then they decide who's gotta go. Im sure erik buell racing will be more than willing to help. I believe their dedicated to keeping as many 1125s on the road as they can. You can look at it two ways here folks. 1. rotax engine is eriks future 2. Will he move onto another design and leave his prior endevore behind? After the Rs unveils I'll know if my bike is obsolete. From my understanding the 2010 engine has all kinds of new revisions over the 08 and 09 engines. Why is that?? Much to come as I await the release of the Rs and it's spec chart. I awaiting what revisions will be done to make this 1125 a healthier and stronger unit. If no revisions have been made then the displacement shouldn't be increased. More power requires more cooling,oil, better materials,better components. I don't know I hope this makes sense. Sorry for going off on a tangent but I feel we 9000 some 1125 owners have received the shaft. From what I've seen all the claims continually return with the same issues. I guess customer satisfaction is at a all time low. Just as Zacmac has stated many times: "A dealer like that in this economy wont last." I wish this was true. Good luck and remember it's just a bike. Think of this bike as a investment and part your feelings with it. Do what is financially feasible. Untie your stomach and don't let the dealer ruin your holidays. Merry Christmas to all and I hope the 2011 year will have all the answers I've been waiting on. (Message edited by Curve_carver on December 12, 2010) |
