| Author | Message | ||
     Kinder |
Not sure if I should be upset or what but need to vent.. I sent Erik Buell Racing an email a while ago asking for a side stand and front header. Got a response from Michael there asking if I had purchased stuff from them before. I said no as I had not. Also said I had found a side stand but would be intrested in another one and the front header pipe. Could he quote me pricing including non USPS shipping. He responded that they had run into serious shipping issues and to chack back after a week. That was June 10th. So a couple of emails a a few voice mails over the course a couple weeks NOTHING. I have said I am still after the front header as I would rather not have to buy the set for $250 and I am interested in getting a Baker ECM with engine braking enabled for my CR. No responses at all. Now I can understand that they may be busy with the new bike but a sale is a sale and client look to this as an indication of future support. Right now they are proving to be no better than HD. Am I over reacting here? By the by... anyone have a front header pipe from an '09-'10 they want to sell? | ||
| Sl33py |
i think you are slightly over reacting comparing EB R with HD... EB R is in full swing trying to get the 1190RS out. I think this is an "all hands" type of drill and even the folks chatting with you via sales are probably helping in every way possible... understandably this is an impact if you don't have what you need to ride your bike, but i would source it on badweb or elsewhere online if time was urgent. If not totally urgent - patience and just be persistent (and nice). I have 100% faith that EB R will help you out as soon as they can get a minute to do so. GL! | ||
| Chessm |
i want geoff may on that 1190 so i told them to disregard your email and put out the new bikes instead j/k  | ||
| Jules |
Am I over reacting here? Honestly - yes, a little. I know what you mean, and for any other supplier I'd feel a bit miffed too, but at least with Erik Buell Racing you know they are busy and it's in a good cause. There are a couple of things I want too, but I'm happy to sit back for a couple of weeks/months to give them time to get settled again. It'd probably help if there was a notice on the site and/or an out of office e-mail response but it's no big deal.. | ||
| Kinder |
Chessm;   I can understand busy all hands on deck etc... but I don't think they closed the doors. If they are that busy then like they did for the new web site some notice is in order. I would at least order the ECM but based on another thread here ther is no option to have the engine braking enabled via the site. | ||
| Court |
>>>>Am I over reacting here? Yes. Try calling Harley-Davidson, Victory, Ducati, Aprilla or Motor Guzzi on the phone and asking them to do a custom part for you. Recently, when someone squeaked about "talking to someone" I took the liberty of going to all the major websites seeking phone numbers where I could call. Guess what I found? There are a couple that **appear** the have phone numbers . . . find them . . . call them . . and see if you get what I got . . . a real person telling me the URL to go to for information. Calling, at this point in the game, introduces lots of problems. First . . they are doing no "custom" work. Ignoring for a moment the legal questions, and the over 400 e-mails a day, it just really derails things at this time. If you call . . . someone (there is no Donna the phone answerer any longer) has to stop what they are doing and answer the phone, There are 3 buyers trying to get 111 new suppliers to get parts that have never been made before to the same place at the same time from 9 countries. Let's say Kimmy answers the phone . . . now I know she's about 15 days behind trying to overcome an inventory count crisis . . . she has to stop what she's doing and she . . .who's nice but doesn't know a spark plug from a wheel bearing . . has to decide WHO to ask. Let's call it about 7 minutes as she decides . . . traipses 200 feet to the North and wanders around a warehouse looking for someone. We're assuming, for the sake of this example, that no one stops her and asks a question along the way. Phone conversations also have the element of that old game where you sat 12 kids in a row and whispered something up and down the line . . . did anybody EVER get anything like the message they sent coming back to them? It's comforting to talk to "the factory" . . . but at the moment they are struggling and fighting every day . . . AMA deadlines, EPA deadlines, NHTSA deadlines, homologation deadlines and the predictable "we thought we could make 10 by the 8th but this is turning out to be harder than we thought". Eventually . . .they'll get some breathing room. They've already made 2 major expansions, roughly 40,000SF and are on the THIRD computer system . . no kidding . . Mr. Bright Stuff thought 8 Dells would do it in the beginning . . hahahahahaha. I suspect you'll see some new, never been done, ways of handing service being announced but until then . . they've been REALLY specific . . really open and REALLY detailed about the best way to contact them and in nearly all cases it's working great. One very nice guy . . who I hadn't talked to in years . . . sent me a note to day and said he wanted to talk to someone . . . . so I called him (I'm much less busy) we had a great 34 minute conversation . . . .discussed his order and I even decided I'm order the same thing he is . . just to see how it goes. I'm thinking I should send the bill to Erik for my time . . .  | ||
| Court |
By the way . . . if you want to talk to somebody . . . I've been talking to Buell owners since about 1988 and you can't hardly shut my fat ass up . . . I'd be happy to talk to you. I generally talk to Buell owners in at least 4 countries a week and the Italians are just nodding off to sleep after a night at the Piazza so shoot me a number if you want. . . | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
I understand your frustrations. You need a part and there is a hold up. Yes, they are busy, but that doesnt mean they should ignore customers. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
court - what custom part is he asking for? He wants a stock front header, not a custom part | ||
| Kinder |
Jules: Wait weeks/ months? really? And If my bike was down I should write off my summer? Very poor cust service. As it stands if I could get what I wanted elsewhere I would. As a customer I don't enjoy waiting anymore than people enjoy getting paid for services/ goods rendered late. I mean should I tell them that since it has taken over 3 weeks to get a response (assuming they get back to me this week) they should send me the parts I would like and I'll pay them in 3 weeks? In ANY business its the customers that keep you going. We are riding a limited number of produced bikes with a limited number of parts suppliers. As those suppliers start disappearing then we will be parking our bikes and moving on to the new 'flavour of the month' then Buell will truly be all but dead. Not to many of us are in the market for a $40k bike. Many of us are currently in the market for parts for our $8k ones though. I am willing to bet more of us would be willing to pony up cash for the parts used to build the 175HP 1125RR than a $40k bike. Now without support we will look to other rides like Aprilia, Ducati, Japanese bikes etc. If Erik Buell Racing wants to make a return they need to remember to keep us on and into their bikes during this rebuilding time or as I said we will find other bikes to ride. There's a BMW KT1300R staring pretty hard at me. As is a Tuono VR4. Why don't I have one? Because I truly love my Buell. But I also love riding and tinkering but need parts to do that. Court; Not asking for custom parts. Front header if they have one to sell seperately. Spare side stand 9not an issue now) If they had one. Both items reccomended by suppliers and pple here to try Erik Buell Racing. The Barker ECM is a part on thier site that apparently can be orderd with engine braking available but as it stands not through their site. If I could get confirmation on the header and be able to order the ECM and confirm I'll get it in a resonable time frame I would just use their site but I can't through no fault of my own. I want to spend money with them but it frick'in tiring trying to do so. And I have called many suppliers to ask questions about parts. Most if not all were more than helpfull. Even Dean, a 1 man shop with a day job and his heavy order load took time to talk about how his products would perform with things I wanted to experiment with. (Good guy he is.) I'm not asking for the moon. Just either a quick call or an email direxcting me on how to proceed with my order which does nothing but help them. (Message edited by kinder on July 05, 2011) | ||
| Bueller4ever |
I work in retail and the customer is always overreacting! | ||
| Sl33py |
here ya go... looks like the fulls system including headers for the price of the take off headers on EB R... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/08-Buell-1125-1125R -JARDINE-RT5-EXHAUST-MUFFLER-SYSTEM-_W0QQcmdZViewI temQQhashZitem2c5db30906QQitemZ190550575366QQptZMo torcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories link looks like crap but hopefully works. | ||
| Sl33py |
you got an hour before it expires. you could always contact the seller afterwards - pinwall - i've got stuff from them in the past - pretty good guys. GL! | ||
| Kinder |
I saw those... and may grab them up. '08 stuff comes up regularly. I am after the 09+ stuff due to bung location. Don't like the location on the 08's. TY very much for taking the time to look though.  Sorry for my rants ppl but poor cust service is a big pet peeve for me. I work in the car industry and if I didn't call customers back I wouldn't have a job. (Message edited by kinder on July 05, 2011) | ||
| Court |
>>>>Sorry for my rants ppl but poor cust service is a big pet peeve for me. It's huge for me as well. To that end I've been involved in it and written about it for years. You have my sympathies in the car business as well. As much as I love my two Fords I've had a couple dealings recently with the company and a couple of their dealers. They are nothing short of a total ••••••• disaster and a pack of thieves. Erik Buell Racing does not have, at this point, the resources they need to provide the level of customer service they will eventually. But few companies start out with an existing crocus of 150,000 customers . . quite an influx. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Lets do basic math from Court's numbers (and production numbers over the years of the various Buell motorcycles) - 150,000 / 30. Let me put that on its own line: 150,000. Versus *THIRTY*. That's five THOUSAND customers for every Erik Buell Racing employee. Really? They're human, just like you and I are. And, sorry to say...their focus is NOT the bikes that HD is obligated to support (in one way or another, whether you see it as "fit" or not), for the next few years. Their focus is the motorcycles that may very well change this entire industry. LET THEM FOCUS. If - and I hate to say it - you need a part yesterday? Go to ebay. Buy used. I hate the idea of spending money in other places but if you need your bike NOW? (and lets face it, "need a bike" is a relative term since by and large these are TOYS) Find parts at the fastest location. But don't you dare badmouth people who are already overextended on time and resources. These are the people who brought us these motorcycles in the first place and while it tears them up not being able to help you all the time every second of every day...they ARE human. And they DO have other things they need to focus on right now. Think of it this way. Erik Buell Racing - even with its "extended" employee base - can still get into two vans and go to lunch at Gus's. The whole company. Two vans. Perspective, folks. Please. Court - if you happen to talk to Kimmy (I'm guessing that's Kim T) - tell her 'hi' for me | ||
| Jules |
Jules: Wait weeks/ months? really? And If my bike was down I should write off my summer? Sorry - I didn't mean YOU should wait weeks/months, I just meant that I am happy to do so as my parts aren't "essential" they're just some new bits 'n' bobs to keep me sane/happy. TBH mine's going in for a stator replacement tonight so I potentially won't have it for a while as I want an 08 fitting and anticipate a few arguments with HD over that. | ||
| Blake |
>>> I can understand busy all hands on deck etc... but I don't think they closed the doors. Actually they did just that for a short interval just a while ago. | ||
| Crackhead |
Court, EB R is on their 3rd computer system? Where they trying to run everything across 8 Dell desktops? Where they trying to host the website on one of the Dells too? | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
I can understand the frustration of not being able to order a part that you really need, and I can understand a company that is so tied up in a project that they have a hard time keeping up with demand. If EB R's staff is all tied up in the 1190, etc, then perhaps they should hire some entry level person to process orders and reply to the easy-to-answer emails. It wouldn't take an expensive or highly-trained person to process credit cards and ship orders. I know that when my business grows enough that we can't take care of our clients in a very timely fashion, I'll definitely be hiring someone else. By the way, you CAN order an EB R ECM for a Barker exhaust with the stock-level of engine braking--just specify that in the "custom comments" section on the site when placing your order. That's what I did when I ordered mind. That said, the person who processed my order missed that part and I got an ECM with the reduced engine braking. I sent it back, though, and am happy with the one I've got now. | ||
| Reepicheep |
My vote, as an Erik Buell Racing customer in the past and future, is that they disconnect the damn phone and focus on Mid Ohio. I think they are selling the current stuff to be nice, and I appreciate it. Their focus right now is on their real products for the future, the first of which I am going to see and hear this Saturday! I do understand the frustration of somebody wanting a part and having to wait for it. They need a sign on the front door of the website... "Gone Racing, Back Monday!".  | ||
| Sprintst |
Well, Erik Buell Racing can go off and play with racing toys, but that won't build the business. If Erik is content selling 100 high dollar bikes a year, more power to him. I'd be surprised if it lasts very long, since a buyer at that level will be looking for a strong electronics package, something that would take massive development dollars I view the future as supporting and ultimately selling new cycles to the existing BMC base - us. But hey, it's not my capital and effort on the line. | ||
| Anonymous |
We do not have any new OE Buell parts at Erik Buell Racing. These are to be bought from dealers of H-D/Buell who own the rights, designs and tooling. In 2010 Erik Buell Racing bought a number of 1125R's and took them apart to sell parts to racers. These are essentially all gone, and that is that. The anger at us not being able to sell Buell parts is simply unfairly placed. And the demand that we be able to do one-off custom parts at prices less than stock OE parts is also pretty unreasonable. On the other topic, anyone who thinks a handful of people with minimal budget are supposed to leap into production with mainstream priced bikes is not aware of the business needs of building bikes at these price points. We are building a world class motorcycle in the category we can afford to do. In addition we have brought a number of very fairly priced high quality performance components to the Buell community and will expand on this as we can. We also will continue to work unceasingly towards building the business back to the size needed to make much lower priced bikes. Thanks to those who support us and understand. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
THANK YOU SIRS/M'AMS for doing what you do. | ||
| Daggar |
Thanks Anony. And thanks to everyone at Erik Buell Racing. | ||
| Trbulnt |
Thank you for setting the record straight and for taking the time out of your busy schedule to post that information! | ||
| Drhodes1970 |
They should not be ignoring us . This has been the beginning of the end for many startup small companies. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
"And the demand that we be able to do one-off custom parts at prices less than stock OE parts is also pretty unreasonable. " Again, where is this custom stuff coming from? I read the original post and the guy is looking for a front 09/10 header from a 1125, Ididnt read the word 'custom' anywhere in his post yet Court and Anony bring it up, pretty odd. Great to hear from an E-B_R employee on the parts matter. Hopefully in the same forum break they also replied to the emails sent by hopeful customers | ||
| Trbulnt |
Hybrid...read this part again... "We do not have any new OE Buell parts at Erik Buell Racing. These are to be bought from dealers of H-D/Buell who own the rights, designs and tooling. In 2010 Erik Buell Racing bought a number of 1125R's and took them apart to sell parts to racers. These are essentially all gone, and that is that." From what I have read, Erik Buell cannot sell OEM parts for the previous model motorcycles due to license law's. I cannot speak for anyone there but I am guessing it pains Erik that he cannot support his prior motorcycles like I am guessing he would. What we have to understand is that HD owns the rights to anything Buell and if we need any parts or support for those motorcycles we have to go through the proper HD appointed channels. Now if we want to buy an 1190 or race parts for said 1190 from Erik Buell Racing than that is a whole different story. I don't understand why this is so hard for some to comprehend. (Message edited by trbulnt on July 06, 2011) (Message edited by trbulnt on July 06, 2011) | ||
| Jdugger |
A couple of more crashes and I'll effectively have the only 1125RS out there... (unenthusiastic chuckle... huh, huh) |
