| Author | Message | ||
     Ezblast |
Why is it that even dealers who are pro-Buell neglect the Blast? Case in point: Fresno HD/Buell has a solid reputation as a great dealership to go to and have repairs done at, that their customer service for Buells is great! So I had hi hopes when I went there to pick up my Blast! Backround - a rear bearing goes in Cambria on my way to the American Sport Bike event - and I pay 300 bucks to tow the bike to Fresno - teaching me that a bearing puller and installer is in my future as well as a motorcycle carrier for emergencies mounted to the rear of my CRV chaise vehicle piloted by my soon to be wife. When I left the bike there they quoted me 80 plus bearings min. to 250 max for both front and rear and troubles - max they said, I asked them to clean the bike as well because it was still dirty from the rain - though I had wiped it down before opening so they wouldn't be presented with a mess - no problem! was their reply, then they asked me where I was from and I filled out the paperwork and left. I checked in here and was told they where a great dealership - so that is where my hopes started to build, though all my past dealings with Dudley Perkins had left me with a very negative outlook towards dealers in general. Back to point. I was charged 280 for doing just the rear bearings - though they did have to weld to the race to pull them out and - the bike was no cleaner than I had left it and the rear wheel now even dirtier. All I have to say is that I hope their work at least deserves their reputation, because the rest doesn't and this will probably be the last time I let a stealership work on my bike - there are other little things as well -the new punch mark near the bearing part of my wheel, etc. I feel that they took one look from where I came from - and maxed the charges and did the nescessary work and that was it! We'll never see him again so screw him! Well - Screw them! If you can't follow your quote, or at least notify of a good reason why it is over triple, or at least do as the customer asks and clean the bike! Why would I recommend you or praise you - for your work - I'll let you know about that 5000 miles from now if it surpasses DP's installation life span, because I'd sure like to say something positive about them - as it is - they are just another sucky dealer and the reason Buell has such a hard time selling - their HD's shined - how hard would it be to shine up a Blast - especially one where half the plastic is gone! A little brake cleaner to the metal, a little cleaner to the plastic - how hard is this - if the bike had at least been cleaned as I had asked - I may have let all this go, however, the total dis-reguard of the owner's request is a blatant lack of customer service and so another dealer fails in my eyes - F*** HD - I'd buy Japanese before I'd buy a HD cruiser, and when I buy another Buell I will be the only person working on it, because as far as I'm concerned there are no good dealerships - period. Blast owners - the Step-childs' Step-child! Got Thump?! Just Blasting on the Dark side! EZ  (Message edited by ezblast on October 22, 2006) (Message edited by ezblast on October 23, 2006) | ||
| Ducxl |
EZ there Blast.In my experiences,i've informed my dealer(calmly,one time)of my discontent,and had my problems(both times) rectified to my satisfaction....with different motorcycle brands.They won't know if you don't tell them. | ||
| Oldog |
I hate to hear this EZ, I hope that they might make it right.. seems like the majority of the complaints from owners are related to dealer issues any more... | ||
| Ezblast |
I wish they could also - I was really hopping to be impressed by their service - needless to say that didn't happen. The rest is a done deal - nothing I can really do about it, but the more I thought about it the more I was unwilling to just let that just sit, so this my response - screw em, and let others know to watch their back dealing with them - dealers suck! GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| 99buellx1 |
Did you voice your concerns to the management? If not then they will not know of your troubles. Management really needs to know what is going on withing their orginization. | ||
| Ezblast |
Ok - I will monday, however, it doesn't change the experience - they knew I was here - introduced em to the site - they don't care - its obvious - just another out of towner to do. Sigh! Just when you had hoped they where on your side - you find out they aren't in very obvious ways. I'd like to state - Craig, Daves, and others have shown this not to be entirely true - however, I am learning very differently in my life experiences with HD/Buell Dealerships in California and that saddens me greatly - 2 out of 3 have purely sucked - Hall's HD/Buell Dealership in Chico California rocks though and they have proven to me that good can happen at a dealership with HD on the sign. I really don't like going back and complaining about something that should not have happened, because it happened...it may do them some good, however, I see no good comming of it. GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| 99buellx1 |
I'm sure you understand what is needed, but just for clarification for others on the site. I am not saying to go in and raise a big stink and be an a$$, rather to let the management know in a professional manner of the situation. This means keeping your cool and giving complete details of what has transpired. This will get you much further than making a scene and making demands. Leave it up to the management to decide the course of action for your poor experience. I know the owner of the local dealership always wanted to be in the know of the workings of the store. And if there was a problem, he attempted to make it right. -As should happen- You could call also, but I feel someone in person is taken more seriously. | ||
| Jlnance |
You could call also, but I feel someone in person is taken more seriously. It is often best to send a letter. It gives you time to proof read, and them time to decide how to respond. | ||
| Ezblast |
It will be a call, one does not go that far for a complaint unless money is involved, it is less and more than that. I am no crusader, just a guy told one thing, asked for one thing, and got neither to a large extent - except a bill larger than their max quote - not grossly so, however, it is so. GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Ezblast |
When did the Buell Blast go to Blue dust covered bearings? Is that stock for a Blast? GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Buellistic |
Ezblast: They went to the local bearing supplier and bought the bearings as they do not stock them which would be quicker than ordering them from the BMC or from another Dealer ... BLASTs are bullet proof and idiot proof,"BUT" not Harley-Davidson technician proof(or Dealer proof) !!! In BLASTing LaFayette (Message edited by buellistic on October 22, 2006) | ||
| Nevrenuf |
and if you don't complain for yourself at least do it for the poor SOB who ends up there next time out of bad fortune. if i'm in the right i like to argue and make a point. i don't even mind seeing someone get his but reprimanded or even fired for screwing up. | ||
| Aldaytona |
Did you have a written estimate or verbal? Written estimates are not allowed to exceed 10% in most states without customer approval, hence no surprises or quick adjustments from management. It's strange that in the motorcycle industry how the same guy who takes his car/truck in for repairs almost always gets a written estimate, but when he drops off his bike he doesn't and the mechanics (techs as they like to be called except since they can't diagnose almost anything and are parts replacers/mechanics) put tires, brakes, ect. without customer approval all the time. It's amazing how many times I see customers get to the cashier without knowing how much their bill is.  If you had a written, you'll get money back. | ||
| Bomber |
over $600 to replace wheel bearings? am I reading this correctly? hmmmmm | ||
| Ezblast |
I got a written estimate of a max of 250 if front and rear needed replacing plus extra work to do the job plus parts - but that was for front and rear - only the rear was done. They called and told me they did a Bike down order of the Bearings and that they where shipped from Buell to them via next day shipping and installed though they had to weld to the races to pull them out - total charged 288.65 bucks. The bike was not cleaned as requested, and the bearings are Blue - so when did Buell go to Blue bearings for a Blast? Do the new year 2007 models have Blue bearings on them? This would not have even got mentioned if they had cleaned the bike and the proper colored bearings where in the bike. Sigh... GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Pwnzor |
Every single dealer experience I have had... has ended up exactly like yours Ezblast. I switched dealers 3 times over the first 10,000 miles on my bike. That final service where California HD charged me $135 to change my oil and primary fluids, and I discovered they had done NEITHER was the straw that broke the camel's back. I was never able to get any satisfaction at a dealership under any circumstances. They always jacked up the price, written estimate or not, but in the case of the written estimates, like it was mentioned above I got them to stick to the original number on the document even though all the services had not been performed as described. You were between a rock and a hard place. And because of that, they got over on you. I had a lot of tools with me that weekend but I did not have a bearing puller and/or spare bearings. I can see that tool getting added to the kit in the near future after reading this, along with a fresh set of bearings. It is my OPINION that the jerks you dealt with will probably end up giving you some type of concession in this matter but it will not affect their behavior in the future. I deal with Al exclusively for parts now. No HD hassle. Sorry to hear about your situation bro. | ||
| Ezblast |
LOL - just talked to Buell customer service - they rock! They told me the Blue bearing is the latest/greatest upgrade - a mid-current year change just now happening! So I can rest easy about that! So I guess now - it just becomes a question of customer service and why so much to install just rear wheel bearings. At least I'm feeling better about my bike! Thank goodness they at least installed the right ones! GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Thespive |
Since I have been on a 6-month quest to locate the best servicing dealer in So Cal, I thought I would throw this in... I bought my bike at Biggs in San Marcos (beautiful new dealership) and had my bike serviced there, prices seemed very reasonable and they treated me right, but for those of you who can't make it that far, I just attended Sportster Day at Skip Fordyce in Riverside, and they too were very impressive. They are one of the few dealers that are actually stepping up to improve Buell service and sales. One of the employees told me that they got a Pegasus award this year, and sold 40 new Buells (just a hair behind DaveS for those of us who aren't allowed to buy bikes out of state). Also they do *FREE* pick-up and delivery of your Buell for service. Yes, FREE. They also have the nicest customer lounge I have ever seen with a pool table, coffee, leather couch and a big screen TV. Not sure if they had Wi-Fi, but that would be the trifecta. They are also expanding thier Buell motorclothes dept, as well as accessories and they have Buell patches on thier work shirts now too. Anyway, just thought I would pass that along for anyone in So Cal looking for a decent servicing dealer. I am in no way affiliated with any dealers, just sharing my experience and hoping to help out a fellow Bueller. --Sean | ||
| Naustin |
EZ - That sucks! I have learned my lesson too. I will never, ever, under any circumstances enter a HD retail store/dealership/service center again, period. | ||
| Ezblast |
I'm not saying all dealers suck, just that they really need to work on their customer service with their Buell customers and not rely on their HD rep to carry them through. Two out of 3 dealers - all sell a lot of Buells, however, only one has the customer service to back up the sales - to me that is sad and shows that HD needs to really heads-up these guys to the reality that Buell is owned by HD and that by dissing Buells they are dissing HD and only hurting themselves - not everybody wants shiney chrome and the baby-boomers are dieing off, killing off HD's biggest customer base - this thread would have probably never came up if they had at least done what I had asked, and that is on the work order - that was - clean the bike! When you don't do the what is asked, then the rest comes up to question, and then I reviewed my bill - noticed the price difference from the quote, and noticed the bearing color change (which is ok) - so yeah - bad customer service makes you question, and ruins what could have been a good review instead. I took pics and was totally ready to give them flying colors - you can see this in the general Thumper section. To say I was disappointed - is to understate - lol GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Jackbequick |
Welding a bearing race is an old mechanics trick used when a race (or bearing and race) fits too tight and won't come out. Do you know, did that shop try to use the specificed H-D bearing removal and installation tool? I've seen the welding process used on races mounted in cast iron wheels. It goes like this. If the bearing is still together, pry the shield off the bearing, pry the (soft and malleable) ball spacer out, Chase the balls into a group and then pop the loose balls and inner race out leaving only the bare outer race. On some bearing failures the balls and inner race will just fall out. Once you have a bare race, you use a stick welder (TIG might work too) to run a welding bead about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way around the race putting the bead in the curved ball race. When the weld cools the contracting weld bead shrinks the race inward a little and it can be easily tapped out or pulled if it does not fall out on its own. In he situation you have there, the difference between a light interference fit and forced press fit on good bearing and wheel is probably measured as a few ten thousandths of an inch at the most. I am somewhat dubious that a bearing race could fit tightly enough in a motorcycle wheel to require welding for removal. But maybe it could. If you got your old parts back, can you see evidence of the welding? Another issue on alloy rims is that their service life is usually measured in terms of the number of bearing replacement cycles before the process of pressing bearings in and pulling them has loosened the bearing bores to the point where they will no longer hold a bearing in place. On some motorcycle rims the service life can be on the order of 5 times or so. Things like working carefully with the right tools, cooling bearings, and warming rims during removal or installation can minimize the effects and extend the service life a little. What happened here may have used up several of your bearing replacement cycles. Or more. In the final moments of a wheel's life, when a bearing does not fit tightly enough, the use of a bearing locker (such as LocTite sells) may let you get another use out of the wheel. So if you have your wheel off for any reason, and see evidence of a green shellac like substance around the race, that might be the LocTite I'm talking about. Had that bearing ever been replaced before? Jack | ||
| Ezblast |
Once by Dudley Perkins - life of bearing - less than 5000 miles - I had hoped for a lot longer - like the rest of the bikes life - lol GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Sarodude |
EZ- If that's the case, you may want to pull that front wheel and check the spacer between the bearings. See if the spacer has play. A couple of guys on another thread had mentioned some buffoonery and overtorqueing of the axle nut causing that spacer to crush a bit as well as stressing out the bearings. Then, once that spacer is loose, the bearings will tend to die quick deaths. Just a thought. Spend a few minutes tonight and let us know what ya find. -Saro | ||
| Ezblast |
First I'd like to hear what Fresno has to say - then if nescessary - I'll dig into my bike. GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
To paraphrase part of my recent ranting post elsewhere after visiting dealers nationwide, 60%+ of the Buell dealers visited didnt even try to put on a Buell friendly face. Only half of the rest seemed like they actually even cared. Its bad. I wonder if Erik even knows whats going on or do they pull all the Buell stuff out of the back room when corporate Buell is coming by?Just kidding, I'm sure there's nothing in the back room! Step child is right. Its just like being a Sportster rider during the AMF years. Rant Over....! | ||
| Ezblast |
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| Pwnzor |
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| Oldog |
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| Ezblast |
Sweet! | ||
| Ezblast |
Just visited Chicago HD parts quote section - I could have got a whole rear wheel assembly for 161 plus shipping - geez - that really hurts! GT - JBOTDS! EZ |
