| Author | Message | ||
     Travisd |
Is it common for a dealer to test ride the bike before selling to you? I bought the bike new from the create not sure what miles were on it from the manufacture. I got the bike from the dealer with 10 miles on it. I got a call from the state police saying they got my bike running stop lights and doing wheelies the same day I picked the bike up. I gave them the dealers info to verify it wasn't me. I am going to call the dealer today and ask why my plates were reported and if my bike was being abused. | ||
| Dick_stilton |
That sucks.  I would do one of two things. Tell them to shove the bike and get a full refund. If they refuse then talk to the press. Or, use it as leverage to get something free... Bags, gear, anything you want. In addition, I would never buy so much as a quart of oil from them again. | ||
| Bienhoabob |
So much for breaking the bike in the factory way. Might have some leverage with some freebies. But then again, I'd be leery of a shop that abuses their new or customers bikes. | ||
| Ratbuell |
We always do a 12 mile loop on our bikes after they come out of the crate, to make absolutely sure they're OK to sell. If something's gonna shake loose, we want it to happen to us, not the customer. As for the wheelies and your tag being reported? We never ride after a customer tag has been put on the bike, unless its in for service. All our setup rides are done prior to tag and title work. FWIW, the factory puts between 2 and 4 miles on the bikes on rollers. The tour the other day said they hit up to 85mph in the box, to make sure everything's OK and to run live data, etc. on every bike as it exits the assembly line. Not sure if they road test some; the couple we watched on the rollers were purposely run out of gas so they could be shipped "dry" per EPA regs. | ||
| Red_chili |
Sounds like a test ride I did on an RD350 I assembled. Did that exactly one time. The boss was unhappy with the number of miles on it. I was a lousy employee at 17. Sure was fun though... I remember the ride in pretty good detail, the butt chewing not so much  He should not have done that though. In reality, your bike's rings are probably seated better than many of its peers. Not too worry, overmuch. My bike was a demo and I would bet cold hard that it was ridden just like that, for 500 miles. Change the oil & filter, yourself, after about 100-200 miles. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
Our bikes usually show up with about 3 miles on the odometer. After prep the bikes are all taken on a 6 mile test ride. The bikes have dealer plates for the test ride. If there were ever a police report for issues on a test ride (new bike or service bike), that employee would be fired on the spot. Mark in Arizona | ||
| Travisd |
So the 10 miles on the bike at purchase were legit. I haven't been able to talk to the manager yet from the dealer so I will keep you posted. Thanks for the heads up. Great posts, will help me figure this out. | ||
| Darthane |
-=shrugs=- My Blast and Firebolt both had between 10 and 20 miles on them when I picked them up. The Uly had 30, about a third of which were from my test ride on it a couple days previously (and I even ran into the 'other' guy that had test-ridden it a few days prior to that). The mileage is likely legit, the purported activity most definitely wouldn't be. | ||
| Ulyessesman |
hey yall , i just bought a new uly , however i am currently stationed in iraq , in the army , any way , my father picked the bike up with 7 miles on it , and noted that the pipes were alredy heavely blued, anothr tale tale sign of hard riding, is this a common affair with dealers going joy ridin with our bikes? i plan to put ceramic headers and a drummer pipe on the bike , never mind the blued pipes but im just courious if the stock header pipes blue so easy as that if even rode gently they still blue , is this normal or do i need to chew some ones a$$ just courious , any responses are welcome , ulyessesman  | ||
| Darthane |
I think the bluing is a function of heat, not *necessarily* any indication of how hard the bike was ridden. Now, the bike will obviously heat up faster if the engine's pushed, but I'll bet you your pipes will blue even if you just let it sit there idling (for a long enough time). | ||
| Jlnance |
But then again, I'd be leery of a shop that abuses their new or customers bikes. You think the shop owner knew his employee was going to go out riding wheelies? | ||
| Ratbuell |
+1 on the blueing. All it means is the bike was run...at any temp. It was cool seeing the bikes on the assembly line though. The headers (at least on the 1125r) really *are* all silver at first, LOL. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Nothing here to add that hasnt already been said. Our PDI demo loop is 12 miles. Our customer demo loop is the same 12 miles. We dont have a dedicated demo fleet, we will let you demo the bikes on the floor. (we will make sure that you are serious about the bike before we send you out) But demos are on what we have when we have it on clear days. How else are we ever going to steal someone from Hondyamakawazuki ? | ||
| Panhead_dan |
The header pipes are made of stainless steel. They will start turning colors the first time they get above a couple of hundred degrees. I wouldn't even worry about the bike, just the violations. It shouldn't be hard to prove it wasn't you on the bike at that time. | ||
| Ratbuell |
CityX beat me to it...we also demo on a "what's here, first come, first served" basis in good weather. Buell doesn't assign a "demo fleet" like H-D does, so we're kinda stuck if we want to *really* convince a prospective owner with a test ride  | ||
| S_palmer |
Travisd Are you sure it was the State Police that called you and not someone jerking your chain? If a cop around here got close enough to get a plate no. and observed that kind of riding, there would sure as hell be some tickets issued and the bike would be impounded until they checked with the registered owner to see if he had permission to ride the bike. If they were unable to pull the offender over it wouldn't be a phone call they would be knocking on the door with handcuffs. Just a thought before you tear into the dealer. FWIW I know this shit happens, I got my BMW back from the dealer with the tip over bars scraped on both sides. | ||
| Arcticktm |
Stunts and illegal activities aside, the dealer should give the bike a quick check ride. If the dealer DIDN'T demo it first, the next guy would complain that they sold him a bike without verifying it ran safely and properly. No one buys a car with 0 miles on the odo, either. | ||
| Jayfredweb |
Are you sure it was the State Police that called you and not someone jerking your chain? If a cop around here got close enough to get a plate no. and observed that kind of riding, there would sure as hell be some tickets issued and the bike would be impounded until they checked with the registered owner to see if he had permission to ride the bike. If they were unable to pull the offender over it wouldn't be a phone call they would be knocking on the door with handcuffs. Just a thought before you tear into the dealer. I agree..., I don't think you would just get a phone call. My bike had 11 miles on it when I got it delivered from the dealer. However..., they still wouldn't warranty it as a new bike. They sold it to me as a used bike, even though it had never been registered! |
