| Author | Message | ||
     Nw3b3r |
So on the 17th of last month I took my bike in to get the 7000 mile service done. It was after a weekend of some pretty hard riding and the tech said he noticed a weird noise. A week later they finally call me and say that the pin that attaches the connecting rod to the piston came loose and the motor is trashed. Another week goes by and I get a call from the tech saying that Buell was shipping me out a brand new 09 motor to put in my 08. Two weeks later I still don't hear anything, so I call up the dealership and they tell me that they received the motor (a week ago and failed to call me) and that it was smashed in the crate and it was destroyed. So now over a month from the original date I took my bike in, it is still in pieces on the shop floor. With 2 trashed motors. So here is my question. What does it take to get a brand new bike? or organize a buy back? This is bullshit that a bike is only 7 months old and has been in the shop for this long, without being fixed ( while I'm paying for it ) and I'm missing out on prime riding (AZ). | ||
| P_squared |
Sorry to hear that. Keep on your dealer. I don't believe the 2nd motor being destroyed in transit has any bearing on attempting to get a new bike and/or buy back. Talk with your dealer and then contact BCS to see if you qualify for 'rider down' consideration, then try to be as patient as you possibly can. | ||
| Timi |
Paying for what? The warr is for 2yrs. Why, or what r u paying for, except insurance. Umm I'd check into that! Unless you were racing, stunting, the warr should cover it! Being down sucks. Yes. But why are you anament as to a new bike? Oh don't get me wrong, but if your paying for it, there must be something else to the story. Paitence, its a virtue and most of us(espically me) don't have it! Hang in there bro!!! | ||
| Nw3b3r |
"Paying for what?" well I'm military and not rich so definitely financed it, so I'm paying for that and insurance. Yes its all covered under the warranty. However my angry crew chief disposition is not. | ||
| Babyhuey |
i think the point he's making is that he's paying the note on the bike and not riding. i work at one of the local dealers and that's a common point that a lot of people bring up on an extended time repair. i've never heard of a motor being damaged in transit, not doubting it, just never heard of it. i don;t know what dealer you use but i do know that they are not gaining anything by keeping your bike this long. i'm sure they want you to have it back asap so they can get paid on the warranty claim. just my 2 cents.-andrew | ||
| Mikellyjo |
I think your personal quote says it all...Your assumption is that the dealer only has your bike to work on. Unless your passing twenty dollar bills to the mechanics you're just in line like the rest of us. Mine has been in the shop for a month now waiting on a clutch cover repair. Of course its 20 degrees outside so I don't have the lure that you do. Pick up a copy of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and it will all make sense.   | ||
| P_squared |
Again, TALK with your dealer. Let them know, POLITELY, that the level of communication between them & you has been unsatisfactory so far. Politely inform them you plan to contact BCS, as having your bike off the road for ~1 month for warranty work is not acceptable to you. Next, write EVERYTHING down that has transpired to this point. Dates, names, issue(s). Have this handy when you call BCS. POLITELY explain to them your situation and ask if there is anything they can do to assist with getting you back on the road as quickly as possible. I can understand your frustration, but I believe it's mostly being caused by a lack of communication on your dealer's part based on what you have posted here. Also keep in mind that some of the delay already experienced & sure to happen again is due to V.I.N. requirements in regards to your bike & new engine. Being in the military, you should know how the federal red tape can hamper those with good intentions.  Give Buell a chance to make it right for you. I'm confident they will impress you. | ||
| Spacecapsule1 |
i know the feeling. my bike, an xb, had a rocker box leak at 900 miles. they said it was normal. finally got to the point it was spraying oil all over, so they took it to fix. 2 months later i got my bike back and had to pick it up from another dealer, even further away then the original dealer I left it with. They also managed to ruin the finish of my frame on the entire left side. I had to duke it out with the dealer (shouting matches) and ended up with a new primary cover, left footpeg bracket, new swingarm, scratched frame, damaged axle sliders, smashed throttle cables from improper routing and a scratched rear rim. Oh and the wiring harness was bad so they "patched" it up. Buell CS was never any help throughout the entire process.....and yes, I'm still mad. Everyday I look at my bike i get mad. All of this was within 3 months of buying the bike brand new. Bought in march, dropped off in June, picked up in august. Hang in there and don't give up. I hope you come out better than I did. | ||
| Court |
>>>Again, TALK with your dealer. They can resolve it promptly. Bad deal, fixable. | ||
| Crowley |
Back in '04 I bought a new xb and a couple of months later it broke a con rod and spread debris throughout the motor. The factory built me a new motor with the correct numbers on it the following day any shipped it by air the day after. My dealer in the UK then proceded to loose the motor. To cut a long story short, I ended up buying a new bike. Despite hard work and enthusiasm from the folk at the factory to give customers excellent service, not all dealers seem capable of delivering the same quality. Despite this, there are some excellent dealers out there. | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
Court- sometimes I wonder if you sit at your computer reading posts like this, exhale heavily, rub your forehead and mutter to yourself: "these dealers are gonna' be the death of Buell..." It's just the mental picture I got while reading this thread. | ||
| Crowley |
Despite the negatives you read, there are some excellent dealers out there. I've found one recently, admittedly a long way from my home, but they go out of their way to give customer satisfaction. In any case, I don't think much would stop me buying Buells (bankruptcy excepted  ) irrespective of what a dealer is like. | ||
| Slypiranna |
Nw3b3r, Front cylinder or Rear? | ||
| Court |
>>>these dealers are gonna' be the death of Buell..." No they won't. It's a problem, needs lots of effort and a keen sense of what Buell can and can not do. Erik will prevail. | ||
| Timi |
Bro, not trying to push buttons here! Mabie I sounded like I was firing off at you. I defenatly NOT! There is only love and corrective criticism AND, knowledge here in this forum! What I was only going by were the words you typed here. I'm not a judge and don't judge. (I have opinions tough) But all and all, you have had a disturbing exp. So here we are. Bro, you defend my(er our) country!!! Thank you for that! Your sacifrice(sp) is deff. Appreicated by me!!!!!! To the point,p_squared has the best resoulition, be nice and ASK for help. If my boss (your his, your the customer, so the $$ comes from you, er:Buell)yells at me you damn right I'm not gonna respond positivily, but if he ASKS, I will have a better morale! As someone who makes payments, and works hard for the bucks,and trys to live. I respect your situation. Just hang in there! As I said before, most of us don't have it, I don't a lot, PAITENCE! Buell don't (noone does) mmake money from unsatified customers, so they WILL make this right!! Trust them. Good luck Bro! | ||
| Nw3b3r |
"Nw3b3r, Front cylinder or Rear?" Front | ||
| Nw3b3r |
No worries Timi, I've been reading this forum for awhile, and unfortunately my first post is one of me already irritated. I'm a crew chief and we regularly push 12+ hour days making sure jets are good to go, and maybe I just need to take a step back and realize this dealership isn't as tight of an operation. I called up Buell yesterday and talked to someone very helpful. I told her about my frustrations with the dealership and that nothing has been done to my bike. This morning she calls me back to say that they ended up pulling parts off of another brand new motor to fix the one that was damaged in shipping, and it should all be good to go in a few days. | ||
| Redscuell |
"she calls me back to say that they ended up pulling parts off of another brand new motor". Mighty impressive; no wonder folks on this Board are so proud of BMC's customer service (I'm new here, but have had 1/1 excellent experience myself already). | ||
| Crowley |
In the last 40 years, I've owned over 60 bikes (that I can remember ) and can honestly say that I've never come across a company that CARES about getting a customer sorted as much as Buell does. The UK Marketing Manager told me that Erik had personally asked about my bike (1st one sold in the UK) when he went the factory, I can't imagine Mr Honda etc, etc doing that. Sure, I've been ready to throw in the towel a few times when a motor's gone tits up, but after sleeping on it, I'm like a moth drawn into the Buell light. There's a certain genius behind these machines that isn't quite tangible. eg, I've never really liked Harleys but I bought a FXDX some years ago and actually enjoyed riding it despite it being desperately under powered - little did I know that Erik had had a hand in its design. Keep the faith I say, things may not happen as quickly as you may like but I'm confident that resolutions will be found | ||
| Slypiranna |
Nw3b3r, Front cylinder. Ok. Thank you for the answer. Did you hear the noise? If so, at what miles did you begin noticing it? Based upon your profile, it is an 08 11R but what month build date is yours? Did it sound like a loose valve that got a little more pronounced with heat/long rides? I appreciate your time in answering these questions to the best of your ability. Best of luck in getting your problems resolved. mm | ||
| Nw3b3r |
I got my bike back today, and from what I can tell, the original motor had to be defective from day 1. The new motor sounds way different than the original, it has a deeper tone and a much smoother feel overall. Slypiranna the noise in the old motor didn't change with heat or long rides, it was always pretty consistent. Not sure what a loose valve sounds like so I can't help there. The motor had significantly more mechanical noise than the new one, and the noise got louder with the RPMs. Built Feb 08 My apologies for my lack of engine knowledge. | ||
| Slypiranna |
Nw3b3r, Glad to read you got your baby back! Noises are often those with deaf ears... Best of luck on your NEW Helicon!  P.s...Thank you also for taking the time to answer another's questions. Great Input! Both mechanically and intellectually... (Message edited by slypiranna on November 21, 2008) | ||
| Brokeneck |
I used the same argument when my new leftover S3 was in the shop over and over as the dealer worked out bugs. I had financed it through HD credit and I finally told them they could have it back if they couldn't fix it -- after all it was still their bike till I payed it off. They loaned me one of their rentals until they got it fixed about 3 weeks later. They also gave me a fan kit and free installation -- never hurts to ask. | ||
| Black |
I'm glad you got your bike back. Mechanical and electrical issues can be notoriously difficult to diagnose and fix. I had a secondary ignition problem with my 2002 X-1. I could take it out for about 15 miles and it would foul both plugs and shut down. I pushed that bike all over the DC metropolitan area for about a year. Just stubborn I guess. Bottom line is that I found a Buell mechanic who linked up with the factory to fix it. One dealer that I dealt with had told me that there was nothing wrong with the bike other than I wasn't riding it hard enough! Made me pretty angry. However, the problem was with the cam position sensor..the trigger rotor. Turns out that there were marks on it from striking the cam position sensor. The mechanic found it after pulling the whole assembly and looking at under the sunlight. It was a Whodathunkit? moment. We figured that somebody must have dropped it (the trigger rotor) or somehow damaged it during initial engine assembly. What did Buell do about this? They extended my warranty, picked up two very expensive tows, and wrote me a very nice letter. The bottom line is I still have the bike and an XB and an 1125R. As you may gather, I am pretty happy with Buell. . | ||
| C4bird |
Sounds like I may have had the same problem you had. My bike was making odd noises for quite a long time, was always told it was ok. I finally got the dealer to really look at it, and sure enough motor was bad. They convinced harley to replace the motor due to what looked like bearing material in the oil, but don't know for sure the cause of the knock. New bikes engines are definately different than my bike was (like you mention above). My bike ran and rode great, but always had a vibration and a slight knock that got increasingly worse over the last few months. Built in NOV 07, knock was worse when cold, but there for the most part all the time. They checked the valves, per Buell Tech, wasn't it.. I have been super frustrated. Dealer calls me pretty regular, but it has been 2 months since I dropped the bike off. Dealer says it has been a fiasco with harley shipping everything. They ship some parts, but not all, and they're shipping service holds everything until full load, so some times 5-7 days the parts would sit.  I feel your pain, hopefully everything stays tip top. Making payments on a loan and insurance sure sucks when you can't ride the bike. I've made mine for 2 months now, still have an empty spot in the garage...  |
