| Author | Message | ||
     Ontheroad68 |
I have bought a lot of parts from these folks over the years. Lance was great, when he retired Dan took over the Buell Parts and although he didn't have the background or technical knowledge that Lance had, he at least tried to do his job. Dan quit to go install countertops and now we have Dawn (?) The last 2 orders I've placed either online or on the phone have gone horribly wrong. Both she and the parts manager couldn't care less. So when I was placing another order today she decided I was rude, cancelled the order and hung up on me. Great! I ordered the parts from New Castle, but because they don't stock as many parts as St. Paul the parts need to be ordered from HD so it takes a lot longer to get them. St. Paul has bought up a lot of discontinued parts, so for many parts they are literally the only game in town, they don't have to care. It's really disappointing not only because we have so few options to buy parts, but the Buell community has always been so great and supportive, now our primary parts supplier is an absolute POS. Sad. | ||
| 2cylinderbill |
I could be wrong and haven't ordered parts in a while but the folks running SPHD can't be happy she's done that. First thing I learned in my very first job (A&P) is that the customer is always right. | ||
| Froggy |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/406 2/870905.html?1592969609 | ||
| Froggy |
Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come. | ||
| Ourdee |
I was greatly distressed reading this thread. As such I reached out to SPHD in an attempt to not loose the resource. This is what I emailed them: "Hi, I have bought Buell Parts from SPHD in the past. Always a pleasure and Always great communications. I am a little distressed in what I am hearing in the Buell community about recent dealings with buying parts. I understand Lance and Paul have continued their journeys through life. I have concerns that opportunities to maintain the excellent reputation these fine individuals have bestowed to SPHD are being frittered away by the current person handling Buell parts sells. I would be troubled on a 1,000 mile ride to trust ordering a part through SPHD at this time. I have dealt with customers that presented challenges. I was a plant liaison for a stamping plant for FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobile). The customer is not always right, but I could usually get their mind right. If we have a person that is just doing a job, I would suggest finding someone that enjoys getting customer's minds right. This one is doing SPHD no favors. Please, R.D. Stockinger" | ||
| Tootal |
If you know the part number then go here: https://surdyke.com/ and put the number in the search bar. They don't carry everything but they've carried a lot. I just got a belt at a better price than SPHD. Their prices have most dealers beat. | ||
| Ontheroad68 |
A big factor is that motorcycle shops really don't pay well, so when the labor market gets tight, as it was pre-covid, what you get is whoever is willing to work for $10/hour. As housing and cost of living increase, worthwhile people are forced to find something else to do. I've seen it here in my area (Seattle) many times over the years. Tootal: Thanks for the tip on Surdyke, I'd never heard of them before. St. Paul only sells parts at MSRP, not a penny less. Newcastle is almost always 25% off from retail. Ourdee: I appreciate the concern, but I can assure you that they dont care. | ||
| Tpehak |
You called them with a phone to place the order? Why don't you just order through their website? | ||
| Ontheroad68 |
Because not all of the Buell parts they stock are on the website, you have to call and ask if they have it. Many items, if you look up a part on their website, it will show that they do not have it. But if you call them they probably DO have it in stock!!! They claim that they can not possibly list all their parts on the website. Then why have a website at all???? Inquiring minds want to know... | ||
| Ontheroad68 |
Tpehak: This is a prime example of why St. Paul is broken. This is sometimes an issue at Newcastle as well, infact today, but the situation was handled much differently. I called Newcastle to check stock on a few parts, he had all of them, but I mentioned to him that one was not listed on the website. He was puzzled, but looked it up while I was on the phone and agreed it was not listed on the website. He said he would list it as soon as we got off the phone and to wait 5 minutes, reload the browser and it would be there. And it was there, and I ordered it. A MUCH different experience than ST. Paul. | ||
| 651lance |
The person that is running the website now that Doug is gone is Melana, she worked for the dealership a few time before now. When I was there we tried our best to have most of the parts on the website and the last time I looked at the site it really hasn’t been updated. Justin is the new owner of SPHD and his business philosophy is total different then Tom the previous owner. One of his comments to our parts staff after he took over was “ I don’t care about training the parts staff because the customers will have to come to us for their parts”. All the my parts staff came to after and were pissed about the comments. Needless to say most of the parts are in the Vintage Parts warehouses in Beaver Dam WI. They don’t sell to the public but any HD dealer can order the parts for you. If you have the part numbers you can look them up on their website to see if they have them before contacting a better dealer. | ||
| Ontheroad68 |
Sorry to run on this thread but today was frustrating. The primary reason I ALWAYS call before ordering is that although the website says they have it in stock, sometimes they actually don't. Do they notify you that a part you ordered is not in stock and must be ordered from HD? Of course not. So a week goes by and I'm thinking my part should be here but it's not. So I call and find out that it hasn't shipped yet because they are waiting for the part to arrive from HD. Fantastic. If I would have known that I would have made other arrangements, possibly ordering it from my local HD store to get it here faster and without paying the shipping. After this happens to you 3 or 4 times you will also call the store every single time before you place an order. Rant over | ||
| Tpehak |
The best way to contact is email. If you call them via the phone the people might be busy and have no time at the moment to manage your requests. (Message edited by TPEHAK on September 15, 2020) | ||
| Griffmeister |
I’ve ordered parts from Gold Star/Surdyke before, mostly because of no hassle and discount prices. The only thing I have trouble with is when a part has been updated. If you put in the number you’re familiar with it won’t cross to the new number, the search will just say n/a. Same thing pretty much happens on any shopping site like eBay or Amazon. I know it’s usually just the letter on the end but does anyone know a shortcut to find the current number rather than start running through the alphabet? | ||
| Pushr0d |
I recently ordered the 3-bearing rear wheel. I noticed the cost for bearing installation ($55), when added to the cart, ended up being $60. So I called. Several times. Sent to voicemail. Melana (or whoever checked voicemails) never responded. I finally called and talked to the parts guys (and I've forgotten their names). They were very helpful, and they cut me a break on shipping. Newcastle told me they could not get the wheel. | ||
| Ontheroad68 |
St. Paul bought ALL the 3 bearing wheels when they went out of production so you have no choice. | ||
| Shoggin |
Thats a good point^^^ While it's a shame you feel they have sub-par customer service, what are your other choices? HD dealers charge $700 to change spark plugs (H-D first service) so IMO, pay the extra $5 and be thankful they still care enough to not toss that pile of Buell parts in the dumpster because we are all cheapskate PITA's to deal with. That includes me BTW   (Message edited by shoggin on October 04, 2020) | ||
| Court |
On th4e bright side . . . I was able, when I read this thread today, to go to their website and buy a 3 bearing wheel in less than 2 minutes. Not bad as I recall all the "no parts after 2 years" hysteria . . . 11 years ago. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Things may be improving. This was posted to Facebook today. Several responses let him know a lot of us have been disappointed in their service recently.  (Message edited by Hughlysses on October 09, 2020) | ||
| Ourdee |
My XB was born from a Sportster? | ||
| Blake |
The boy's confused. | ||
| Court |
Delusional. I did a cute little marketing thing once and made the point by asking "If you had a new Sportster . . . how may parts would you need to purchase to build a Buell?" While I'd concede that the motor started with the Sportster . . . there's a reason a 1998 Buell made 101HP and the Sportster59.80 HP (43.6 kW) @ 5200 RPM. I'm sure the young man at SPHD is well meaning and sincere . . . and I hope things move "Lance-ward". Time will yield our answers. | ||
| Atc_no_more |
Time has told. Hugh! Glad you put up that post copy from Buellxb.com-Buell Forum four posts back in this thread. Here is some good news all- Mr. Cody Ray Thompson of St. Paul HD/ Buell got me hooked up quickly with a part I need this morning. If you want to see the drama I had about this part, take a look here. Buell Forum » XBoard » Broken fuel supply line banjo fitting http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/32777/875679.html?1602627448 But whether not not you look at that thread, be advised that I am most happy with today’s outcome dealing with St Paul HD/Buell. I sent Cody Ray an email at 0850 EST. Went off to do a few things and came back to check my email around 1130. Cody Ray had replied with “we have that part” and call me. I called him. He was courteous and professional, double checked that this was the part I need and completed the order. He also said there were 120 more in the warehouse- in case anyone ever needs a pump to rail fuel line in the future.  | ||
| Hughlysses |
Chip! I had seen your post about the fuel line. Glad you got hooked up. | ||
| Buellish |
Now that is a Sport Utility Vehicle! | ||
| Atc_no_more |
Got the fuel line as expected yesterday- 3 day USPS shipping. | ||
| Tootal |
I ordered a set of plug wires on line and they were here in 4 days. That seems like an improvement! Maybe somebody got the word. | ||
| 34nineteen |
I just ordered a handful of parts from SPHD and got them in a timely matter (less than a week). | ||
| Geoff |
I’ve never had a problem with St Paul Buell. My only gripe is their order processing time is longer than it used to be. If an order is not received by 8am, they will not process it until the next day. Strange policy for an e-commerce business. Can’t imagine they do this for Harley-Davidson parts, which are readily available from other dealers across the country. | ||
| Ontheroad68 |
I'm glad you are all having a good time at SPHD, I have had too many bad experiences so I'm out. I've found a guy on ebay that sells direct from the Beaver Dam warehouses for 35% off retail. He doesn't stock a single item, but ships direct from Beaver Dam. I thought this was small side business of Lance, but he insists that it is not him. I still this might be Lance. |
