[Arizoni]

I can't tell anyone what to do but if it were me, I'd drop it.

Telling his boss about his lack of judgment won't teach the rider a thing and could get him fired.

Depending on his bosses own attitude, he (the boss) may figure your just meddling in things that aren't you business and develop a dislike for you.

While your cause is noble, I can't see any good coming from you mentioning what a jerk the other dealer has working for him.

[Vince]

     Jim, you are probably right. That's why I kept my mouth shut after my aborted attempt to engage the rider. I'm sure his attitude is not limited to this instance. His boss either sees and accepts this, or is oblivious. Either way I get a lot of his disgruntled ex-customers. Now I know why. It would be better for the sport if I could fix this, but I'm not that good. It is none of my business how he runs his business. I just do the best I can. But after 40 years in this business I still cringe at the crappy laws passed against motorcycles and riders because of jerks like this.
     SIGH!

[Ragmas]

Hey Vince,

Say i brought my bike to you for a sprague replacement and in the process when putting the clutch back on the mechanic broke off the end of the main shaft.  Oh, and overfilled the bike with oil.  Oil was noticed and bike brought back to be remedied.  At the time I told the shop my bike was making some strange noises and not shifting right.  I was told that the transmission was a "bang box" and they make noises all the time and that it would wear in.  At this point no one knows that the shaft is broken.  I found out there was a problem when riding with my wife on the back and then all of a sudden my bike would not shift out of 4th. 

Long story short, I took the bike back and the problem was discovered and "repaired".  They welded the shaft back together and told me all was well.  I tooled around their parking lot noticing bad noises that did not exist before they touched my bike.  I was told that my bike was not worth fixing but there are some new ones that on sale in the showroom.

Greatly offended I left and never went back.  Filed a verbal complaint with Kevin at CMW and that is that.

So as a dealer what do you think of this?

Thanks,

Samggar   

[High On Octane]

I'm all for wheelies and shenanigans but on crowded city streets is not the place.  There are plenty off empty parking lots, side streets and back country roads for screwing around, there's no need to put other people in danger and give bikers a bad name in public.  Don't worry about those jerk offs too much Vince, Darwin and Karma will catch up with them soon enough. 

Scottie J

[Arctictanker]

Vince,

I am glad you reopened this, as mentioned early on this is an eye opener.  As a Veteran I completely understand your concern.  I hate it when you get one jerk-off who does something stupid and brings embarrasment to the organization.  Those are the same people who as High-On-Octane mentioned will get their due.  Young dumb and full of...Those were the type of soldiers who knew better than us old-timers and ended up getting kicked out and were oblivious to the ramifications to the rest of their lives. 

I am lucky as all of my dealings with my dealer have been awesome.  I am also one of those "informed" customers.  I do my research before I buy so I can ask questions.  As I am new to riding I will never claim to be an expert and I value the information on this forum.

[Vince]

     Ragmas, I don't know what to think of this. Those transmissions will take 40+ horsepower on heavier bikes. I can't imagine how any dealer/mechanic/drunk could break of the end of the main shaft. You would have to hit it with a 10 pound sledgehammer. Then there would be bearing and case damage. And the bike would not move because the clutch would not be attached.
     My guess is that it broke in use, either from mis-assembly, an undiscovered flaw, or possibly as a result of the Sprag clutch failure. Some of these failures can be quite violent.
     As for the "repair"... Certainly anything can be welded and then re trued/machined, and re-heat treated. But a new shaft would be much cheaper and easier to install. Also, the act of breaking would have damaged bearings. There is never just one failure point in this kind of catastrophic failure.
     So I'm not surprised you have strange noises. I would not ride the bike without a thorough assessment and repair.
     As for the push to a new bike... Oh My God. There are many times that I encourage a customer to consider all the ramifications of a major repair. This includes a cost/benefit analysis of: repair- other used bike- new bike. Funny thing, it is almost always cheaper to repair what you have IF YOU ARE KEEPING THE BIKE. The cost effectiveness must be amortized over a long term to make sense. If you are talking major repair for short term use or resale, it seldom makes sense.
      Based solely on your narrative (remember I only have your side) I don't believe you were treated well on several levels. Bang box!!! WTH! Now what can be done?
     If this is recent you might put in a formal WRITTEN complaint with our host. It's not real if it is not written down. You also need to put in a formal written complaint to your state attorney general, office of consumer affairs. You can also complain to the Better Business Bureau. However, they have no real authority.
     I am sorry for your troubles. Call me at 360-754-4900. I would be happy to discuss this further.

[Ice]

 I second the idea of submitting a formal complaint. To remedy any malfunctioning process/system a request to fix it has to be submitted to the right department.

[olhogrider]

edited, wrong thread