| Author | Message | ||
     Jphish |
Riding in the North land has it's rewards & challenges. The scenery & 175 miles between gas stations is only some of 'em. The chance to ride in an area where you can go 20 miles or more and not see another vehicle, is truely the road less traveled. Yellowknife now has a very helpfull Harley dealer that doesnt know Buells at all...but willing to do what ever they can to help out if you encounter difficulty up that way. I blew a rear shock on my 08 Uly somewhere between Peace River and the NWT. They'd never seen a Uly but spent 2 hours trying to find a replacement - none to be had in Canada. Called my point of purchase dealer in Wa St to see if they could locate one - had HD mechanic standing by to work on Sat if one could be airlifted from the states. In spite of their efforts it didn't work out. But these folks went the extra mile to try and help a customer miles from home & deserve recognition. It also speaks to the parts network for Buells. If the Uly is ever going to earn it's reputation as an 'Adventure' bike we need to have a way to access parts that circumvents the normal 7-10 day shipping time frames & expidites delivery before your entire vacation days are expended waiting for "da plane". I carry a spare belt, rear bearings, shifter etc... but a shock aint on my list. Anyway - cudos to Yellowknife Harley - frowny face to Buell parts network. Guess it's up to us to figure out one US dealer (that we would all support) with a suitable inventory and a 24 hour # willing to FEDX (or in this case Bufallo Air) parts to wherever we are. Sure there would be xtra costs involved to us, but better than a ruined trip. Any takers out there ? RatBuell ? j | ||
| Debueller |
That is an interesting proposal for the factory or a dedicated dealer, Jphish. I wonder if BMW, the manufacturer of the famed GS, has a source of parts for "world travelers"? | ||
| Froggy |
*cough*American Sport Bike*cough*  Currently thats about as close as you can get to what your asking. | ||
| Windrider |
It is odd that ANY part that a Buell HD dealer has to order in always takes 7-14 days to ship. My dealer also adds "special" shipping charges and extra fees for anything that is ordered in. I don't order anything from my local dealer anymore because of this foolishness. I recently needed a tire and they wanted over $30 to ship a tire from CO to ID and it was going to take 7-14 days?? Very strange. An extra fee to ship a part really slowly. Luckily, I can deal with other local bike shops for tires and other more reasonable Buell dealers to ship other parts right to my door. | ||
| Gs1100gk |
Sounds like a business opportunity to me!  | ||
| Nevrenuf |
on the other hand, "court" has been known to pull some strings for certain instance's. in order to get a traveler going again. and it is bad enough that a dealer will give a bueller a hard time about fixing something when your on the road but when your on a harley and your on the road and they still won't do nothing, that's just F'd up. got that treatment up in knoxville from the in town dealer and not the one in maryville. ended up going to the next nearest one in kentucky and got treated like gold. it's good to know that someone went out of their way to help though. | ||
| Rotorhead |
+1 on American sport bike. Al will bend over backward to get you on the road as fast as he can get a part to you and asa fast as you're willing to spend to get it there. The BRAN will do the same!!!!! Jphish, did you turn on the distress call across the BRAN? I know there are fellow riders that will go out of the way to get you up and going again. here is what they did for me. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142838/365959.html BRAN with a great dealer to support you and local riders will make your trip a happy one!!!! (Message edited by rotorhead on July 01, 2008) | ||
| Jphish |
Yeah - Froggy, Rotorhead & all - Had historically good luck with American sport bike, but unfortunatly they were "off the grid" when this happened. Not sure what the BRAN is...but guess I should have tried that. Familiar with Honda & Kawi assistance networks, but this is my first Buell & still in learning mode. Debueller - My riding partner has a R1200GS and mentioned a clearinghouse that provides parts fast - not sure their dealer net work is any better. But YES - definitely a business opportunity unfolding here. I'll check with American Sport Bike when they reopen to see if they would be willing to look at this. May require a slightly expanded inventory of critical stock parts, but maybe worth it if they become the "object of our affection" or the nexus of our parts orders. I'll also contact Court & see if he has any ideas to enhance the repair of adventure in far away places. Hell - if I just wanted to stay in my own 'backyard' I coulda just gotten a Vespa. Thanks all for your responses - stay tuned. jphish | ||
| Jphish |
Rotorhead - Got a "this page could not be found" off the link you sent in your message. Got another ?? Thanks, j | ||
| Nevrenuf |
j, the bran is at the top of the main page. "buell riders assistance network" if nothing else keep ulywifes number in your phone. she's the anchor for the badweb. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I know HD will allow "down-bike" expedite on parts orders, but have yet to confirm or try the same for a Buell part. I don't think it is the same program... I personally am always willing to do a parts locate and see who (if anyone) has a particular part in stock. I'm a bit limited as I only have parts lookup (i.e. find a part number for a shock) at work, but I can access locate (i.e. already have a number, just need to find the part somewhere) from the internet and pass the information along to the searcher (these guys show it in stock, here's their phone number, etc). If we've got it in stock, we can always next-day for shipping charges. | ||
| Rotorhead |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/365959.html Try this one typo in the first post. | ||
| Jphish |
Thanks Nevrenuf & Rotorhead - Got Ulywife phone # in my wallet (taped to the back of my wifes picture...should make for an interesting explaination) - also signed up on BRAN. We should all chip in and send ULYWIFE flowers on Mothers day - maybe Carlos too ?! Anyway...Ratbuell, Thanks for your thoughts/suggestions. My brothers a Harley guy and I remember he mentioned the expidited parts option for HD's. Perhaps Buell should consider similiar program. Like the 300 chimps banging away on piano's, eventually we'll come up with something thats a masterpiece. Appreciate the help folks, j | ||
| 2_spuds |
Jphish, sorry to hear about your problems. It reminds me of my trip to Ak on the uly in 06. The dealer in Prince George went way above and beyond solving my wheel bearing problems, they had parts shipped overnight and had the bike fixed the same afternoon it arrived via truck. Maybe they can help getting a shock for you. I'am in Homer AK now and will be in Anchorage from the 3rd to the 6th.The wife is flying back to NJ on the 6th and I'll be heading south then with truck and trailer. Let me know if I can help in any way,towing,transporting parts or whatever. | ||
| Jphish |
Hey 2 Spuds - Thanks for your kind offer, I really appreciate it. The shock problem happened on the 21st, I'm back now...allbeit a week early. It was ok on the hwy, but strongly recommended by the Yellowknife locals NOT to do the 300 mi of dirt on the Ft Simpson road heading towards Whitehorse, so turned around. It's now resting quietly at the dealer in Puyallup waiting for replacement. Just gives me a reason to do Ak & Yukon next year. Hope you have / had a great (and mechanically uneventful) trip. If you get out Wa st way in your future travels - give me a call. 360-754-8015. I semiretired to give me recreational/riding flexibility. 'Chow' John | ||
| Vagabond |
I wonder if BMW, the manufacturer of the famed GS, has a source of parts for "world travelers"? No. (Message edited by vagabond on July 03, 2008) | ||
| Wbrisett |
BMW and Buell face a similar but different set of issues. In some countries BMW Motorrad and BMW cars are sold by the same dealer, so ordering parts may not be as much of a problem in some locations. However, that's the ordering side of things. They still have the issue of having the part in stock, and as mentioned, have no way of getting parts to remote parts of the globe any easier than Buell/HD. Both BMW and Buell face the same issue of dealer networks in certain parts of the world, which is why you had better hope you don't break down. A buddy of mine loaned me a book that tells the story of a guy from Argentina??? who rode his GoldWing around the globe. In Japan, the Honda factory took his bike apart and was amazed that it actually worked. They asked him if they could replace the engine for him.  I suspect that regardless of bike brand, you are going to have issues getting parts depending on where you are. Wayne | ||
| 2_spuds |
Glad you made it home ok John. Canada and Alaska are additive, you'll be back I'am sure. I retired a couple of years ago and celebrated with a trip to Alaska and am now hooked. Ride safe, John |
