| Author | Message | ||
     Speedway75 |
Has anybody received a Drummer SS lately? I have one on order since April 2007! | ||
| Hergy916 |
Have you called and talked to Kevin? I can't imagine it taking that long. Turn around on my original was about 10 days. If you haven't called, just do it. I've talked to him several times and he is always willing to talk and has called me back both times I've had to leave a message. Maybe he just needs a reminder that you ordered one. | ||
| Speedway75 |
I have called Kevin and talked to him. He always has a reason why the stainless mufflers aren't done. I've been extremely patient, but when I see guys posting pictures of their bikes with the SS muffler I wonder when they ordered it. I was told last June that I was # 11 in line to get one. In Sept. it was " I'm gettin' ready to make those real soon." I didn't call him all Winter but talked to him in April. He didn't have the brackets for the chin fairing. I know he's had problems with equipment and getting reliable help but 14 months is ridiculous. | ||
| A1203r |
I know he's been pretty sick and had a death in the family. That is a long time though. It'll be worth it though man, You're gonna love it. His shop phone has bee kinda messed up lately too, Shoot him an email. | ||
| M1combat |
I'd have to agree that 14 months is a long time, but I also have to agree that it's a GREAT pipe. | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
Just make your own if he won't make one for you, Or buy something else. No need to wait forever on something like a muffler.. | ||
| Mr2shim |
How long does it usually take? | ||
| Psychoxb |
Have you payed him yet? | ||
| Cdale136 |
Wow, I just ordered on the beginning of May. I figured a few months but I guess I'm looking at next season. He doesn't charge you until it is ready to ship. (Message edited by cdale136 on June 03, 2008) | ||
| Kds1 |
Greg, I'm trying to finish your muffler....I'm waiting on the front mount to get here..I can't help that I'm one person but there is more going on in my life than just building mufflers....building mufflers comes second and I'm only one person....I'm not ever going to slap a piece of @$%& together and send it out my door, I'll quit first.....I can't purchase alot of materials because my production level is small therefore I can't drop a load of cash on materials that I can't get out the door in a hurry....now that being said I could double the price and hire help and be faster but then it puts all the people out that can't afford it even if it didn't take alot of waiting for them, so I'm trying to stay affordable for all the Buell owners.....as soon as the front mount hits the door I'll be calling to accept payment.... Kevin www.kdfab.com | ||
| Caféelite |
There is nothing wrong w/ waiting a year or longer for something if YOU are comfy w/ that. I personally would not wait a year for something like an exhaust for my bike. Granted the drummer is great looking, sounds even better and giving business to a fellow badwebber is high on my list but that doesnt fly. Kevin, Is it possible to change your business model up a bit to help you out? Could you do something like a group buy where you only take orders every 3 month at the capacity you know you can complete where people pay up front so you can order the materials needed? This way you could provide a better timeline on product completion. *Shrug* just throwing out ideas | ||
| Kds1 |
sure I can just for the SS, but what about the other people with conversions sitting at home with a pipeless bike??? I don't take money till something is built...I don't live in an area where people are available to do this the way it has to be done, been through them, it lasts for 2 weeks then the stress starts and I'm not living my life stressed out nor do I have time to babysit, I don't have a problem teaching the person how to do it, but after a few weeks of doing the same thing over and over they don't have the same outlook....for most its a job, for me its a passion... Kevin (Message edited by kds1 on June 04, 2008) | ||
| Gschuette |
I am excited to get mine. I'm sure it will be worth the wait. | ||
| Ray_xb |
Can't wait to have mine either | ||
| Glitch |
Kevin, just a suggestion for what it's worth. Why not post on your KDFab website there is a current wait time of ______? Keeping your customers in the know is always a good thing. | ||
| Kds1 |
the wait time depends on more than just me... Kevin | ||
| Glitch |
Understood. Too bad too. | ||
| Vwflat4driver |
nothing against kevin in anyway but unless time was quoted to me to actually take a year i would personaly purchase said or like product from a different business. competiton is what all businesses are up against and for buell mufflers theres plenty of it.If you got your heart set on the drummer ss then youll just have to wait. another thing i may have done was buy the regular drummer and put the order in for the ss at the same time. of course thats if kevin told me that it would be a year before recieving it. | ||
| Retrittion |
Umm, for those who have never run a small business (I have) this is a common issue for a small successful businesses -- the addition of labor costs that come with hiring people outside the owner(s) to do work brings with it a lot of complications and so many people choose not to do that. Though this does limit the business as far as production this isn't an inherently bad thing except for the impatient customer who wants the product. The up side is that when you ask a question about your Drummer (or SpecOps or American Sport Bike or Dark Horse Moto) product you get an answer from the person who is making the product himself. I like Buell and all but Eric doesn't post answers to our questions about problems we are having (*cough*headlight*cough*  ). Personally I like working with small businesses since you can talk to the owner rather than some person hired by the owner to tell you your concerns aren't valid or it isn't really a problem (*cough*buellcs*cough* ). I know the modern market with it's supply chain of poorly made products from overseas has spoiled consumers but some of you may remember the olds day when you had to wait to get what you wanted -- and when you did get it it didn't break in 3-6 months like just about everything does now. There are ways to change a business model to increase capacity but the bottom line is I have yet to see one that retains the same feel. Also, as a former business owner I know that I really didn't like things growing because it meant I didn't have control and involvement in all aspects of my baby -- personally I chose to walk away and go back to college but it is a choice people have to make themselves and growth isn't the be-all end-all for some of us. If anything it seems that the Buell owner base is supportive of small business people willing to provide a great product and that there is more demand than supply currently. Seems to me that is an indication that more people with skills could come into the market to help meet this demand -- and personally that is a very cool thing. If anything I would suggest that Kevin and anyone else scale back their business to a level they can sustain without burnout, as financial realities permit, so they can keep offering great (though maybe a more limited amounts of) products for the Buell community. Thats a lesson I had to learn the hard way personally. My .02 | ||
| Kurosawa |
Bottom line, Kevin didn't charge me until he had my muffler built. That's as honest as it gets. Anyone who has waited for custom gunsmithing or knifesmithing knows a waiting period comes with the opportunity to get something no one else can offer. Bill Moran had a 10-year wait and eventually had to quit taking orders altogether. Well yeah, you could go elsewhere and depending on opinion, maybe end up with something better, but it wouldn't have been a Moran. Me, I wanted a Drummer, so I got one. That simple. | ||
| Kds1 |
thanks guys for the great words,but personally the thread topic name should have been.... Long wait for a Drummer SS....not the regular Drummer Kevin | ||
| Nickcaro |
Me personally, I would wait a whole year for a Drummer and I'm currently bunkering down for a new pipe. Even if its not available until Fall of 09' - I want one! my opinion; raise the prices to reduce the demand. I just paid $1.3k for a pipe shipped in from the UK and I'll buy a Drummer the second its available to replace it. http://www.badweatherbikers.com X post on 1125r board | ||
| Glitch |
thanks guys for the great words,but personally the thread topic name should have been.... Long wait for a Drummer SS....not the regular Drummer There ya go!  | ||
| 984gasm |
Nick, You get rid of your red xb9 I used to see parked over by 22nd street and upgrade? Nice! | ||
| Nickcaro |
I'm up on 39th st now and we actually have a courtyard where I can park off the street and prevents me from constantly looking out the window like I was down on 22nd. Froggy now has my former bike... and my former Drummer! |
