| Author | Message | ||
     Pogue_mahone |
yep the not so fabulous Sun H-D in my area.needed a tire, a metzler m3.rear....service writer calls upstairs and asks if they have one.parts tells him no,and then it was like this: we dont have one for your buell. we wont find u one of any brand. there is the door. am i out of line in thinking they should at LEAST make a call to find tires? so i went to Colorado Powersports nearby and they got me set with a conti sport attack rear and no BS and no HD attitude and great service,like the DEALER should have. and....not a single mark,scratch or anything wrong."good" service should not be this hard to attain. | ||
| Iamarchangel |
Yes, tires are probably the biggest gamble we make. There is a huge range in tire prices and a huge range in charging for changing/mounting those tires. Considering that relatively "spirited" riding will have us change tires twice a year, we better learn all the pitfalls to consumers. When I get a garage my first purchase will be a tire changer. | ||
| Slaughter |
As you have painfully experienced, the dealer is the weakest link in the Buell chain. The farther that Buell gets from those who specialize in selling chrome-and-leather couches, the better Buell will be. | ||
| Sloppy |
Isn't it nice to be able to have the option to take your business elsewhere! Capitalism rocks! Buell's largest downfall is the lack of independent dealers. | ||
| Freezerburn840 |
Buy the tire from www.motorcycle-superstore.com and give them your zip code they will list all dealers in your area under their program and have the tire shipped to one of those dealers that dealer will mount the tire for you for a fee. So tire price plus the mounting which could range anywhere from 45 up to 120 depending on where you go. (Message edited by freezerburn840 on July 14, 2009) (Message edited by freezerburn840 on July 14, 2009) (Message edited by freezerburn840 on July 14, 2009) | ||
| Kurbennett |
Its really sad. When you figure that at some point in the future these very same Buell riders may want to think about riding a Harley. But the treatment they received may the deciding factor. Not only affecting their dealer choice but brand as well. | ||
| Freezerburn840 |
I am lucky I have the extended warranty. I just caught a nail my dealer replaced the tire although they did chip my hero blue rim real small nic. I was still irritated. Seems like I will have to request the Senior Tech everytime I need to have my bike serviced. | ||
| Thatman |
I hear what you guys are saying about quality of service, my dealer is somewhat fair in that they have about 5 to 7 XB’s on the floor most of the time and two Buell techs. I’m older and don’t ride very hard but I do ride a lot, I have 5600 miles on the bike and the rear tire is looking kind of flat in the middle. My chicken strips are like ¼ to ½ I think I like turning left more than right for some reason. Anyway I am not looking forward to the inevitable chipped paint on my nice pretty blue wheels. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
So you'd expect a dealer to create an account with Metzler, a brand they don't regularly stock, to order a tire for you that only YOU want, and this sounds reasonable? If you want a specific brand of tire, order them and have them shipped to your house or the dealership and have them mounted. What's the big deal? I had my dealer to mount a set of Avons, but I didn't expect that they would go and find them for me. My local Honda dealer doesn't carry Avon or Metzler. They won't order them for me either. Damn Honda dealers are the weak link.  | ||
| Pogue_mahone |
Posted on Sunday, July 12, 2009 - 04:21 pm: Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) So you'd expect a dealer to create an account with Metzler, a brand they don't regularly stock, to order a tire for you that only YOU want, and this sounds reasonable? If you want a specific brand of tire, order them and have them shipped to your house or the dealership and have them mounted. What's the big deal? I had my dealer to mount a set of Avons, but I didn't expect that they would go and find them for me. My local Honda dealer doesn't carry Avon or Metzler. They won't order them for me either. Damn Honda dealers are the weak link. : | « Previous Next » cant believe u said that. is it too much trouble to go and find a tire? i bet they do for a shiny piece of chrome crap for an hd.or some leather dangly things for the bar ends.why is a tire so far out of the loop to do some customer care for your people?that is NOT unreasonable to do. Colorado Powersports stocks a good selection of tires and they service and sell 8 lines,and have but 2 stores. CP gets my dollar and kudos for being a FULL SERVICE shop and dealer. for yamaha,star,victory etc LOL | ||
| Iamarchangel |
Dealers are not usually locked into one distributor. They should be able to order the tires for a customer. Of course, I never like making a fuss and forcing people to do things with my food or my bike. If they can't do it my way, I'll find somebody who can. (Thatman: It's probably not that you like left more than right, it's that right has oncoming traffic so you exercise a little more caution.) | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
So you'd expect a dealer to create an account with Metzler, a brand they don't regularly stock, to order a tire for you that only YOU want, and this sounds reasonable? Well, I seriously doubt there is a H-D dealer in America that doesn't have an account with Drag Specialties, and they stock Metzeler tires. Parts Unlimited carries your tire and is the largest parts distributor in the world, so unless the dealer has a problem with picking up the phone it appears they just don't want your business. Seems a rather odd attitude to have considering the current economic situation. | ||
| Fireboltwillie |
pogue, i had an issue with CP in boulder in that they wouldn't touch my bike unless i took the wheels off and brought them in. and High Country Harley (who i usuall deal with) will gladly sell you a stock replacement (pirellis, these days). i just ended up buying them myself and taking the wheels and tires up to a custom chopper shop to have them mounted up in lyons. | ||
| Pogue_mahone |
hey willie just been in to CP a few times and so far never any bad anything.as opposed to the HD it is like all bad and i go in to be surprised and it be good LOL the prior owner of my bike rides for CP and is a really stand up guy. and i wanted the metzler,but was open to whatever they may have.but i guess they dont care,there is enuff HD riders buying and getting service we dont matter. | ||
| Jakecheez |
Yep, dealers don't like Buellers. Which is fine, cuz everyone I ride with, is on a cutsom or a HD. When a dealer doesn't treat me right, they lose a LOT more than just my buisness. Stuff like this helps. Props to great shops and knocks to •••••• ones. St.Paul HD blows!!!!! Faribult HD is amazing!!!!!! | ||
| Dcmortalcoil |
If you can enough riders (like 8) to chip in $100, you can collectively buy a NoMar tire changer. If pays back in about a year if each change 1 set of tire. I bought one myself. Changed 4 sets of tires between me & my friends. Haven't recouped the cost yet, but will soon. NoMar tire changer is EXCELLENT because no metal parts touch the rim. My 2 cents | ||
| Fast1075 |
When i wore out the first set of tires on my bike, I took it to my dealer for some new ones...I wanted the Pirellis but all they stocked was the Dunflops...When I asked them to order me a set of Pirellis, I was told that since they didn't carry a HD part number they couldn't get them... Wanna know the STUPID part?? I walked over to a 2008 Blast sitting on the showroom floor and pointed at the PIRELLIS that came mounted from the FACTORY!...I said.. oh yeah...like those tires that you can't get... I ended up getting a set of Avons from an internet vendor (not mentioned since they are not a badweb sponsor  ) and mounting them myself. | ||
| Fireboltwillie |
pogue, give high country harley a chance. they are out at highway 52 and I-25. they are really trying to be a good buell dealership. a few of their guys are badwebbers (zac4mac is the man). | ||
| Spatten1 |
I needed a tire when I was near Zion last month. ••••••• Harley dealer charged me $180 +tax for a D208. They wanted 1.25 hours at $95/hr to mount it. Rape. How ignorant are the customers at these Harley dealers? Who is keeping these shops full? | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Yep, dealers don't like Buellers Umm, not ALL dealers dislike Buellers. Ask Ourdee about his failed wheel bearing that WELDED itself to the wheel. How Hals came and picked him AND his bike up on the side of the road(about 1 exit away from the Buell factory) and how the good folks at Hals were working on it till about 8PM so he could get his bike back on the road for Homecoming festivities. Or about how Hals coordinated a bunch of activities for us Buellers when Buell cut back their budget. All I'm trying to get at, don't group all the dealers together. There are good ones, bad ones, and a few OUTSTANDING ones. Personally, I'd rate Hals as an outstanding dealership. But I'm a bit biased  I've never had a problem getting any tire I wanted at Hals either. | ||
| Ourdee |
You don't have to ask.  I'm still singing them praises. I've got relatives that aren't as nice to me as Hal's. If you live with in 250 miles of Hal's, go buy something from them. 75+ miles for me but I know where to go for great service. I'll be Tony the tiger,"They're GREAT"! Hal's is what you would want your dealer to be. I could go on and on but you get the point. | ||
| Iamarchangel |
I needed a tire when I was near Zion last month. ••••••• Harley dealer charged me $180 +tax for a D208. They wanted 1.25 hours at $95/hr to mount it. Rape. How ignorant are the customers at these Harley dealers? Who is keeping these shops full? Did you pay after they told you this? If so, then it wasn't "rape", it was consent. Get your metaphor right. If you did pay, then you're also part of what keeps these shops full. If you did not pay, good for you (but then you have no reason to complain...) | ||
| Spatten1 |
Did you pay after they told you this? If so, then it wasn't "rape", it was consent. Get your metaphor right. If you did pay, then you're also part of what keeps these shops full. If you did not pay, good for you (but then you have no reason to complain...) I had to buy the tire, hundreds of miles to the next tire or a 1-2 day wait. In rural Utah, you don't have a lot of choices. I did not pay the RAPE charge for installation. I put the damn tire around my neck and rode 20 miles to another shop to get installed for $80, high, but much less than the RAPE at the Harley dealer. I nearly crashed a couple of times doing it, but I was not paying $120 for a tire mounting. That would have made me feel as though I'd been RAPED. I even told the Harley dealer I'd prop my muffler up on a rock and pull the tire next to their parking lot, because it only takes 5-10 minutes off and 5-10 minutes back on. The RAPING Harley dealer told me he would not allow me to pull my own wheel and hand it to him. Sets a bad precedent or something. Sounded like RAPE to me. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
cant believe u said that. is it too much trouble to go and find a tire? I'm not saying a dealer can't. I'm just saying that not all do, and that it isn't just HD dealers that won't order tires. I just think it's silly to get bent out of shape over something that you could make provision for in advance. I've had two sets of tires mounted at the dealership. I either took the tires there or had them shipped both times. I got a better deal than if they had found them form me. | ||
| Froggy |
A while back I scheduled an appointment at my dealer to put on fresh rubbers, I told them I would supply the tires. The service writers response? "No problem, don't forget to get tubes too". Needless to say that guy wasn't working there for long after, but they still changed my tire no problem. | ||
| Iamarchangel |
Sounded like RAPE to me. But nothing happened??? You did what a lot of us have done, you took the best part deal and went somewhere else for a better labour deal. All this choice, and democracy too. What a country! If that's the worst thing that ever happened to you, there are billions in this world that wish to live your life. I'll stop now. I pray that's the closest you'll ever get to actually being raped. | ||
| Nextcorner |
Last summer I bought some PowerPilots. The HD/Buell dealership in my area said they were backed up for 3 weeks. My old tires were in really bad shape, so I had to find someone else. My friend recommended a small shop not far from where I live. He said this shop does a lot of tire changes for sport bikes and custom parts as well. I went, he said he has no problems doing a Buell. I dropped off the bike in the morning, went back at the end of the day and there were 4 shop guys crowded around my bike. The owner said they were working on it and to give them 40 min. Well, 20 min later he called me and said they had to truck it to the HD/Buell dealer. He said they sheared the axel. (they actually didn't realize it has reverse threads). So I had to sit without a bike for 9 days while the dealership fixed it. This small shop paid for the axel, but instead of me paying the small shop $50 for a tire change, I had to pay the dealship $85 plus be without my bike for days. The small shop didn't compensate me 1 penny for their screw up. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
H-D dealerships have strange rules. It ticks me off that I have to drive an hour away to get to a Buell dealer to get parts when there are 2 Harley dealers within 15 miles of me. Apparently if they're HD only then they are HD ONLY. They will not sell nor work on anything that isn't HD. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Try buying Acura parts at a Honda dealer. | ||
| Pogue_mahone |
acura honda like toyota and lexus you would be surprised what they can order that is out of their "official" line. |
