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Buell Forum » Storm Fronts: Buell Groups, Clubs, & Events » 025 BAB (Boise Area Buellers) » BAB Archives » Archive through July 20, 2007

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Author Message   Coturi Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 - 10:32 am:        So, Jeremy possibly, how about anyone else? I'm thinking Sunday around 10:00 to avoid some of the heat.   Axil5 Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 - 07:08 pm:        im going to be gone to twin workin on the 63 till thursday, but i did get friday off for the opening!!!   Bhemph0 Posted on Saturday, June 30, 2007 - 11:28 pm:        Anyone up for Bogus Sunday at 10Am meet at the gas station at Hill rd. & Bogus?   Coturi Posted on Saturday, June 30, 2007 - 11:58 pm:        I'll be there Bill.   Highdesertbirdsofprey Posted on Thursday, July 05, 2007 - 10:11 am:        Hello! Hope you all had a good 4th! I spoke with our District Manager; Curly would love to ride Lowman. He will need to have the opportunity to stop periodically. Shall we plan for Friday, July 20th, ride leaving 11AM from High Desert? Thanks! -Stephanie   Bhemph0 Posted on Thursday, July 05, 2007 - 04:44 pm:        I will be there! Let's get a group photo before we take off.   Coturi Posted on Thursday, July 05, 2007 - 07:39 pm:        Sounds good to me!   Axil5 Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2007 - 04:24 pm:        who all is going to be able to make it for the 11am ride on friday? bill i sent mike that email with the cards   Cms1172 Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2007 - 10:19 pm:        Hey who needs a Jack, 4 bike hooks and 4 ratchet Tie downs, got new tires on Thursday, it took about 15 minutes to take the wheels off this way, thought was kinda funny   Lazyj Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2007 - 12:35 pm:        i am planning on making the july 20 ride...   Coturi Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2007 - 10:51 pm:        Stephanie, when will you guys get the new 1125R in the showroom? I can't wait to ride that thing at Miller!   Axil5 Posted on Monday, July 09, 2007 - 03:42 pm:        ok, so i think the front of that thing is a little fugly, but thats what i thought about the current r's and now i like them, talk about some way cool things though!!! stiffer frame, better braking, better suspension and a sweet motor nice   Tnash71 Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 09:27 am:        I like that setup CMS1172. I was brainstorming "how to lift a Buelly" myself and ended up modifying an MC floor jack by adding shaped/tiered rubber sections so that the shape matches the bottom of my exhaust...yeah sounds weird but works VERY well. I have been meaning to post a pic of it. I had to lift and remove both wheels myself last week to get new Pirelli SS tires mounted.   Tnash71 Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 09:53 am:        I just wanted to express my concern about the parts and service experience I have had with HDHD because I’d like to hear what everyone else’s experience has been and I know local HD dealer folks who watch this forum. I was quoted around $450 to have our friendly neighborhood HD dealer sell me new Pirelli SS tires and mount them (this includes the "discount"). So, I went to Big Twin and they did a great job with quick turnaround for $320 out the door. I think my next bike may be a Ducati? Naw, just kidding, I LOVE MY BUELL. My experience is that HD designs, markets and sells the best bikes in the world. However, the parts and service support from the dealer (maybe just this dealer) are not up to par for their products. Heck, they are not even up to par for one of those funky Chinese motorcycles that now on the market. Wanna be totally happy with your HD? Buy your parts online and buy the shop manual. Please, don't file this occurrence or any other negative experiences with the local dealer as an "isolated incident". I have put 20K on two bikes (11K on my Uly since September) in the last two years riding in the valley. I know lots of folks who ride HD's and we talk to each other. Don’t get me wrong. The folks working the desk s, answering phones, turning wrenches, scheduling services and placing orders are trying their hardest. I can hear their frustration in their voices because they want to do a better job but they are not empowered to do so. They are under staffed and generally not setup to support the customers the way the customer knows and they know they should be. Here are the problems that need to be solved: PARTS: Solve the problem of customers ordering parts and being notified (usually only after asking) that the part is backordered for some totally unacceptable period of time. I usually cancel my order and get the parts online and have them shipped to my door in a few days. SERVICE: Realize that your sales dept. sells bikes to people who commute and practically live on their bikes. Not everyone is a RUB (rich urban biker) who slaps down 20K on a bike and lets it sit in the garage until the temperature hits 70 degrees (but not more than 90). I know they can wait between one and three weeks to get something serviced because they don’t ride much. I also know that they may not mind spending significantly more for their parts and service as well. I could come up with a few different ways to address these problems off the top of my head…but HDHD has smart people whose job it is to solve these problems for their TENUOUSLY LOYAL customers. Does anyone else have any thoughts or experiences they wish to share?   Bhemph0 Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 06:54 pm:        Tim, sorry to hear about your experience. I think that with the move & the new service dept. it will take some time to sort things out. I called HDHD parts about tires for the Uly & was surprised they did not have any in stock & had to buy elsewhere, again hopefully time will take care of the situation. It has been my experience Buell guys & gals are very proactive about servicing & working on there bikes and shop hard for items such as tires. I think Dave, Tom & Stephanie just to name a few have great attitudes & energy about what they are doing so hopefully we will have "good experiences" even in service.   Bhemph0 Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 07:01 pm:        I will be there Friday the 20th 11am for the ride with Curly, sounds like we have a pretty good group! hopefully it wont be too hot. Lets try to get there early so we can leave at 11am. Checked out the new Buell very impressive. I will be out of town this weekend as far as any rides. See you the 20th!   Cxpistl Posted on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 - 07:06 pm:        I can chime in on the dissatisfaction of our local dealer. How I wish there was an alternative! I have even called Big Twin to see if they would work on my bike for me instead of giving HDHD any more business. I just got off the phone with them about calibrating my TPS. Simple enough right?? Well the first problem is that the person working the service counter told me that they will more than likely calibrate the TPS WITHOUT using the dyno! What the hell... •••••••... that’s the only reason I was bringing it in there, because I don't have a dyno. Then it was going to be three weeks out before they could perform an hours worth of work on my bike?? C'mon! How about the time I ordered a race exhaust and when it finally got here (4 weeks later) is was a damn stock exhaust! Yeah, really… who ever orders a stock exhaust?? So guess what -I had to wait another 4 weeks –no discount, no sorry, no free soda, no nothing. I could go on and on… if you have no aptitude to do any work on your bike on your own you are going to be screwed and be spending more time waiting on these jokers than you will be riding your bike. Thing is, that is hasn't always been this way. There was a core group of people loyal to the dealership and more importantly loyal to Dick which in turn provided a greater level of service to the actual riders who spend 80 percent of the year on their bike. Those people are mostly gone now. Things have changed dramatically and most HD riders except for the RUBs (posers) absolutely hate going down there for anything. I cringe about buying another buell for the simple fact of having to deal with these people even more. I have given them enough chances, now I’m just pissed... High Desert Harley Davidson you need to PYHO which is short for PULL YOUR HEAD OUT!   Tnash71 Posted on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 - 08:02 pm:        Yup, you nailed it Cxpistl. They'll figure it out real soon. What about all the employee drama and employee turnover within the last year? Their bottom line is hurting really bad right now, I personally know sales are down bigtime and they haven't even sold any of those tricked custom Harley's they are showin' upstairs. What happens is that they make out real good for a while just doing the basics...you know customer service, etc. Then they invest in the new store and pay for it with the misery of their employees and loyal customers to make it happen. They need to get back to the basics again and take care of us...Snake River Yamaha has their shit together and next time I need a new bike I KNOW I can get hooked up by them. We'll see. Sorry for being negative Bill, but something is wrong at this dealer and we'd be doing the Erik Buell a disservice by not speaking up. They deserve a dealer on par with the product. I'll be looking for the big wigs on Friday to let them know my experiences and we should all do the same. Surely, we should at least let Curly Weber know our dissatisfaction.   Cms1172 Posted on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - 09:57 am:        I will keep my opinion to myself about the dealer, it usually gets me in trouble. Although I have every intention of being at the ride on friday, hope to see everyone there.   Coturi Posted on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - 08:19 pm:        Sorry guys, but I have had great service throughout the years on my bike. I don't have them do much for me, mainly because I love to do it myself. But, I have never had to wait for more than a couple of days to get the bike into the shop and fixed. Once for my voltage regulator and stator, and then again for tps resets, and tire changes(wheels came out unscathed, which is pretty tough, believe me). I have be quite pleased overall.   Axil5 Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 12:20 pm:        As far as the customer being satisfied with a dealership, i dont believe it can ever really happen. consumers as a whole always want more than can be expected. As far as this dealer goes, can it be better, of course! are they trying? lets see... its a hassle for us to have to wait three weeks to get our bike into a brand new state of the art multi million dollar dealership... that there still trying to get caught up with, which in the future should bring wait time down and help with ease of service... parts... they are trying to have more inventory ON HAND, of both harley AND Buell... because to the customer, its their fault that the part is back ordered three weeks from harley or buell... and they cant pull it out their ass... is any other bike dealer in this city, state trying to do what they are doing? No. Try looking at the big picture. think big twin is better? try asking a few duc riders how long it takes to get there bike in for a valve adj or how long it takes to order a race exhuast from them... my buddy has been waiting 9 weeks for his... no dealer can satisfy every one. I work at a dealership... and i can say.. yes mistakes happen, misordered parts happen... waiting to get service does happen... is it ideal... NO... is it what the dealer wants NO... what really matters is the steps the dealer goes through to make it better... does that mean changing things internally, maybe... does that create turn over with employees? almost always... employees dont like change... so they leave.. which is normally a good thing beacuse they still want to do it the old way... which is the way that so many people have expressed dissatisfaction with! so, all im saying is look at what they have done so far... is it perfect no do i still get annoyed that i have to wait three weeks to get my vrod in? yes i do but as much as you dont want to believe.. we do have one of the best dealers out there.. and they support buell more then ALMOST any other dealer out there...... Look what they have tried to do already.   Cms1172 Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 02:53 pm:        For me, only one bad experience, and that was what one employee told me about his opinion of Buell, well everyone has an opinion. On the other side, when warranty work is needed Birds of Prey has bent over backward to get my bike in and fixed, the parts guys at HDHD have always been helpful, and the sales guys are always nice. I know my opinion doesn't count and it might get me in trouble, but there it is. I am a customer Service Rep and I can vouch for the fact that you can't make everyone happy all the time. But what you are doing to try.   Highdesertbirdsofprey Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 03:26 pm:        Hello everyone... I have a few dealer updates for you. But first, I feel inclined to address the recent discussion. As always, comments (event less than flattering ones) can help us to find areas for improvement and opportunities for us, as a dealer and fellow motorcycle enthusiasts, to better serve our customers. The goal is to CONSISTENTLY deliver a quality experience. You are right; we do watch this forum and we appreciate your FAIR assessments. I think Sam's comments really epitomized the point I'd like to make. We are invested in Buell and we are invested in all of you. We are riders too. Like you, we want good, quality, quick service when we shop anywhere and that is what we strive to deliver. We certainly are far from perfect and we hope to improve and continue to get better in everything we do. All I can ask is that you hang in there and talk it out with us. We will do our best to accommodate you. On a personal note, as Dick's daughter, I, like Anthony, would like to see a greater Buell emphasis. I can assure you, our new owner, Dave, shares this interest. While Dave doesn't share Dick's uncontrollable need to do stoppies at every traffic light and ride like a Bat out of Hell, he does believe in good customer service and he is very enthusiastic about growing our Buell presence. I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe this company could do right by my family's legacy. Dave and Bob are driven and determined. There is so much potential for Buell in the Valley and we plan to maximize it! It won't happen overnight, but as our dealership becomes more Buell focused and once we settle into our new digs, I do believe many of the problems you've encountered will rectify themselves. We have a great crew at both High Desert and Birds of Prey. These are people that, while some may be a bit green, really, truly want to be here and love the motorcycle environment. That said, all of us are only human. In the future, I would like to look into taking this Buell group to the next level with a dedicated page on our website and some sponsored events (such as the one tomorrow). All I can ask is that you hang in there. In the meantime, I'm glad you've found ways to continue to enjoy your Buell motorcycle and thank you to those who interjected positive feedback as well. Now that all of that is out of the way... I wanted to drop you guys a quick reminder of the cool BUELL stuff we have going on this weekend: -Friday (tomorrow),we have the RIDE WITH CURLEY WEBER ride leaving from High Desert at 11AM. Your group will be escorting him and others on the Lowman Loop. There is no charge to ride. Registration begins at 10. -Motorclothes has just stocked the Buell wall with the latest Buell apparel! -Jon Flickinger, the PRESIDENT OF THE BUELL MOTOR COMPANY will be at High Desert Saturday, July 21st at 3PM. He has Buell posters he will be signing and handing out for free. I hope you'll all come see Jon. It is such an honor that he will be visiting our valley! -Stephanie   Cxpistl Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 03:34 pm:        Thanks Stephanie! I really needed to hear that!   Tnash71 Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 04:11 pm:        OK Stephanie. I needed to hear that too. I really just wanted to make sure you guys are listening. Thanks for the thoughtful response. This means a lot to me. I'll keep my mouth shut around the HD execs tomorrow and hang in there while you guys go through your growing pains. However, I will not be shy about letting the dealer know when I've had to have my customer service needs fulfilled elsewhere. Thanks again and best wishes to everyone down there for a successful grand opening weekend. See you all tomorrow! I'm playing hookie damnit!   Highdesertbirdsofprey Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 04:25 pm:        Tim, I wouldn't ever ask you to be shy about letting us know when we were less than stellar (I don't want to be the only one who hears the grumbling ). I can't fix everything but I'll do MY very best. Wish I could go on the ride with you guys... I'd play hookie too if this wasn't my job. See you tomorrow. Steph   Lazyj Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 06:19 pm:        ha ha....im playn hookie too....although i should probably get about a 30 minute head start on the ride since well.......you guys ride like the wind.   Coturi Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 07:25 pm:        I'll see you guys down there in the morning.   Bhemph0 Posted on Friday, July 20, 2007 - 12:28 am:        Wow! just got back in town and finished reading the forum, Like I have already said the energy at the dealer is in the right place, all we have to do is train them. The biggest hurdle is passed as they have the right attitude and we have there ear. Now to take a quote from Tony. Shut up and ride. See you Friday!!!   Cxpistl Posted on Friday, July 20, 2007 - 11:31 am:        hahahaha... Nice! Way to sneak one in there Bill.