| Author | Message | ||
     Liquorwhere |
Al-- I understand, but I have seriously entertained either a Superhawk or an RC51 and the real deal is this, no matter what else I buy, I can have it serviced at Precision here in Sarasota, buy guys I trust, without one dime going to Willie's Evil Empire...so there ya go...and the reason I did not take my bike to Rossiter's is Ernie the service manager...he is terrible. ok...the bikes for sale are: 2005 FLSTSC (Black), 1989 FLHTCU (Custom Paint...very risque, must be a household without a wife or with a cool one), 2005 XB12R (Black), 1999 X1 Lightning (Blue, White stripe, PM Wheels, blah..blah...blah..this bike is sweet), 1973 X90 HD two stroke...tradition orange and black. Also as I spoke with Cochise, many jackets and literally 50 or more shirts some never worn, also books, service manuals, a Buell Roll up Tool Kit, and other assorted odds and ends. I thank you all for your comments. It felt good just to get it out of my system. | ||
| Aldaytona |
I like most brands of motorcycles, my closest friend and neighbor has both a Triumph and Ducati but is retired and is a very competent wrench, he'll be the first to admit parts and service are worse than Buell in our area. I enjoy our rides together and get to fondle his Ducati periodically. They work for him, but not for me. He wouldn't own a Buell either. If I were to leave the the Harley-Davidson family of motorcycles I believe I would turn to Japanese motorcycles both for the large dealer network and parts availability. Turning Japanese, I think i'm turning Japanese, I really think so................ | ||
| Daves |
Liquor, I am sorry about your troubles. The cracked primary doesn't appear to be Buell's fault though. I'm not sure how a mis-adjusted clutch would cause that? How has Buell lied? The only thing I suggest is DO NOT sell the the X90, you will regret getting rid of that one. Just so you know, a new primary cover is 198.00 | ||
| Oz666 |
Dale, I hope you can find a bike (brand) that you like. Buell/HD dealers have REALLY pi$$ed me off also. Just not enough to shed a bike I think is terrific. I agree with some of the comments above, I have friends withold Triumphs and BSAs, etc. - I find ways to fix them. Car dealers are just as bad. We have people like DaveS and Court (and others) along with all the great people here on BadWeB (Thanx to Blake). Buell parts prices have tripled since HD took over distribution. So, what's the result? When I need a new front rotor that used to be $100 and is now $300, I'll buy the Wave Rotor for $250 and keep ridin' and grinin' All I can really say is before you ditch your bikes and stuff (which you obviously have MUCH $$$ invested in), see what Court and the rest of the the BW crew can do for you. I don't think you will find anything like your Buells (or the folks that ride them), but I wish you the best of luck if you decide to try. I am sure that I speak for everyone when I say that no matter your choice, you will still be welcome here. Sorry for the hijack... (I made a HUGE a$$ of myself when I first vented on this board, I admire your restraint)   Oz | ||
| Debueller |
Where is KTM? | ||
| Rocketman |
My 1994 second year of production 916 has done a third more miles than my S1W has, despite it being lauded as the most unreliable of all 916's it is still tip top and has never had any issues in its entire life. Fact is, wherever you look around the 916 it smacks of quality in every single component, even down to the nuts bolts and screws. My Buell has been a nightmare and spent years downtime until I finally sorted it myself, junking a lot of the stock parts. Rocket | ||
| Jb2 |
Kdan, Hey dude we all have our preferences. I'm an *EX* Buell owner and current Victory owner. I routinely ride several thousand miles just for vacation and over 10K miles a year. While on our ride this year we ran into several Vics that were pushin' 100K miles without problems. All of the owners told me "you'll love your bike!" Guess what? I do. You can ask Reepicheep or Oldog or anyone else at BRATPAC II as to wheather or not you can throw one around a corner or not. Maybe not as well as Buell but I'll bet I could make you scream like a school girl if you were to ride on the back of mine.  Too much Kool-Aid makes your vision blurry!  Ride Safe, JB2 | ||
| Court |
Friend of mine rode the first Victory from New York to San Franciso when they were introduced and had a wonderful trip. I 've yet to meet anyone who has a bad word to say about them. Heck, a year ago I had 6 different brands sitting here in my office and each of them had it's own beauty. Court | ||
| Hootowl |
From the article... "Therefore, it is in the best interest of the OEMs to either increase the number of single-line dealers or find a way to emulate the processes at these single-line dealers that lead to higher levels of satisfaction" I would go WELL out of my way to patronize a Buell only dealer. | ||
| Pwnzor |
sounds to me like you tried dealing with HD customer service on a Buell issue. How does somebody with so many Harley products not know how to turn a wrench? After my 10k service fiasco, I started wrenching on my own bike. And you know what, after that all my litle problems went away. I haven't had a single issue with the bike other than regular maintenance since that day. I agree service sucks at the stealership, but I'm not getting rid of my Buell over it. You want to talk about service nightmares, lets talk about my 2003 Ducati 749S. In the shop 5 times yes FIVE times during the 16 months that I owned it, and each time it was something not covered under warranty... to the tune of $800 or $1000 each time. Then when I sold it I lost another $6000. What a piece of crap compared to my Buell. Get a service manual and get over it. These bikes are easier to work on than any other bike I've ever owned. If ya really gotta sell your bikes, get the Honda. It will probably give you the least trouble, and the RC51 is an awesome machine.  | ||
| Scott_in_nh |
Rocket (and Duxl), my brother has a Duc M900 that started life as an 01 M750 and he loves it! I have put a few miles on it and ran it down the dragstrip too and I also love it! That said, it is more comparable to your tuber than the 916 is and I'll tell you that besides the brakes, the rest of the components are nothing special. It also went back to the dealer with a few thousand miles on it because it was leaking oil at the base of the front jug. Not a flame, great bikes, just my observations. If I had the money to add a bike (not replace) I would love to have the 1098! I am even one of the few who likes the looks of the 999. Who knows, the reasonable price of the 1098 has to lower the resale value of the 999, so I might be able to get a 999 pretty cheap sometime in the next few years..... But then again, by then my daughter will be in college- never mind!  | ||
| Liquorwhere |
Daves "The cracked primary doesn't appear to be Buell's fault though. I'm not sure how a mis-adjusted clutch would cause that? How has Buell lied?" Ok here is the deal, how could anything but a manufacturer's defect cause that? The metal is torn..sheared..now...how did they lie..well my bike had every service, every thing ever done to it at a HD dealership, and my warranty was not honored...lie. Next it was supposedly a dealer tech that mis adjusted the clutch in some way to make metal shear and tear..hmmm...lie. Cindy at HD customer service ( if you call it customer service and I can post the phone number and reference if you want it) directly told me they do not warranty what an authorized tech does to the bike, ok fine...so the tech somehow caused the primary to tear and shear...hmmm..she then told me to take it up with my dealership, they at the dealership (people I had worked with and know) used the common HD out...possible customer abuse..ok that is bull$hit..my bikes are treated better than most people's children are. I am 36 years old, I don't beat up anything, it costs too much to abuse it and I have five to maintain so I take good care of them all. So they did not stand behind their work or product...LIE..again and again..what is the company line??? Have it serviced at a dealership so your warranty is always intact when in fact they will look to any thing to void the warranty...also the Primary cost me $220.00, plus a clutch cable and fluids and filter and labor and the final bill was $594.00 and Brian at Jim's said he discounted some labor. Dave I know you work at the Appleton WI shop, and maybe there this would not have happened, even if Buell said no, maybe your dealership would do the right thing...split it with me or something. It is not the money it is the effort..but the gap is between how many good dealerships and how many bad. Al talked about Ducati dealership network not being so good..so is it the Devil I know VS the Devil I don't know..I think I will try a new Devil...HD has made it's last dollar off of me...Other can do what they want..it is a common theme from many of my friends and now finally me...I love the bikes and despise the dealerships and the company...well I will stop supporting the company, bikes, dealerships..all of it..do they care?? HELL NO they don't care, one mad customer..so what they have had millions of angry people and they still sell bikes, they don't care about you, me or anyone else as long as Willie G can leave some money to his kids when he dies, just like the money was left to him...that is the only deal. So instead of just bitching about it, I am doing something about it, right or wrong. So there ya go. | ||
| Oldog |
Kdan: What Jb2 said the Vic with him aboard gave a good account of its self If I ever do a crusier it will likely be a vic. | ||
| Liquorwhere |
Pwnzor I actually completely tore down and rebuild my Ultra, powder coated everything, custom paint, split the cases and rebuilt the engine from the ground up..it is not turning the wrench that is the problem, this bike is still under factory warranty. It is giving that company any more money for anything. When your done your done. I received an offer I accepted, if that goes through the new owner of my bikes will have a stable of well maintained, wonderful bikes, but will have to deal with HD for nearly anything they need it they break. I love the bikes, they make my day, but the company...I cannot support them. So I keep riding something else. If the offer does not happen as discussed..then I sell them one by one and e-bay all the other stuff, but I will keep the Snap-On tool box for the next bike...whatever it may be. | ||
| Daves |
Whoa! Well if the tech messed up your bike, then Buell is right, it is not a warranty issue. I am not sure what happened but primary covers do not just crack,tear,whatever on their own. I also do not see how any amount of abuse would cause that anyway. Not saying you did abuse the bike. So I am agreeing that the dealership did not take care of you. Then it appears they overcharged you on the bill. Primary cover 220.00 gasket 16.00 fluid 7.00 filter 6.95 oil 15.00 cable, 24.00 that totals 288.95 so they charged you 305.05 in labor? Here that would be 4.69 hours of time. And they claim they gave you a break? It appears, and I say that because I wasn't there, that the dealership is the one you should be mad at? Yes, you could bet your last dollar that if something like that happened here we could work out something where we both were cool. | ||
| Spiderman |
and you work at this dealership LW? OUCH!!! Even if your bike is under warranty you can still do the service just keep your receipts for oil, filters etc... | ||
| Court |
I agree. . . you have a dealer problem. I'm not sure how that makes Buell a referee though. I'd talk to the General Manager. Often times, these types of things are the result of lack of, or poor communication. Someone the other day posted that they had been waiting 6 months for a recall part. Knowing that to be absurd, I picked up the phone (which they had failed to do for 6 months) and called the dealer. I'd suggest you try something old fashioned. . . call the dealer, tell him I'd like to find a time you can visit with him for 15 minutes, tell him what happened (hell, print out this thread if you want) and ask what he can do to help you. Seems intuitive, but I've been helping folks with Buell problems for quite sometime and the only failures I've seen/experienced where when communication was poor. That's simply my personal opinion based on a great deal of experience. It's not my intent to preach or sound condescending. I know a good many of the folks at Buell and assure you they want nothing more than you to be happy and enjoy your Buell. Court | ||
| Jb2 |
Heck, a year ago I had 6 different brands sitting here in my office and each of them had it's own beauty. Very well put Mr. Canfield. I love all motorcycles. They touch my soul like no other piece of machinery on the face of this earth. | ||
| Kdan |
Hey guys, don't get me wrong, I got nothing against Victory as a brand. Just the style of bike. I'd just as soon ride a Goldwing trike. Or a Chevy Tahoe. That's just me. | ||
| Cyclone262 |
If Victory would build a sportbike,I would seriously have to consider one.I have a few friends with Victorys excellent bikes,and they all like their dealer.Cruiser bikes arent for me. | ||
| Jlnance |
It appears, and I say that because I wasn't there, that the dealership is the one you should be mad at? I agree. . . you have a dealer problem. I'm not sure how that makes Buell a referee though. True enough. However to the person on the outside, trying to get a bike purchased or serviced, Buell the Company, and the Buell dealership are the same thing. Given that Buell only sells bikes and parts via dealerships, I'm not sure it's even incorrect to blame Buell for the shortcomings of their dealers. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Well, while I would like to say I saw first hand that a victory can smoke through the corners... but by the time JB2 was really moving, he was way too far ahead of me to see him JB2 was moving that Vic pretty well... almost as well as the Road Kings were moving. It's the rider, not the bike, and I don't think anyone looking for a cruiser would be disappointed in a Victory. The other revealing moment was shooting "artsy stills" with the digital camera early in the morning. The Vic had tons of neat little eye candy, and every detail of every joint and doo-dad had clearly been carefully thought out. His blacked and polished fins made a very cool reflection on Henrik's polished S2 primary cover as well...  | ||
| Chasespeed |
I love it! Guys who are going to get rid of their Buells because of a crappy dealer network, and buy oh, let's see, a Triumph or a Ducati. Now that's jumping out of the frying pan into the fire........ To quell this, on MY behalf.. I had a 748, tha I put a TON of mileage on...it ws my only transportation for a couple years... Adn my last triumph was a 72 Bonnie...so.. I am not turning to Duc or triumph because of dealer support, I can assure you, I work on my bikes, and most other cratch rockets in teh area..and I am starting to aquire a few Buell Customers as well... I am not going with another Buell UNLESS HD allows some technology into their motor dept.. BUT, that sporty motor, is how they idenitfy with the Brand... So, take that for what its worth.. And believe me, since I get even get a piong on my bike on HERE except fo turning it into a chopper(which I would do first).. there is really no interest in selling it.. I enjoy the bike, and, for the most part the people.. Besides, I have never been on a bike that crashes as well as a TUBER...hahaha} Chase | ||
| Daves |
I understand your point Jim. But, warranty is for defect in the product Poor service is a dealer issue | ||
| Jb2 |
Cool pic Reep! In my mind there's not many bikes that compare to the beauty of an S2... even the Vic. | ||
| Daves |
I don't see a primary cover? I see a cam cover  | ||
| Liquorwhere |
Well...all I really wanted from the beginning was to be accorded what any person who bought and paid and played by THEIR rules. Even if I were paying most or all the bill...just to offer their help would have been enough. That was not done, so I am. Ok enough of that..I have some pictures of my bikes to show you all.  the Ultra  the lightning  The Springer  The line up..the black buell is at the end  The X90 Hope you all enjoy the pics | ||
| Cochise |
Crap, stoopid Bank, I really wanted them things. I still wish you'd keep 'em all. | ||
| Liquorwhere |
Man...I just took the XB12R out to get some sandwiches...that bike is so sweet..I love it..so smooth, yesterday I put the Pirelli Diablo Strata's on it..nice tires man, I usually run the Metzler Z6..great tire excellent life..and I know they are basically the same company..but these are nice tires man...I will miss them. | ||
| Liquorwhere |
no worries cochise..someone will buy them all..no worries |
