| Author | Message | ||
     Ferris |
Not enough statistical data to sustain an intelligent discussion reads the warning label on my Arai. sigh. FB  | ||
| Rudebike |
A fine example of "topic drift" can be surveyed in the "Swearing and Babble" thread...the one with the dot animations... Come let us take our ease, let us babble incoherantly, let us eat the king's cuisine of nonsense and ....what was this thread about? | ||
| Dino |
Or not enough intelligence to sustain a statistical discussion? Perhaps we should switch threads and just swear and babble! | ||
| Crusty |
Not to change the subject, but has anyone read the November issue of Motorcycle Consumer News? It seems that Honda VTR 1000F Chickenhawks are subject to cam chain tensioner failures. “Multiple owners have experienced catastrophic failures with severe engine damage…” Honda will not acknowledge that there is a problem. A few months ago, MCN also had some interesting information that the new GL1800 Lead Wings would overheat in slow speed traffic. It seems that the cooling fan blows air forward when the bike is stopped or moving at a very slow speed. But, when moving in slow traffic the forward motion negates the force of the fan and the bike gets hotter and hotter until there’s a real problem. When MCN asked high-level sources at Honda, they were told, “We’re working on it”. Back in the mid ‘80s, Cycle magazine did an article detailing how a substantial number of 500cc Interceptors were assembled with missized big end bearings, causing the engines to self-destruct. When that issue hit the stands, Honda sheepishly admitted to the problem. This is a company renowned for its customer service policy. Buell has always stepped up to the plate. When my front isolator mount broke on my S3T a week before Homecoming ’99, the response from Customer Service was, “You’ll be at Homecoming, if I have to drive out to Massachusetts and bring you there myself.” (Literally). When I had other issues or problems, I was treated in a similar manner. A few other tidbits: When people complained about the seat comfort on the early S3s, Buell came up with a much better design, then offered them at a ridiculously low price for retro fitting; and when they redesigned the front brake rotor, they did the same. Who else offers a front rotor for $105.00? All bikes have problems. All manufacturers have recalls. Buell has treated me better than every other manufacturer combined, when it comes to Customer Service. I have a friend who works for Harley. The Blast is the most trouble free and reliable motorcycle ever built by Harley-Davidson. (According to J.D. Powers) I believe the XBs will be every bit as good. Erik has stated publicly that build quality is equal to or better than anything on the market. I believe him. I’ve personally seen Buell’s commitment to customer satisfaction and I’m impressed. | ||
| Dynarider |
Originally posted by Crusty......"Buell has always stepped up to the plate. " ================================================== A lot of people will disagree with that statement Crusty. | ||
| Court |
>>>A lot of people will disagree with that statement Crusty. A lot of people beleived "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinsky" too. Some (there's an analogy here, read it close) STILL DO! I can tell you first hand, as a person who was paid by Buell to help customers, that my marching orders from Buell were "do anything it takes" and never once, even when I did rediculously expensive and extraordinary things, was I ever taken to task for "going overboard". Customer Service at Buell has gotten better at Buell since I left.....er, does that sound bad?  Just my opinion.... | ||
| Dynarider |
Court, you & Blake both know about my deal with Buells CS. I believe you when you say that you went above & beyond the norm. However from what I have personally experienced, I am extremely dissapointed in them. | ||
| Ferris |
A lot of people will disagree with that statement Crusty. if that read "some people", instead of a "lot of people", i'd be in agreement. i've said it before, and i'm saying it again: i REALLY like my VFR. it's treated me well, and, so far, has more than lived up to my expectations. and the plan is that it's going to go away so that i can park a new Lightning in it's place instead. that's the level of my confidence, and enthusiasm, for Erik and Co. Question: if you just SIT on a motorcycle, without starting it, and make VROOM-VROOM noises and wiggle around on the seat some, and maybe even fiddle with the ignition key some but don't actually turn it on...........have you actually RIDDEN said motorcycle? sorry Mr. Clinton. not. FB | ||
| Crusty |
Dyna, I've been following your plight. And I'm not passing any judgement on you. I can only relate what's happened to me. There's a lot that I haven't related, but I have never even HEARD of a company doing as much as Buell did to keep this customer happy. | ||
| José_Quiñones |
 | ||
| Blake |
Recall shecall. Recalls don't bother me in the least. It would be the breakdowns and warranty claims that would bother me. Got a table showing those? | ||
| Sportyeric |
Motorcyclist magazine has a small piece about someone who's racked up 100,000 miles on a Yamie FZ, which is impressive both for the amount and the time it has taken to get there. Relatively trouble free, but he did have to replace the frame at 25,000 due to a stress fracture. Granted, it's maybe not a trend, but it's certainly not a good thing to have happen. | ||
| Java |
Blake is right. A recall is just a maufacturer saying "We screwed-up, and we want to fix it.". Recalls don't bother me at all, they are the honorable way for a manufacturer to handle a problem. Dishonorable is the manufacturer pretending they don't have a problem, and hoping nobody dies from it before the bike goes out of warranty. | ||
| Court |
>>>>"We screwed-up, and we want to fix it." Let me expound and say that statment should include "we may have screwed up OR we may have ascertained a condition that under the MOST UNUSAL POSSIBLE ABUSE CONDITIONS (read as overloaded, out of CG, etc) can cause an unsafe condition". I'll, with some reservation about doing so, offer a stellar example as the shock recall. The way Buell learned of what COULD BECOME an unsafe condition was about 4 StdDev from where you COULD (not would) operate the motorcycle. I mean THEY WERE REACHING motivated primarily by the serious consequences of the POSSIBLE failure. The box of shocks that ACTUALLY failed out of that sample of something like 30,000 Buells could be loaded in a shoebox. Now before someone shows me that picture of a pullled shock eye, let me say that I, too, have had a Buell (a test bike, unavailable to the piblic) releive itself of it's rear suspension at speed (I-35 / Perry, OK / 80MPH) and the reason was unrelated to the reason Buell recalled the shocks. Recalls take guts and are less motivated by "they got forced into it by the Government" than many consumbers think. Court | ||
| Java |
Court; you are, of course, right. I over-simplifed my point. There is a huge difference between "we messed up", and "you, our customers PERCIEVE we messed-up", but Buell helps us out anyway. Rather than paying off the owners of the shocks in that shoebox, Buell cheerfully, volintarily(sorry, can't spell today) gives 30,000 owners new shocks. No one made them do that, thats just how they choose to do business. That was my point, I guess. It's not just about safety, they care about what we think of them. | ||
| Hans |
No, the grass is over there not always greener: "39 Steps" is called this bike. Guess why.  | ||
| Tripper |
On the subject of recalls, I just had my Beulltifull WP original exposed spring shock rebuilt at 26,000 miles. It won't go much further as a bronze bushing in the rear eye has a flat spot and I will soon be forced to retire it. (WP importer could not find a replacement part for such a low volume shock.) Anyone knowing where an original WP with lo miles can be had? | ||
| Rick_A |
Can't you have a decent machinist fabricate one? | ||
| Dino |
I agree with Blake about recalls...to an extent. I would be a little concerned, though, if the people who engineered my motorcycle had to have a recall because the sidestand wouldn't....stand. Not the most critical problem in the world, but why isn't something that simple right the first time. You shouldn't have to run an entire test fleet thru 50K mi. per unit to figure out that the bike tends to fall over when parked. I hope the sidestand is an anomaly - I love the concept of the new Buells. Can't wait to see the sport-tourer that's bound to be coming. | ||
| Court |
>>>>You shouldn't have to run an entire test fleet thru 50K mi. per unit The durability testing for the XB was far more strenuous. I'll tell ya a funny story. Remember, what I think was, the one and only BLAST recall? It was the rear sprocket. The Blast was ridden and literally FLOGGED by teams of test riders. I know, I was one of them. Turns out that the "beginners bike" got subjected to unbeleivable sorts of abuse but no one ever thought about what we all did the first day we learned to ride. Remember letting the clutch out and not quite getting it right and the resultant...cachunch...cachunck...cachunck right before you wised up and either pulled in the clutch or killed the motor? Guess what? Turns out that's one of the most intense stresses you can place on a motorcycle, particualrly a torquey single. Oooops. All the high-zoot boys and girls who'd been flogging them simply overlooked that. I do not know but would be willing to bet that MANY of the XB "mules" got parked on a gentle incline behind a facility whose location I can not divulge. It'd never be a problem until it got in your driveway. Good news is that Buell din't wait for an empidemic. At the first sign they scrambled the "oh shit we did a dumb thing" SWAT team and fixed it. Just a glimpse behind the curtain.... Court | ||
| Dino |
Court - My first motorcycle (1970) was a used Honda 305 Superhawk. It was also the first motorcycle I had ever ridden. The prior owner didn't have the good sense to move the motorcycle out from behind a parked car before handing me the key for a test ride. After my first attempted launch I kinda felt obligated to buy it. Dino | ||
| Rick_A |
I hear the Blast belts tend to expire early...when dealing with 70hp | ||
| Court |
>>>After my first attempted launch I kinda felt obligated to buy it. A) The bike ? B) The parked car ? C) All the above ? | ||
| Timbo |
Court says, >Remember letting the clutch out and not quite >getting it right and the >resultant...cachunch...cachunck...cachunck right >before you wised up and either pulled in the >clutch or killed the motor? >Guess what? Turns out that's one of the most >intense stresses you can place on a motorcycle My big brother got CB 400F when I was 16 yrs old. I fell in love with the bike and the wheelies he would ride up and down the block on it. Rule of the house was "no motorcycles until age 18" (dad's rule, not mine). Upon turning 18 I promptly found a CB 360 for sale. My brother and I went to see it, bro says "looks good", so I hand the guy what seemed like a LOT of money. The guy hands me the key and my brother says seeya at home and wheelies away. Understand, at this time I had never even so much as driven a stickshift car, let alone riden a motorcycle! (I was too sheltered I know) Getting home that day was...well, an adventure. Court's comment reminded me of that day, I musta put a ton of wear'n'tear on that poor drivetrain that day. But hey! I got home without dumpin' it (that would come later, due to pure hooliganism). I know it wasn't the greatest model but I did so enjoy that bike. I cafe'd it without even knowing what cafe was! Let me apologize if I'm boring you guys, I'm new here. Timbo 72 XLCH ?? ???? | ||
| Dino |
Timbo - Sounds vaguely familiar. Court - Fortunately, only the bike. | ||
| Timbo |
I just remembered I scanned an old photo of it awhile back (the CB 360) so I'm gonna try to post the pic. Hot mods of the day where, Hooker header TT pipes with SuperTrapp baffles, K&N air filters, Rejetted carbs, S&W rear shocks, air equalized front forks w/air gauge (really cool for the day) and K&N bars (I didn't know about clip-ons then).  Timbo 72 XLCH | ||
| Aaron |
In case you guys are wondering who Timbo is, he piloted Dale's 1000cc P-PP Sportster last October when it shattered a record at Bonneville. | ||
| Josh |
He's also at home nursing a broken leg from an incident on his 1200S last month. Speaking of which, Hey Timbo, how's the leg? | ||
| Timbo |
Hi Aaron, I was getting set to join you guys in Bonny this last weekend but my wife pleaded with me to stay home. She was affraid someone would stick me on a bike (broken leg and all) and I wouldn't say no. Dang! she knows me too well. I was however able to follow the daily progress via this fine site and over at the SCTA site. Thanks for the vicarious thrills my friend!!! Timbo 72 XLCH | ||
| Court |
Timbo: You are hereby FINED A PATCH ($5) for attempting to conceal you fame from us. Look....you shoulda known better. Good to have you here...SPEEDY ! Court(Josh: e-mail him the address to send the $5 to and get his address ) |
