my buell and my buell dealer has let me down

[BuellPartsGuy]

Thats like driving a Chevy and hating GMC.... [confused]

 

[Das Bolt]

BigRedWood is right mom and pop shops are the way to go,the dealers might have all the fancy toys but when the person working on your bike is the same person that you look in the eye and hand money to it tends to cut down on the bullshit.The guy I go to has a real good reputation,works on jap. bikes,Harleys,races a Ducati.Told me flat out he never worked on an XB,I still trust him more than my local dealer.

 

[midlifecrisis]

Hey BuellPartsGuy, is your name Tony? Don't answer, but if you are - thanks, if you're not it's good to know there's another Buell fan out there in HD dealerland.

 

[MrOrange]

BigRedWood is right mom and pop shops are the way to go,

I hear you, if I need to take mu XB9 in I use a small shop that usually caters to the BMX guys. They are happy to work on my Buell.

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

Thanks, midlifecrisis. I am trying to show some people out there, that there is good guys that work at the dealers. You just have to talk to different people.

 

[keisersozae]

well i have been out of town for about a week but i see some of you posted some stuff. i called early last week and asked if they had fixed it and they told me that they were going to replace the plug wires, that they were arcing(dont know how to spell that) and that they were going to adjust the tps sensor. that was monday or tuesday. i havnt heard anything since. i hate calling up there so i didnt bother them last week but maybe tommorow i will get some good news. today is day 20 i beleive thats its been in the shop, yesterday it was 2 months old. i kinda forget that i bought it untill someone asks where the hell it is or the payment reminder comes in the mail. but when that happens i really miss it. it is so much fun to ride. it's a shame really that these things happen to people who just wanna ride.

 

[maybebuell]

boston harley was just sold...first thing the new owner did was get ride of all the top guys and replaced them with kids right out of..MMI or whatever the school is called...theres 90 % of the problem harley is having

paying then 10$a hour

 

[keisersozae]

i dont think thats it. i think they made a motorcycle thats impossible to diagnose. there is definitly something wrong but they cant find it. their only hope is to guess and then order parts. by the time they should have had it done, they are only scratching their heads for the second time. first they said coil, rush ordered the coil, installed coil. wasnt it. 2 more days then its fixed without ordering parts. thats took 8 days. 2 days later its back in there, this time for 12 days tommorow, if i get it back then. if it was the plug wires and the tps adjustment like they said, it should have been done by now i think. im just frustrated. i dont want my money back but i think i would like a new one, maybe one thats not yellow just for good measure.

 

[BigRedWood]

"Thats like driving a Chevy and hating GMC...."

No it isn't. A Chevy and a Gmc share more in common than just a motor. Show me a single buell that looks, smells, and rides like a harley. This isn't a debate between a Denali and A Tahoe. It is like askin' a Ford truck Mechanic to work on a Mustang because they share a similiar motor. It is retarded and I find myself doin' the Lewis Black Finger thing at your post!

"Thanks, midlifecrisis. I am trying to show some people out there, that there is good guys that work at the dealers. You just have to talk to different people."

I understand your plight as a guy sittin' behind a counter asking a damn computer for parts answers. This poor bike owner is stuck trying to find rides to work while unqualified monkeys are saying, "Righty tighty, lefty loosey" in there simple heads. Don't tell me to go and find better people at a dealership that continues to eye my damn wallet. There are decent buell mechanics at my local shop but they are directed by a idiot that rides a damn harley. I personally watched 'five', yes count em' on your hand. (even the fat one that allows you to use tools) These five morons tried to convince me that it took all of them to remove the motor from a Xb12. I have personally removed my 1203 with the assistance of only my father so it could be powdercoated.

Be a real help BuellPartsGuy and tell Kieser that the problem can be fixed and how. I being a gearhead and an individual who enjoys working on motors suggest this. An gasoline engine need three things: Fuel, Ignition, and Compression. If it has been already whittled down to ignition, your local parts guy should order every single ignition part and systematically replace each piece. At the point in which the bike begins purr like a kitten, tah dah! Then share the information with the buell community.
I feel that the problem will probably exist somewhere else. Ignition would more than likely hamper both cylinders though. Have they split your case yet. Have they tried a few different paths. Maybe one cylinder is gettin too much or too little fuel. Is one piston/head/cylinder/valve scarred or punched out. But what do I know. BuellPartsGuy must be right, you just have to talk to different people at your HD dealership.

Now BuellParts Guy. I'm not picking on you personally. But you share similiar excuses and tone as the people at my local dealership. A Buell is not a Harley. Don't try to argue it or make anymore excuses. If you honestly work for Buell . . . you should be brainstorming ideas and finding answers for you customer keisersozae. Don't tell us about the damn insight of inventory and more people ride harleys. If buells weren't mainstream, why are xb-series out selling the '07 cbr600rr in my city. I end with the fact I find it hard to listen to a guy bad-mouth his own product. So best of luck to ya keisersozae and hope you get ridin' soon.

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

Well, one thing is BigRedWood, being that guy behind the counter, I see a lot of the bad Buell riders that come in too. Its not always the dealers fault. A lot of Buell guys try to work on their own bike, or have not qualified people doing work and that can cause nightmares all over. Second, a Buell is part Harley. The cylinders and pistons are the exact same part numbers just for one example. Hell, the XR1200 is Buell fuel injection, forks and heads. So whether you like it or not, they share some characteristics. Third if you are a mechanic, you should know not to just start ordering and throwing parts at a bike just to get it fixed. You have to properly diagnose the bike, replace the broken part and move on. Thats how dealers get bad reps for jacking people around is just throwing parts at the bike and blowing money away because its not theirs. I know I would be pissed if they were doing that to my bike. Fourth, its kinda hard to diagnose and fix a bike without actually having my hands on it. Service history, modifications to the bike, mechanic competentcy, rider competentcy can all be factors on how hard it can be to diagnose also. Which traces back to if the person they are dealing with at their dealer is jacking them around and giving them the straight story or not. Plus I get tired of explaining the same thing several times. Not that its that big of a deal, but thats what the search function is for. You need to look around other posts and see if someone else has shareda a similar problem and how they got it fixed. But if anyone needs real help just address a post straight to me. I dont always read every single post to know if people need better help then what they are getting. I will do my best to get them fixed or pointed in the right direction.

 

[keisersozae]

im sorry for stirring things up. i started this post to find out if there were similar situations as mine. i thought that maybe someone elses xb had done the same thing. but at the same time im also venting my frustration at how long it takes and how uninsuring they are that they fixed it. i have read alot of posts, alot, people who have buells that repeatadly take them back for the same problems because they werent fixed the first time. thought they fixed it, turns out they didnt. i dont expect any more help on this site than what i have got. you guys have helped me through this with suggestions on how to fix it, and to how to deal with my local dealer. but people like me need to post this info. people need to see that not every buell runs like a top forever. some, like mine, i believe have something wrong from the factory, and the customer just has to take it.



that being said


i called this morning and they said that they had rode it 3 or 4 times and were going to ride it again today and that i could come and pick it up, it was ready. so keep for fingers crossed that this is the end of this post, that all is well in buell land, and that i got my face in the wind by the time you read my post.

 

[XBear9S]

I can say that @ 34k in miles I've seen little trouble w/my bike. (Thank God!)
I can tell you that in the ol'e tuber days things were different.
I can tell you that the majority of my Bueller friends don't take their bikes to the HD shop.
I can tell you that its the same @ all HD shops and until things change it will stay that way.
I can tell you that other brands get better service from the vendor.
I can tell you that you have every right to be angry and frustrated.

What I can't tell you is the answer.
And from the looks of this thread, neither can anyone else.
We are in this together.
If you can't handle it, buy a Jap bike or Harley.
If you want it easy, then there you go.

For the true hardcore Buellers, its less bitchin' and more research.
Between a good 10-15 of us her in Austin,
there ain't never been a time when someone couldn't help one of us figure it out.
That's why we hang together.
Its like my experience times 20 or more every Thursday night.

Use your resources.
Make notes and ask questions.
Start with the simplest answers.
Move through a process of elimination.
Double check your findings.

When all's said and done,
You and your bike will be better for it.

Robtk! a.k.a. "Specialk!"

 

[slwglide]

I would like to think that with the size of all the new harley dealerships they could keep a few buell parts in stock. So they could trouble shoot faster. Why should you have to wait three to five buisness days everytime they are wrong.

 

[midlifecrisis]

My Firebolt's been in since 20 August. Went in for service and they found my right fork leg (the slider) was bent and that side was dry. The parts mgr (a true Bueller) said someone must have hit me while parked. Now they told me the part was due in on 05 Sept so I'm waiting for good news tomorrow. Can't see why in took so #@$%&$! long for the damn part, but there you have it. One thing I can say is I'm real impressed with my bike for doin' so well with a bent and oil-less fork. Can't say for sure till I get her back to compare since we have no way of knowing how long she's been like this. Again, Ive ridden her hard from day one (well from 500 miles anyway) and this bike has always been there, always performed when asked and never given me the least bit of complaint in any turn I've made. Says a lot for the Buell product (regardless of HD dealer attitude or incompetence)

 

[slwglide]

You have to properly diagnose the bike, replace the broken part and move on.

Some problems require part swapping to diagnose. Also why should the dealer have to charge you for every part they replace. If it still isn't fixed put the part back on the bike. With the cost of these bikes I exspect good service not B/S. Maybe a public rating system would remove some of the lead from these dealers rear end.

 

[keisersozae]

OK, Bike back in the shop for the SAME THING, this is the 3rd time. went to go riding with some new friends on friday night. met up and they were interested in my bike, of course, they all ride japs. we left out of the parking lot, bike was warm, went about 3 miles and it loses a cylinder. they pulled over with me while i attempted to wiggle some wires. didnt work. they went ahead while i sat with my new motorcycle that continually lets me down. i was soo embarrased. bike will be 4 mos old tommorow, and tommorow will be day 30 in the shop. i called the dealer today and they said they put new plugs in and now it doesnt run at all. makes me sick. is there anything that i could have done to cause this? i mean its bone stock. 32xx miles now. i have ridden it in the rain before but not in months, i just dont get it.

 

[dmp0001]

one of my riding buddies is an attorney, he said that depending on your state lemon laws you may be entitled to a replacement bike! a new bike under warranty shouldn’t have un-diagnosable issues. your dealer most likely wont want to go through the hassle of getting you a new one but if you do a little research and most of the leg work yourself, it would probably take you less time to get a new bike than to wait for them to fix this one. if I was you I would go this route, sounds like yours was built at 4:30 on a friday over at buell!

 

[dmp0001]

what state do you live in? I can look it up for you

 

[keisersozae]

more like 4:59 when they had to come in on a saturday.

yeah my letter to the manufacturer to ask for buy back, goes out tommorow certified mail, the 30th calender day its been in the shop, its 4 month birthday. this is the first step in the lemon law here in texas.

 

[dmp0001]

excellent, I can never figure out why dealers have such a hard time with these bikes, they are a simple design based on something they came up with over 50 years ago. I know the chassis is a technical marvel but not to the point of being complicated. and the FI system in my brothers '95 Honda civic is more advanced and complicated than that of my Buell... what gives?
[confused]