Wanted to take a demo ride on an 800...

[Bushwhacker]

Originally Posted by rocket25

I was out in Denver a few years ago, they had a 1200s< they ask if i wanted to ride it, of course I did. He said take it out and could go to Morrison if I wanted to, and of course I wanted to be nice (since I was from out of state (Arkansas). This was when these bikes first came out, thought that was pretty special.

Since we are talking about great dealers -

Back when I had an 05 Triumph Tiger a buddy and I were Headed to Jasper Arkansas for a Tiger Ride-in. His electrical system went on the frits and we limped into the BMW/Triumph dealership in Little Rock

http://www.bmwmclr.com/

All his mechanics were busy but he let us into the shop to work on our own bike.

After several hours of trouble shooting we discovered the altenator was fried.

The owner drove around trying to find someone to rewire it but because it had to be "Baked" it took two to three days.

He got in touch with Triumph USA and convinced them to replace the altenator under warranty and all we had to pay was over night shipping to the dealership.

Still we were going to have to wait over night and miss a day of our ride.

The owner pulled the altenator out of a new Tiger he had on the show room floor to put in our bike so we could be on our way and replaced it with the one they were shipping in the next day.

Now, That's Service.

Since you are from Arkansas I thought you might like to know about this dealership.

[jpooch00]

Originally Posted by Bushwhacker

Since we are talking about great dealers -

Back when I had an 05 Triumph Tiger a buddy and I were Headed to Jasper Arkansas for a Tiger Ride-in. His electrical system went on the frits and we limped into the BMW/Triumph dealership in Little Rock

http://www.bmwmclr.com/

All his mechanics were busy but he let us into the shop to work on our own bike.

After several hours of trouble shooting we discovered the altenator was fried.

The owner drove around trying to find someone to rewire it but because it had to be "Baked" it took two to three days.

He got in touch with Triumph USA and convinced them to replace the altenator under warranty and all we had to pay was over night shipping to the dealership.

Still we were going to have to wait over night and miss a day of our ride.

The owner pulled the altenator out of a new Tiger he had on the show room floor to put in our bike so we could be on our way and replaced it with the one they were shipping in the next day.

Now, That's Service.

Since you are from Arkansas I thought you might like to know about this dealership.

That's gotta be the best dealership story I ever heard! Great to hear that there are still some good guys out there.

Thanks,

John

[jpooch00]

It's still broke. Sitting in the service dept. waiting on a fuel pump that they can't get. Five or six weeks and counting. Sad!

I feel for the poor sales guy when he trys to put a not-too-negative spin on the situation. Not his fault, of course, but he has to tell potential customers about it and keep a straight face. I couldn't do it!

[Wildman]

So you had to start a new thread about it?

[CDL13]

We have cookies too.

[jpooch00]

Originally Posted by Wildman

So you had to start a new thread about it?

Couldn't see any reason not to. You read it didn't ya?

[Wildman]

Originally Posted by jpooch00

Couldn't see any reason not to. You read it didn't ya?

I read it. the key word for me was "update":

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=491819

[Maddaddy]

Originally Posted by Wildman

I read it. the key word for me was "update":

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=491819

Yes, Thanks for the link. I had no idea what the hell this was all about.

[Maddaddy]

Originally Posted by jpooch00

That's gotta be the best dealership story I ever heard! Great to hear that there are still some good guys out there.

Thanks,

John

Oh yeah,

South Sound BMW will slip the weenie for free every Saturday.

[The Griz]

Originally Posted by CDL13

We have cookies too.

LOL!!

[TexasMule]

Originally Posted by Bushwhacker

Since we are talking about great dealers -

Back when I had an 05 Triumph Tiger a buddy and I were Headed to Jasper Arkansas for a Tiger Ride-in. His electrical system went on the frits and we limped into the BMW/Triumph dealership in Little Rock

http://www.bmwmclr.com/

All his mechanics were busy but he let us into the shop to work on our own bike.

After several hours of trouble shooting we discovered the altenator was fried.

The owner drove around trying to find someone to rewire it but because it had to be "Baked" it took two to three days.

He got in touch with Triumph USA and convinced them to replace the altenator under warranty and all we had to pay was over night shipping to the dealership.

Still we were going to have to wait over night and miss a day of our ride.

The owner pulled the altenator out of a new Tiger he had on the show room floor to put in our bike so we could be on our way and replaced it with the one they were shipping in the next day.

Now, That's Service.

Since you are from Arkansas I thought you might like to know about this dealership.

That's unheard of in this day and age.

Most dealers won't mount a tire you bring in. Tried to have a TKC mounted at Loveland BMW that we had, and they refused. Never again will we carry an extra tire to have mounted, what a waste. We ended up changing it ourselves in the parking lot. They barely would balance, and fill it with air. Not customer friendly.

and as far as actually allowing you to work in their shop, hell most won't let you set foot in them. We were told not to set foot in the shop in Loveland, and Sturgis BMW wouldn't even either. Insurance reasons

Good on the Triumph dealer in Arkansas.

[Hamilton Felix]

This is getting more interesting all the time. Until I read that last post, I was about to say "remind me NEVER to buy a Beemer, even if I have piles of money." Now I just want to read, as Paul Harvey used to say, "The Rest of the Story." I was beginning to think service and support must about like finding correct parts for a 35 year old Renault.

If this is a case of a dealer being too cheap/lazy to air freight in a part for a bike, I'll bet it has already cost them a LOT of sales.

I want a ride that is reliable, a good machine for the money, and is easy to fix when it does need parts.

[jpooch00]

Originally Posted by Hamilton Felix

I want a ride that is reliable, a good machine for the money, and is easy to fix when it does need parts.

In that case, you might think about a low-mileage '94 - '98 Harley with an EVO motor. Totally bulletproof! I've got a '94. Absolutely, hands down, the best, most reliable, sweetest running and durable bike I've ever owned - and I've owned a bunch over the last 54 years of riding (and getting stranded, pushing 'em, calling for a tow etc.)!

I'm still gonna get a 2010 GSA, but I have no illusions as to it's quality/reliability. I'll just live with its faults and enjoy what I'm able to do with it and the places I'm able to go on it when it's not broke. And naturally I'll have my '94 H-D to ride when the GS is in the shop getting work done under the extended warranty.

It's all good, y'all

[EnderTheX]

Originally Posted by jpooch00

but the dealer said that their only demo bike was in the shop with a broken fuel pump! It had been down for several weeks and they had no idea when it would be available since, so far, they haven't been able to get the parts to fix it.

Pretty great, huh? But I have to give them credit for their honesty at any rate. Personally, if I owned a dealership I'd have a hard time admitting something like that.

I was kinda thinkin' about getting an 800 instead of a new 1200 (or whatever the 2010 R1??0GS Adventure turns out to be) because of all of the ongoing maintenance issues I've been reading/hearing about with it.

Oh well...

All I head is "bitch bitch bitch" lol. You are lucky they have a demo model. There are two BMW motorcycles dealers in my area and they have never had a demo F800GS, although one of them did let me test ride a brand new one (only if I put less than 8 miles on it!! woot).

Good luck with your bike selection, I love my 8GS! Cheers

[Hamilton Felix]

posted by jpooch00:
In that case, you might think about a low-mileage '94 - '98 Harley with an EVO motor. Totally bulletproof! I've got a '94. Absolutely, hands down, the best, most reliable, sweetest running and durable bike I've ever owned - and I've owned a bunch over the last 54 years of riding (and getting stranded, pushing 'em, calling for a tow etc.)!

Now that is refreshingly different! I hear so much about Hardly Ableson UNreliability, that this is really interesting. Come to think of it, a buddy who rode the 1999 Ironbutt told of a friend who rented a new Harley from a dealership that rented by the day, not the mile. He returned it 11 days later, with over 11,000 miles on the odometer. They about choked -- then realized their bike had finished the Ironbutt, so they used it like crazy in their advertising.

I've had good reliability with my 2007 DL650, after TWO fuel pump failures and warranty repairs in the first 10K miles -- I think they messed up the first repair, because the fuel gauge was screwed at that time, too.

I'm a bit bigoted, because I commute on a road that to most folks is a "scenic highway," so I tend to view H-D tourers as "noisy things, like motorcycles, only slower." If I was the sightseeing tourist, instead of being at home, maybe folks might think that about me. Gotta admit a big H-D would be nice for interstate touring.

I've been interested in this little F800GS saga because I think it tells something about the support and service, not just the machine. Some of those Beemers look really nice, but I want it to work and be easy to maintain. How can any dealership afford NOT to move Heaven and Earth to make sure its demo bikes are PERFECT?!