Dealer service, they required to PDI?

Picked up the RWB Friday afternoon and was able to put about 30 miles on her before other commitments made me head for home. Noticed that the bars felt as if my left arm was stretched out more than theright and the bike was a bit squirley feeling reacting to all the imperfections in the road. The bike just did not feel right, so I headed home and when I got home I noticed that I only had a quarter of a tank of fuel. This is a brand new bike and the dealer did not even top off the tank. This is the first time I have ever purchased a new bike and not had a full tank from the dealer.

Next morning I decided to check everything over before heading out on an hour ride to a friends house, you know check tire pressure, bolts tight etc. Well I found that the front tire had 22 psi and the rear was at 26 psi, explains the wiered handling charateristics. The left bar was an inch further forward than the right and the oil level was half way between the full and low line in the site glass. Plus when I picked up the bike I noticed it still had all the smudges that were on it from the show room floor and it was quite dusty. That just tells me the dealer did not PDI (peform the Pre Delivery Inspection). This is the first time out of five new bikes in the past two years that I have ever had a bike delivered to me that was not properly inspected, setup, topped off and cleaned prior to delievery. I did get a really good deal and maybe they felt for the deal I got they were not going to spend the time to prep the bike. What angers me is that the tires and the chain were not inspected and could cause injury or loss of life if not setup correctly. Not to mention when I picked up the bike the bike only had .1 miles on the odo, meaning that no tech took it out for a ride to ensure every thing worked as it should. I can tell you one thing I will not do business with them again without insisting they do a proper PDI befire delivery.

 

Okie:

You taking your business elsewhere will speak much louder than trying to force them to have customer service. I'd stop by and insist on talking to the owner or manager, they may not know that their staff are screwing up, it gives them a chance to make it right. Depending on how they handle things, you can make your next choice.

I guess it is good practise to preflight even a new bike, just like checking a gun to see if it's loaded when it is handed to you. Consequences of not checking may be similar if there's a problem.

 

I had a similar experience. Picked up a new '07 RWB, after negotiating the price for about 4 weeks, with about 3 miles on it, so it at least had a preliminary shakedown ride. I rode it to work and then home. After reading about VFRs for years, I was expecting the handling to be a lot sharper and the suspenion to be tighter. The next morning I checked the chain tension (routine) and it was way too tight. That should have given me a clue, but chain tension is kind of subjective, so I just adjusted it and didn't think too much about it. I measured the sag on both ends and tightened up the preload a bit, hoping that the combination of a looser chain and less sag would sharpen up the handling.

I took about an 80 mile twisty ride, breaking things in and getting to know the bike. It still felt porky and kind of soft in the corners, but I've been riding an SV650 with tuned suspension for a while, so I figured this was just a matter of a heavier bike and what I was accustomed to in the handling department. After all, this bike is labeled a "Sport-Touring", so I thought that it was biased more in the "touring" direction than I would have preferred. I was not pushing real hard, as the tires were new and I did not know the bike yet. Turns out that was a good thing.

The next morning, I checked the tire pressure before I went out. The rear was 32 and the front was 28. Let's just say that it was good thing that the dealership was closed that Sunday. I was... really angry. I immediately checked all of the fluids and checked all of the critical fasteners I could think of that could be a real problem.

Needless to say, proper inflation sharpened the handling up to what I was expecting. Very precise and neutral. The buyer's remorse I was feeling started to go away.

I called the dealer the following Tuesday and spoke to the salesperson I had worked with. Specifically, I wanted to know if there were any other critical items that needed to be checked, and not to even think of suggesting that I bring the bike back to their service depatment for anything, ever. He was upset, and promised to follow up. He actually did, and found out that the person who did the PDI was a "younger guy" who was not a regular employee. Oh, NOW I feel better.

I don't know what to say. Yet one more time I screwed up and trusted somebody? How can you let somebody ride off on seriously under-inflated tires?

So I guess the moral of this story is... I don't know what the moral of this story is. I do feel bad for you, because I know the feeling.

Hey, something just occured to me. Perhaps the RWB's, in addition to the paint color, have special low pressure tires and high-tension chains! Yeah, that's it...

 

I agree that all bikes should be test ridden. Period. However, there was a guy on another forum who called around to find a "Brand New Zero-Mile Bike" (not a VFR). He finally found one, they settled on a price, and he rented a trailer and drove 300 miles to pick it up. Got there and the bike had something like 5 miles on the odometer and he refused to take it because he had been told it was "Zero Miles". The dealer said it was from the test ride, but the guy still refused to take it. Some people just don't know a good thing when they see it.

 

Maybe it is just me, but, how do you ride a new bike for 30 miles and never look at the gauges? Since you did not notice the fuel level until you got home, you must not have looked at the gauges during the ride.
And who does not check tire pressures before going for a ride? I can understand not checking on a bike that was just picked up from a service, but to not check it out before leaving home on the next ride is just not right.

 

I haven't met a dealer yet that checks tires or chains. When I picked up my new shadow I was afraid that it would "fall over" when i went to lean. When i got home it had 22 psi in the front and 19 in the rear.Same case when i bought my VFR,but this time I checked it before i left the lot,then let them know they need to read they're checklist for delivery and not just check off the blocks.

 

I'm not sure who I'm defending here, but when I was a Hinda Technician (they used to call us mechanics) we went through new bikes with a fine tooth comb. They were assembled by and outfit called Import Dealer Service and these guys missed a lot! Also, they all got ridden at least two miles and the customer was furnished with a copy of a PDI check sheet to go with the other stacks o' stuff he got with his bike. I guess what I'm saying is that back in the 80's and 90's we were very thorough. Maybe now priorities have changed. There's more to a PDI than oil and battery.

 

I picked up my bike with 0 miles on it (they specifically told me they have a harder time selling bikes with even 1 mile on them, people in the area didn't like buying the japanese bikes with anything more than 0 miles). the crate came in on Fri and I picked it up sat morning (my schedule was pretty tight). They only gave me a 1/4 tank, which didn't bother me as this varies from dealer to dealer. Tire pressures were right where they should be. However a few hundred miles later my pegs nearly fell off when the upper bolts to the peg mounts backed off. I spent the next day going over all the major buts and bolts and re-torquing them. I really liked the dealership until that happened. I wonder if they would have done a better inspection if they were not in such a hurry to get the bike ready.

 

The footpeg issue is something we would have caught I can say with confidence, however we rarely filled a tank with gas and gas was much cheaper then. In the years I did that for a living, we never sold a bike in crate form.

 

i can see them not filling tank with gas, when you buy a car its usually salesman that coughs that up as a thankyou and maybe you'll bring him more business. pdi is a payed service to make sure all fluids are right and in general car or bike is ready for road. i would say you payed for service you didn't get

 

Obviously I look at the gages, but I own several bikes and I was thinking at the time that I just picked up a new one and there should have been a full tank. What I should have written, since you need specifics to understand, is that I did not pay much attention to the fact that the tank was not full until I returned home. The bike was to be PDI'd and I should not have had to check the tires or anything else for that matter. I have purchased five new bikes in the past 24 months and none of them had to be checked out before leaving the delership. First thing I did the next day was check everything out, that's how I was able to determine the tires were not properly inflated. I mentioned that in my post, did'nt I?

By the way, who pissed in your cornflakes this morning, or do you sell motorcycles for a living?

 

wasn't me

 

Well, Bear, I guess you told us!

Note to Self: Do not call Bear for moral support

Tearfully Yours,
Lgn001

 

When I picked up my new RWB, the tank was full, the tires were to spec. and the bike had 4 miles on it. The Dealer's OWNER rode it to the gas station to fill it up and make sure that everything was perfect BEFORE I got there. I guess I should go back and tell them "good job, guys". I thought every dealer did those things.

 

My pre-purchase inspection was excellent. They checked everything and then went over it all with me. Only thing they didn't do was tune the suspension for me. When I took it in for the first service, the service manager apologized and set it up.

Not so on a test ride once. Took a bike out that had not only about 20lbs in the front tire but also a warped front disc. Noticed things weren't right within a few hundred yards and took it back. Just as well I am not some hotshot who blasts into corners on a new bike, I am sure that thing would have spat me of. Now I take a tire pressure gauge with me and do a once over,

 

I just got my new bike. 0 miles on the Odometer, 1/4 tank of gas, tires not at inflation...Doesn't matter. You should check the bike each time before a ride. Remember the MSF course?

T- Tires
C - Controls
L - Lights
O - oil and fluids
C- Chassis
S - side stand

When I got my Gix first thing I did was ride home and check/change tire pressure. YOU'RE responsible for you bike's condition. Granted the dealer should make sure things are close and bolts tight

Guess I don't trust anyone but I'll check everything myself.