Something VERY Annoying

Anyone who's read any of my posts knows I have a 89 Honda Hawk NT650GT. Well, last year, the Wife decided it looked too pretty so she crashed it. In the aftermath of repair, somehow the fork tubes got slid up into the trees to high. I decided to fix this problem myself. In the ensuing 2 days of 4 letter words, beer & throwing of tools, I simply could not get the stupid things lined up correctly. To make it short, I F'd it up pretty good, made the bike completely un-rideable & had to have a shop fix the mess I created.

Here's the disturbing/annoying part. There are 5 Honda dealer I've been know to frequent and lurk about at. I called all 5. ALL OF THEM, that's right, ALL OF THEM refused to work on a 1989. You read that correctly, they REFUSED. Every one of them simply said they will not work on a bike older than 10 years on concerns of parts availability. Between myself & my father, I've been going to one of these dealers since the 70's. When I told all of them no parts were needed, every one still refused. I spoke to the manager of each of the 5 & 2 of them actually hung up on me. I have never been so pissed of at any vehicle dealer in my life. Ford dealers don't treat me this bad. Finally, I managed to speak to a guy who races on the side & used to race Hawk GT's. He works at one of the dealers that refused to work on the bike. He said to bring it in & he would look at it. I trailered the bike to the shop & he had it fixed in less than 15 minutes. When the manager saw my bike in the shop, he went on a beligerant tirade about rules & regulations & other BS. When I asked him what else I was supposed to do, that I couldn't fix the bike myself, he said (direct quote) "I don't f$$king care, get that bike out of my shop." Needless to say, I paid the guy & bolted.

I am at a loss here. Is this a NJ thing? I have no problem believing that at all. If I have the $$$ what does it matter how old the bike is? Parts are still readily available for Hawks since I get them without difficulty all the time. What the hell is a person with a classic or collectable bike supposed to do? If someone has a 69 CB750K & it needs to have the head gasket changed, what is that person supposed to do? Send the bike to the junkyard simply because the dealers are idiots? Some people simply do not have mechanical skills. I have decent ones but know when to say when. I need to have the carbs on the Hawk re-jetted but now, I'm SOL.

Honda is going to get a NICE letter from me in the next few days. Because of this, I'm actually considering selling the Hawk. I love the bike but I don't need this headache. I am extremely PO'd at Honda for this. Maybe they will answer my letter but I doubt it.

KC-10 FE out...
lane:

 

KC:

I can't remember the facts of WHY dealers do not work on older bikes, but I can tell you that its not unique to NJ.

I know it may be a hike, but the mechanic I go to here in Delaware is "independent" and has done great work so far. I would be suprised if John would not re-jet your hawk. He is right near Dover AFB. Or check your NY and PA phone books for some independent guys or call that guy back at the dealer that used to race hawks and thank him and ask him if he would re-jet the hawk OUTSIDE of the dealer and pay him well if he will.

Just some suggestions. I have always owned older bikes and I have stayed away from dealers because of the issues you are having.

BZ

 

Yes your right...not unique

Here in MD, any DEALER I know of is HANDS-OFF with any bike before 1993 or there abouts.

 

Same here in Indiana. I talked to a guy at a large dealer in Indianapolis who gave me the same 10-year "mumbo jumbo" , but he was then nice enough to refer me to an independant mechanic nearby who could work on older Hondas.

Maybe you could ask them for a referral or try to find a reputable independant mechanic through your bike friends, clubs, etc.

But to answer your question, I ran into the exact same thing--dealers seem to be pretty strict on that 10 year deal--I looked at it as more of a liability situation than parts availability though.

Would love to find out if you hear back from Honda.

 

Well, hate to agree, but the same here in California. It's a rule due to if a part gets broken or something goes wrong. Then they have to try and track down a replacement part. So they stick to the "10" year rule, so they know there shouldn't be any trouble finding parts. I've never had this problem, but a friend of mine went through the same hassle as you. I think the rule is crap. I could understand if you wanted something simple done to the bike, such as an oil change and stuff. But from what my friend told me, they won't even change the oil. So then your only option is a private shop. Should be the same as cars, where you can take in your 30 year car and get some work done on it.

 

I'm looking to buy an Hawk if want to sell. Send me a pm.

Thanks,

 

I have ridden Harleys and had great service, but the bikes were newer. My wife was riding an 86 Honda 450 Rebel and the local Honda dealer had her bike for so long because they said the parts were on order. I finally told them to give me the bike and I took it to an independent shop. They had the part and had it fixed in 2 days. I wouldn't do business with our local dealer for anything now. We do have a good independent shop here in town but even better, I found a guy who has a shop in his home and is willing to teach me some things. He is a member here and has already helped me but I figured out how to do the R/R by reading here and on VFRdiscussion.com. You guys have helped me alot so Thanks and good luck with the Hawk. Just don't forget that anything worth having is not going to be easy!

 

None of the local Honda shops work on my Hondas. I take it to a local Suzuki shop for work I'm not capable of doing.

The local honda shops are way too stuck on themselves.

 

A lot of times if you take an older bike in to do a "simple" repair on, it can turn into a nightmare. Case in point: I took in an older GPZ1100 that just "needed" a carb. clean. After cleaning the carbs. and replacing the battery, the bike had no fire. If you coulda seen the rats nest of "custom" wiring that had been done to this heap, then you would understand why a lot of shops have that policy. I know it's a pain, but a lot of times it's necessary to turn older bikes away. I like to take them on a case by case basis. If the bike looks well taken care of, and parts are still readily available, them we'll work on them, if not, then the owner will have to find an independent to do the work. This also works out well for the indy, as he/she gets more business. We also will do basic maintenance on any bike, age, make, or model.

 

Are you a member of HRCA? If not, you might look in to it. I'd give a call to Honda customer service. The dealer here in TN. would rather work on older bikes. They are simpler to work on and their parts dept is very good at finding the parts required. It may take a while to order the parts, but they WILL get them. I can't imagine Honda hanging the older bikes out to dry only due to their age. I have 3 bikes over the 10 year mark and have never had parts problems. My local dealer has been owned by the same family since 1939, so they have sold zillions of bikes over the years, and will go out of their way to service and repair them. Sounds like a lot of dealers are in it for only the money, not for the love of the bikes. That's just WRONG!!!

 

KC,
I got the same story here in LA at both dealers. cept they said more than 10 yrs. they said that if they are taking it apart and find something broken that has been discontinued what can they do ? telll you Oh we cant fix but we still have five hours of time in it and you have to pay us for not fixing it. I ended up doing the work myself and I had to scrounge up the parts from a parts bike that I had. then upon putting the old girl ('86) back together i had two engine mount bolts break off. involved lots of cursing swearing and throwing of tools. I had A CASTING BREAK ON THE ENGINE. NOW I HAVE SPENT O GOOD BIT OF MONEY SO FAR i was going to have to disassemble the engine to replace the broken casting. I decided to let her go and I am parting her out. hell i ride the new bike anyway. I am a rider not a collector. i know this is frustating to you, but you have to look at it from there point of view. it doesn't help you but it does make sense. damn Honda for making bikes that last longer than their supposed to. sorry to hear of your tale of woe.

 

Yeah, but only 10 years? The dealer should at least look at the bike's condition. If it is a total Piece of Crap, refer the owner to an independant shop. If the bike looks to be in pretty good shape, and the bike's owner is willing to ante up a couple of C-Notes before the works begins, what does the dealer have to loose? As long as the customer understands the risks of repairing an older bike, everything would be fine. My 83 ceptor is in WAY better shape than a lot of the newer bikes around. They shouldn't condemn a bike just because of the passage of time. :clock:

 

Sounds like a great sales tool for new bikes, vice just the service. There are many good independant mechanics... I followed a MOBILE mechanic for awhile this afternoon... had a trailer that would come to your house/work to wrench your bike.... granted there was a huge harley logo on the side, I guess that is where the market it, the Honda mech would be more like the Maytag repair guy.

 

I guess for a Harley owner, the idea of a mobile road side repair shop sounds pretty good. The Harley riders in the area would keep his phone# on speed dial.hone:

I didn't realize Honda was in the business of building "disposable bikes".

 

That suits me just fine, I don't have any use for dealer service. I recently bought a couple tire irons and dyna beads for balancing them, now I have absolutely no reason to ever speak to/step foot in a motorcycle service facility ever again. Life's good.

 

I think everyone here needs to read about what I learned about living in Japan-
after 5 years, it's old. I mean, it could have 5 miles on it, and they would junk it if were over 8. I could roll off base and pick up a 450HP Nissan Skyline GT-R for less than 4K (rules for owning cars are different for service members). They have laws over there that make it expensive to have cars for longer than that. This also carries over to everything else from phones to very high end stereo components- every year around the first the garbage area's would line with perfectly good items because they were given new ones!. They make quality products that last longer than they intend to have them, but this works out only for so long as far as Americans are concerned. we just like to Keep things until they are totally used up. good example- My buddy (same one who got us the heated grips) was given(!) a 98 BMW 5-series with less than 10k miles (AND the new car smell) simply because it was too old. this happened in 03!
As for a dealer maintenance, I understand why- Just don't expect me to agree with it. It takes 5 minutes for an experienced mechanic to look over a bike, determine it's condition, and make an assessment as to whether or not the problem can be fixed by his shop (10 minutes if he wants to make sure the parts are still available). Sue happy, down right no good people try to pull fast ones on dealers and try to get something for free always manage to screw it up for those who are honest.

 

Email this guy!!!! Steve Lenac [bigboy11@SIGMAWEB.NET]

Not only does he have the parts you need, he will be able to do the job or guide you through it.

 

I've never heard of this load of crap until now from these posts .

In Cali, NV, & Utah, I still don't have any probs from Honda Dealer/Shops on any age bike.

Honda's Riders Club mags Toot there horns that Honda stocks almost every part that Honda ever made on production parts & suggests buying & maitaining them from your local Honda Dealer !!!!

I would get a letter off to Honda's corp office in Torrance, CA. & Honda's Rider's Club on this ASAP.

I Know LA Honda in Inglewood, CA. will work on them :smile:

Honda shop up here in Orem, UT. just got parts in & serviced my 89 NT647 Hawk (synched carbs & Gen service, because I'm selling it) no problem & was happy to take my money.

When writing the letters, be Civil on your part & you can quote the dealers verbatin. Also if you want can add that you are a family, church going man, & you found there business & languge practices disturbing, & will not recomend Honda products with family, friends & on the web forums you are on (can give examples like VFR World & Speedzilla).

Shit will hit the fan, as well as you will get a very quick response:wink:

Good luck

 

This bugged me, so I just sent a e-mail off to my friends @ HRC in Torrance, to get there opinion, & thoughts on this.


I'll get back on here with there response !

well 1st question they just asked me is where they POWER HOUSE HONDA dealerships or Multi brand dealerships ?

Soooo I need that info please that this has happened to any of you (I'm guessing PowerHouse Dealerships can't refuse & independent & multi dearships can )

 

Hmm heard of this, just haven't experienced it yet. Damn My Viffer is 10 I better look out not like I'd have my dealer touch it thou. F'n douche bags