Missing side cases

[bramfrank]

Couple of issues;

Too bad you called Yamaha - now they know that YOU assembled the machine. The dealer has to assemble the bike to qualify it for factory warranty . . . dealer claimed the bike WAS assembled, so you may have a very interesting claim. Note that the dealer is given an allowance by Yamaha to cover freight and assembly - so the dealer owes you that as well. All bikes require SOME assembly. I wonder how the dealer could have claimed that it was already put together?

The bike does NOT come with bag liners, but the side cases come in two separate boxes. You don't have an insurance claim against the shipper, you have a serious claim against the dealer. I don't know how you paid, but if it was by credit card you may be able to have the transaction reversed.

Given the mileage you quoted, it would seem that you may have bought from a dealer in The Soo (2300 km from St. Johns), though the colour was marked in French . . . so who was your dealer? How much did you pay? Perhaps you should have asked here on the board before laying out your money.

Note that you qualified for Yamaha promotions; Your choice of either a $1750 'instant customer rebate', or special finance rates and a one year warranty extension.

If you'd like to chat about any of this, feel free to PM me your phone number and I'll call you (I have free Long Distance).

 

[FJRJuice]

Good point charismaticmegafauna. I still have, at home, a customer service survey sheet from Yamaha which, as you all know, asks all kinds of questions about how satisfied I am with my dealer. One of the points in there is whether or not I was given that speech, if I was shown how to operate the bike, and if it was assembled and inspected by the dealership. This keeps getting better.

 

[SacramentoMike]

Your dealer is either a liar or an idiot, IMO. Why would they tell you the cases were in the crate if they didn't know they were, and they didn't know they were because--obviously--they weren't. And to tell you you could just "take it out of the box and drive [it] away?" WTF? Is this the first FJR they ever sold? The first motorcycle?

I'd call them and TELL them they're immediately sending you your cases at no additional cost to you, and I'd back it up with a certified letter with a copy to Yamaha. I'd include copies of some of the pictures here, both to show how there was no way in hell the cases were ever in the crate with that bike, and to debunk their statement that it was "ready to ride" on arrival.

And for what it's worth, I'd never deal with this dealership again, once this is resolved, I'd identify them on this forum for the benefit of your fellow Canadians, and the next time I bought a bike, I'd ride the damn thing home.

 

[bramfrank]

Good point charismaticmegafauna. I still have, at home, a customer service survey sheet from Yamaha which, as you all know, asks all kinds of questions about how satisfied I am with my dealer. One of the points in there is whether or not I was given that speech, if I was shown how to operate the bike, and if it was assembled and inspected by the dealership. This keeps getting better.

Be very careful about how you fill in the survey. Like I wrote previously, the warranty is null unless the dealer has assembled the machine . . . and he didn't. You'd better resolve this issue with the dealer BEFORE sending anything to Yamaha.

Note that you should be claiming the tank (and any other) damage from the carrier's insurance and also from the dealer - let the dealer ship you a new tank and let him cover the deductible, given that he didn't protect the machine properly.

From Yamaha's warranty statement:

This warranty does not apply unless:

a) The MOTORCYCLE has been fully assembled and set to the MANUFACTURER'S operating specifications by a DEALER prior to DELIVERY to the CUSTOMER;

 

[FJRJuice]

Couple of issues;
Too bad you called Yamaha - now they know that YOU assembled the machine. The dealer has to assemble the bike to qualify it for factory warranty . . . dealer claimed the bike WAS assembled, so you may have a very interesting claim. Note that the dealer is given an allowance my Yamaha to cover the assembly - so the dealer owes you that as well. All bikes require SOME assembly. I wonder how the dealer could have claimed that it was already put together?

The bike does NOT come with bag liners, but the side cases come in two separate boxes. You don't have an insurance claim against the shipper, you have a serious claim against the dealer. I don't know how you paid, but if it was by credit card you may be able to have the transaction reversed.

Given the mileage you quoted, it would seem that you may have bought from a dealer in the Soo (2300 km from St. Johns), though the colour was marked in French . . . so who was your dealer? How much did you pay? Perhaps you should have asked here on the board before laying out your money.

Note that you qualified for Yamaha promotions; Your choice of either a $1750 'instant customer rebate', or special finance rates and a one year warranty extension.

If you'd like to chat about any of this, feel free to PM me your phone number and I'll call you (I have free Long Distance).

All good points bramfrank. Do you think I should go to Yamaha Canada next, tell them the whole story, and have my local dealer inspect the bike before I ride it any further? I wouldn't want to void my warranty. When the dealer told me there would be no assembly I envisioned receiving a huge wooden crate. Imagine my surprise, and disappointment, when I found what I found. My buddy and I did the required assembly in the parking lot of the shipping company. I just did the 1000km checks last week, the only part I haven't done yet is the TBS, I'm debating buying a sync tool versus making one.

Unfortunately I didn't buy the bike using credit card, I wired the funds directly to him from my bank. Normally that isn't something I would do, but being a dealer listed on Yamaha's website I figured it would be ok.

Generally speaking, used motorcycles are quite expensive in my neck of the woods. I looked at an '03 FJR last fall, asking price was $10,000. There is currently an '05 FJR on the local classified website, asking price is $11,500. At the time I bought mine, MSRP for an '09 was $20,099. I got mine for $15,000. I did go to the local dealer beforehand to see if he could come close to matching it. As soon as I told him what I could get my bike for elsewhere, he was shocked. It was, according to him, over $2000 less than his cost. He wouldn't even attempt to match it.

As for the Yamaha promotions, none of that was brought forward to me. I asked the dealer if there was anything else he could offer me. He made it seem like he was doing me a favour just selling me the bike at such a price. I will admit, I do need some practice at negotiating.

Keep the comments coming.

 

[SacramentoMike]

This warranty does not apply unless:a) The MOTORCYCLE has been fully assembled and set to the MANUFACTURER'S operating specifications by a DEALER prior to DELIVERY to the CUSTOMER;

Something else to grind my jaws, frankly, if the dealer was SUPPOSED to assemble it and didn't, and thereby voided your warranty. Wonder if you still got nicked for all those famous "padding" charges, like "set up." I dunno, maybe I'm the only one who's outraged by what this operator pulled, but I am.

 

[FJRJuice]

One other point, the dealer has always claimed that the bike was assembled and sitting on his showroom floor before I bought it. He sent me pictures of a fully assembled bike on his floor, although there's no sure way to tell that it's my bike in the pictures. According to him, the front wheel, windshield, and mirrors were taken off my bike for shipping. In the pics he sent me, the side cases weren't attached so I asked a question to make sure that they were included with the bike. He assured me, in a written email, that the bags were included, "they were in boxes so they wouldn't get scratched". I also asked if it included the OEM heated grips, knowing that is an option. I was told the heated grips were not included. To my surprise, when I unpacked the bike, lo & behold, what did I see before me but an installed set of OEM heated grips.

The more I think about it, the more I think I should have gone directly to Yamaha Canada immediately after receiving the bike in such a condition.

 

[airboss]

Hmmmmmm?

It was assembled, and now it's not.

It didn't have heated grips, and now it does.

Do you have any predelivery paperwork with serial numbers to check against the serial numbers on the bike?

The thought just jumped into the the back of my mind, but could the dealer have shipped the wrong bike?

 

[FJRJuice]

Hmmmmmm?
It was assembled, and now it's not.

It didn't have heated grips, and now it does.

Do you have any predelivery paperwork with serial numbers to check against the serial numbers on the bike?

The thought just jumped into the the back of my mind, but could the dealer have shipped the wrong bike?

Yeah I thought exactly the same thing. But the VIN number on the contract matches the VIN on the bike. It was the first thing I checked before I even took the cardboard off in the warehouse because, like I mentioned, I was expecting a huge box containing a fully assembled bike.

 

[bramfrank]

Heated grips have been standard on Canadian bikes since 2007 - I had to add them to my '06.

Now, it is possible that they did indeed sell you the showroom model and that they removed the wheel and windshield and packed the machine in a shipping frame - so before getting tooooo riled up you'd better review your correspondence and then have a chat with the dealer (you still haven't spilled the beans about who he is). Do it BY PHONE, because e-mail tends to escalate matters due to it's impersonal and unfeeling nature.

Obviously you have some unresolved issues with the bags and scuffed tank to deal with before you get too upset. As to the dealer not knowing about the grips, they sell so few that it is quite possible that they simply weren't aware.

So I'd get these matters dealt with before solicitiing any more advice from us here; find out what the story is and stop fretting until you know things for certain.

As to the promo; Since you paid a flat rate you can't ask for anything more.

But your local dealer could well have sold you the machine for the same $15K - https://www.lespac.com/d-vehicules-motos-bo...-LPCaZZ20897711 - Quebec dealers are pushing them out the door for $15-16K all the time these days. It isn't as if you didn't pay extra for the cost of shipping and insurance to get it to the rock - and that was in addition to the price of the bike - so the local dealer could well have matched the price against his holdback, but clearly didn't want to.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

But your local dealer could well have sold you the machine for the same $15K - https://www.lespac.com/d-vehicules-motos-bo...-LPCaZZ20897711 - Quebec dealers are pushing them out the door for $15-16K all the time these days. It isn't as if you didn't pay extra for the cost of shipping and insurance to get it to the rock - and that was in addition to the price of the bike - so the local dealer could well have matched the price against his holdback, but clearly didn't want to.

...I got mine for $15,000. I did go to the local dealer beforehand to see if he could come close to matching it. As soon as I told him what I could get my bike for elsewhere, he was shocked. It was, according to him, over $2000 less than his cost. He wouldn't even attempt to match it.He made it seem like he was doing me a favour just selling me the bike at such a price. I will admit, I do need some practice at negotiating.

Keep the comments coming.

When this is all done -- you're local dealer may have been 'doing you a favor'...

You may want to fess-up and try to get them (local dealer) involved? To make sure all the 'is' are dotted and 'ts' are crossed with Yamaha Corporate? It's been my experience that a good relationship with the local dealer can be very beneficial in resolving issues with manufaturers/distributors.

Not to mention, how a good dealer (relationship) can help -- generally... :huh:

 

[deanw]

At least every new bike I've bought, that was PDI'd, the tech marked every bolt they checked with a Sharpie or a dab of paint to prove he checked it. If your bike has some sort of dot or mark on, at least: caliper bolts, bodywork bolts, steering pinch bolts, tank bolts, etc- the dealer may be telling the truth.

I know of some people who ask the dealer to skip PDI because they're about to void the warranty in some way anyway- these people are usually called "racers".

If the dealer sent him a bike that wasn't PDI'd, I'd think Yamaha should lay the blame on them.

 

[bramfrank]

I suspect that the bike was PDId, as much as that dealer does the work. I know that I've never run into any dealer in Canada that marked the bolts - I know that back in the early '70s when I was assembling machines I certainly didn't.

In any case, as long as he has the dealer's word that the work was done he will have his warranty.

The keys now are to get the bags out to Newfoundland and to have the tank replaced under warranty.

 

[wfooshee]

Warranty isn't going to cover shipping damage, it's not a parts failure. That's a freight carrier claim, at least in the states. That condition should have been well documented with the shipper at receipt, or he's probably screwed.

 

[MEM]

Make sure you get the soft bags with your hard bags

Liners aren't included with the Canadian bikes.

At least, they weren't when I bought my bike 2 years ago

 

[Ian Stephens]

Make sure you get the soft bags with your hard bags

Liners aren't included with the Canadian bikes.

At least, they weren't when I bought my bike 2 years ago

Picked up my new '09 in early April - no liners. I pointedly asked about the liners and the answer was Canadian FJRs do not come with liners. This dealer (Walt Healy in Calgary) is very trustworthy - to me at least!

ian

 

[Burnspot]

Make sure you get the soft bags with your hard bags

Liners aren't included with the Canadian bikes.

At least, they weren't when I bought my bike 2 years ago

Picked up my new '09 in early April - no liners. I pointedly asked about the liners and the answer was Canadian FJRs do not come with liners. This dealer (Walt Healy in Calgary) is very trustworthy - to me at least!

ian

Good, cheap alternative to the OEM liners you don't get:

https://www.bestemusa.com/product_info.php?...products_id=194

Happy with ours so far (survived a few trips now).

Good luck with the luggage...hopefully, they'll fess up and get 'em to you.

 

[Jeff G]

Hey Juice - I am also just outside of St. John's in Conception Bay South. I was forced to do almost the exact same thing last year to get my '08 brought in. I eventually bought from a dealer just outside of Montreal for ~$5k less than all of the on island dealerships were asking. They wouldn't budge on their price despite it being one model year older.

In my case I was fortunate enough to ship it via tractor trailer without incident. The dealer did ship the cases in separate boxes along with the bike. As you mentioned I too was forced to do some assembly at home - but at least I was prepared to do this and knew about it up front. The unit had already been PDI'd and assembled on the floor so I was really only putting on the front wheel assembly and windshield after being re-crated.

I hope you find some resolution on the bag issue. I have a number of electronic documents (PDI/Service Manual) on hand if you need any information.

Best of luck.

 

[bramfrank]

Warranty isn't going to cover shipping damage, it's not a parts failure. That's a freight carrier claim, at least in the states. That condition should have been well documented with the shipper at receipt, or he's probably screwed.

Who knows if it was shipping damage? This was a showroom machine and could well have been damaged before it was shipped - in any case the dealer absolutely CAN claim a replacement tank if he can be so convinced. And he can ship it across when he sends the side cases.

 

[FJRJuice]

It's been a couple of weeks, just thought I'd give an update on my missing side cases. The short story is - yesterday I brought home 2 new side cases from the post office :clapping:

Longer version - shortly after I posted my story here on the forum I sent an email to Yamaha Canada via their website, asking if the side cases are normally shipped with the crate or if they would even fit inside the crate. I received a fairly quick response from their customer service, saying that the cases are normally shipped separate from the crate and that trying to fit them inside the crate is not recommended. When I relayed that info to the dealer, he said he would have another look around the shop and get back to me. A week went by so I had to make yet another long distance call, only to have him tell me that he had somehow magically found my side cases at the back of his shop. It's a miracle! Not bloody likely! He's one of two things IMO: he's either totally dishonest or he's totally incompetent. My money's on the first one. The boxes that the cases were shipped in, the original Yamaha cardboard boxes, are friggin' huge! Anyone with half a brain could see there was no chance of ever fitting them inside the crate.

I have yet to receive an apology. I told him how unhappy I am, how many hours I had wasted on long distance calls, running back and forth from the shipping company, and I would not be happy unless I received a top case, a cover, and a new gas tank. He wouldn't budge on any of that. I also told him of the very negative rating he would receive from me on my customer service survey that I send to Yamaha Canada. That didn't seem to bother him. I still had to wait another 10 days to get the cases in the mail, he refused to send them by a quicker method. When I opened up the side cases yesterday I found my token apology in the form of a handful of business cards and 3 plastic key rings with his dealership name on them.

My next plan of action is to write a detailed letter to Yamaha Canada, outlining the whole story.

Anyway, I am happy I finally received my cases, they look great on the bike. The bike just keeps getting better and better. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions and moral support.