El Toro
Innocent Bystander
To each his own. I started making friends of dealers from the age of 16. I'm not going to change after 49 years. This has been true for Hondas, Triumphs, BMWs, Suzukis, and Yamahas.
I like to hang out and BS with the employees. It makes me feel young again, reminding me of those days when I was the employee.
I know they have to make money to stay in business. I know that if everyone chases the deal to another local, it makes it harder for them, and bitterness can come into their life.
I know that we all like to say that dealers are stealers, but it also appears that oftentimes buyers are liars ... so it goes both ways.
I've found that if I'm fair with a dealer, and if there is a good mutual feeling - where they know I'm not an asshole, and I know that they're honest and doing their best, then things usually work out for the best.
I'm fortunate not to have any specific need for one thing or another as a rule. I've got enough 2 and 4 wheel vehicles around, that one down is no big deal. I can be patient. Sometimes this is the elixir of life for the relationship between customer and dealer.
So ... if a dealer proves to be a jerk, my solution is to remember it and not use them again. But I'm not fast to decide that someone is a jerk. Sometimes it's obvious, but much of the time, a jerk is just someone who is under a lot of stress who has not yet seen why he should do something other than what first popped into his mind.
Regarding the speculation about what it was that the AE needed, as I understand it, they were following MamaYama's troubleshooting advice.
First they tried the proverbial oil change, and everyone, including Yamaha agreed that this was not the solution.
Next they tried the double whammy of bleeding the clutch and raising the engine engagement rpm by 500.
They say that three of them have now tried the bike in a wide range of conditions, cold and hot, flat and steep, etc., and they have not been able to get it to present the bad behavior.
So ... this was done on an unhurried time frame, and at Yamaha's expense.... and if it turns out that it really hasn't fixed the problem, then I'll let them fool with it again. I am patient. I'll pick it up tomorrow and see what I think.
But the technician who handled it is very good and his "specialty" is troubleshooting odd stuff. He loves these sort of challenges. And he has experience with the AE models.
I'm chuffed that it's ready (they started working on it Tuesday late in the day, and they called me at lunchtime today).
I like to hang out and BS with the employees. It makes me feel young again, reminding me of those days when I was the employee.
I know they have to make money to stay in business. I know that if everyone chases the deal to another local, it makes it harder for them, and bitterness can come into their life.
I know that we all like to say that dealers are stealers, but it also appears that oftentimes buyers are liars ... so it goes both ways.
I've found that if I'm fair with a dealer, and if there is a good mutual feeling - where they know I'm not an asshole, and I know that they're honest and doing their best, then things usually work out for the best.
I'm fortunate not to have any specific need for one thing or another as a rule. I've got enough 2 and 4 wheel vehicles around, that one down is no big deal. I can be patient. Sometimes this is the elixir of life for the relationship between customer and dealer.
So ... if a dealer proves to be a jerk, my solution is to remember it and not use them again. But I'm not fast to decide that someone is a jerk. Sometimes it's obvious, but much of the time, a jerk is just someone who is under a lot of stress who has not yet seen why he should do something other than what first popped into his mind.
Regarding the speculation about what it was that the AE needed, as I understand it, they were following MamaYama's troubleshooting advice.
First they tried the proverbial oil change, and everyone, including Yamaha agreed that this was not the solution.
Next they tried the double whammy of bleeding the clutch and raising the engine engagement rpm by 500.
They say that three of them have now tried the bike in a wide range of conditions, cold and hot, flat and steep, etc., and they have not been able to get it to present the bad behavior.
So ... this was done on an unhurried time frame, and at Yamaha's expense.... and if it turns out that it really hasn't fixed the problem, then I'll let them fool with it again. I am patient. I'll pick it up tomorrow and see what I think.
But the technician who handled it is very good and his "specialty" is troubleshooting odd stuff. He loves these sort of challenges. And he has experience with the AE models.
I'm chuffed that it's ready (they started working on it Tuesday late in the day, and they called me at lunchtime today).
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