Problem on a new bike? - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

Silver02 · 01-08-2006, 11:04 PM

Bought my new GS500 a week ago Thursday. During the prep process the service dept said they couldn't release the bike to me because it was a making a strange noise. Friday, after not hearing from them, I called late afternoon and they said I could come pick it up. They said the noise turned out to be nothing. I started driving the bike home and started to notice a metalic banging/clicking noise coming from the lower part of the engine or crankcase area. Since I had only gotten about two miles, I imediately turned around and went back to the service dept. They said don't worry about the noise and that the Suzuki reps would just tell me to put on about 250 miles and then get it checked out again. They said bring it back and they would do a courtesey check at 250 miles. Thusday, 6 days later with only 125 miles on it, I ran over a nail and had a slow leak so I took the bike back Thursday evening. I called Friday and Saturday and they said they fixed the flat tire but didn't know what was causing the noise and they wanted to get in touch with Suzuki to see if they could get approval to spend more time trying to figure out what was wrong.

I have a 73 Chevy truck that is being restored so I needed something to get around. I was going to get a used car but figured a new bike would be more reliable.

tnichols · 01-09-2006, 12:37 AM

Quote:

they wanted to get in touch with Suzuki to see if they could get approval to spend more time trying to figure out what was wrong.

Sounds like they are stringing you along. I know they have to get approval from Suzuki before doing any work or else they won't get paid, but that process should only take a few minutes. After that....well ....what they waiting for? Tear into it and find out what is wrong! The very fact that they told you not to worry about a

Quote:

metalic banging/clicking noise coming from the lower part of the engine or crankcase area.

tells me that it is time to go to another dealership and never return to the one you bought this bike from!

Sorry to hear you are having this kind of problem. That sucks.

jaydog19833 · 01-09-2006, 01:54 AM

MAKE SURE YOU GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING!!! The last thing you want is, "Well you have misunderstood us."

**Louis** · 01-09-2006, 08:12 AM

I'm with JayDog, get it in writing. Change dealers and might be worth calling Suzuki's Customer Service...

A noise that prevents them to release the bike that turns out to be nothing??? Yeah right.

Silver02 · 01-09-2006, 10:19 PM

This morning, I contacted Suzuki's corporate customer service. They said they'd call the service dept at the dealer and call me back. They called me back later in the day and said they had talked to the service dept and the problem had been a minor adjustment of the cam tensioner. He said the bike was ready to pick up. I got off work a while later and decided to call the dealer to be sure it was really ready. Turns out it was not ready and the service manager said they still do not know what is causing the noise and they need to contact Suzuki. He said he would call me back tomorrow morning. It's now after 5 pm and Suzuki corporate offices are closed. I'm not real happy so I try to get the General Manager at the dealer on the phone but he's gone so I talk to the Sales Manager. I told him about how I bought a new vehicle so I wouldn't have breakdowns and about how the bike had already been checked on six different days by the service dept. He said he'd get in touch with the Service Dept and call me back within 20 minutes. That was almost 2 hours ago.

This is weird because I almost bought a Buell Blast but read they might have questionable reliability.

Silver02 · 01-09-2006, 10:31 PM

Just got a call back from the Sales Manager. No new info but he said he'd call me tomorrow after they talked to Suzuki.

bassmaster · 01-10-2006, 12:24 AM

Make sure they know your attorneys name! Oh and the name of the local consumer rights reporter from your favorite TV station.

tnichols · 01-10-2006, 01:38 AM

Check into your state's vehicle lemon laws....don't know if this would apply to a motorcycle...but it sounds like it is time for them to refund your money and let you go somewhere else. You've had the bike for how many days....and how many has it been in the shop for???
I put it into this perspective, they expect you to pay them how many thousands of dollars for the privalage of riding a busted bike for 125 miles???
At this point I agree with bassmaster:

Quote:

Make sure they know your attorneys name! Oh and the name of the local consumer rights reporter from your favorite TV station.

Good luck man...hate that this is happing to you.

Danr · 01-10-2006, 07:29 AM

Hey, I am sorry to hear about your plight, but I predicted to myself how this thread was going to go. I don't know what the outcome will be, but I hope it's with another new bike or your money back. I would not accept a brand new bike that had to have the motor pulled apart. I think this is where this is going, I hope not. If it had happened to me, that bike would have been returned ASAP and left there and what ever way I made the payment would have been stopped. When I get mad I can be a nasty Bast**d.

SERGE · 01-10-2006, 10:20 AM

I had to experience a lemon law bike a year ago.

The first thing I would do is to write a letter to Suzuki (cc. the Dealer's General Manager) stating the situation; have it time stamped by the dealer and send it via certified mail to Suzuki. No mention of lemon law at this point ... but sending such a letter is the first requirement under the lemon law in almost every state.

In most states you have to have the bike out of service for over 30 days or three times in for the same reasson ... with the "tricky" fact that once you reach that point you have to give them an additional attempt. Now, if the problem is a "safety" issue (mine was blowing oil back into the tire) you don't have to go trough the BS. State in your letter that the issues puts your life at risk. That will wake them up.

I'll gladly answer any questions you may have. No one should have to "stress" over a new vehicle ... specially if you paid for it.

Let us know how it goes.

Silver02 · 01-16-2006, 02:49 PM

Got the bike back on Friday. They put in a new cam and now it's running ok. Suzuki is sending me a $100 gift certificate for my trouble. I'm just glad to get the bike back and happy it's running well.

wgd9891 · 01-16-2006, 04:29 PM

Just hope that the didn't screw something else while fixing the cam. Hope everything goes smoothly for you.

01-08-2006, 11:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
Silver02 Newbie Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 11	Problem on a new bike? Bought my new GS500 a week ago Thursday. During the prep process the service dept said they couldn't release the bike to me because it was a making a strange noise. Friday, after not hearing from them, I called late afternoon and they said I could come pick it up. They said the noise turned out to be nothing. I started driving the bike home and started to notice a metalic banging/clicking noise coming from the lower part of the engine or crankcase area. Since I had only gotten about two miles, I imediately turned around and went back to the service dept. They said don't worry about the noise and that the Suzuki reps would just tell me to put on about 250 miles and then get it checked out again. They said bring it back and they would do a courtesey check at 250 miles. Thusday, 6 days later with only 125 miles on it, I ran over a nail and had a slow leak so I took the bike back Thursday evening. I called Friday and Saturday and they said they fixed the flat tire but didn't know what was causing the noise and they wanted to get in touch with Suzuki to see if they could get approval to spend more time trying to figure out what was wrong. I have a 73 Chevy truck that is being restored so I needed something to get around. I was going to get a used car but figured a new bike would be more reliable. Last edited by Silver02; 01-08-2006 at 11:08 PM.

01-09-2006, 01:54 AM	#3 (permalink)
jaydog19833 U.B's LoveChild Joined: Jun 2004 Bike: 04 GSXR 600 Location: Lake George, NY Posts: 1,288	MAKE SURE YOU GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING!!! The last thing you want is, "Well you have misunderstood us." __________________ Anyone can fire a bullet. Only the good ones can steer one. Bend your elbow, move your arse, and stick the knee out.

01-09-2006, 08:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
Louis Administrator Joined: Sep 2003 Bike: SV650S '05 (Blue) Location: Gatineau, QC, Canada Posts: 10,657	I'm with JayDog, get it in writing. Change dealers and might be worth calling Suzuki's Customer Service... A noise that prevents them to release the bike that turns out to be nothing??? Yeah right. __________________ Louis

01-10-2006, 07:29 AM	#9 (permalink)
Danr Sit speling cheker Joined: May 2005 Posts: 1,616	Bummer Hey, I am sorry to hear about your plight, but I predicted to myself how this thread was going to go. I don't know what the outcome will be, but I hope it's with another new bike or your money back. I would not accept a brand new bike that had to have the motor pulled apart. I think this is where this is going, I hope not. If it had happened to me, that bike would have been returned ASAP and left there and what ever way I made the payment would have been stopped. When I get mad I can be a nasty Bast**d.

01-10-2006, 10:20 AM	#10 (permalink)
SERGE Seat Tester Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 69	I had to experience a lemon law bike a year ago. The first thing I would do is to write a letter to Suzuki (cc. the Dealer's General Manager) stating the situation; have it time stamped by the dealer and send it via certified mail to Suzuki. No mention of lemon law at this point ... but sending such a letter is the first requirement under the lemon law in almost every state. In most states you have to have the bike out of service for over 30 days or three times in for the same reasson ... with the "tricky" fact that once you reach that point you have to give them an additional attempt. Now, if the problem is a "safety" issue (mine was blowing oil back into the tire) you don't have to go trough the BS. State in your letter that the issues puts your life at risk. That will wake them up. I'll gladly answer any questions you may have. No one should have to "stress" over a new vehicle ... specially if you paid for it. Let us know how it goes. Last edited by SERGE; 01-10-2006 at 10:37 AM.

01-09-2006, 10:19 PM	#5 (permalink)
Silver02 Newbie Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 11	This morning, I contacted Suzuki's corporate customer service. They said they'd call the service dept at the dealer and call me back. They called me back later in the day and said they had talked to the service dept and the problem had been a minor adjustment of the cam tensioner. He said the bike was ready to pick up. I got off work a while later and decided to call the dealer to be sure it was really ready. Turns out it was not ready and the service manager said they still do not know what is causing the noise and they need to contact Suzuki. He said he would call me back tomorrow morning. It's now after 5 pm and Suzuki corporate offices are closed. I'm not real happy so I try to get the General Manager at the dealer on the phone but he's gone so I talk to the Sales Manager. I told him about how I bought a new vehicle so I wouldn't have breakdowns and about how the bike had already been checked on six different days by the service dept. He said he'd get in touch with the Service Dept and call me back within 20 minutes. That was almost 2 hours ago. This is weird because I almost bought a Buell Blast but read they might have questionable reliability.

01-09-2006, 10:31 PM	#6 (permalink)
Silver02 Newbie Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 11	Just got a call back from the Sales Manager. No new info but he said he'd call me tomorrow after they talked to Suzuki.

01-10-2006, 12:24 AM	#7 (permalink)
bassmaster Where Am I ? Joined: Dec 2005 Bike: 2006 C-50 Location: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA Posts: 38	Make sure they know your attorneys name! Oh and the name of the local consumer rights reporter from your favorite TV station.

01-16-2006, 02:49 PM	#11 (permalink)
Silver02 Newbie Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 11	Got the bike back on Friday. They put in a new cam and now it's running ok. Suzuki is sending me a $100 gift certificate for my trouble. I'm just glad to get the bike back and happy it's running well.

01-16-2006, 04:29 PM	#12 (permalink)
wgd9891 Seat Tester Joined: Dec 2004 Bike: '01 GZ250 Location: Maryland Posts: 98	Just hope that the didn't screw something else while fixing the cam. Hope everything goes smoothly for you.

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