As some of you may know, I've been in the process of doing some work to my bike as of late. Unfortunately, the service I have recieved from a few local dealerships while ordering parts has been pretty sub par. Most noteably has been a 520 conversion that I've been trying to do for about 3 weeks. Normally I would order from ebay, or a forum sponsor, but due to the amount of time it would take, I decided to try a new website out which is actually somewhat local to my area (at this point and time I will leave their name out, and give them one last opportunity to fix the mistake.) I ordered the parts on the 27th of june with the guarantee that it would be in on the 30th. It was, and I was happy. I left work early, picked up the part, and planned on mounting it so I could go on a weekend vacation with the bike. Well, I put the front sprocket on, and ran the chain, but when I went to put the rear sprocket on, it was not machined properly. It looked like the machine slipped, and was off by a few mm. Now, I was rather upset, but it was not the website's fault, and since I am local, I called and asked if they had another rear sprocket they could swap out. I was told no since it was a kit, and that if I came to their office, they'd look at it. Well, I provided evidence (my existing sprocket) and they agreed to order another one, which now would be in on the 5th of July (5 days later.) Not to happy bout it, but oh well, its not their fault. I warned them that if it happened to one sprocket, it could have happened to the batch, but they went ahead and ordered the same exact kit, same manufacrtorer (also withholding, however it is a notoriously cheap brand.) Well, it doesn't come in on the 5th, but I get a call on the 6th saying they have a problem. It is the same exact cut as the other one, and they are acusing me of not knowing my bike. (on a side note, i could not ride my bike during this whole length of time, since i had a chain that was riveted on, which had to be cut off to try the other one, so i went the whole 4th of july weekend without a bike!) I'm not very happy, but I take it with a grain of salt, and bring in my rear hub to show them the problem. Well, the guy tells me that he thinks it's the hub, and that the hub is bent. Now, if I know one thing, it is that my hub is NOT bent. As an engineering student, I made several arguements against that. 1) the hub is cast iron, it does not bend, only crack 2) the sprocket is steel, the sprocket's holes would elongate not bend the hub 3) the bike puts out 47lbs of torge, the strength of cast iron is about 50-100 times stronger then that. Bottom line, I prove the guy wrong, his business partner agrees with me, and they order a new one. This time they order from a completely different manufactorer, and order seperate pieces. Well, today 7/11 the parts came in. He swore he triple checked them. Guess what, the rear sprocket is completely wrong. No where near the right size (only the right # of teeth.) So, I've driven to this place 4 times, have torn apart the rear end of my bike several times, and have been without a bike for almost 3 weeks.

What can I do? If i go back, it will be atleast til monday the 19th before he gets the right one in. Besides, I've driven there far too many times, and this place isn't around the corner either. He did go with better quality stuff the third time around (D.I.D. chain and JT sprockets) but I don't even think the chain is right since its a 114 link chain and I think the 15/43 520 chain on a 600rr is a 112 link (please correct me if i am wrong, i've been getting mixed information on this.) I just want to ride my bike! Should I talk to this guy, or should I cut my losses, sell the stuff on ebay, and buy somewhere else (keep in mind i paid 163 bucks for this stuff, so i think i can get close to that on ebay.) I don't want to go out and slander this guy's reputation, but in the end I keep getting screwed really bad. [b

 

if he continues to get the wrong products for you, drop him as a supplier. For me, it's three strikes you are out. you'll be out a bike for a total of one month if this crap keeps up.

I'd go elsewhere. Make sure you don't have to pay for any of the wrong crap. special order or not, it wasn't what you ordered. make sure they understand this.

 

Ask for a discount or credit towards you next purchase etc. If he refuses and says tough **** then possibly threaten him with the Triple B's

 

i totaly agree with high rever, i would even ask him to take all the stuf he got back sence it is not usable and give you a full refund. and if he said no i would surly report him (and let him know that you are reporting hom) to the better buisness burough <-- spelling??

i can't stand horible buisness, im so glad my local powersports shop is a bunch of friendly out going guys.

 

Not sure what state your in but in maryland, by law they must refund your purchase price if they do not provide the service or product you paid for. Many places say special orders are not refundable but that does not apply if they do not provide you the item you ordered. (i.e. you order a honda cbr600 and they deliver a ford focus). I would politely explain that you would like a refund and if they do not provide it, order elsewhere. Then contact the Attorney Generals office for your state (blue pages in your phone book) and they should have a consumer affairs division. Type them a short letter outlining the facts and asking for their assistance and send it certified mail with a copy to the business, also certified mail. That should result in a rapid refund as they then run the risk of investigation by the AGs office. Worked for me more than once. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the input so far. I called him and told him that they screwed up for the 3rd time in a row. The guy acted pretty apologetic, and told me he was gonna order the right one in right away. He said he had to call me right back, that was about 23 hours ago, so it looks like I'll be making another phone call after work today. This is definately the last chance, then the BBB will be contacted, along with my credit card company to inform them whats up.

 

P.S. While the BBB and my credit card company can do very little to help my situation. In an effort to make sure no one else has to deal with anything close to my ordeal, I'm letting everyone know whats up. Because believe me, it sucks to be out of a bike for 3 and a half weeks, along with out the money for parts!