Frustrated RSV owner!

[Hulign]

Went to work installing my mic cable that I built into the fairing today. I noticed the windshield is moving more than usual. Found the metal mounting strip is broken out of the yoke in the fairing. So it has 2700 miles and has already broken 2 different pieces. I also did the rear end pin lube the other day. It has warranty so I am hoping the dealer will fix the tab issue. I don't think I should be having this much trouble. The middle bolts were never installed... It had a zip tie there in place of one of the bolts. Do they have monkeys putting these things together?

 

Wondering if I bought the wrong bike?

 

Frank

[Kregerdoodle]

I think you will love the bike, the dealers that put them together are another story all together. hope evrything comes together for you.

 

K

[skydoc_17]

Hey Frank,

I don't think you purchased the "wrong bike", i do think however that you got "stuck" with the wrong dealer. Usually it's because the dealer is the closest one, or it could be because they are the only dealer in town. If a dealer proves to me that they DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING, I personally will not contribute to that dealer staying in business. Even if it means going to the next town to affect a repair. Very, very few of us found our "Soul mate, Wives, Girlfriends," on the first try, we "shopped around", (dated) until we found a good match, not a perfect match, but a match we could live with. Finding a dealer to trust your high end motorcycle to is a "courtship", if you don't put the time into the relationship, you will be left with an ugly divorce, so to speak. Because your bike is still under warranty, you absolutely NEED to find a quality dealer, one that will repair your bike properly, EVERY TIME! I don't know about you, but I have ridden over 100 miles round trip, just to get an ICE CREAM CONE!, a trip to the next town to try out another dealer is a no brainer for me.

Just my thoughts, for what they are worth,

Earl

Edited May 28, 2011 by skydoc_17
CRAYON BROKE!

[BuddyRich]

Seems a lot of them had the zip ties on there for some reason. They are great bikes though.

[Midrsv]

I had the same problem on my Venture. My dealer used a sevice to prep the bike and they left the bolts out of the windshield bar also. See this thread..

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=44756&highlight=midrsv

 

The fairing was replaced under warranty.

 

Dennis

[Hulign]

In all fairness I don't know the dealer that assembled the bike. I also don't know the history of the bike. It's just frustrating to have less than 3000 miles on and have problems like this. I haven't contacted my local dealer yet. They acted clueless when I called them about transferring the warranty and I have dealt with a couple of their employees in my day job. I will hopefully be going to the dealer 50 miles away in Omaha. They are the ones that took care of the warranty arrangements and seem to have a really good rep. I have sent them a feeler email describing the issue hoping to get some idea if they are going to work with me on this problem. I just hope the repairs don't take a month, we don't get enough decent riding days in NE as it is.

 

The bike itself is the most comfortable thing I have ever riden and I'm afraid my girlfriend would stop talking to me if I sold it :-)

 

This is the first bike I have owned with all the extras and windshield but dealing with this is making me miss my Vmax.

 

As for you guys with the great dealer stories. you have no idea how lucky you are, go spend money with them tomorrow!

 

Keep your for me!

 

Frank

[Hulign]

About the missing bolts in the middle of the support bracket. I remember reading someone had a problem getting the dealer to believe that the bolts weren't installed. I think they had a few people that had this problem. Ponch might have been one? Did anyone have to fight to prove anything for these repairs? I'm trying to collect any info that might be helpful.

 

 

Thanks again

 

Frank

[steamer]

The bolt problem as been around since the first "99" RSV hit the street.I bought my "99" last year.apparently the previous owner and the dealer he used,never opened the fairing or if they did never noticed that the windshield was held in with only two bolts. I'm amazed that it never fell off he bike.The problem is the same at any kind of dealership,be it motorcycles or lawn tractors,wich is the business I'm in.The set up guy is ussually a part time seasonal person with little or know experence. In most cases they don't give a darn if its right or not.They are there for the paycheck and nothing more.It sucks,but thats reality.

[V7Goose]

Went to work installing my mic cable that I built into the fairing today. I noticed the windshield is moving more than usual. Found the metal mounting strip is broken out of the yoke in the fairing. So it has 2700 miles and has already broken 2 different pieces. I also did the rear end pin lube the other day. It has warranty so I am hoping the dealer will fix the tab issue. I don't think I should be having this much trouble. The middle bolts were never installed... It had a zip tie there in place of one of the bolts. Do they have monkeys putting these things together?

 

Wondering if I bought the wrong bike?

 

Frank

As many folks have already stated, the missing bolts are a very common issue - absolutely no excuse for such shoddy work, but it is something we know about.

 

Even if the bolts are in there, the tabs that connect to the ends of the windshield bracket WILL break on all of these bikes - just a stupid design. See the article in the tech library here for a fix:

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20293

 

If anything at all is broken, Yamaha will replace it all under warranty. But those outside tabs will just break again. My choice was to not bother with a fairing replacement just for the outside tabs, since I would need to do the same modification even on a new one. But I certainly would have demanded it if anything else was broken where the windshield is attached, like other folks have found.

 

I do not think you bought the wrong bike. These things are absolutely reliable and good for many hundreds of thousands of miles. But there are a few idiotic design points that the owner needs to know about, as well as certain bolts that need to be periodically checked. It is all documented on this site, so just keep reading and your love of the bike will continue to grow! Personally, I have about 100,000 miles on my RSV, and I have no interest in replacing it for a long time. If something were to happen to it, there is absolutely NO OTHER BIKE MADE TODAY that I would even consider; my replacement would be another RSV, either new or used.

Goose