07 RSV Rear Shock Not Covered??? WTF ??

[StarRider07]

Hey Bobby, I just got a call from Yamaha Canada. I don't know if your call that helped but they are going to replace the shock. What a bunch of scumbags to try getting out of replacing a expensive piece of **** and labor. Guess this says one thing for sure:

Yamaha thinks of their customers as idiots. Problem is, there are a lot of people that don't know their rights and or to timid to say anything. I am sure Yamaha counts on those.

 

Thank you.

[Guest scarylarry]

Hey Bobby, I just got a call from Yamaha Canada. I don't know if your call that helped but they are going to replace the shock. What a bunch of scumbags to try getting out of replacing a expensive piece of **** and labor. Guess this says one thing for sure:

Yamaha thinks of their customers as idiots. Problem is, there are a lot of people that don't know their rights and or to timid to say anything. I am sure Yamaha counts on those.

 

Thank you.

 

 

[friesman]

am glad they are covering this for you!!!!

 

Brian

[allwx]

Well, they're covering it for you, and that's the idea.

 

I've had my times of being p/o'd at just about every manufacturer, and my fuse is short, so yes I've had many moments of shall we say, frustration! But I have found Yam to be as good as they get when it comes to making things right. Nobody is always happy about how things turn out. Maybe they get methodical because it isn't so much the cost of the part they're being asked to replace, as it is about not admitting that there is an endemic problem with the part. To admit the latter might be to open themselves up to an expensive recall.

 

Got my fingers crosssed with my shock. 22k miles and it holds air and doesn't leak. This thread got me planning for a new one, though.

[Bobby G]

Hey Bobby, I just got a call from Yamaha Canada. I don't know if your call that helped but they are going to replace the shock. What a bunch of scumbags to try getting out of replacing a expensive piece of **** and labor. Guess this says one thing for sure:

Yamaha thinks of their customers as idiots. Problem is, there are a lot of people that don't know their rights and or to timid to say anything. I am sure Yamaha counts on those.

 

Thank you.

 

Glad it got resolved for you. I got two return calls about this, one from the rep in Canada to whom it was referred, and one from corporate from the VP customer relations in the US. Both sounded a little nervous that I was going to go viral on their a$$ if they didn't step up and do the right thing on this. It is a shame that sometimes it has to get to this, but these companies are so damn big, the policy manual has a tendency to take over where common sense and doing the right thing should otherwise prevail. The bigger the tree, the harder you have to shake it sometimes!

 

Let's hope this replacement shock lasts you more than 30,000 miles!

 

[LilBeaver]

I can tell you that Yam WILL respond if you maintain the pressure. You want to remain calm and respectful at all times!

 

I had dealings with Yam over a noisey Roadie engine. This engine tossed a pushrod the second time I started it, and had the worst knock I've ever heard on a Roadie. Most of them knock pretty bad.

 

Here's how I would work the problem, based on my own experience: First, let the dealer shop analyze the problem. Keep all your paperwork. Ask to have the bike looked at by the traveling tech rep. The dealer shop should make these arrangements, but if they won't do it, call Yam HQ and they will make the arrangements. After the tech rep looks at the bike he will make his own report, and Yam HQ will receive a copy of it.

 

If still no help at the local level, then make a nice, polite phone call to Yam HQ. They have agents there who field these calls. They will contact the dealer shop for more info. They may resolve the issue quickly, or deny it. In either case they will issue a written report and should send you a copy of it. I'll bet Yam HQ will resolve in your favor if you allow them time to properly evaluate the situation via the tech rep.

 

If you still don't get your way, you have the choice of pursuing the issue through the courts, or just eating the cost of a new shock. Considering the low cost of these things, it probably doesn't make sense to hire a lawyer, though you could make some waves by filing a complaint with your state attorney general.

 

I have seen Yam replace entire engines (one in a RSTD and one in a Roadie) just because they made certain noises the owners didn't care for. So, I know Yam will bend over backwards to make you happy. But you will probably have to do a song and dance, and it might take several weeks. They have their policies and methods they will follow, to protect their business from unscrupulous claims. Yours seems like a perfectly reasonable claim. Knowing the Company as I do, I feel like they will do the right thing once they've had the time to make a good assessment.

 

^^ Good info, nicely written.

[StarRider07]

Thanks to everyone for their comments, suggestions, phone calls (Thanks Bobby) and support. My warranty ends Sept 2012. If it turns out the new shock doesn't last, I hope it craps out before that.

 

Greg

[Larry M]

Hmmm, this post was interesting! I've got 13K on my bike and I've just started noticing a leak from the shock, I had put a set of leveling links on the bike a year ago, the other day I just lowered the front and went back to the stock links in the rear, the bike handles like a dream but now I have a leak! I haven't taken the shock off but am wondering after reading several posts if the shocks are re-buildable? That's a bunch of money for a new one,especially when you can buy a set of 4 for your auto for less than that! My bike is a 03 so way out of warranty.

 

Larry M

[allwx]

The reason car shocks and other parts cost less than motorcycle parts is because of the mass market. Compared to cars, hardly anybody buys and rides motorcycles, and the vast majority of those who do are strictly recreational rather than transportational.

 

The motorcycle manufacturers are small companies that build specialty products for a very narrow constituency. If 9 out of every 10 people rode motorcycles to work every day, then prices would come down.

 

BTW two weeks ago I had new KYB shocks installed on my 07 F150 Supercrew. Total cost including labor was $850. Motogrid shows a new Yam Venture shock priced at $500. Here's the link, hope it works.

 

http://www.motogrid.com/pages/oemparts?aribrand=YAM#/Yamaha/ROYAL_STAR_VENTURE_-_XVZ13TFW_-_2007/REAR_SUSPENSION/XVZ13TFW_(2007_MOTORCYCLE)/REAR_SUSPENSION_(XVZ13TFW_-_2007)

 

My understanding is the stock shock is not rebuildable. Mine now has 23k miles on it and is still working good, but I expect it will be worn out at around 30k so I will replace it then.

[Condor]

This morning I ran across a shock off an '08 that had been triked on Ebay...if anyone's interested....

[naturbar]

This morning I ran across a shock off an '08 that had been triked on Ebay...if anyone's interested....

would you share the ebay link?

[Guest tx2sturgis]

The reason car shocks and other parts cost less than motorcycle parts is because of the mass market. Compared to cars, hardly anybody buys and rides motorcycles, and the vast majority of those who do are strictly recreational rather than transportational.

 

The motorcycle manufacturers are small companies that build specialty products for a very narrow constituency. If 9 out of every 10 people rode motorcycles to work every day, then prices would come down.

 

BTW two weeks ago I had new KYB shocks installed on my 07 F150 Supercrew. Total cost including labor was $850. Motogrid shows a new Yam Venture shock priced at $500. Here's the link, hope it works.

 

 

There are other reasons also that these shocks are expensive...they include almost the entire rear suspension of the bike...shock, coil spring, and air chamber/spring. Next we have the USD value vs the yen, and the fact that there is little aftermarket competition. If all the well known brands of shocks made a replacement, then the competition would most likely drive prices downward somewhat. Add in transportation costs, getting these heavy items to the USA or Canada and then distributing them out to the dealers also adds a few dollars I suppose.

 

Suppose you had to replace all the perfectly good springs, coil and/or leaf, on that pickup truck when you replaced the shocks...that might get kinda pricey too!

Edited August 20, 2011 by tx2sturgis

[CaptainJoe]

Speaking of car shocks....

Has anyone attempted to see if one or two could be modified to fit the RSV?

Edited August 20, 2011 by CaptainJoe

[allwx]

There are other reasons also that these shocks are expensive...they include almost the entire rear suspension of the bike...shock, coil spring, and air chamber/spring. Next we have the USD value vs the yen, and the fact that there is little aftermarket competition. If all the well known brands of shocks made a replacement, then the competition would most likely drive prices downward somewhat. Add in transportation costs, getting these heavy items to the USA or Canada and then distributing them out to the dealers also adds a few dollars I suppose.

 

Suppose you had to replace all the perfectly good springs, coil and/or leaf, on that pickup truck when you replaced the shocks...that might get kinda pricey too!

 

So true! If more people rode motorcycles as their primary transportation, there'd be more demand for these parts, then more makers would jump in and build replacements, and as you say, prices would go down.

 

I'd ride my bike to work, but I'm retired...

[Condor]

would you share the ebay link?

 

It's pretty simple. Just do an Ebay search for , but just for you, maybe this'll work. VENTURE SHOCK

[naturbar]

It's pretty simple. Just do an Ebay search for , but just for you, maybe this'll work. VENTURE SHOCK

thanks condor.....i searched 3 or 4 ways for the shock before i asked for the link, but didn't see that one......