ten year rule

[fast black]

Hey ya'll, new guy here with a question. Has anyone heard of Yamaha dealers refusing to work on bikes over 10 years old?

The reason I'm asking is some of the goldwingers are complaing about some Honda dealers using a 10 year rule and refusing to work on those "older bikes."

If this has already been discussed before, I apologize for takin up your time, but am curious what ya'll have heard , if anything.

thanks

fast black

[Moakster]

We have it here in Texas to some degree. The dealerships don't want to maintain parts and such that cover a wide range of years. Some like me had to find an independent to look our bikes over if not do it ourself.

 

Moakster

[run n bare]

well they didn,t refuse, but was told cuz it was over ten years old they don,t have the parts in stock AND COULD NOT GIT THEM ....

ED

[Squidley]

Not uncommon at all, most of the dealers now have young guys working on them and know nothing of the older tech. I was lucky enough to find one by me on my 1st '84 VR. Since then I have just learned everything I could on the bikes and fix it myself.

[Guest Popeye]

I never had any problem getting the Powersports techs to work on my '86 scoot.

Even got decent prices, but had to wait & wait & wait for parts.

[Ozark]

My dealer wasn't quite as open as to say no, just wouldn't give me a time to bring my 1st Gen in. Said somethinq about a lot of warranty work they had to do. I got lucky. I found a private shop that was more than willing to work on it and at a reasonable rate too. Good luck finding one of those though.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

This is prevalent at dealers who sell new bikes. They would like to 'encourage' owners of older bikes to buy a new one...and they'll be happy to service THAT one for ya!

[tooldood]

It's called the 'Michael Jackson Principle'....

 

they won't touch anything over 10 years old!

[pick]

Well, I suppose I'll catch it again, but its not just yamaha, HD won't work on my 81 FLHS. I do most of my work myself. I do have a local indy whos worked on older iron his whole life that I depend on. Its kinda given me the whole "FTF" mentality. Just seems they're out for sooo much profit, they forget the whole meaning of Bikers, Freedom and the brotherhood that it all started with. Thats why it is so comforting to have folks like Eck and the like so willing to share their vast knowledge with those not as fortunate to have the experience. too many so called bikers riding past someone along the side of the road without not so much as even stopping to make sure they're ok?

Now I ride a HD too, but all the HD stealers are carrying these days are designer cat collars and fancy smancy ceiling fans. WTF? All I want is a small part for my engine that YOU built and you say its "Too Old" ?????Come on.................. Opppssssss ranting again sorry......

[mini-muffin]

Around here they don't work on anything 5 yrs or older. Guess about the time they run out of warranty. We're lucky we have a good relationship with our yamaha dealer here. We get good deals on our parts and tires from him.

 

Margaret

[McBrush]

I ran into that back in 2001. In the fall of 2000, I moved from out of state and was in major transition, so I had the local Yamaha dealer do an oil change for me while he did my brakes and something else I can't remember. Well, in the spring, only 50 miles after my oil change, I was hearing an engine whine and they would not take it back in, because it was 'too old'. It was a 1985 Virago 700. Now, we're talking 6 months (over the winter) and 50 miles after they serviced it. By the time I got it up to a dealer who would work on it, it siezed on me on the way to his place. I ended up selling it for parts. The dealer who will still work on anything that comes in is Breyley Yamaha in North Royalton Ohio. The dealer who stuck it to me, and most likely caused the problem with my 700 was State 8 Yamaha/Honda in Cuyahoga Falls/Peninsula OH. I can walk there, but I still go 27 miles to Breyley for all my service. I won't even buy a quart of oil from State 8. The bigger dealers are in the business of selling bikes. The little guys still provide service.

[FozzyUSN]

If you can get a 10 year rule, consider yourself fortunate. No one here in Dayton will work on it after 5 - 7 years old. We have 2 seperate Yamaha dealers in Dayton and one only goes out to 7 years with the second going out only to 5 years. I have been fortunate to find a couple of great mechanics that will work only on older bikes, 10 or more years older. Only problem is they are over an hour away, one north and the other east. Both have a month or more waiting period for just about any kind of work.

[Blackjack]

When I came across the 83 Venture I now own I had no knowledge of these bikes, at all! The scoot had been well-cared-for and seemed to run fine. Of course, with anything mechanical, I knew it would require service/maintenance/repairs so I went to and/or called every Yamaha dealer in the metro Atlanta area. Not one would work on a scoot over 10 years old, which was very discouraging, since I had no idea if I was about to buy a great ride or a headache.

 

My gut instinct, thankfully, led me to buy the bike anyway. The lack of support from the Yamaha dealerships became rather unimportant once I was introduced to this forum (by 86er). I'm now completely convinced that the pool of knowledge here far exceeds the capabilities of any individual shop or mechanic. What an incredible resource!

 

Terry

[dynodon]

So far, I haven't had a problem finding Yamaha dealers to work on my '86, hasn't needed a LOT, but in particular RTR's in Washington IL has been very nice. It helps that our STAR group has brought them some "new" business and I have bought some bling and clothing from them.

 

If you are having trouble getting an appointment, maybe buy some things, drop in more often and develop a relationship. Also, give them some leeway when it comes to time. If you didn't buy the bike new from them, then I think it is normal for them to service their current customers and warranty stuff first.

 

I didn't buy my '86 from them, but when RTR's gave me a little trouble with my first appointment, I just kept coming back and got involved with the local clubs, and bought a few items from them. Next time I asked for an appointment, they were lots friendlier. They even worked on my wife's Honda and they don't even sell them! I am also easy going on appointment times, not insisting on quick turnaround, but guess what? I usually get in within a week and they get it out right away unless they have to wait on parts.

 

Develop that relationship, it pays dividends both ways.

[GeorgeS]

Hey ya'll, new guy here with a question. Has anyone heard of Yamaha dealers refusing to work on bikes over 10 years old?

The reason I'm asking is some of the goldwingers are complaing about some Honda dealers using a 10 year rule and refusing to work on those "older bikes."

If this has already been discussed before, I apologize for takin up your time, but am curious what ya'll have heard , if anything.

thanks

fast black

 

I'm not sure if it applies to All, Harley dealers, but most of them in Calif won't touch any bike over 5 years old. I was told this by my Brother in Law. (( He has 3 Harleys )) so I guess he would know.

[Guest KitCarson]

I'm not sure if it applies to All, Harley dealers, but most of them in Calif won't touch any bike over 5 years old. I was told this by my Brother in Law. (( He has 3 Harleys )) so I guess he would know.

Well it is kinda like this.......I have had a lot of new bikes.....and now have a new Honda.......it was delivered with 26 PSI in the front tire and 34 PSI in the back tire....the coolant level was extremely low........my signal light did not work......the after purchase letter and congratulations on my new bike was again just like with Yamaha was not signed.........I was sent a mis-stated letter about my warranty info from the dealer.......told me I had a one year warranty, when in fact I have a three.....Personally..unless I absolutely have to, because of the cost, or I do not know how....I wish to stay totally away from dealers, they simply are in the business to sell bikes.....and all they have to work on them are a bunch of young kids that do not know nor care, what they are doing....they scare me.......not trying to be mean.....just saying.....experience has taught me this....they can go to a six month rule for all I care......sorry......I just feel this way about dealers........buy the parts from them......have a repoire' with one....for parts.....never let one install the rear wheel......might be you take a ride in that Harley pulled hearse.

[Freebird]

In 1999 I was riding a 1986 Harley FXRD. It was in MINT condition and is a very limited edition called the "Grand Touring Edition". I wish now that I had kept it but at the time didn't feel that I could justify buying a new bike and keeping it also. Anyway, I was looking at new Harley Road Kings the new RSV and the Valk Interstate. In 1999 Harleys were still in short supply. I went to 3 dealerships in the Dallas area and couldn't even get anybody to wait on me. At that time, the attitudes of the dealers was very bad. I finally got a guy, turned out to be the manager, of Longhorn Harley to talk to me. He was sitting at his desk. I asked him about a Road King he had and then asked if he took trades. He told me that they did. He asked what I was riding and when I told him it was an '86 model, he wouldn't even get up and look at it. He said that they didn't want any old bikes.

 

I ended up buying the RSV and later sold the Harley outright for several thousand more than I could have gotten on trade. It was a very clean and nice bike.