[savoy brown]

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Let me begin by stating that I've really enjoy my 2008 Goldwing but I'm starting to regret switching from Harley-Davidson after 37 years. This is more to do with the dealer I bought my Goldwing from and Honda Canada's warranty hurdles and restrictions.

A while back I posted my previous concerns ( thanks for all the input ) about a ticking noise eminating from the engine. Which I thought was either lifter/valve problem(s) or fuel injection(s) problem. I called the dealer who I purchased my wing from for a service/warranty issue. A mechanic listened to the engine and spouted something about sound proofing on the valve cover and the lifter/valve echo scenario. He stated that this was normal for the wing. No mechanical inspection or work was done... he just used his magic crystal ball.

Sat July 4/09 ... I was on a nice tour when I decided to stop in at a Honda dealership in another town for second opinion. The ticking was starting to increase in loudness, fequency as well as the RPM band.The service rep listened to my concerns and the wing's engine.

I'll cut to the chase ... the service rep was very concerned, but they needed an okay from the Honda District Service Manager for a warranty claim. Imagine that... the dealership was willing to help me... there was a problem ( injector, valve or mice ) but unless they had a warranty work order from Honda Canada I would have to pay for the inspection and work myself !!!! Come on now ... my wing is only four months young ...what if I was on a Holiday ... what if I was on the run from my third wife !!!

I drove home and waited for the dealership to call me back. I received a call Mon afternoon confirming that Honda will cover the costs and an appt was scheduled for Thurs July 9.

After arriving at the dealership I was informed that Honda Canada would only cover the cost for the inspection of and/or repair of the valve(s) only. Lucky for me ( or not ) the mechanic found three valves ( 1,3 & 5 ) way out of spec.

The Wing is now running at 100% with virtually no noise from the engine ... other than the usual whine.

I've experienced some problems with my Harley's over the years, but I never, ever was told that a H-D Regional Service Manager's approval was required for warranty work. The H-D dealership did everything they could to put me back on the road as quick as possible.... That's Service !!!!

I'm wondering if the problem had been more severe ( fuel injectors ) would I still be waiting for another Honda Canada warranty approval. I know that Honda has a good product, but what does the future hold for me if I have another warranty issue.

On a good note, I found a great Honda Dealership who took care of me ... they even provided me with a demo bike for the day.

Sorry everyone ... I just needed to vent ... I love my wing ... hate the warranty B.S. ... see you in Sturgis !!!!

 

[Goldwings 4 ever]

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I know what you mean about argueing about warranty work. I have come to the conclusion that it is the dealers and not so much the company itself. Some dealers will bend over backwards to help you and others don't want to be bothered with warranty work.

My friend bought a HD from a local dealer. After 2000 km the cam bearing went out and destroyed the engine. It took 3 weeks for a HD rep. to come and look at the engine and decide to replace it with a new engine, then another 6 weeks to get a new engine from HD.In this case it didn't appear to be the dealer or HD that was holding things up, it was theCanadianHD rep. who was being the problem and didn't want to deal with the warranty claim.

 

[OnaWingAndaPrayer]

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I am glad to hear you found a dealer who was willing to listen and help . ITs sad that there is the red tape to wade thru .



For me I am happy to have an old Goldwing . I cover all warranty issues for me :cheeky1:



Seriously , SERVICE is a place I feel Mother Honda has a lot of room to grow better at . As I said my bike is older and out of warranty. I do still need to purchase bits from time to time . I have 3 dealers locally (within an hr drive ) That I have used in the past . Of the 3 , 2 are always helpful . It may not be so much the dealer policy but just the actual humans you have to deal with .



May the miles roll on for you now with many yrs of problem free riding , Thats what the Goldwing is about .:action:

 

[SETHAN12]

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I must have an unusual Honda dealer here in Pa. They have done small things to my bike and when I went to pay the bill they said it was covered under warranty. Totally shocked me, but very happy with my dealership. Seems to be a rarity.

 

[bbach]

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That's very disconcerting to hear that sort of thing. I'm very big on service and willing to do business locally at a higher cost (if they have what I want) in order to get service. When you run into that sort of a problem, it only re-enforces taking your money elsewhere.

 

[Rudy]

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I have never had a dealer warranty problem with any of my Goldwings or Hondas.
I always let someone else do all the debugging at their own expense before I buy one of the proven survivors.

That way if it's hosed, it is someone else's problem. After that, I'm the only one who touches it because I'm the only one who's butt is on the line sitting on top of it at highway speeds.

You think hospitals are screwed up. Take a look at some of the greenware in the dealer shops you are trusting your life to. Look at how many times they get it wrong and try to convince you they know what they are talking about.

Honda warranty? :baffled: I'd rather live and protect my own investment.

 

[savoy brown]

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I was more surprised about the valve clearances being wayyyyy out of spec ... 1 @ .3000 & two @ .4000. The other three were within specs. Now I'm not saying this is the norm from the factory. I've met many Wing owners over the last couple of months who have smooth running, hassle free engines.

And I can live with a glitch or two with a new bike, but this should have been properly addressed by the original dealer where I purchased my wing. Maybe the mechanic's crystal ball was low on fairy dust ... or more likely he didn't know or really care about servicing my wing.

It was a lucky for me that I drove into this Honda Dealership. They listened to my concerns, diagnosed my problem and promptly fixed the valve clearance issues.

I was more miffed about Honda Canada's attitude on warranty repairs... this was a very simple issue. I do have several personal views on this. Mother Honda feels there's never any warranty issues because their products are perfect. They have no faith in the ability of their dealer's service network. Or Honda's warranty dept is so bureaucratic and big brother driven that it hampers customer satisfaction.

Like I said, the wing is now running close to perfect and I'm looking forward to many more years of trouble free miles.

This more therapy for me ... great place to vent and it's fantastic to read the responses from other owners across this small planet.

It's going to be another fantastic day in the Okanagan ( 30 Celcius or 87 F. ) ... time to fire up the wing, tune ups the tunes and explore somewhere.

" DON'T LET THE SPIRIT OF CLASSIC ROCK DIE "

 

[Geezerglider]

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Goldwings 4 ever wrote:

I have come to the conclusion that it is the dealers and not so much the company itself. Some dealers will bend over backwards to help you and others don't want to be bothered with warranty work.

I believe this is very true. We had a dealer in my home town with a lousy record for service. Thankfully, they're no longer in business. The HD dealer here has a similar reputation as do all the other brands. The dealer I bought fromis 80 miles away, and have given me excellent service. They had another location closer to me which only sold and serviced ATV's, but recently expanded it to handle everything.

 

[savoy brown]

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It's a sad commentary that a dealer doesn't bother to work on your bike due to warranty issues. This seems to be a all too familiar scenario. I've had some experience with warranties and dealer networks. Usually a dealer refuses the work for a couple of reasons.... 1) their to busy, 2) it's a pain to get reimbursed for work done after the fact and 3) in some cases Corporate has set rates and times for warranty repairs, which is usually less than the dealers posted shop rate and/or time requirements.

In these times of economic uncertainty, reasonable and fair customer service is paramount.

We all know that most motorcycle shops don't make their profits on selling bikes. Their bread and butter comes from servicing bikes, repair work, parts like tires, brake pads, oil filters and apparel, jackets, helmets, chaps.

This maybe a rambling on about nothing, but when I spend $ 30,000.00 on a motorcycle I dam well EXPECT TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. I don't care who the dealer is.. ABC Motors, Johnny Rottens House of Cycles or Gidgets House of Widgets, I see " HONDA's " name on the sign.

I won't let a bad mechanic or dealership ruin my riding experience. The Wing has been a superior riding machine on all levels. None of my Harleys that I've owned over the last 37 years have come close to the Wings handling capabilities.

Speaking of which... it's time to saddle up and ride.

 

[OnaWingAndaPrayer]

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It is nice to know with these issues at the stealer you can still see the Gold halo all around the wing

 

[zimmerleemark]

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savoy brown wrote:

I was more surprised about the valve clearances being wayyyyy out of spec ... 1 @ .3000 & two @ .4000. The other three were within specs. Now I'm not saying this is the norm from the factory. I've met many Wing owners over the last couple of months who have smooth running, hassle free engines.

And I can live with a glitch or two with a new bike, but this should have been properly addressed by the original dealer where I purchased my wing. Maybe the mechanic's crystal ball was low on fairy dust ... or more likely he didn't know or really care about servicing my wing.

It was a lucky for me that I drove into this Honda Dealership. They listened to my concerns, diagnosed my problem and promptly fixed the valve clearance issues.

I was more miffed about Honda Canada's attitude on warranty repairs... this was a very simple issue. I do have several personal views on this. Mother Honda feels there's never any warranty issues because their products are perfect. They have no faith in the ability of their dealer's service network. Or Honda's warranty dept is so bureaucratic and big brother driven that it hampers customer satisfaction.

Like I said, the wing is now running close to perfect and I'm looking forward to many more years of trouble free miles.

This more therapy for me ... great place to vent and it's fantastic to read the responses from other owners across this small planet.

It's going to be another fantastic day in the Okanagan ( 30 Celcius or 87 F. ) ... time to fire up the wing, tune ups the tunes and explore somewhere.

" DON'T LET THE SPIRIT OF CLASSIC ROCK DIE "

perhaps you should take that bike back to that dealership, let the mechanic with the screwed up crystal ball listen to what a wing is supposed to sound like without the noise..........but do not let him touch it



mark:waving:

 

[DeDubya]

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I've presented two warranty claims to the dealer where I purchased my bike and haven't gotten warranty service yet from them. I'm done with them - I will never purchace another bike or accessoryfrom that dealer nor will I ever go there for any service again. This is a very large dealership in Arkansas (Honda of Russellville). I would never recommend them to anyone.

I've now taken all of my business to Sunrise Honda. Kind, considerate people, they are.

DeDub :18white:

 

[andyalso]

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I bought my first Honda in 1964 a 60 super sport. Since then I have owned a 750 shadow, 81 goldwing,2 different 84 goldwings, a 87 wing 91 wing, and now my 93. Over the years I have seen----you meet the nicest people on a Honda---- To sorry, your bike is to old can't work on it even at 85.00 a hour. But if you will just let us sell you this new one we will gladly take your money, and then give you problems with waranty work at no extra charge. Mother Honda is not giving the dealerships the support they need. The later model 1500's alternators made in China, to the early frame failures of the first 1800's. I have to wonder if they are not bailing out of the big bike market? Now that zoom splats are all the rage and touring bikes are not in vouge like they were in the 80's and 90's. Prehaps I am wrong? But before I buy my next wing at around 20,000 dollars+ I sure need to see some more support from Mother Honda. Them Kawasaki's and Harley's are looking better. Just my3 cents used to be 2 but with our new administration things have gone up.

 

[stickyfingers]

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I have, so far, not had to take my 1800 in for any warranty work. I have an 06 that has about 32K on it. (no complaints and I do my own services) I did, however, stop by the local store last night because I wanted to look at a yellow VTX1800 that was sitting outside that had been triked. REALLY looked tops. Anyhow, the owner was chatting with a guy inside who I believe was shopping for a wing. I heard the owner tell the feller TWICE, that putting a trailer hitch on the 1800 would void the warranty. Makes no sense to me. That was a pretty flat statement. Since he was trying to make a sale, I didn't say anything, but it seem's strange that the position is a complete "void" of warranty work. Most dealers sell hitches and install them also if you want. Wingers have pulled trailers for years and years. If the 1800 frame and driveline are so cheezy that they can't stand the load of a small trailer, I believe I have purchased my last wing. All these problems that seem to be cropping up, and little or no support from lots of dealers and MH also. Makes one wonder, and I tend to agree that I think Honda is trying to "distance" itself from the big heavy scoots.