justme68_86 Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Hi all, New to the forum and wanted to ask experienced Yamaha riders their thoughts on Yamaha Dealersihps/Service Dept's and used bikes. Preferably if you own a Yamaha over 7 yrs old do you have to perform all service/maintenance yourself? Long story short (sort of)... I wanted to start learning how to ride motorcycles & wanted to be mature & responsible about it. I signed up, took & passed our state MSF course and received license. While taking MSF I saw a used Yamaha Seca II on Craigslist for sale, spoke to my instructor in regards to this being a beginner type bike for me & after discussion decided to buy. Excited to have purchased my 1st new (used) motorcycle, I took my bike to our local Yamaha Dealership and asked them if I could get an appt for service/maintenance (oil change etc) since I did not know how long it had been since last service and wanted to make sure the bike was up to par & serviced. I also wanted them to clean or check the carbs because it seems to surge when in lower rpm's and friends told me that was because the carbs are probably clogged. Dealership refused to service or work on my bike. Why? because it is over 7 years old. They wont even give it an oil change. When I asked the service manager, he stated it was yamaha policy not to service bikes over 7 years. I guess people come in and request service, then find out the $bill and refuse to pay. Im willing to pay the bill, I just want my bike serviced I told him. He still refused saying it was yamaha policy. I even offered to pay via Credit Card BEFORE they performed the maintenance/service work to assure this Service Mgr that yes, I indeed plan on paying for the service charge. He still refused saying it was Yamaha policy and nothing he could do about it. There is only 1 other Yamaha dealership and this dealership also refused to service or perform maintenance on my bike because of its age. I live on a small island, and cannot just go to the next town up the road. So thats it - 2 dealerships within 3,000 miles and lots of ocean between. Short of crating the bike and shipping to California about $2,500 to get the oil changed + the cost of the actual oil change/service - there is no one that will change oil on my bike, or do any other general maintenance/service. I even went so far as to call a Suzuki place since the yamaha dealers refused. The Suzuki dealership on their website they will "work on all makes/brands" but when I called about my bike, I got the same run around. I am totally turned off with Yamaha right now, and their standard of customer service/care - regardless of my bike's age, if its a Yamaha, a Yamaha dealership I would think would work on it. Especially if Im offering to pay via Credit Card before they start the work. The bike seems to be in good running condition (except for the surging in low rpms) and I have been riding it everywhere, but it concerns me that there may be serious issues hidden somewhere with the bike, that I as a new rider am not picking up on & will cause a wreck or something. My question is - is this truely a Yamaha policy? Not too work on their own brand bikes over 7 years old? Is it written in stone somewhere in Yamaha's Dealersihp manuals (since both dealers stated it) or something or do I just live in a place with worlds worst dealership/service depts? I did take my bike to a backyard type mechanic who agreed to service/work on my bike, but the guy did not seem like anyone I could trust at all. He seemed more like the "ya, leave your bike with me over night, I'll strip it down and sell the parts" kinda guy Like I said, in the beginning (sorry, not trying to rant) I am new to motorcycling, and all I want is a yamaha mechanic to check over my bike and service it, too assure me that the bike isnt about to fall apart while doing 65 down the highway. Is that really too much to ask? And where in the World do I need to ship my bike via Plane or Boat (Japan???) to have an oil change done on a bike over 7 yrs old? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markandjen Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Evening Sorry to hear about the messing about you're receiving. My bike is almost 8, and I am also new to biking and wanted a bike which would be good to learn on and build my skills and confidence. I went in to a Yamaha dealership a couple of weeks ago and they were the complete opposite - they had bikes there about 15 years old they were servicing and couldn't do enough for me. I would have thought the Yamaha policy would be the same worldwide and perhaps yours just can't be bothered!! You're in an unfortuate predicament because if you were to buy a Suzuki which was 7 years old, they sounded like they'd do exactly the same!! I didn't want to buy a new bike until I've had a few years practice. I would send an e-mail or letter to the Yamaha HQ in the USA and failing any sort of assistance, write to the HQ in Japan. You could probably get a copy of their servicing policy from their customer service department. I'd also say how unhappy you are and perhaps they may give you a discount!! At the end of the day, the choice is with the rider as to which bike they buy and if you are happy with the whole package, generally, people stay loyal to that manufacturer. Let us know how you get on and good luck. Happy (and safe) riding Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBRLondon Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Hi there and welcome to the forum (I'm new here and to biking too) I live in the UK so can't really comment on the situation in the States, but do you need to get the bike serviced by a Yamaha dealer? I got my bike from new at a quite big Yamaha dealership in London (they do other bikes too Ducati, Piagio, Triumph etc...) They also have a service department, but that isn't tied to the dealership and they will service bikes of all ages and makes. I took it back to them for the 1st service, but to be honest I haven't been back there since. They are quite a large outfit and to me they come across quite arrogant because of their size and so I feel the service suffers. Anyway, since then I've been taking my bike to the place I did my CBT (the minimum training we have here in the UK before you can ride on the roads) They have a garage where they do MOTs and also sell new bikes too, but not Yamaha. They have always been great and because they're local and smaller - they've gotten to know me and my bike and it's history far better than I could imagine would be the case at the busy Yamaha dealership I got it from. I don't know if it's the case with the bigger sports-bikes, but in the bike world it doesn't appear to be at the stage where bike makers will only let you service their bikes with custom sized, shaped tools and computers (that you can only get by being a dealer) So I would guess that any well recommended mechanic in your area would be a good bet for you. Is there anyone who offers a motorcycle SOS/Roadside recovery service in your area? Do they have a garage or who do they take the bikes to? Sorry for the long-ish post - hope you have some luck. H ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr benn Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 It's not Yamaha policy in the UK............dealers over here are quite happy to take your money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepurz Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 its not yamys policy here, but a mech is a buddy of mine and he did state they make sure customer knows possable charges and there dollar figures there talking, and they have a row of bikes never piced up because of the amt of the bill . I would inform yamy HQ about there policy, it should be as simple as letting customer know the amt before hand and there dollar limit on what they want to spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 I have never heard of any official dealership refusing to service its make of vehicle. I would take this up with Yamaha America. However, it is possible that they have refused to service your bike because they cannot get the parts from Yamaha. Other dealers can buy parts in from anywhere but the official dealers cannot. So if Yamaha don't supply, then dealers cannot service. You can buy all the items required for a service on the internet and most servicing is streightforward. Do it yourself and be proud that you did. Get a manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr benn Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Yam dealers in the UK buy their parts wherever they like. Why would the US be different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Yam dealers in the UK buy their parts wherever they like. Why would the US be different? Really, do you wish to qualify that statement? Where can I buy my Yamaha parts cheaper than Yamaha dealership supply. Do tell everyone. If you know a deal tell us all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr benn Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Really, do you wish to qualify that statement? Where can I buy my Yamaha parts cheaper than Yamaha dealership supply. Do tell everyone. If you know a deal tell us all. Well................for example...................Yamaha dealers can buy oil, plugs, filters, gaskets, shims etc from any wholesaler - they don't have to use OEM parts, particularly if you ask them not to. There's also www.oemmotorparts.com, where dealers can buy OE parts at doscounted prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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