From: ewodzien@genghis.borland.com (Ed Wodzienski)
Subject: Honda Experiences (~long)
Originator: ewodzien@genghis.borland.com
Organization: Borland International
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 23:07:00 GMT

I read Sue's experiences with her motorcycle and a local dealer. I, too, 
have recently experienced similar difficulty.

The whole tangled web started about a month ago. Days were bright and life
was great. I had been looking for a CBR 600 since the beginning of summer and I had just finished the MSF riding course and I was ready to buy! I found a
PERFECT '89 CBR 600F on the first day of July. The bike was in mint condition!
Needless to say I bought it after it was checked out by Honda Peninsula. (It
was close by) The service manager John reported that it was in good condition
except that it was in need of a valve adjustment and needed a new rear tire
soon.  There was no charge. Wow, I thought, that was really nice. So after
buying the bike, I rode it over to them (HP) to due the service. (Since I live
in Santa Cruz and I bought the bike in Sunnyvale). After about two days the 
bike was ready to be picked up. The estimate on the service was about $375.
(oil change, air filt change, valve adjust, etc). The next thing I know, the
final bill was about $450. He said because the air filter housing or something
needed replacing. I didn't think much about it since I just got paid and I 
wanted to ride the bike. However, upon further examination of the bill, I found
that they charged me for a whole can of brake cleaner and other miscellaneous
parts. Now since when does a place charge you for a whole can of brake cleaner
for one rear pad replacement? Hmm.. I wrote it off.. Things were good....

....till IT HAPPENED. The unspeakable, the unholy, the unbelieveable! I dumped
my bike! No No! It's true! Turns out that I dumped it on a fishhook freeway 
onramp. The hard part is believing that it happened even after slowing down
because I knew it was a bad turn (I saw someone else almost loose it there
about a week before). Yet still, going about 20mph, the bike suddenly slipped
out from under me. All I remember is watching by beloved bike scraping its
beautiful fairing(s) all over the ugly,nasty road. After checking the myself and 
discovering a scrape on my knee (thanx to my leather jacket and gloves), I rushed over to my bike which was lying in the iceplant. I picked it up and looked 
for leaking fluids. Finding none, I attempted to start the bike. After about 10 
seconds, it started. The fairing was completely destroyed and the upper 
windshield mount was bent, requiring me to bend it back to steer the bike.
During this time, a fellow motorcyclist stopped and asked if I needed help. 
Refusing, he said that he himself did the exact same thing at the exact same
place about a month ago. (So I was the third one that I know about) He stated
that the road was just washed (swept) and was very slippery. Well it didn't 
look wet to me, but I would believe it after what happened!

Well, it must have been shock, but the first thing that I did was drive it to
the Honda dealership in Santa Cruz (about 1 mile away). I asked them for an
estimate. They said that they wouldn't be able to look at it for about a week
and that they couldn't keep it there during the time between the estimate and
the time it took for the insurance agency to authorize the work. Well, need
less to say, that was too much inconvienence. So I took it to Honda Peninsula.

After riding it over the hill to Sunnyvale (it seemed fine- no vibrations), they
said that the estimate would be ready in about two days. Sure'nuff the estimate
was in. The first estimate was for $3306.25    W  O   W !!!
My beloved bike was threatened to be TOTALED! No No!

After requesting a copy of the estimate (the adjustor had the original), the
details became apparent. EVERY NUT AND BOLT was listed and the prices were
insane! Now I can understand why the pre-painted fairings are expensive, but
$6.96 for a bolt and $2.39 for a washer seem a bit excessive. I was worried.

During the time the insurance company took in processing the claim, the bike
was sitting at Honda Penninsula waiting for it's fate. The insurance company
stated that it would not pay for storage fees on the bike while waiting if
the bike was totaled. Because of the threat, I told John and Honda Peninsula
that I would need to pick up the bike for fear of the unknown. He said that
I was getting worried about nothing and that if I did have to pick up the
bike, he would have to charge me to put it back together (after he performed 
the estimate). That means money. I explained that I wasn't willing to pay for
the storage ($15 a day) when I could store it at home. He said lets wait and
see what happens.

Well about 16 days later, the insurance company decided to go ahead and pay
for the repair on the bike. When I called John to give him the good news, he
said that I was lucky to have him because if it wasn't for him and his 10% parts
discount, the bike would have been totaled! (Gee, don't to me any favors!)
He did me a favor! Hell, he has a $3000 job on his hands! Huh!

Anyway, after getting the good news, I decided that I didn't really trust him
and asked for the old parts, especially the gas tank (which had a slight ding
in it). He said that he couldn't do it because the insurance company might want
them. (Yeah, right!). 

I called him the next day and told him that the insurance company said it was
ok to give me the old parts. (I knew I had the rights to them, I didnt call the
insurance company) He said that management doesn't usually allow this and that
he would do me a favor and see what he could do. (He said that he probably would
get me the gastank).  Come on!

I don't know what is going on here, but I hope everything will be ok....

Any suggestions?

Tx,

Ed




That 
Honda Peninsula in Sunnyvale for the 10K service interval.  (I took it there
because it was close and my friend didn't hear anything bad about them) (Now, well?). Anyway, the service guy 

-- 
______________________________________________________________________________
Ed "The Woz" Wodzienski             Cal Poly Perma-Student & Borland Barbarian
ewodzien@nemesis.calpoly.edu                              ewodzien@borland.com
 Transportation: VW 'vert Rab (Party Ride)     '89 CBR 600 (THE Ride)
Newsgroups: ba.motorcycles