So I went to my dealer...

[switchback]

Plaza Cycle to inquire about the recall for the S10.
Service desk: You have a what?
Me: A Super Tenere, I bought it here, it's a 2012 Yamaha.
Service desk: Never heard of one of those. (after looking on the computer he calls a service guy) You heard of a XTZ12?
Service Guy: I think we sold one of them
Me: yeah it was mine obviously.
Service guy looks up the recall: Drop it off for a week or so and we should be able to get it done.

Went home, got my bike, and drove to their competitor South Valley Motorsports.

South Valley service (SV): Yeah we have done a few of those recalls now, I am surprised yours is affected it only applied to the very early run. So far we haven't encountered any bikes that have leaked or had any issues because of it. May have the parts in stock.

Needless to say I left my bike with South Valley Motorsports and will pick it up tomorrow. Look on Yamaha's website for those Gold service certifications. They mean something.

 

[Scottie Boy]

I had a very good recall experience with Metro Cycles here in Atlanta. They knew exactly what recall I was referring to when I spoke to them. After telling me it would be a couple of days to get the parts in. They called me back immediately to let me know that they had parts that were for someone else's bike but he couldn't come in for a few days so I could have his. I showed up first thing the next morning and they had me in and out in an hour or so. ::012::

 

[coastie]

WOW a week? Damn! My shop apologized for not catching it before they sold it to me. I asked when I brought it in for the 600mile service. Actually I was riding out after the service and realized I had forgotten to ask. I turned around and went back in. They took it in instantly. I watched the mechanic do the swap out. It took him all of 20 minutes. I was impressed at how proficient he was at taking it apart and putting it back together. He said he had only done one other but its an easy job.

 

[SuperSize]

I went to Plaza Cycle a few weeks ago to see if they had any S10s. The guy I asked said they are not out yet. ??? I asked are you waiting for another batch to come in and he said they have have not been released yet. He even asked another salesman who said the same thing. Needless to say I picked up my s10 from South Valley.

 

[MotorcopBBQ]

Yikes, nice dealership! After the first week of the recall news for the S10's. I first received a letter from Yamaha and my dealership called me the next moring, saying we have the part bring it in.

 

[switchback]

I really wonder how dealers stay in business not knowing anything about the products they sell? You would be hard pressed to find a BMW or Triumph dealer that didn't know their complete line. Unfortunately this incompetence extends into the Japanese car dealers as well. Does this ignorance extend from the high volume sales model or are there no standards set by the big 4?

 

[elizilla]

My dealer called me before I got the letter, and asked when I wanted to bring it in. I said "The next clear day, so order the part". I called them the next clear day, and they hadn't ordered the part - they thought I'd meant I'd wait until spring. I said "no, I don't want to wait for spring, because if it leaks it's in my garage and that's bad. Order the part." Eventually we got another clear day and they had managed to order the part. I rode over there and they did it while I waited.

 

[3putt]

Some dealers do not recognize when they have a winner, these things should be flying out the doors.

 

[Tremor38]

I really wonder how dealers stay in business not knowing anything about the products they sell? You would be hard pressed to find a BMW or Triumph dealer that didn't know their complete line. Unfortunately this incompetence extends into the Japanese car dealers as well. Does this ignorance extend from the high volume sales model or are there no standards set by the big 4?

I whole-hearted agree with that sentiment. I can ask my dealer here in Japan about a bike he doesn't normally carry (non-domestic market), and he's still well-informed about the product. That's not to say some dealers aren't better that others over here in one way or another, but they all seem to know every model they could possibly sell.

It's is really sad, and reflects uniformity of training in the states, or sometimes just lack of initiative to train on the staff's part. I wonder if the FJR had that sort of problem during the PDP phase?

 

[creggur]

While I had a great buying experience with my dealer, I could tell they really didn't have a clue about the Tenere the first time I visited. They weren't sure who to market it to, who to try and sell it to, nor what niche it was sent to fill. Great guys to deal with on the purchase, but I could tell they didn't 'get' the Tenere at all.

Cool thing was the sales guy I talked to on my first visit had taken the initiative to educate himself before I came back for my scheduled test ride. I could tell he had spent some time researching some of the stuff we had talked about on my first visit. I had told him that I'm a service manager for a car dealership and we had built some rapport talking through the similar trials and tribulations of the retail automotive and motorsport business. On my second visit he had lots of questions about the competition for the Tenere as he knew I'd researched them all pretty thoroughly. And it wasn't as if he was using me as his research assistant, they were more in-depth questions and confirmations of some of the things he had found on his own.

When I took delivery he had his Service Manager come out and we chatted a bit about some of the service issues that I was aware of from being around here and ADV Rider (oil levels being wrong, spokes not being torqued properly, etc.). I was their first Tenere sale and as it turns out I now have a pretty damn good relationship with the dealership personnel.

Here's the deal guys, and I speak from 15 years experience in the car business. These guys are trying to pay their mortgages, they focus on the higher volume bikes (sport bikes and cruisers) because that's what pays the bills. To them, spending a lot of time on a bike that is limited production, limited niche, limited interest, distracts from their goal of selling and servicing as many units as they can to earn a paycheck. They don't spend their days cruising every nook-and-cranny of the internet looking for in-depth information on every bike on the floor. It's just reality. They are dealing with the person in front of them looking for a Harley clone or a race replica - plain and simple.

I can also tell you from a Service Manager's perspective I deal with people every day who have perceived issues with their cars because of something they found on a forum, and have convinced themselves they are now having the same issue. I take a different approach than many do because of my passion for motorcycles, and the time I spend doing what I'm doing right now. It is a fact of my life, however, that I spend a good bit of time fixing customers because there is nothing to fix on their cars. Having said that I respected my Yamaha dealer's approach to me and the Tenere because they listened and learned, and taught me a few things, during the sales and first service process (my experience with the dealer thus far). They were open to conversation, and while they weren't as knowledgeable as me about one particular model when I first darkened their door, they were willing to learn and try to improve.

Just my perspective...

 

[colorider]

Some dealers do not recognize when they have a winner, these things should be flying out the doors.

::026::

Although I have not had my recall done yet, my dealer is aware of it and has performed it on at least one other that was sold during the PDP with mine.

 

[hANNAbONE]

While I had a great buying experience with my dealer, I could tell they really didn't have a clue about the Tenere the first time I visited. They weren't sure who to market it to, who to try and sell it to, nor what niche it was sent to fill. Great guys to deal with on the purchase, but I could tell they didn't 'get' the Tenere at all.

Cool thing was the sales guy I talked to on my first visit had taken the initiative to educate himself before I came back for my scheduled test ride. I could tell he had spent some time researching some of the stuff we had talked about on my first visit. I had told him that I'm a service manager for a car dealership and we had built some rapport talking through the similar trials and tribulations of the retail automotive and motorsport business. On my second visit he had lots of questions about the competition for the Tenere as he knew I'd researched them all pretty thoroughly. And it wasn't as if he was using me as his research assistant, they were more in-depth questions and confirmations of some of the things he had found on his own.

When I took delivery he had his Service Manager come out and we chatted a bit about some of the service issues that I was aware of from being around here and ADV Rider (oil levels being wrong, spokes not being torqued properly, etc.). I was their first Tenere sale and as it turns out I now have a pretty damn good relationship with the dealership personnel.

Here's the deal guys, and I speak from 15 years experience in the car business. These guys are trying to pay their mortgages, they focus on the higher volume bikes (sport bikes and cruisers) because that's what pays the bills. To them, spending a lot of time on a bike that is limited production, limited niche, limited interest, distracts from their goal of selling and servicing as many units as they can to earn a paycheck. They don't spend their days cruising every nook-and-cranny of the internet looking for in-depth information on every bike on the floor. It's just reality. They are dealing with the person in front of them looking for a Harley clone or a race replica - plain and simple.

I can also tell you from a Service Manager's perspective I deal with people every day who have perceived issues with their cars because of something they found on a forum, and have convinced themselves they are now having the same issue. I take a different approach than many do because of my passion for motorcycles, and the time I spend doing what I'm doing right now. It is a fact of my life, however, that I spend a good bit of time fixing customers because there is nothing to fix on their cars. Having said that I respected my Yamaha dealer's approach to me and the Tenere because they listened and learned, and taught me a few things, during the sales and first service process (my experience with the dealer thus far). They were open to conversation, and while they weren't as knowledgeable as me about one particular model when I first darkened their door, they were willing to learn and try to improve.

Just my perspective...

...I can appreciate your take here Creggur -- however,
when it is so very easy to get all forum and perceived problems gleaned from the internet 24/7
it would only be good business that business/dealership SHOULD make some of their sales staff
"up to steam" on these bikes they sell.

I've been in many a dealership on a down moment in their day seeing the sales staff not busy.
- that instead of playing the 20th game of internet solitaire -
they should be driven to learning more about the products they sell.

Only good business sense here - for what is happening - is that the very consumer is coming in their doors knowing more
about the product THEY ARE SELLING.

Sounds a tick backwards - eh???

 

[bvail]

It's is really sad, and reflects uniformity of training in the states, or sometimes just lack of initiative to train on the staff's part. I wonder if the FJR had that sort of problem during the PDP phase?

IIRC - Yes

But when I went to the right dealer, did the deal in about 15 minutes. Unfortunately they are no longer in business.

 

[creggur]

Re: Re: Wow! I joined the forum

Hallo from Centurion South Africa. Officially I am the newest member right now, but I am probably also the most excited member since I got my Super Tenere three weeks ago and already covered about 1500kms. Love it to pieces and every minute of it!

Thanks for this forum, and I hope I can add my penny's worth from time to time.

I understand what you're saying and don't disagree. My world is a bit different - high volume service department - after 12+ hours of running the last thing I want to do is come home and read forums about cars. I stay on top of what's going on online in reference to my product better than most probably (helps me deal with the perceived problems) - plus if I spent all of my off time doing that I wouldn't get to chat with the nice folks here )

Again, I agree with what you're saying just offering a bit of a different perspective...

 

[Wanderer]

Howdy,
I also agree that dealers, manufacturers and anyone else doing business in this day and age should have at some point in time when the volume merits it, someone on their staff that spends their whole day surfing the 'net to pick up on issues with their product. Yes, there is a lot of BS out there but there is also some gems to be mined. I had an experience with Shad about losing a key and not being able to find any locksmith with the right blank to replace it. I let my sentiments be known on the Concours forum and at some point, a bit too late for me, I got a "out of nowhere" response that I would have to replace the lockset and , that no where in the USA was I going to find a blank. And of course they were willing to sell me a new lock set with two keys.
Later,
Norm

 

[dcstrom]

And I thought it was bad when dealers didn't know about the Super Tenere after it was launched in Europe... It's totally inexcusable for a dealership to not know about them NOW when they are a floor models. IF you find a dealer like that - run away!

I've found that the "Pro Yamaha" dealership designation really does mean something. In my dealings with Romney Cycles, they obviously value their Pro rating, deserve it, and work hard to keep it. Yamaha themselves follow up with the customer after every interaction to get feedback about the dealer. So I'd say look for a "Pro Yamaha" rating as a first step to finding a good dealer.

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/pro_yamaha/Pro_yamaha_details.aspx

 

[protondecay123]

I purchased mine from a Pro Yamaha dealer as well. Unfortunately I've moved and when I approached the local dealership for the recall work, they hadn't even see one live before. The nearest Pro dealer is over 50 miles away.