Dealer Issues

[HHK]

I purchased my F6B a couple of months ago and have about 1400 kms on it, obviously I'm from Canada. I love the bike but the dealership is something else. I don't know if anybody else has experienced this but I found out very quickly after I bought the bike that I was on my own - zero dealer support. I wanted to buy a throttle lock from them, they said "sorry but we can't get anything that works", so I got my own. I needed a GPS setup, again I was told, "sorry can't get anything that fits". I needed some saddle bag liners, again, "sorry but we can"t get any". I was told I could upgrade my windshield to a Goldwing windshield so I ordered it for an extra approx $400 installed. It came back much narrower and not the Goldwing size at all. The buffeting is ridiculous. They said "sorry, wish there was something we could do but that is the one for that bike". I have ordered a "Windbender" on line and of course my expense.

I thought I would try another Honda bike dealer so I went to the other major city in our province which I prefer not to mention. It was Saturday and this dealership is closed every Saturday.

Is this normal for Honda bike dealerships. I know that Harley dealerships at least are open and they are very willing to help. These are great bikes but if I had known this before, my purchase might have been different.

Anybody else on their own out there?

[SpeedyWho]

I had similar issues, with my dealer. Since then they ended up closing.

[Steve 0080]

There are bad apples in every bunch...not all bad...

[Ixol Phaane]

I purchased my F6B a couple of months ago and have about 1400 kms on it, obviously I'm from Canada. I love the bike but the dealership is something else. I don't know if anybody else has experienced this but I found out very quickly after I bought the bike that I was on my own - zero dealer support. I wanted to buy a throttle lock from them, they said "sorry but we can't get anything that works", so I got my own. I needed a GPS setup, again I was told, "sorry can't get anything that fits". I needed some saddle bag liners, again, "sorry but we can"t get any". I was told I could upgrade my windshield to a Goldwing windshield so I ordered it for an extra approx $400 installed. It came back much narrower and not the Goldwing size at all. The buffeting is ridiculous. They said "sorry, wish there was something we could do but that is the one for that bike". I have ordered a "Windbender" on line and of course my expense.

I thought I would try another Honda bike dealer so I went to the other major city in our province which I prefer not to mention. It was Saturday and this dealership is closed every Saturday.

Is this normal for Honda bike dealerships. I know that Harley dealerships at least are open and they are very willing to help. These are great bikes but if I had known this before, my purchase might have been different.

Anybody else on their own out there?

I've been riding Hondas for over 35 years, and I gotta say I've seen some changes in the way motorcycle dealerships do business. Some are good, but others... not so much.

It used to be that a dealer would be a local entity, and might represent two manufacturers, three, tops. But now there are these "powersports dealers" that sell a half-dozen or more makes in one big building. They can't possible know the ins-n-outs of all the machines they carry. They're just big, corporate retailers with little to no heart.

I've seen several smaller local dealers disappear from my city (Phoenix), and these were shops that had great people and excellent customer service, for the most part. And it's a real shame.

You didn't say what sort of dealer you were trying to work with, but it sounds like they son't really care much about after-the-sale support.

I bought my F6B from one of these big, corporate, multi-make dealers, not because I wanted to, but because the smaller dealer in this case didn't want to do any legwork to get the yellow 2014 model I wanted. I guess they needed to clear a couple bikes from last year off their inventory. I understand that, but I made it clear I was buying with cash and didn't want red or black. Their loss.

I hope I'm not on my own now. Only time will tell if this big dealership will actually be any different than so many other money grubbers.

Best of luck to you as you try to find better support.

Keep the shiny side up!

[opas ride]

The closet local Honda dealer in my area just plain"sucks"..Stupid salespeople , if you can find one, lousy inventory, horrible service, and not an example of what it was years ago...As a result when I decided to buy an F6B I had to travel 125 miles for a dealer with a decent reputation and I am not sorry...Take very good care of their customers, have a nice inventory, and a decent service department with some techs than have half a brain and seem to care about you after the sale.....Hope you can find better success with another dealer...

[Steve 0080]

Funny....I knew more about the F6 than my salesman....finally told him I needed to speak to the Sales Manager....

Stoppped by last week to look at a FC and the guy told me to take it for a ride....but knew nothing about the bike??????

Not sure how these folks feed their kids!!!!

[Scotrod]

I really don't buy much of anything from the dealer,,, Aftermarket and OEM stuff is usually pretty easy to come by online,,, and less expensive.

[BuzzzPhotos]

I stopped in Friday afternoon at a dealer in Durant, Oklahoma. Their showroom is full and they were really, really nice. They have aftermarket items on the shelf and 2 F6B's on the floor. Had a front tire in stock and would have installed it right then if I was ready. The owner even invited me to Church tomorrow. I felt bad for not buying from them in the first place.

Remember the Honda Dream? They have a white one on the floor that looks new. We called it the 305 Dream back in the day.

Bz'

[LX2]

From the dealership I bought my F6B from, and my Goldwing and my Valkyrie Interstate and my Valkyrie Tourer and.....
I guess you get it.
Anyway, they treat me like I own the place and just like today, I was looking for a bag to carry on my luggage rack, let me take it and said if you like it, just pay for it next time you are by. They always match internet prices or beat them so.....
Now you see why I support them, guess I'm just lucky to have them close by

[Rustysocket]

Do you have a specific question or are you just mad at your dealer?

Lots of good resources here, if you are patient and ask the right questions. Aftermarket is huge and no dealer could possibly stock or know every option. There job is to sell bikes to factory spec and service them. beyond that you are on your own.

And yes FWIW, I have a good dealer, not local, but worth the trip. I give them first shot before I order online. I take care of them and they take care of me.