Yamaha - demo ride almost impossible

Hi all,

What is the story with Yamaha in Melbourne and demo stock for dealers ?

I want to buy an FZ6S, but I cannot get a convenient demo ride near
where I live to confirm my chice.

One dealer said to give him $500 before a ride with a guarantee to buy
afterward - what rubbish is this ?

Contacted Yamaha Aust. and they said one dealer many miles away had a
demo available, but that was too inconvenient for me. They could offer
nothing else ! They just don't seem to care they've lost a sale !

What business are they in ?

Chris

 

In aus.motorcycles on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:21:20 GMT

Sometimes it's stock, sometimes it's idiot dealers.

I was offered a 10 minute test ride around city streets for a touring
bike.

When I said that's not enough, after 3 days and 2 calls they said I
could take it for 20 minutes but had to allow a $5000 lien on my
credit card.

That was obviously dealer speak for "piss off" so I rang another
dealer and asked how long a ride I could have. "We close at 4pm on
Saturday, have it back by then" was the answer.

Zebee

 

Funny you say that
Here in Brisbane when looking at the current ride I rang one dealer
and he tried the same crap wanting all sorts of stuff then rang one on
the Gold Coast and enjoyed a 2 hour play
All they wanted was the drivers license and it made the sale
the fun was returning to the first idiot and waving with a reminder
about his lost sale to the principle .

 

Depends on the dealer.

I took a Bimota YB5 for a test ride from Gowanlochs in Sydney in the
80s. It had just returned from a test run from a bike magazine that no
longer exists. The silly **** reviewer had taken it to Melbourne and
back via Canberra and down dirt roads over the alps. A Bimota is not
made for dirt roads you dickhead.

He hadn't even washed it when he returned it and it had scratches on
the right hand mirror enclosure. I thought my test ride was going to
be just around the block. "Nah mate, get it out, go down to Wollongong
or something".

****. No-one accompanying me on a $30,000 bike which was a shitload of
money in 1988.

I headed off down the road and realised there was fuckall fuel in it
and pulled into a servo. The bike was filthy dirty. Brand new bike
(well til said bike journo got his hands on it anyway) so I then went
to a phonebox (for you young 'uns, there were no mobiles then, strange
concept eh?) and rang Gowanlochs and asked if I could hang on to it
for the day and I'd take it home and wash it. "Yeah, no problems mate.
Hang on to it for a couple of days and let us know what you think of
it". Wicked.

I had not dealt with Gowanlochs before, they didn't know me from a bar
of soap. They had my VF1000R as collateral I guess, but ****, the
Bimota was worth 5 times as much as the Honda.

I probably would have bought the Bimota if the seat wasn't such a ****
of a thing in traffic, including the heat coming off the engine in
Sydney traffic. It was a wonderful thing out on the open road though.
And for its time it was an eye opener in design. I recall meeting
Kerry at an open air pub on the Sydney North Shore and parking it next
to Ferraris and the like. There was so much attention on the bike
rather than the cars it was quite embarrasing. I like stealth.

But that was a test ride to remember

 

Thought it was well known that you can never trust a Ducati rider with clean
teeth and slicked hair

 

When I purchased my last new bike a BMW R1200GSA the dealer gave me the Demo
for a long weekend, I racked up 1,800 kilometres on the bike to confirm it
was the one I wanted. No Demo, no purchase in my book.

Boxer

 

Try a different dealer.


BTH

 

Boxer said -

The way a dealer treats a serious enquiry has a lot to do with how much
business he writes IMHO.

Wanted to try the new Honda CBR1000RR with abs the other day - a big step up
for me and I wanted a few hours on one before deciding. Had to try several
dealers before I could fix that.

Still undecided about whether to trade the Trump or not but if I did I would
go with the dealer who really knew the bike well and was prepared to let me
get a feel for it.

Its not just about price.

Best, Adnrew

 

That's nice
because if you are not concerned about the price,
then you will let me have the Trumpy cheap

 

This can be a very clever ploy to encourage a idle prospective-buyer
into slamming down his/her money just to "in your face" and show the
salesman he's serious!
LC.
(Sadly; I admit that I've fallen for this trick more than once. The
worst one only cost me $140,000)

 

Well, I'll be signing on the dotted line tomorrow with a shift to Honda.

Odd feeling as I've been Yamaha since '68, however, as far as I'm
concerned, Yamaha has lost me for all time.

Yet, it would have been so easy for them if they had a decent(trained)
Customer Relations Dept who actually carried out Customer Relations -
all just bulltish and a waste of time for the customer when it comes
down to it !

Chris

 

Sounds like Yamaha should have pissed you off years ago. Me thinks if
the best bike for you has always been a Yamaha, you haven't been buying
the best bike for you. I may appear slightly biased, as I've never
owned a Yamaha, but not because I didn't look at their range.

Nev..
'08 DL1000K8

 

You are a negative old bugger ! I'm entitled to my opinion just as
you've stated yours, however, you summed up your thoughts best with the
last sentence.
Even though purile to some, "brand" loyalty did mean something to me
.......... once.

Chris

 

I Started with a BSA, then a Lambretta, and two Yamahas. In 1976 I saw
the light and been riding Guzzis ever since.

I did buy a couple of Hondas and a Suzuki for the kids to learn on.
They appeared quite suitable for that.

Theo

 

When I was a teenager I was a staunch Kawasaki fanatic and then I switched
to Ducatis in my 20s, Triumphs in my 30s and BMWs in my forties.
I've also had at least two Yamahas in each of those decades and would have
had more Yams overall then all the other brands combined!
I didn't particularly want them.... they were just the best bike at the
time for the job.

 

Kawasaki in your teens, Ducati in your 20's, Triumph in your 30's, BMW in
your 40's - you do realise Volvo don't make motorcycles? Just asking!

 

Now you KNOW you're just being mean and hurtful Andrew!

 

In aus.motorcycles on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:49:13 GMT

Easy solution. Just don't sell them!

Zebee
- who has not been able to follow that advice often enough. Why do
they make garages so small?

 

Now, now, Volvo make fantastic vehicles. FH12s are my favs.

 

Well; I've never been particularly attached to the Yamahas so I've had no
problems selling them.... (and there's always plenty available to purchase
again when I need one).
I haven't even bothered selling the latest one as it wasn't taking up much
space and I didn't really need the cash: good thing as now, 2 weeks from the
GP trip, the Trump is making some alarming noises and the covers might have
to come off the XJ once again! (anyone in Brisneyland got a Gearsack they
don't want?)
I agonised over selling the Trump, Dukes and BMW though (or the other BMW
that was taken from me... bloody insurance!)