Buying my First KLR today....I'M SO MAD!!!!

[HawkeyeRyder]

Ok so here is probably the funniest stories you will hear about buying a brand new bike...

So I am up at Fun Bike Center (massive place! Got to www.funbike.com) and i tell the guy i'm buying the bike TODAY (so he has time to prep the bike and what not). Well while i'm there, i find out that because i'm buying the bike and I'm military, they gave me a 20% discount on parts and apparel in the store. So i'm chomping at the bit now! So I pick out a nice Scorpion helmet, awesome riding jacket, and some riding gloves. 3 hours of deciding, doing paperwork on the bike and FINALLY i'm told to pull the truck around so we can load it up (i decided not to ride it home as I dont have a license yet and didnt wanna risk it.) So i pull the truck around and the bike is there but the guy isnt. No biggie. My buddy brought tie downs and a ramp so we both grunted the bike up the ramp. He started strapping the bike down when the guy who sold me the bike comes out and informs me that he hasnt prepped the bike yet. This really ticks me off since thats why i thought i was waiting. Well after a well of excuses he tells me he'll have it delivered to me for no extra charge by tonight. Not letting anything spoil my day, that was good enough news for me.

Well since the bike was already in the back of the truck, we decided instead of taking it off, we would pull it around to the service area. So we did. It was just the next building over. Well we pulled up to it and decided to back the truck to the garage when all of a sudden WHAAAM. Some more words that wouldn't be right tow say on this forum were said as we saw the pretty red KLR650 laying over the side of the truck. A brand new Dodge RAM to be exact. We picked the bike up (while i'm cursing at my friend for not properly tying the bike down) and there was a nice 5 inch scrape mark in the side of the right tank faring. Way to go Mr. rhino bed liner friend! Worse than that, the bike bent the top side of the bed down. I did have to laugh at Russ, my friend, repeating "omg, my wife is gonna kill me. omg...."

So what? its just a little scratch right? Here's where it sucks for me but will be funny for you...

I get a call about 10 mins ago from the parts guy and he said "well we were prepping the bike and under further review, the fall that the bike took in the truck not only scratched up the faring but it bent the clamp that holds it on (not sure what he's talking about?) so i will have to take the faring off and see if i can bend it back or if it needs to be replaced. Either way i dont think it will be ready until tomorrow."

Great. I'm just waiting on the "yes Sir, we had to replace the thing" call. So my bike is ALREADY in the shop getting worked on and the darn thing doesnt even have 1 mile on the engine! Heck it doesnt even have FLUIDS in the SOB!!! Off to a great start already....

[bluepoof]

Oh no!!  at least you won't have to worry about when it'll get its first scratch. my first bike was dinged by the shop as they were prepping it. I asked them to leave it so that the first ding wasn't my fault.

[tigertim955]

Sad story. Enjoy the bike though. New bike day is usually the best !
  I bought a new Concours in '95 . The first time I washed it I found a fingerprint in the paint under the clear coat. New tank - no questions.

[birdrunner]

This isn't a big deal.  Really, would you prefer the first mark to by YOUR fault.  Now you have the first of many storied to tell.

Be glad you don't have a fully faired bike as then you'd be talking A LOT more money.

[mugwump58]

It's pre-disastered This is all for the best.

[Mr.Awesome]

That was your bike's way of saying......."I dont belong in a truck, ride me"  

[2006FJR]

Man that sucks. Imagine what could have happened if it fell on the freeway doing 75 on the way home.  

[Zixxerpilot]

Well, you know what they say. Take a camera with you to pick up the bike. Take some pics, then kick it over on its side. Might as well get it over with right away.

Seriously, though, sorry to hear about the luck. Hopefully the relationship with the bike will be a great one.

[Bender]

Well, you know what they say. Take a camera with you to pick up the bike. Take some pics, then kick it over on its side. Might as well get it over with right away.

Seriously, though, sorry to hear about the luck. Hopefully the relationship with the bike will be a great one.

Remind me to never take you new bike shopping with me....

[Kootenanny]

Sucks.  But...you'll get over it!


When I picked up my new Buell (5 years ago now), I fully expected it to be prepped and ready.  I'd purchased it in January, and was picking it up in March (dealership is 6 hours drive from home).  I called a week ahead of time, stating the day I'd be there.  So, of course, when I get there, the bike isn't ready--in fact, it's still crammed in the back of the warehouse with a ton of other bikes in front of it, could I come back in a week?

Did I mention the 6-hour drive?  Each way?

Oh, well...I travel to this town for business quite often, I said I'd be back in maybe 3 weeks or so (riding season wasn't gonna start for a month, anyway).   And then...I return, 3 weeks later.

The bike is still not ready.  This time, I'm not backing down.  I'm gonna be in town for another day, I demand they have it ready for tomorrow.  The next day, the bike is in the shop, but...still not fully prepped.  Finish it while I wait, I say.  A bit later, they tell me it's ready...but when we try it, the battery is dead.  OK, new battery time (the shop guy just grabbed a new one and installed it, didn't tell management...I think he was as frustrated as I was).

So, I get the bike into the back of my truck (inside the old camper I used to transport tools, etc., for work--like I said, bike season wasn't quite on yet, the roads were still wet and dirty).  Got it home, no further issues.  I love the bike, and I really liked the fact that the dealership was completely open to allowing demo rides...but it seemed that, once I'd paid up, I no longer mattered (I will comment that I bought a Buell, and this was a Harley dealership...bike was last year's leftover...I got a good deal on it...you could tell they just wanted to get the damn thing sold and off the floor!).

[mxvet57]

It's a KLR that gives it caricature.

when i get a new offroad helmet i have to drop it on the ground to get that first ding on it or it was inevitable that i was going to crash.

[HawkeyeRyder]

Guys, thanks for all the encouraging remarks. I still dont have the bike but i will hopefully get some answers tomorrow. They had some problems ordering a clamp that holds the fairing on (? i dont know what they are talking about) so hopefully will be ready by this weekend...

Thanks for everything guys!

[verboten1]

give it a month, it will look like mine....

[ConPilot1]

When I picked up my new Buell (5 years ago now), I fully expected it to be prepped and ready.  I'd purchased it in January, and was picking it up in March (dealership is 6 hours drive from home).  I called a week ahead of time, stating the day I'd be there.  So, of course, when I get there, the bike isn't ready--in fact, it's still crammed in the back of the warehouse with a ton of other bikes in front of it, could I come back in a week?

Did I mention the 6-hour drive?  Each way?

Oh, well...I travel to this town for business quite often, I said I'd be back in maybe 3 weeks or so (riding season wasn't gonna start for a month, anyway).   And then...I return, 3 weeks later.

The bike is still not ready.  This time, I'm not backing down.  I'm gonna be in town for another day, I demand they have it ready for tomorrow.  The next day, the bike is in the shop, but...still not fully prepped.  Finish it while I wait, I say.  A bit later, they tell me it's ready...but when we try it, the battery is dead.

I would have pulled the sale right there and demanded any deposit back. Cancelled. Sorry for you Mr. Dealer + fuck you too on top of it.

[Kootenanny]

I would have pulled the sale right there and demanded any deposit back. Cancelled. Sorry for you Mr. Dealer + fuck you too on top of it.

Hmmm..not so simple.  I'd paid months earlier.  I really wanted the bike, and it wasn't a Honda where I could just stroll along the block to the next shop (remember, this dealer is 6 hours from home...and it's pretty much the closest).  Once I got the bike, I loved it, and I still do...but there are reasons I travel to the dealer 8 hours away, in a city I seldom visit, for service (what little service I can't do myself...one minor warranty repair, one recommended TPS reset, and that's that).

But, the only reason I posted this was to commiserate with Hawkeye and his problems getting the KLR.  Shit happens, ya just gotta suck it up sometimes.

[Zixxerpilot]

Remind me to never take you new bike shopping with me....

Hey, its an experience most won't soon forget! lol!

[wbrisett]

This is a KLR, right? It's suppose to be dropped, right? OK, so you didn't drop it yourself, it's not a big deal, now you can simply shrug it off when you drop it and say "ah, it ain't the first time it's been sleeping."  

Have fun with it!

[falconati]

Sucks.  But...you'll get over it!


When I picked up my new Buell (5 years ago now), I fully expected it to be prepped and ready.  I'd purchased it in January, and was picking it up in March (dealership is 6 hours drive from home).  I called a week ahead of time, stating the day I'd be there.  So, of course, when I get there, the bike isn't ready--in fact, it's still crammed in the back of the warehouse with a ton of other bikes in front of it, could I come back in a week?

Did I mention the 6-hour drive?  Each way?

Oh, well...I travel to this town for business quite often, I said I'd be back in maybe 3 weeks or so (riding season wasn't gonna start for a month, anyway).   And then...I return, 3 weeks later.

The bike is still not ready.  This time, I'm not backing down.  I'm gonna be in town for another day, I demand they have it ready for tomorrow.  The next day, the bike is in the shop, but...still not fully prepped.  Finish it while I wait, I say.  A bit later, they tell me it's ready...but when we try it, the battery is dead.  OK, new battery time (the shop guy just grabbed a new one and installed it, didn't tell management...I think he was as frustrated as I was).

So, I get the bike into the back of my truck (inside the old camper I used to transport tools, etc., for work--like I said, bike season wasn't quite on yet, the roads were still wet and dirty).  Got it home, no further issues.  I love the bike, and I really liked the fact that the dealership was completely open to allowing demo rides...but it seemed that, once I'd paid up, I no longer mattered (I will comment that I bought a Buell, and this was a Harley dealership...bike was last year's leftover...I got a good deal on it...you could tell they just wanted to get the damn thing sold and off the floor!).

Holy fucking shit.

[backat55]

picking a bike is tough, in a little over two years, went from sportster to superglide to a FJR, now I wish I stuck to my sportster. Dam, this thing is big and heavy