BRANDON DISTRIBUTORS...OUT OF BUSINESS

[justplainbill]

Went to the Brandon Distributing Inc. ( http://www.brandondist.com/ ) website today and found an announcement that they have gone out of business as of 11/18/2016.  Anyone wanting to buy their SL700100MC Motorcycle Cruise Control for the FJ-09 or SL700200MC for the FZ-09 is out of luck.  A phone call to the company got a recorded message that my "call did not go through, please call back later". 
 
I think it's a real loss to the motorcycle community since Joe was making an effort to supply real electronic cruise control to virtually any make or model bike he could get his hands on for the purpose of developing appropriate harnesses and controls.  Since a lot of manufacturers don't offer CC as either original equipment or as an option, Joe was providing a service as well as a product. 

[Cruizin]

I have been trying to reach Joe since October. I heard on the FZ-07 forum that he was ill and now this.
 
One of our moderators sent his CC in to Joe for warranty repair and then this happened. Our Moderator never got his Cruise back and Brandon Dist just stopped answering the phones and emails.
 
I am very upset about this. I know Joe to be a really good guy so I wonder if he died or is in the hospital?

[fj09chris]

I hope Joe is okay. I am enjoying good results with my MC CRUISE electronic cruise control from Australia. I ordered on line on a Sunday night and had the unit in my hand Thursday. Installation took 4 hours and I'm not a genius.
 
http://www.mccruise.com/collections/yamaha/products/yamaha-mt-09-tracer-fj-09-new-throttle-by-wire-mccruise?variant=16868803012

[djbinchicago]

Making and marketing a cruise control is probably a high liability line of business. When I spoke with Joe I was telling him about my cruise control shutting off my throttle while I was in the middle lane of the interstate. It required all my collective lifetime riding skills to survive and get the bike to the side of the busy interstate. After my cruise was returned it was repaired not replaced. The follow up conversation I had with Joe was strange at best. He was trying to deliver me some information but couldn't speak freely. Broken up information as if someone else was in the room? The gist of what I think he was trying not to say out loud was related to materials, supply and inventory not being replenished. Our conversation makes more sense to me as I read this thread. His heart was in it but I suspect the cards were stacked agaist him. I pray it is not his health, but more just a business decision.

[docsimple]

this was posted in another thread:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/4052626/Rostra_Precision_Controls#
 
 
if someone has access to the public records site we would know more but it looks like breach of contract not failed devices - but thats mostly a guess based on the filings.

[betoney]

That explains why there hasn't been any reply to the emails I have been sending him.

[justplainbill]

The site should have been properly sorted out for closure... looks rushed. On some pages you can be lead to believe that the product is still available for purchase, so if you're not coming through the front door... you might end up making a transaction.  :|

That's a VERY good point piotrek.  I found a complaint filed with Better Business Bureau against Brandon Dist. on Dec.19, 2016 for failing to deliver product purchased on the website in late November.  The complainant said the notice of closure was posted after he placed the order and during the time he was corresponding with *** Brandon about the shipment.  Since the notice was posted, he has had no response to phone calls[span]  and emails and the product has not been delivered.  [/span] 
https://www.bbb.org/minnesota/business-reviews/auto-accessories/brandon-distributing-inc-in-elk-river-mn-96016750/reviews-and-complaints
 
I don't know what's going on there, but I sure wouldn't order anything from Brandon until it's all cleared up.
 

[Cruizin]

The site should have been properly sorted out for closure... looks rushed. On some pages you can be lead to believe that the product is still available for purchase, so if you're not coming through the front door... you might end up making a transaction.  :|

That's a VERY good point piotrek.  I found a complaint filed with Better Business Bureau against Brandon Dist. on Dec.19, 2016 for failing to deliver product purchased on the website in late November.  The complainant said the notice of closure was posted after he placed the order and during the time he was corresponding with *** Brandon about the shipment.  Since the notice was posted, he has had no response to phone calls[span]  and emails and the product has not been delivered.  [/span] 
https://www.bbb.org/minnesota/business-reviews/auto-accessories/brandon-distributing-inc-in-elk-river-mn-96016750/reviews-and-complaints
 
I don't know what's going on there, but I sure wouldn't order anything from Brandon until it's all cleared up.

 
I hope he is ok. It may be that his wife got left with the remains of that business and just closed it up, not knowing that there were unresolved issues?
 
Leaving people high and dry and not shipping out their parts or issuing a refund is pretty shitty.
 

[Cruizin]

this was posted in another thread: https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/4052626/Rostra_Precision_Controls#
 
 
if someone has access to the public records site we would know more but it looks like breach of contract not failed devices - but thats mostly a guess based on the filings.

 
That lawsuit was dropped in 2014, I doubt that it has anything to due with him shutting down business in 2016.
 
Again, I heard he got very ill in October. He was working on unit for the FZ-07 with one of our forum members and then got sick.

[fanowater]

I am very sorry to hear Joe is ill and his business is closed. I love my cruise control and will be very bummed if it fails and I can't get it fixed/replaced.