DaStray Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 New member here with a new bike (2020 model with 7 miles on the odometer when I got it) Picked up my GT yesterday (10-14) and was pleased as could be. Not having been on a M/C for 20 years or so my "baseline" was vague as far as riding comparisons were concerned. Ride seemed to be quite plush so basically didn`t know any better so I thought that was how it was supposed to feel / ride. Checked the tire pressures this morning since it was the first "cold" tire pressure I`d had since the dealership had driven the bike before I got there and had it warmed up. Imagine my surprise and shock upon finding that the front tire pressure was 22 psi and the rear was 31 psi! That`s 14 psi too low on the front and 11 psi low on the rear! These pressures are based upon me riding with the wife thus I`ll be running the 36 and 42 psi as recommended in the manual. Thinking that perhaps my gauge was buggered up, I checked it again with another gauge and got the same readings...22 and 31. Brought them up to the correct pressures then took it for a ride and it felt like it was on rails. As you may imagine, the handling was much improved and I`m glad that I was riding very, shall we say, conservatively, when I drove it home. Called the dealership salesman today and told him that I wasn`t trying to get anyone in trouble but that I thought that it was something that he needed to know and address in whatever fashion he wanted. He was very apologetic and told me that he`d take care of it. It just seems to have been something that shouldn`t have been missed but surely was so do yourself a favor and take nothing for granted. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WKE002 Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 23 minutes ago, DaStray said: New member here with a new bike (2020 model with 7 miles on the odometer when I got it) Picked up my GT yesterday (10-14) and was pleased as could be. Not having been on a M/C for 20 years or so my "baseline" was vague as far as riding comparisons were concerned. Ride seemed to be quite plush so basically didn`t know any better so I thought that was how it was supposed to feel / ride. Checked the tire pressures this morning since it was the first "cold" tire pressure I`d had since the dealership had driven the bike before I got there and had it warmed up. Imagine my surprise and shock upon finding that the front tire pressure was 22 psi and the rear was 31 psi! That`s 14 psi too low on the front and 11 psi low on the rear! These pressures are based upon me riding with the wife thus I`ll be running the 36 and 42 psi as recommended in the manual. Thinking that perhaps my gauge was buggered up, I checked it again with another gauge and got the same readings...22 and 31. Brought them up to the correct pressures then took it for a ride and it felt like it was on rails. As you may imagine, the handling was much improved and I`m glad that I was riding very, shall we say, conservatively, when I drove it home. Called the dealership salesman today and told him that I wasn`t trying to get anyone in trouble but that I thought that it was something that he needed to know and address in whatever fashion he wanted. He was very apologetic and told me that he`d take care of it. It just seems to have been something that shouldn`t have been missed but surely was so do yourself a favor and take nothing for granted. Congrats on your new ride... we can't trust any of dealer/mechanic and worse, tire pressure is something i believe no new owner really check , but at least u take a slow ride. when i got mine brand new (it was deliver to my house), i check the tire pressure, engine oil, coolant and also i trickle charge my battery, in case been lying too long is the showroom. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamtracergaz Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 (edited) Hi,Also check that your chain is not too tight,my mate bought a new tracer and the chain was that tight you couldn't even move it 2mm,by the time he found out he had a terrible whine coming form the gearbox that would not go away,so he sold it with 700 miles on the clock,that's what you get for trusting the mechanics.Should be at least 30mm on the centre stand especially if you are going to be 2 up a lot of the time. Edited October 16, 2020 by yamtracergaz 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaStray Posted October 16, 2020 Author Share Posted October 16, 2020 Thanks for the responses and you can be sure that I`ve already checked all fluids, chain, clutch, fasteners...etc. So far, everything looks to be good so, hopefully, all else is fine. Agreed that dealership mechanics seem to be a hit or miss proposition which is scary. Things do get missed on occasion but something as important as tire pressures could be more than just a minor inconvenience. Thanks again 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member keithu Posted October 16, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted October 16, 2020 When I bought my FJ-09 back in 2015 the oil filler cap fell out in my driveway when I first got home. A detailed inspection revealed loose brake caliper bolts and a couple of missing fairing fasteners. 🤬 Unfortunately this seems to be par for the course. I had a similar experience with the local Toyota dealer recently when I took advantage of the "free" maintenance on my new Tundra. Dealers seem to hire prep and lube techs from the ranks of fired janitors who didn't know which end of the toilet brush to hold. It boggles my mind that most people happily pay hundreds of $$$s to get "serviced" by these morons. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoAl Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 I'm not surprised! I thought the dealership I bought mine from did a great job. Tire pressures were low when I got it but not horrible. It was set up for 1 person 33/36psi front/rear and for loaded it should be 36/42psi. Currently they are somewhat in between as I'm doing 1 person riding now. No loose bolts or missing fasteners (that I've found). My big compliant is that dealer is 1,400 miles away! Wish they were here, I'd have then doo all the service! Local dealers here are not good - mostly stems from not paying enough to attract good techs. There are good independent shops but all the local dealers have bad reputations. I have bought three new bikes in the last 10 years, 2 in Georgia and 1 in South Dakota. Crazy thing about when I bought my Tracer GT is I loaded it up and rode 110 miles that afternoon and then 220 the next two days before riding 90 back to the dealer on 4th day! Bike has been flawless - just checked the chain tension and I'm a bit too loose and need to tighten it a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTO MIKE Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Wow, and think your bike had already been ridden several times without whomever not even giving it a thought ! My pickup at the dealer was to my surprise the bike still had zero miles and had not even been giving a shake down ride! Needless to say I really give it a good look over.and a short ride to the nearest gas fill up to scope out even more . Lucky all was good. I just have a hard time trusting anyone working on my Stuff and as long as I'm able and have the knowhow I do my own work. Congrats on your ride and enjoy ! MIKE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member DavidS Posted October 17, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted October 17, 2020 Well, back in the day (~40 years ago) I took a job at a motorcycle dealership. My job was to put the bikes together from the crates. I got started on small bikes, and that went fairly well, and then they started giving me larger, more complicated bikes. After a few days of struggling to meet the standard times for bike setup, I asked one of the other mechanics how he was able to get the bikes set up so quickly. His response was two fold, 1) specialize on one or two models, it's easier to do the same thing over and over again vs learning a new bike each time and 2) after a while, you figure out which steps you can skip and that makes it faster to finish. After that experience, I always check every new bike I purchase new very carefully before I do any serious riding. And yes, I almost always find things I need to tighten, adjust, or correct. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoAl Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 I know a fella who used to write workshop manuals for bikes back in the day. Not the manufactures manuals but 3rd party manuals. He said they would borrow a bike from a dealership or the factory, take it apart and then put it back together to do the manual. Along the way taking photos and notes. After the bike was back together they would return it. I'm sure it was sold to some unsuspecting but IMO lucky person. The bike had been completely disassembled but correctly assembled and was probably better than almost any other bike at the dealership. This was back in the day - this person is very knowledgeable about motorcycles but it still amuses me that they borrowed a bike to take apart and put back together and then return. Kind of like renting a Camry from Budget and taking it apart and putting it back together and then returning it. Hummmm I've seen more than one rental car participating in a track day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northsouth Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 Dealerships suck ass. Mine was delivered to me with the positive terminal on the battery not even finger tight, way overfilled with oil and totally dirty. Couldn't get it home fast enough to go through it and correct all dealer "prep". Assholes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaStray Posted October 20, 2020 Author Share Posted October 20, 2020 Wow! I thought (hoped perhaps) that my experience with the tire pressures was an anomaly and wasn`t as widespread as it seems to actually be. With the examples that we`ve seen above, there does appear to be a lack of attention or even competence on the part of either dealerships or the original factory. To simply assume that your new ride is good to go may be foolish or even dangerous. I guess the lesson here is to thoroughly check your new ride before you leave the dealership and don`t worry about making someone mad if they see you checking behind them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhchris Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 (edited) In reality we should all do a quick pre flight check of the bike every time we ride. The old “TCLOCKS” check as recall from my MSF course. Plus a few other items for good measure. Edited October 20, 2020 by nhchris 1968 Triumph Bonneville 650 1971 Norton Commando Roadster 2002 Harley 1200 Sportster 2003 Honda ST 1300 2016 FJ 09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member keithu Posted October 20, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted October 20, 2020 2 hours ago, nhchris said: In reality we should all do a quick pre flight check of the bike every time we ride. The old “TCLOCKS” check as recall from my MSF course. Plus a few other items for good measure. Yes, yes. You're right of course. I used to teach that myself as a MSF instructor. But be honest: Who actually does that? 😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhchris Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 I've done it a few times! 1968 Triumph Bonneville 650 1971 Norton Commando Roadster 2002 Harley 1200 Sportster 2003 Honda ST 1300 2016 FJ 09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member DavidS Posted October 21, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted October 21, 2020 For those not familiar with T-CLOCS here is a link: https://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/T-CLOCS_Inspection_Checklist.pdf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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