Not so sure
Thanks for doing this!
Honda of Wnston-Salem
591 South Stratford Rd.
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
The tech who works on my Spyder (Steve) has done so since the initial purchase and he knows his stuff. Additionally, on most occasions, they have been very responsive to getting my ride in and out of there, and fixed the first time.
I HATE saying this, but my experience with Honda WS has been less than stellar. I know they can come here and read if they wish, but I would appreciate it if you don't mention this to them. I just want you to hear my tale and make your own judgement. Don't get me wrong; everyone at Honda WS have always been friendly, and I have nothing against anyone there personally. I had been one of their biggest cheerleaders, until recently.
I had transmission issues with my SE5. Mostly when the Spyder got wet - in rain or after washing. It simply would not shift. It is no fun to be sitting on your Spyder in a hailstorm, trying to get it in gear so you can pull it into the garage, believe me. My main worry, however, was if my Spyder would not shift when I really NEEDED it to, and perhaps put me in danger.
I took the Spyder to Honda WS (where I had purchased) 3 times for this issue, I think. The first time, I was told that it was a half quart low on oil. I asked how this was possible, as they had performed my 3000k service only 1 week before the failure. Oddly enough, my sister had a little tranny trouble also exactly one week before me, and she brought her bike in, too. Again, even more oddly enough, she was also a half quart low. Even more odd... she had her 3000k service done at Honda WS exactly one week before me. (cue 'Twilight Zone' theme here)
The second time I took the bike in (mind you, it is a 1.5-hour one way all-interstate trip for me), I printed off an entire thread from this forum that discussed SE5 transmission failures. I highlighted every fix that dealers had performed for our members. When I gave this to my dealer, I was gravely warned about the information that I could find here; no information from here is 'official', blah blah blah. I responded that I thought it would be beneficial to all for the dealer to have this list, as they could not find the source of the trouble last time, and maybe something in the thread would lead to a resolution, and perhaps save them some time (bike is still under warranty). Again, they did not find the source of my problem. This time they didn't even offer any explanation, as the oil was full.
The third time, they kept my Spyder for a whole week... and found nothing, despite consulting with BRP (so they said). In desperation, I finally called BRP myself, was told that a missing ground wire was the most likely culprit, and was encouraged to bring my bike by the service tent at the owner's event while I was there. So I did.
Kurt immediately diagnosed the problem as a ground wire issue, quickly checking and discovering that no ground wire was present. Now, the ground wire issue had evidently been the subject of a service bulletin, and also was one of the solutions mentioned more than once in the pages that I had printed from here and taken to Honda WS. Needless to say, I was irritated at this point. I rode home after the event, in pouring rain for over 2 hours, and I had no trouble at all getting the bike in gear after refueling, nor getting it into reverse to back into the garage. It was now obvious that the ground wire had fixed my problem.
Because of this, my faith in Honda WS was no more, and I called other dealerships, looking for someone reliable to perform my 6000k service. I was quoted $300 by several dealerships, and all wanted to keep the bike for 1-3 days! I contacted East TN atv, who quoted $150, and named every service point that the others did. So I made an appointment (they didn't ask to keep the bike). While on the phone, Jason asked for my VIN#, so he could check for service bulletins or recalls that my bike needed, so he could get the parts in and perform those repairs for me while he had the bike.
I gave him the number, and he looked it up... then sounded a bit confused. "Ma'am, didn't you say that you had a ground wire installed at he owner's event?" he asked, and I confirmed this. "Well, according to the records on your Spyder, that ground wire fix was installed on 10/23/2009."
Imagine my surprise. Now, imagine my anger. I have hauled this bike back to the dealership 3 times for them to fix a problem that they apparently could not solve, only to find that they supposedly fixed it a year and a half ago? Not to mention the oil level after their last service, for which they charged me nearly $300. I honestly fear that they didn't really do everything they should have then. They won't be seeing my Spyder again.
It is a bit over 90 miles to East TN Atv, but I figure if Lamonster has faith in them, I'll give them a shot. It's only 30 minutes further from me than Honda WS, and a more scenic ryde. My sister also made an appointment with them (being disillusioned with Honda WS after my experiences), although it will be a 4-hour one way trip for her. She had emailed several dealerships in search of a reliable service provider, and East TN was the ONLY one who called her personally to discuss her Spyder. I don't know if East TN will be 'all that', but so far they have seemed to be the most concerned and professional outfit either of us have had contact with. We are really hoping that we won't be disappointed in them.
opcorn:
ldpost:
