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What's Going On With Columbia Motorsports in CT?

mindman

mindman

New member
Does anyone know what's going on "behind the scenes" at Columbia Motorsports service dept. in CT?
The Service Manager last year was terrific. Great follow-up, proactive, and generally easy to work with. I took delivery several weeks ago on my 2014 RTL and have been waiting for the trailer hitch to come in before I could take delivery on the trailer. Met the new Service Manager Bob. He seemed very knowledgeable and personable. In a past life he was a motorcycle mechanic instructor. We hit it off well.

Received a call a few weeks ago that the trailer hitch was in but I decided to wait until the weather was a little warmer to take the new ryde in for the hitch installation and to take the trailer home. Bob said it was really quick and I'd be able to wait.

Called today to make an appointment and was told that Bob is no longer with them. A gentleman named Devon is now in the service area. I got the impression he's alone. Spoke to him and he asked if I could call next Wed. for an appointment and if I could leave the RTL as he's never installed a trailer hitch and needs to figure it out. Boy....I'm not feeling the warm and fuzzies here. :shocked:

Anyone know what's going on over there? Seems like their service dept. turns around every year(?) :dontknow:
 
The trailer hitch is a very easy install. The harness is a bit tricky. Just need to make sure it is secured so it doesn't rub the tire as some have.

Id say if the tech isn't "blindly comfortable" in doing a hitch,,,, that I would run away from that dealer quickly.

By "blindly comfortable" I mean that ANY competent tech with decent skills should look at that job as a no-brainier. There should be no hesitation on their part in doing a hitch, unless they aren't very confident in their abilities. Maybe I'm being harsh, but I expect more from a dealer tech.
 
SteveMac said:
The trailer hitch is a very easy install. The harness is a bit tricky. Just need to make sure it is secured so it doesn't rub the tire as some have.

Id say if the tech isn't "blindly comfortable" in doing a hitch,,,, that I would run away from that dealer quickly.

By "blindly comfortable" I mean that ANY competent tech with decent skills should look at that job as a no-brainier. There should be no hesitation on their part in doing a hitch, unless they aren't very confident in their abilities. Maybe I'm being harsh, but I expect more from a dealer tech.
Click to expand...


:agree: (and i am not an agreeable person :roflblack:)

Cruzr joe
 
Sounds like when I called my selling dealer about the 2013-9 and got asked if my Spyder had a carb or fuel injection. The tech/manager I had helped train ( via SL input) was no longer there.:yikes: I said " You must not know much about Spyders do you?" and his reply was " Hey you work with me and I will work with you ". I think not :banghead:. Another SL member went there while down here from NY and he asked if they had certified techs they said yes. He asked to see their training certificates and they told him if he didn't like it he could go elsewhere and he did ( to the dealer I suggested) and the found all kinds of stuff wrong with his bike including oil leaks. Her was using a Qt. every 1k.
 
I would call Land N, Sea Marine in Waterbury if you are anywhere in the vicinity, They have 3 Trained People in the service department and Sell just about everything BRP makes!! Ask for Bob as their in between seasons right now and its a good time to get things done. Ask for Bob and tell him Sarge referred you!
 
23_33_15.gif
Please let us know how this all works out; Good Luck! :thumbup:
 
Sarge707 said:
I would call Land N, Sea Marine in Waterbury if you are anywhere in the vicinity, They have 3 Trained People in the service department and Sell just about everything BRP makes!! Ask for Bob as their in between seasons right now and its a good time to get things done. Ask for Bob and tell him Sarge referred you!
Click to expand...

Thanks Sarge...I just might do that. I'm kind of stuck now though. They have my trailer in a crate and the hitch needs to be installed. I guess I let them install the hitch, hope for the best for now, and move on to Land 'N Sea if needed. I went with Columbia in the first place in part because of the great guy they had last year and was pretty confident in Bob this year. But now.....
 
It is quite scarry when we hear about the Spyder mechanic of the month at a lot of dealers. Many of these new mechanics are turned loose on our beloved machines and they have never worked on them before.

I experienced one that did my valve job and did not replace gaskets that were needed. This caused an oil leak. They had to re-do the job to make it right.

I do feel for the dealers also. If they spend the money to train a tech in Spyderology, there is no guarantee that they are going to stay around for years and years. Heck, a year is good sometimes. Most dealers do not sell enough :spyder2:'s to keep a fully trained staff busy.

It seems like a Catch 22 situation to me.

I guess that I could add, when you find a good dealer, patronize them, and support them.
 
Last edited:
:roflblack:
I'll tell them you said that... :shocked:
:D

Serously; the parts guy is "Fran"; one helluva nice guy to visit with.
My Service guy: Aaron... :bowdown: MAD skills, on these bikes! :thumbup:
 
My spyder just came in today at Columbia. Pickup planned for Monday. I hope I don't have any problems with them putting it together.

I sent you a PM.

Good luck to us both.
 
You also have Stanford Motorsports in ... Well Stanford of course, very knowledgeable techs, will install your hitch while you wait.

Harry
 
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