DOA: I'm happy with the service and the staff at Freedom, my experince has been quite pleasent. I don't know about pricing on bikes there because I had mine 650 paid for before they opened but no matter if the freight is in the price or not you're going to pay for it one way or another, I guess Freedom feels it sounds better with a lower price plus frieght, as far as I know they are competive and not a ripoff establishment, (mine POV and no I'm not going to dealer bash because it's not my style but I would have to say convience and location plays a big role in where I take my machine for service). If I felt I was better off traveling I would, I did that... been there... Before Freedom I use to travel 4 hours per trip every week/ two weeks on average and you don't want to know my gas bill for that, (not to mention my time that I could have been working). It doesn't sound like much but 2 hours every friday and sunday night adds up and it doesn't take long before people start laughing about it. Also BTW would recommend Bridgewater, Truro, Coldbrook, Yarmouth too but Coldbrook would be where I would go because of my history with Kevin is so good so I would say we are very lucky to have these dealers here.

Scotia: I've been on kawi R&D side for quite a bit but unfortunaly I'm not being paid for it, but I am being help out on the life of the machine for most parts. I have a R&D clutch in mine right now. As for tourture test I feel Alltoys can do that, I can do the durabily testing... Yes I hope to see improvements that Kawi gets from my machine so I will see that on my future bike, and if it's on that well it should cost me less in the real long run. As far as I know all on this job was just normal wear and I know normal wear is something that's very hard for Kawi to cover. I also should include that the expenses that Kawi is paying for is being covered with goodwill not ext. warrenty.

 

Jason check your PM.
Steve you've made some good points.

 

Hey Guys and Girls,
My name is Eric Stanley and I am the owner operator of Freedom Cycle Inc in Halifax Nova Scotia. Reading this thread has upset me more than a little as I'm sure most of you can understand. I'm going to try and set the record straight.

1) Mr DOA. I don't know who you are or who is paying you to slander us online. I'm sure if you had of brought us a competitors quote we would have matched it (including the freight and PDI charge). I'm convinced of this because we do it everyday. I don't appreciate the cander with which you've spoken to the forum about us. If you have a legitmate concern come in and we'll sort it out , don't tell the world something about us just because you may just not understand.

2) Kawasaki dictates what is warranty and what is not, it is not the dealer. Kawasaki has had a problem with more than one of their customer service reps and I'm all too aware of that comment. It's a scapegoat when that customer service person is unwilling to help( blame it on the dealer, dumb but true). We give Kawasaki our advice and they make their decisions. I'm sure Jason will attest to the fact that we bend over backwards for any customer, not just people who purchased their machine from us. Jason will also tell you I'm sure that he has been lent my demo unit on many occasions when his bike was in for service or repair.

3) If you question whether Kawasaki's GTP Plan is worth the money I could post all of Jason's warranty claims on this forum that occurred during his original warranty period followed by the ones that occured afterward. I think you'd find the GTP Plan is well worth the money. Kawasaki has been fair with Jason's claim. The bike hasn't been abused per se, but I certainly would not call it babied either. Jason is and has been diligent with his services.

4) Goodwill warranties do exist. Such would be the case with Kawasaki's partial coverage of Jason's repair. We discovered NO defects inside this engine. It wore out the top end plain and simple. Kawasaki Canada told us directly that the cylinders were not boreable and that no oversize pistons could be ordered. We have Jason to thank for that information. We as a Kawasaki dealer believe what Kawasaki tells us about the machines. My apologies to you Jason this time they were wrong.

If you ever have questions about something that we have told you or concerns about our service please contact Eric at Freedom Cycle in Hfx. (902) 450 0940. I'll certainly try to help.

 

This thread is starting to take on a new twist. Since I have contributed to this thread and after reviewing my post I am assuming that some of the points I made may have contributed to your being 'upset', my apologizes if this is the case. I won't speak for DOA, but some people have a tendacy to to speak out without fully backing up what their saying, on the other hand. You state, "we bend over backwards for any customer, not just people who purchased their machine from us". I purchased my machine from another dealer in the province, yet each time I come into your store and approach the parts desk, I have to ask for help from a certain member of your staff, (no names, perhaps a chit chat and reminder as to who makes it possible for you all to pay your bills, the CUSTOMER) each time I am asked "did you buy your bike here?" I have always found this question odd, now more so since you state it doesn't matter where a customer has bought their machine. I have spent over the last 6-7 months, close to $1000.00 at your store, probably not alot in your eyes, but in mine it is. I have left the store feeling somewhat pissed by being rushed in my purchases, or my questions, as though I am imposing on this person's time. Anyways, I don't know what experieneces DOA has had with you, but those are mine, and I don't mind sharing for all to see.

Since Jason first informed us all about his problem, some of us were concerned about this, myself included, Is this what we have to look forward to, apparently so. On two occassions I questioned your staff about Jason's machine and was told in no uncertain terms that the problem with his machine was, "owner abuse", I was expecting a more justifiable explanation. Your statement about how his machine was treated contradicts that of the people I spoke to, (no names, perhaps another chit chat about putting out erroneous information.) I am sure if he abused his machine you wouldn't be lending your demo unit out. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] good customer or not. To your credit I will say that I have had some positive experiences with some of your staff and found them helpful, except the service tech who told me to open my pilot screw approx. 3 turns, but didn't first tell me to start from the fully closed position. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Just kiddin, that was my fault, I am not to smart with working on my own machine and sometime I like to ask questions to learn. Anyways, since your here perhaps this can all be cleared up, sorry for not coming in to discuss this, but i shouldn't have to.

Would you be willing to elaborate a bit more on the problems that kawasaki has had with their service reps. and how it affects us, the customer and what is kawasaki and yourself, the owner, doing about it?
Thanks

 

Sorry Alltoys I didn't respond to your thread: basically it goes like this: on the rear cylinder the rings were ceased in the piston so Cloud at Kawi thought it would be a good gester to cover that piston and rings the cylinders which orginally we felt had to be replaced Kawi was not covering and I was going to pay for both cylinders. The front cylinder was just "wore out" and nothing else but I don't think it was out by much... I think I'm doing the front just because I'm in this deep. I wouldn't be happy if they covered yours and not mine LOL. If you see something in there that I can do to prolong the life of my top end let me know! BTW I would be very scared if you sat down with Mike Penland I think you would probably be hitting the 300 hp if you guys sat down for a week LOL Nice guy call him and chat... he would like that.

Blair:
Well when it comes to going to different dealers (which I tend to do from time to time) I have no problem with the question "did you buy the machine from us" infact normally I tell them, my POV is it isn't a big deal it's not like that dealership is going to tell me to leave the store... I'm not sure but I would say that dealers make more money on parts and service than on sales. I have seen some dealerships give a little extra discount to "prefered customers and people that buys the machines from them" but it's nothing big.... This could be the reason they ask you and not me because there isn't a Kawi dealer around here that doesn't know me.

Eric:
"GO GREEN ........ OR GO BLUE" Keep your blue gime green LOL I tried to be as clear as possible thanks for helping in some details that I might have not stressed enough on that are very important. I think you have some good points here but I can see what everyone is saying about this and I feel there's a lot of different POV on this warrenty. There is no question the ext warrenty shines in some components on the 650 but I feel clarifaction on the side of Kawi information will remove some surprises and remove all these issue like this thread. What I mean is not one person can understand my situation because they don't know the whole story/history. For an adverage rider they might feel that the engine is the only thing that warrenty should be good for and if that's their views it's hard to explain otherwise. I feel this has been quite a learning curve for all of us. As for Quote " but I certainly would not call it babied either" Come on Eric show me a scratch or a dent! LOL. You can honestly say it's not new and well used as for claims at what point do I meet a cost of new machine with my GTPP? I still think it's pretty cheap R&D for Kawi but no compaints there!

BTW to local ATVers I put a call into Iriene at Kawi in regards to the lack of communication between me and the local rep today, I'm not a guy to go at an other person but I felt I had to. If I hear from the local rep (which I put another call in this moring) I will keep you informed in his view points but I can say atleast Iriene is fully aware of what happend so if this issue comes up in the future Kawi can address it properly. The real thanks goes to Scott and Mike Penland.

PARTS ON ORDER!!!! YE HA hopefully no backorders....

 

"GO GREEN ........ OR GO BLUE"

I say go Honda RED... No warranty necessary!!

 

Kawi650,
Thanks for the reply I was curious about your rear cylinder there was some things that didn't add up and could still be puzzle. I have talked with Mike many times and he calls me the crazy canuck we laugh and then get down to business LOL. Once you have your machine back together I have some hints to make your longevity less catastrophic!!

 

That's one fast looking red honda ! And yes this 450 honda is my brother. Alltoys I'll send you some parts later and you can look at em.

 

Kawi650,
I have a home built hardness tester it would be interesting to see if the hardness is the same from front to back cylinder bores. Material failure might be a cause if this the case then Kawi should help there I wonder if they tested for this? I would also test the rings from front to back to see how brittle they are, wouldn't it be a hoot if they used different material in the rings causeing premature failure HMMMMmmmm? The rear cylinder is going to run hotter there is no getting away from this but there are things that can control heat and breaking down of oils. I rode Harleys for years and they run hot on the rear cylinder mostly because of the way they fire. The Kawi is very similiar. I use a tach that has pyrometer gauges to monitor temperature all the time when I ride. By adjusting my dial jets or air flow around the motor this helps with cooling but a pyro gauge is very helpfull to determine jetting, airscrew mixture to determine cooling effect. Something to think about.

 

Hahahahahahah- That's why I love Johnathan because he is quick to jump on Kawasaki Lol. Everytime I see him he is commenting on how he is here to "Get Jason's bike AGAIN" ...... pretty funny. I will have to remind him again how it as to work for Honda..... "Well... there is a recall on the TRX 350's for A-Arm cracking .... ohh and the TRX 450 swing Arm piviot bolt backing off problem." Other then that they make a great product!....... Just razzing boys. My point is that each product has it's little quirks. I've worked for all manufactures and they are all great........ competition is so high that they all make a great product. Some have different attitudes...... the 650 has an attitude and it does not need to be adjusted.... if it did you would have a TRX650. Think about that. The 650 is honestly the pinnacle of the sport utility. Nuff said.... I belive in it.
Bernman