What the xxxx is going on at the C-dale? I just got my Moto on Tuesday- brought it home and before doing anything else spent an hour checking and tighting all the fasteners, there were several loose ones then eased it over to the track to break it in perfectly by the book, because I wanted to be ready for the races this week-end a two days of races! After breaking it in, brought it home to the shop and changed oil and trany fluids. It was then I noticed that something did't look quite right by the rear break/sprocket. Then I finally figured out that guard for the rear disk was't there- at first I thought perhaps Moto did't come with one but upon further inspection found the bracket for the guard on the swingarm and besides there was a guard for the rear sprocket. My first thought was I'd look on my Cannibal to see if there was one on it, but then I realized that it was at the dealer's for the past two weeks because it was't running and the dealer and the Cannondale has been holding each others hands and whispering sweet nothings to each others ears while I've been picking my nose and scratching my rear wondering when I'm going to get it back. Anyhow, next day went back to the dealer and had them order the missing parts asap.
Yesterday and today I spent quite a bit of time getting used to the Moto and to dial-in the suspension for the races. This machine is very quick and well handling I especially like the Ohlins steering damper it really helps a lot. I was jumping doubles, triples and table tops and it felt real good. But as I was taking off a lip of a double the machine stalled- talk about a heart stopper I did a beautiful nose dive into the face of the second jump. I was very lucky that I managed to hang on and not go *** over heels over the bars. The machine started right up without any problems. After riding around a bit more I rode it home because I was pretty sore. But on the way back home it stalled again and started up again without any problem. Now this is where I'm unhappy with the machine/C-dale, I know that there were problems with stalling in the past and that C-dale had a bulletin on how to fix it but with this machine being brand new I'd have thought that all the fixes were done to it but evidently not. When I bought my two machines I realize that they were going to take more care and maintenance but these problems are not maintenance related it is purely a lousy quality control/inspection/proceedural problems. I'm not happy and not impressed. I hope that C-dale will get all their act together and get it right soon for their sake (and mine) because everything being equal if I had a choice between C-dale and Honda, I'd get Honda in a heart beat. The only saving grace for C-dale is that they have the whole show all to themselves for now. I hope they use their time profitably.

ec

 

CornDog,is that you?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Just joking man. Why don't you take it back to the dealer and say- HUG MY NUTS!! I mean say fix it b!tches because it is under warranty,right?

 

That's totally unacceptable!! You're dealer whether they charge you for dealer prep or not should have checked for all loose nuts/bolts and also noticed anything missing on the quad. Cannondale knows the Moto is bought for serious MX racing and a rider can be seriously injured if the quad stalls going into a jump. I know you are anxious to compete this weekend but your safety should be top priority and it should be to Cannondale as well. I'd take it back to your dealer and explain you didn't spend over 20 grand for 2 quads that have problems and ask what they/Cannondale are going to do about it.

BTW, what's the deal with the Cannibal? Sounds like it's about time for Cannondale to ship you a new Cannibal if the dealer can't fix it, been down this road before!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

Crashed- you expect to much in this day and time. Quality is replaced with quanity and the lowest bidder. It is not only cannondale.
Why do we pay list price for these toys, and the shops hire morons to do the work?

 

You'll get loose bolts on any new quad you buy, standard procedure on any new quad should be to disassemble it, grease it, loctite it. It shouldn't be that way, but it is, dirtbike guys have been doing this for years on all brands, quads are no different.

The dealer doesn't assemble the quad, so it's not really a dealer prep item unless they charged you an assembly fee.

As far as the rear skid plate goes, they both (cannibal and moto) use the same swingarm, so the brackets are going to be there. I believe the sprocket side is there because of the chain guide - I don't believe the moto comes with a skidplate like the Cannibal because it wasn't made to be out in the rocks, but on a groomed MX course and already has low ground clearance due to the 18" tires.

Check to see if your Moto has all the anti stalling updates. Personally I haven't had any stalling trouble out of my Cannibal that weren't caused by me. Just because your Moto is "new" doesn't mean it wasn't sitting in some warehouse somewhere for a few months -- you should have your dealer insure that all the updates have been performed before complaining.

In reality, the dealer should have checked this before letting you out the door with the quad, but we all know how dealers are...

It really seems that your complaints are pretty minor except for the near crash (which probably could have been averted by the dealer doing his job), basically you're complaining about some loose bolts and a skid plate you don't even know for sure that it's supposed to have - loose bolts are nothing to get the panties in a wad about. Buy a tube of loctite, crank up the music and spend an hour or two in the garage with some brew getting to know your machine a little better.

As for getting a Honda instead of a Cannondale because of these minor complaints -- the stock skid plate on my 400EX isn't worth having. My 400EX rattled out far more bolts than my C-Dale has & continues to have more engine vibration (I've got all the bolts loctite'd now), and my 400EX has stalled at the face of a double before almost causing a crash as well (my aftermarket shocks saved me that day). Seems like you're picking nits....

 

After spending $12,500 for a race ready quad I'd be picking nits too!!!

 

I've seen a lot worse problems out of equipment that costs a lot more....

 

Whether a dealer charges a dealer prep fee or not, the least they should do is go completely over the quad and make sure everything is greased/oiled/bolts tightened and that all updates have been performed before that quad goes out the door. It shouldn't be the consumer's responsibility to make sure the dealer has performed all the "updates" that Cannondale has issued for this quad!! If you are somewhat new to the C'dale quads, you probably aren't even going to be aware of these updates so how in the hell are you to ensure the dealer has performed them??? If your dealer can't perform these simple steps, they simply add no value at all to the product and this needs to be relayed back to Cannondale.

 

Whether a dealer charges a dealer prep fee or not, the least they should do is go completely over the quad and make sure
everything is greased/oiled/bolts tightened and that all updates have been performed before that quad goes out the door.

They should, but we all know how dealers work and the vast majority uncrate them, wash them, check the oil, and send them out the door.

That's pretty much what I expect anymore - however, if I had to pay "setup charges" like some dealers charge, I'd sure as heck raise some cane if they didn't really do any real setup work.

Complaining about Cannondale because of this isn't really fair though - it's more of a dealer issue. All brands have crappy dealers, just the way it is.

As far as the updates go, sure the dealer *should* perform them whenever they get a new quad in. The uneducated consumer isn't going to know - but if you do know that updates are out there, it *IS* *YOUR* responsibility to make sure the dealer has performed them - it's as simple as asking - sure the dealer may lie, nothing you can do about that other than avoid purchasing from them again.

Again, this isn't the way it should be, but we all live in the real world and this is how it is.

I know your thoughts on the dealers, Brian, and they're the same as my feelings as well. The only purpose a dealer has to me is as a middle man to delivering my product.

That's not the way it's supposed to be either, but again, we live in the real world and it's sad that in many cases, the consumer knows more about the product than the dealer that is selling and servicing it.

You're not going to change the distrubtion to factory direct (I know that's what you're getting at), so relaying the info back to C-Dale like you suggest is going to do little good unless you have a particularly bad dealer you wish to report.

 

One thing I wish Cannondale would start doing is sending out surveys to all who have purchased their products, that would be one good way to get them some good feedback on their products and especially their dealers. I know there are good and bad dealers out there but unless Cannondale is aware of issues with some of them, they won't know to fix the problems.

1986atc250r, you bring up good logical points!! Isn't it great to have mature dialogue on issues without CornDog chiming in with his immature dribble!!