Good News and Bad

[bvail]

Good news first: There are two open PDP slots at my Yamaha dealer here in Denver. Plus, according to what I've read, deliveries should take place earlier than expected.

Bad news (I guess): Is that one of the PDP slots is mine. I have decided for several reasons that even though the S10 appears to be almost a perfect all around bike, I'm going to opt out for now. The waiting is not a big factor in this decision.

More good news: Is that even though the fine folks at Coyote Motorsports refunded my PDP deposit w/o any arguement, they said they would keep me in line and give me a call when the bike arrived, in case I changed my mind. I doubt if I will, but sometime down the road, I might just go for a previously owned. In the meantime I will be following the exploits of the Super Ten crowd here.

If anyone is interested in jumping in on one of the two available PDPs, here is their address: http://www.coyotemotorsports.com/ and the sales manager is Dave Wagner.

To make up for my 'loss' I'm riding the Wing out to Georgia for a 'full monty' suspension makeover at Traxxion Dynamics and then road test on the Dragon, etc.

 

[Koinz]

Sorry to hear you were opting out. Interesting that the dealer would keep the order active. I guess he figures he'll sell it either way.

 

[bvail]

Dealer pre-ordered 5 bikes under his name(s) and offered me one of the numbers. That is how I obtained a relatively low PDP number. I doubt that he would have a problem selling the two that are hanging out there. The five that he ordered were most likely going on the showroom floor, but I don't really know, just guessing.

I mainly looked at how much money I would spend on the bike, accessories, license, insurance, etc. for the limited time I have available to ride and the 'return on investment'.

 

[trinc4me]

bvail,

Traxxion Dynamics are good folks to deal with. They did the suspension on my '07 Honda CBR. Have a great trip out to see them, and testing on the dragon. Lots of good roads around there to test ride on !

 

[bvail]

bvail,

Traxxion Dynamics are good folks to deal with. They did the suspension on my '07 Honda CBR. Have a great trip out to see them, and testing on the dragon. Lots of good roads around there to test ride on !

Been out there a couple of times, rode the Dragon once on the Wing. Looking forward to a repeat visit as there are so many great roads in the southeast.

 

[Kidder]

No worries, bvail. Good luck on whatever you may choose.

Let us know what that is. I'm always interested in other riders views of other motorcycles.

 

[bvail]

No worries, bvail. Good luck on whatever you may choose.

Let us know what that is. I'm always interested in other riders views of other motorcycles.

Thank you, I liked my V-Strom for what it was, love the GL1800 (except for the heat - a lot like the FJR1300 in the heat department) but if I get another bike, it will be the Super Ten for sure.

 

[colorider]

Thanks for the heads-up Bob and good luck with whatever you decide on later on!!!

 

[GP]

Still waiting for some coherent word on when these bikes will be delivered. I don't mind waiting, but these guys have had my $500 since Nov and lack of communicationis pretty much inexcusable. Right now it's the June thru Nov window. Suspense is nice, but the honeymoon is about over, so YAMAHA US - step up and give us some info. I understand the various crises and I see maintaining my order as a good thing economically for Yam, but let's get professional and provide some real dates. thanks

 

[fredz43]

Still waiting for some coherent word on when these bikes will be delivered. I don't mind waiting, but these guys have had my $500 since Nov and lack of communicationis pretty much inexcusable. Right now it's the June thru Nov window. Suspense is nice, but the honeymoon is about over, so YAMAHA US - step up and give us some info. I understand the various crises and I see maintaining my order as a good thing economically for Yam, but let's get professional and provide some real dates. thanks

So you didn't see this week's announcement that all USA orders will be delivered by August 31?

 

[GP]

ah thanks - a glimmer of light on the mushroom here - that is better news & pretty much logical as the vendor base had been spooled up to support Europe for quite some time - now I am wondering if deliveries will still start in June

 

[Brntrt]

Still waiting for some coherent word on when these bikes will be delivered. I don't mind waiting, but these guys have had my $500 since Nov and lack of communicationis pretty much inexcusable. Right now it's the June thru Nov window. Suspense is nice, but the honeymoon is about over, so YAMAHA US - step up and give us some info. I understand the various crises and I see maintaining my order as a good thing economically for Yam, but let's get professional and provide some real dates. thanks

Good things come to those who wait. Right now Yamaha is in the business of managing customer expectations. Would you be happy with them if they gave you a solid date then changed it because of some unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstance ? I'm certain that most Japanese manufactures have fewer control measures in place regarding supply chain issues than they are comfortable with. I'm amazed and pleased with the end of august dates.

 

[hANNAbONE]

I am amazed, yet once again, that we western folks have such a self-serving nature about us. A country is almost split in two by an earthquake like none other in recorded history
and some of us have our collective undies in a bunch.??...R E A L L Y..? This motorbike is THAT important...really?

I'd like to air drop folks like this in and let them fair for themselves a while and let them understand firsthand what the hell these folks are living over there.
Can we simply cool our own jets and let these vigorous people get there wits about them in time and then you'll get your precious motorbike.
SHEESH...some people never cease to amaze me with their callous and "all-about-me" sense of themselves.

The friggin' bike is coming....get that?? The friggin' bike is coming. So - either stay with the order or move to something else. Q U I T C O M P L A I N I N G..!!

 

[GP]

jeez hanna, I might have come off a bit self centered, but certainly not self righteous.......we're going to have to call in a specialist to talk you down off the soap box ???.

I'll be the first to admit I am a demanding customer and am simply a bit frustrated over a general lack of communication on what has been labeled a preferred program. I think web postings rather than sporadic letters would be better for such a program, and would act as a tool to whet the appetite of potential buyers.

I just bought a Yam in the fall & have stuck by my money down on the S10, so again, I'm letting my wallet do the talking when it comes to supporting the ecosystem. Short of being "air dropped" in, that is about the best I can do.

 

[Brntrt]

I am amazed, yet once again, that we western folks have such a self-serving nature about us. A country is almost split in two by an earthquake like none other in recorded history
and some of us have our collective undies in a bunch.??...R E A L L Y..? This motorbike is THAT important...really?

I'd like to air drop folks like this in and let them fair for themselves a while and let them understand firsthand what the hell these folks are living over there.
Can we simply cool our own jets and let these vigorous people get there wits about them in time and then you'll get your precious motorbike.
SHEESH...some people never cease to amaze me with their callous and "all-about-me" sense of themselves.

The friggin' bike is coming....get that?? The friggin' bike is coming. So - either stay with the order or move to something else. Q U I T C O M P L A I N I N G..!!

+1

 

[rem]

Well, I'll wade into the fray since I'm so far away and you guys probably won't spend the time or money to come up here and hurt me. Be advised I'm wearing my cup.


I think you both make valid points, in your own way. I think GP's point regarding communication has some merit. I can't really speak for you guys, but Yamaha Canada has been all but totally silent about all this. Assuming they are going to try to pull a Phoenix thing out of all this devastation and continue to be a major player in manufacturing and sales, the best and cheapest thing they can do is communicate. Whatever they know, be it good or bad. If they don't know anything yet, then communicate that. That's a reasonable request I think.


hbone in his own shy way also makes a valid point. Indeed, the bike will get here when it gets here. But a lot of guys apparently sold their only bike in anticipation of an early summer delivery of the Tenere. Clearly, this isn't going to happen. But some good information will allow for an informed decision regarding whether to wait or go ahead and pick up something else. Fair enough. I sympathize. I have another bike or I'd probably be feeling a tad cranky right now as well.


So I want you boys to play nice from here on out, and we'll all be Tenere'd up before much longer it looks like.


If the Canadian bikes come in first, I'll send mine down to the U. S. and you guys can decide how to ..... YEAH, RIGHT !!!!!!!!! KILLING ME >>>>>>>


Sorry ...... sometimes these things just sort of slip out of me. OK, I think I'll have a beer. You guys have one on me. R

 

[GP]

good thoughts rem

So I went to the YAM website to surf and they had a pop-up survey on the site asking if I found what I was looking for and how they might improve the site. I recommended they create a portal for PDP customers. The idea would be for them to send PDP people a thank you letter (or email) acknowledging your order, providing an order/tracking/unit number, and a website address that you could log into and track your unit. If the portal is not that intelligent/interactive, a broadcast system could be used instead.

I am sure I don't have a complete picture of the logistics of importing and distributing bikes in the region (any input on this would be appreciated), but it would seem to me that the process above would be less resource demanding than sending out multiple letters and having dealers answer multiple inquiries.

When I was at Laguna last year for MotoGP, I went to the Yamaha tent, roped in 2 or 3 of the reps and asked if they were taking plugs for getting the S10 to North America. When they said yes, I said bring it and I will buy it - so they obviously are responsive to customer feedback. When I see them again this July, I will make a point of expressing my PDP communications opinion as a loyal customer with hope that they might improve their system for future PDP sessions. No telling if I will participate in another PDP, but odds are I will given my buying & selling rate and my preference for Yam's products.

 

[shuhite]

Lets see here now.......... I discover the super tenere February 1........ I order tenere Feruary 19............. earthquake kills thousands of people...........nuclear melt down..........

thousands of people die............they delay tenere until November..........they offer to give my deposit back........... thousands of people dead...........they are 29 days(today) late on delivery

they move delivery to August...........if only I had ordered in September so I could be pissed off.....................but I'm not........................................................Shuhite

 

[GP]

when it happened a number of people in the industry said the best thing we could do beyond contributing to Red Cross etc was buy stock - Honda for instance

In addition to the donation, I think buying Japanese goods is likely better - to provide jobs & cash going forward

 

[Brntrt]

There is an assumption that Yamaha has complete control over the manufacture of the motorcycle. Not the case, there are hundreds of vendors who manufacture parts for the assembly of the bike. If a part vendor of a key piece was completely wiped out how would the manufacture or anyone for that matter be able to predict final assembly or delivery of the finished product. Imagine suppliers who lost inventory, plants, administration, and people. Under the circumstances I find August delivery a miracle. Could Yamaha USA handled communications better? Yeah maybe, but no information is sometimes better than missinformation.