Should I be pissed?

[Dallara]

Here's a message a Yamaha dealer just got off the YDS Yamaha dealer website:



"2006 FJR1300 Priority Delivery Program

The 2006 FJR1300 Priority Delivery Program will begin shipping in April.
Our records indicate that your dealership had an Estimated Month of Delivery of
“March” for one or more units.
Initial shipments have been delayed approximately 3 weeks. We expect to begin
shipping units the week of April 10th.
You can view the status of your FJR1300 order on YDS under “Sales” “Orders in
Process” and “Future Order Delivery Status”.
Please accept our apologies for the delay."


Should I be pissed? :013:

Yamaha promised the damn things for a March delivery, and now those units only start going out April 10th - MAYBE.The poor dealers aren't at fault, but they are taking the heat for it unfortunately. What;s really weird is this is the fourth straight year that Yamaha has been late delivering FJR's. Right from the very first model year for 'em - 2003 - the bikes have been late getting to the USA. What's even weirder is that they have been delivering 2006 FJR1300's to Europe for nearly a month now!

I had a rather heated exchange with Yamaha's "Customer Service" department last Thursday (March 16th) but got absolutely nowhere. For one, the guy I got on the phone - "Brian" - was dumber than a bucket of hair, and two, he really didn't seem to have the slightest desire to be helpful. I have to admit this does not bolster my confidence in Yamaha corporate, though I have the greatest respect and admiration for my local Yammie dealer.

Now, wanna' hear the weird part?

According to Yamaha the delay on the bikes is because all the initial USA bound FJR1300A's, which are all Cobalt Blue, are actually here in the USA... But they got shipped with RED bag lids!!! :104:

Apparently Yamaha sources the bags from China or Malaysia (I can't remember which) for all the FJR's in all their various colors. When the bags come into Yamaha Japan they are wrapped in paper to avoid scratches and are then packed with the bikes in the crates. Evidently some bozo either mismarked the bag color on the container from the supplier, or some equally stupid morons in Japan packed the wrong color bags with the USA bound bikes! Yamaha is supposedly having to open every USA FJR crate, pull the red bags, and wait for the proper blue ones to get here so they can be put in the crates and then the bikes shipped... How stupid is that?

It is not unprecedented, however... Apparently the first 2003 FJR's were shipped WITHOUT bags because the supplier was late in producing them. The bags were later shipped to the customers after they took delivery.

Man, you would think they would have this all figured out by now. So much for "Just in Time" delivery! :110:

I really was hoping to have the damn thing here in time for the April Hill Country ride so I could haul it and my R1150R up there and sort of "comparison test" them in the twisties, but it looks like that's only a fantasy now... Worst part is that due to circumstances beyond my control I may not get to ride it for more than a week or so when it gets here, and then not ride it again until at least July or August. Damn! :unlove:

Yamaha, I love your products, and I love your race teams, but when it comes to your silly ass "Priority Delvery Program" all I can say is :097: !!!

So would any of you guys be pissed off at this turn of events?

Off to a meeting now...

Cheers!

Allan (Dallara - NACD)

[Road Dog]

Like you said every year the delivery has never been on time, so why are you surprised? Getting pissed off won't help anything. Just call your dealer and remind him you ordered yours with red bag lids.:044:

Hey, I'm not doing anything in June, I'll break it in for you.

[BobFV1]

According to Yamaha the delay on the bikes is because all the initial USA bound FJR1300A's, which are all Cobalt Blue, are actually here in the USA... But they got shipped with RED bag lids!!! :104:

Apparently Yamaha sources the bags from China or Malaysia (I can't remember which) for all the FJR's in all their various colors. When the bags come into Yamaha Japan they are wrapped in paper to avoid scratches and are then packed with the bikes in the crates. Evidently some bozo either mismarked the bag color on the container from the supplier, or some equally stupid morons in Japan packed the wrong color bags with the USA bound bikes! Yamaha is supposedly having to open every USA FJR crate, pull the red bags, and wait for the proper blue ones to get here so they can be put in the crates and then the bikes shipped... How stupid is that?

That goes beyond STUPID to COMPLETELY RETARDED. I feel for you, Brother Allan. Unfortunately, getting too upset won't solve the problem, but I would be disappointed too. I would start looking at alternatives (K12S).

[Tipstall]

It could even get him banned.

Allan, that is a bummer but beyond your control. I wouldn't let it bother you.

Ken


Unfortunately, getting too upset won't solve the problem, but I would be disappointed too.

[supermotoC]

I say we ban him now, and get it over with. I mean, he expects people/companies to actually do what they say they're going to do!! I mean, c'mon, does he think we're in a buyer's market?

Of course, all in jest, but I think being pissed is a waste of good energy, and will amount to you just being........ pissed.

Maybe that 950 Supermoto needs a test ride?

SNAFUs (like this one by Yamaha) happen all the time, and no one seems immune. With as much $$$ as Yamaha makes (and spends) to make great products (from 9' grand pianos to minibikes), you'd think they would pay the QC people a little more. This tells me that the suppliers (China/Malaysia/Taiwan) are not up to Japanese quality control (yet).
I am sure this is most frustrating, because I'm ALSO sure the FJR is going to be a very nice beast.

[Sir Limpsalot]

I think the real question here is :- So which country got all the red FJR's with the blue lids??
I think they're pulling your chain dude. To aviod telling you the truth ie. they couldn't find a bottle of beer in a brewery, they've invented the most implausible excuse they could come up with that can be blamed on someone else.
One thing that really does puzzle me though is the apparent high demand, over there, for what is a slow seller, over here. Obviously our two great nations look at their Motorcycling through different ends of the same telescope.
Patience is a virtue Allan, as you're being forced to find out!
Hang in there, I'm sure it will be all the more worthwhile when you finally get there.
Cheers, Si

[jamais]

Why not let buyers have the bikes ala red lids. They can always get the blue lids when the dealer gets them in stock. If buyers don't want the bike with red lids then they can wait until the blue lids arrive.

I just don't see a valid reason to delay delivery except for Yamaha's hubris.

[socalrob]

I understand they have to ship the blue bikes back to Cambodia where they will make the lid exchange. The bikes, with the correct color lids, will then be shipped to Sweden to verify the bag color, at which time they will be shipped to Japan to have the correct barcode attached. Only then may they legally be shipped into the US. Projected actual US delivery is slated to begin in August, 2007.:)

Hang tough Dallara, you could be dealing with BMW.

[arkline]

Don't forget the EPA impact statement and inspection. We want low emissions on those lids....

[rider]

When I bought mine about a year and a half ago, they were supposedly in short supply but if you called around there were plenty of dealers who had bought them in their employee's, etc. names. I happened to get one when a buyer (also known as "waiters" on the FJR forum) backed out. I find it incredible that Yamaha is still using the screwed up system of "waiters".

But the bike was awesome! You're gonna love it!

Ed

[Bones]

Allan,
No, here is when you get pissed:
When you are driving to work next week, pull up to a stop light and look over to your right. You see a Cobalt Blue '06 FJR with someone ELSE sitting on it, waiting for the light to turn green. THEN you get pissed.

Jeff

[Tipstall]

Just for the record, I'm in manufacturing and the stories I hear from other engineers about the sxxx coming out of some countries, (China), is amazing. They are always forced to accept junk by management because a replace would take too long.

We tell them we have a 5 week lead-time for a part that has been in production for a year. We call/email them saying how is your stock? Than we get a phone call, "We need parts fast, can you ship next week?" I'm amazed they can build anything.

Rant over.

Ken

[Dallara]

It may be "tiresome and pointless" to even mention this, but...

NOW I'M REALLY PISSED!!!

Had to run by my local Kawasaki/Yamaha dealer to day and get a new state inspection sticker for the R1150R. While I was there I thought I would check on when my 2006 Yamaha FJR-1300 might arrive... My dealer buddy and I got on the speakerphone and gave Yamaha a call about when it would ship... Last word we had was it would ship on April 10th... Nice lady gets on the line and we give her all the pertinent order date, dealer number, etc. info so she can look up where mine is in line...

She comes back and says there has been some additional delays and that instead of my bike shipping on April 10th...

THE DAMN THING WON'T SHIP FROM CALIFORNIA UNTIL APRIL 17th!!!

Man, was I HOT! Even my dealer buddy was pissed off. We both proceeded to read this poor lady the riot act, but to no avail. All she would say is that Yamaha would do everything they could to try and ship it out as early as possible, but that's all she could say... The dealer asked to speak to someone further up the food chain, and the lady went away a minute or two only to come back and say the head guy wasn't there.

But then the REAL kicker... My dealer asked if my bike was actually *in* the warehouse. To this the woman answered "YES..."

Now the real fun started... My dealer blew up and asked if it was actually in the warehouse then why couldn't they ship it. Her reply was she really didn't know but that my bike was scheduled to ship April 17th and that's all she could tell us, period.

Funny, I really wanted the new FJR-1300 to be here in time for the Hill Country Ride... mainly so I could take it and the R1150R up there and ride 'em both on the same roads on the same weekend and see how they compared. Now, if normal shipping time, etc. holds true, then the bike will get here a day or two AFTER I get back from the Hill Country Ride!

:076: :019: :076: :096: :076: :013: :076: :092: :076: :098: :076: :092: :076: :013: :076: :096: :076: :019: :076:

Damn you, Yamaha! I give you a deposit 6 months ago for a bike you tell me will be delivered in March, and the best you can do is get it here a month late... Geez! To say I am frustrated, angry, and disappointed would be a gross understatement...

To you, Yamaha, I say :097: :097: :097: :097: :097: :097:

Your timing SUCKS!

Okay... Rant over... I feel better now! :037:

Cheers!

Allan (Dallara - NACD)

[socalrob]

Guess that goes to show that you should really be living in sunny California!

Maybe Yami would pay you airfare here to pick it up & ride it home?

[DJ Down Under]

Allan...why don't you tell us what you really think...:003:

DJ

[jamais]

Corporate promises, don't get me started.:013:

[Bones]

Allan,
Boy, I can't imagine how you would feel if you had ordered a Harley Dyna Superglide Custom. A buddy here did and was told that they have sold out of the allotment for the year '06...and this was in February. That doesn't mean he can't get one, but he can't order one exactly how he wanted it. He has to find one at a dealer that has one on the floor.

I understand your frustration, but I can't say I am all that surprized. I only say that because up in these parts, the FJR's have always been very hard to get ahold of new. I just thought Yamaha restricted the number of them they sold and shipped limited numbers even to larger dealers. Maybe I am wrong.

At least you get to ride most of the year. Up here it is SNOWING TODAY!!!

Keep us posted. I hope to see some pics of you on the bike soon.

Jeff

[Arby]

Dallara

Man, I tought that bike was in your garage already. I don't blame you for being pissed. But , I'm thinking, disapointed is more the case.
Sorry they let you down.

Bob

[Dallara]

Don't I wish, Bob...

Back in October, when I put up the deposit for the thing, Yamaha stated quite clearly on their dealer web sight that FJR's ordered under that period (very early October) would be DELIVERED in March. It didn't say "tentatively March" or "projected for March" or anything like that... Nope, it simply said March.

I even had my dealer buddy print out that page for me. At the time it looked like I was the 90th person in the USA to order a 2006 FJR-1300-AVL...

Fast forward to when I called Yamaha last month, and they tell me that my name isn't even on one and that all my dealer's FJR's are scheduled for delivery in April. My dealer gets pissed and gets Yamaha on the horn and verifies that I am, indeed, in the system with an FJR... At that time Yamaha profusely apologizes and says there is a three week delay and my bike will ship April 10th from California. Typical shipping time from Cal to Tex for my dealer is 3 to 5 days... So we figure it will be here by April 15th.

Then yesterday I am in my dealer's shop for a state inspection sticker for the BMW and while my dealer and I are chatting we decide to check on the status of my FJR, primarily so I could perhaps get a VIN so I could get the insurance ball rolling... The computer shows no shipping status so he decides to get 'em on the phone. That's when they say the bike won't ship until April 17th but they cannot explain why. They even admit that the bike is in the California warehouse, yet they can't give me a VIN and they won't expedite the shipping because, well... "They just can't..."

Now, IF they ship it by the 17th it will probably arrive here on either the 21st while I am in Kerrville or Monday the 24th when I get home, and maybe as late as Tuesday the 25th (my dealer says his shipments hit mostly on Friday's and Tuesday's with the trucking company he uses).

When I put the deposit on the damn thing I expressed that I wanted it here before April because I knew I was planning this ride for April 2006. Well, Yamaha's timing couldn't be more screwed up in my mind.

Of course, it could be worse... Some guys aren't scheduled to get their 2006 FJR-1300-A's until May and June, and the guys that bought the AE's (electronic shift) aren't due their bikes until at least late June and on into July and August... Now all this is royally screwed up if you ask me.

Why?

Here's two bikes they don't have to build until they know EXACTLY how many they need to produce, and each of them only has to be built in one color for the USA. According to my dealer, given the average number of FJR's sold in the USA each year there should be about 4500 USA models, both A and AE, produced in 2006. From what he tells me that is about a week's line production time... In other words, all 4500 could be pumped out the assembly line in a week or so...

So why does the delivery get drawn out over 5 months or so?

Doesn't make sense...

Oh, well... Sorry. I'm rambling and ranting... Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Cheers!

Allan (Dallara - NACD)