Let me preface this post by saying I loved my Boardwalk. It is by far the best handling and most comfortable bike I've ever ridden - and I've owned a few. I instantly fell in love with its lines and it has been an absolute pleasure to ride (almost every day) since I picked it up from Victory Sydney late last year. My sad tale begins two weeks ago - the day before a big Victory rally - something I had been eagerly looking forward to so that I could meet some (very rare) fellow Victory riders. On that Friday, just as I was pulling into my space at work, a taxi pulled right out in front of me and sped off. I had two choices - hit the driver door or drop the bike. I wasn't going very fast so I chose to drop the bike. I laid it on its right side, snapped off a mirror and foot platform, dented the fuel tank with the big Boardwalk bars and scratched a load of bling. Nothing structural but $8k worth of strife! I rang my insurer who organised for the bike to be picked up and transported back to Victory Sydney within 2 hours. Given that my insurer is relatively new to bike insurance I was stoked when they managed to get an assessor to the bike within a couple of business days and an approval of the Victory quote that day. Whilst we waited for the assessor, Victory Sydney checked the bike over and catalogued everything that needed to be done. A couple of times before the assessor arrived I was reassured by the service department that they would get the ball rolling and get parts in. Quite early on I was told the repairs would probably have to be completed in 2 stages. The first stage would be to get the bike rideable and the second would be to order and wait for a replacement tank and bling to arrive. 2 weeks later I'm still waiting on Victory to put a program together. Given that the bike is my commute to work it's bloody frustrating. It's obvious to me now that Victory Australia don't hold many parts at all for the Boardwalk. Apparently it hasn't been possible to source a mirror or platform - the two main things I need to get the bike on the road again. I've called a few times - had lots of reassurance - just zero action. I've got a few mates with Harleys and have heard nothing but good reports about their parts and after sales support. I once spoke to a guy who had hit a kangaroo, dented everything possible, (and some things he didn't think were) and had his entire bike rebuilt within a week of it being assessed. Initially he was disappointed his insurer didn't write his bike off but as there wasn't any structural damage they repaired everything. The bike looked like brand new and the whole thing was done in a week. I can't even get Victory to confirm what is and isn't possible in two weeks. So here's the deal. I'm sure Victory will eventually get the parts together to repair the bike. It has less than 4k on it and it will look brand new once the bling is repaired. Unfortunately I've had enough and can't wait forever. I want out of this experience and want to be back on the road. If you're interested in a as new Boardwalk, with less than 4k on the clock, and are prepared to wait for the repairs to be done I'm prepared to sell the bike for what I owe the finance company (which is considerably less than what you'd expect the resell price to be given I put a big deposit on it) I'll even pay for the second service which is almost due. There are no words to describe how disappointed I am in Victory and how let down I feel but hopefully someone will look past that and appreciate a really good deal.
In the meantime I'm off to buy a brand I know I can rely on, a brand that has really proven itself in Australia and holds a solid inventory of parts onshore. I'm getting me a Softail !
Dont get to excited about Harley parts, i waited 6 weeks for a batwing fairing from USA!
Sorry mate but two weeks isn't that big a deal. I've seen insurance claims take way longer than that to proceed to repairs. And this has been with European cars which are common here but manufactured in europe where hard to come by parts are ordered from. Good luck to you in any event.
I guess the real reason why I'm so P.O.'d is that it's been 2 weeks and Victory haven't even given me a program yet. I don't really expect repairs to be done in a week or two weeks but surely in two weeks they could at least give me a rough ETA for parts to arrive so I could make some plans.
I'm really concerned they don't seem to hold basic stuff like mirrors - how many mirrors do you reckon get damaged each week through no fault of the rider?
The missus drives a rareish European built car, has ripped off a mirror and yet the part was available and fitted in a couple of days.
in two weeks I've had a couple of promises to sort out a program, I've always insisted contact and I get the impression that even after 2 weeks Victory still have no idea how long or where parts are coming from.
I'm pretty confident that Harley would have given me an ETA on parts by the time they had finished the quote if I had dropped a Softail. All the parts might not have been available immediately but I'm also confident I would at least had the basics like mirrors sorted so I could get back on the road whilst I waited for the bling to arrive.
Basically what I'm saying is the service is crap, parts are an unknown science and I really regret having anything to do with Victory Motorcycles Australia.
Hey Matman,
Harley are pretty good but it still took them more than 6 weeks to get an ABS sensor for my bike.
You might want to check with ACCC, but I believe the retailer is actually liable if they cannot provide parts for your bike (if purchased after Jan 2011) within a reasonable time frame. I don't necessarily agree with the law because it puts the onus on the retailer to carry a ridiculous amount of spare parts, or force them to put a supply contract in place with the importer/wholesaler, which just add extra cost to the items we buy. Anyway, just bring this to their attention and you may find they offer you a bit of extra compensation for the hassle. Perhaps at least a free loan bike for you to thrash in the meantime. As I learnt today, it is a very easy process if you want to take them to court over it - just represent yourself and state the facts. Doesn't cost you anything but some time. If they can't convince the judge that they have reasonably met their obligations he/she will rule in your favour. Most companies would offer to settle with you before it got to that stage.
http://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/consumer-guarantees#consumer-guarantees-on-products-and-services
Since 1 January 2011, the following consumer guarantees on products and services apply.
Products must be of acceptable quality, that is:
-safe, lasting, with no faults -look acceptable -do all the things someone would normally expect them to do. -Acceptable quality takes into account what would normally be expected for the type of product and cost.
Products must also:
- match descriptions made by the salesperson, on packaging and labels, and in promotions or advertising - match any demonstration model or sample you asked for - be fit for the purpose the business told you it would be fit for and for any purpose that you made known to the business before purchasing - come with full title and ownership - not carry any hidden debts or extra charges - come with undisturbed possession, so no one has a right to take the goods away or prevent you from using them - meet any extra promises made about performance, condition and quality, such as life time guarantees and money back offers - have spare parts and repair facilities available for a reasonable time after purchase unless you were told otherwise.
I crashed my Fatboy Lo on the 8 Dec 2013. Approved for repair on 3 Jan 2014. Peter Stevens in Adelaide are doing the repair.
Apart from front forks and exhausts that had to come from the US everything else was cosmetic.
I've contacted them every week about when it's going to be ready. Excuses from parts availability to not having enough techs to do the work.
FFS if ya got the FUKN work employ more people.
