I bought my ST1300 from Ride in 2004. I called I90 and gave them an offer and they said NO. Ride accepted the offer. I don't think they were co-owned at that time?? It'll be interesting when I take my bike I'm getting from D&H down to I90 to see what they say. They give me a GREAT discount on parts. Hopefully that'll continue even though I didn't get my new bike from them.
+1. There's a short flux period where bikes in crates are making their way across the ocean, into the US, onto trains/trucks, and to dealers. This is not always the most easily tracked process.
After reading this Forum and it's predecessor that made this Forum necessary; reading the outlook and attitude of so many people about businesses and sales personnel has killed any idea I may have ever had about having a business that deals directly with the public. I could not and in some cases would not want to deal with some of theThe customer is always right.
Don't worry, I'm not freaking out over this, just trying to get some definitive information, which apparently is nonexistent at Yamaha (I am fully aware of the past issues with the PDP program--I participated when I bought my '03 FJR sight unseen and waited 6 months for it and was not happy about that either).<snark>You mean if one manufacturer has a perfect system for delivery date notification then all the others have too also? Hmm. Then shouldn't BMW's final drives be as robust as Yamaha's? </snark>
My larger point is that you're probably not going to get a definitive answer to your question and I gave the link to highlight some of the systemic reasons why Yamaha's a bit different.
This subject of delivery seems to come up about this time every year on the forum where a few people get antsy to get their bikes, wonder why Yamaha can't tell them for sure, and start freaking out.
And for the ones that start pacing out on the ledge and want take other with them...some of the old timers start poking them and reminding that in the old days you'd drop $500 on a PDP program where you gladly endured a 6 month window with not even a month identified...and glad to do it!
In the meantime, I'd stick to the notion that Yamaha announced that March was the month for '16 deliveries--and there's still 21 days left in it.
Yep! Won't be long now!!The Grasshoppers are in full force.
Yes, I find it hard to believe that they don't. Beyond that it's just a matter of whether or not they want to provide that information to their dealers (and in turn their end users) like some of their competitors are willing to do.
I totally agree about the customers being difficult. We teachers battle the same problem. Our students and their parents are our customers. They can often be the most irrational being ever, but they are always right.After reading this Forum and it's predecessor that made this Forum necessary; reading the outlook and attitude of so many people about businesses and sales personnel has killed any idea I may have ever had about having a business that deals directly with the public. I could not and in some cases would not want to deal with some of theThe customer is always right.assholescustomers that I would be serving. My hat is off to the successful business/sales people, they are better than I am or could be. There are always going to be the customer from heck, and there will always be sales/merchants that aren't all they should be. The bad customer will continue on, bringing their special joy to the world, but the sales/merchant will not survive and they will be adjusted out of the picture.
As a PDP survivor I understand the anticipation and the daily disappointment of the wait. To Yamaha's relief, we do wait... because it'll be worth it.
Parents often ask teachers and school administrators to do things that are against the law (don't ask me how I know), and teachers are often well served by a keen awareness of local legislation surrounding education.
I have owned and operated a successful construction company for over 38 years and I will tell you that if you do not listen to and take care of your customers, no matter how unreasonable you think they may be, you will fail, as most small businesses do. Maybe the customer isn't always right (and sometimes you do need to "fire" a customer for being extremely difficult) but if you buck them constantly you will find yourself with a bad reputation and without any business. Maybe that's why I feel justified in being a little demanding when it comes to spending my hard earned dollars even if, in this case, it possibly offends the Yamaha mother ship and her staunch supporters. I sure don't feel that I'm being obnoxious or unreasonable about this topic--just sharing my opinion in hopes that maybe Yamaha is listening.
