>>> GP Suspension 10th Annual FJR Forum Group Buy <<<

[MNFJR]

FWIW, KFGracing in Oregon gets its parts and components from Penske in Reading, PA. This can result in some delays for things to move back and forth across the country. Eastern members might be better served using the more local Traxxion Dynamics which is pretty comparable in cost. This is no longer the GP Suspension that was involved with the forum for a decade before being bought out in 2012. That said, they know suspensions and do competent work.
KFG Racing actually undercut the price of the forum buy with a Black Friday sale only a couple weeks after the group buy closed. I don't want to sound like sour grapes here, but waiting another week could have saved me 10-15%. The forum buy should be a special event you could trust to be the deal of the year like it used to be, and this time, it wasn't.

What are the chances you are going to participate in a 2016 group buy, knowing, that on Black Friday you will be burned? I thought so. Why do we continue to call this the GP Suspension Group Buy?

I spoke to penske several times about this and they DROP SHIP the shocks directly ... They do not send anything to KFG.

When I asked them 2.5 weeks ago about my order, they were clear that they did not have any order for me. In fact, they stated that they have NO OPEN orders for KFG racing or GP suspension ...

When I grew tired of the runaround, I called them (Penske) again today and was told that they do indeed have an order in process with my name on it .. This prompted me to ask "When was this order placed".

The person I spoke to at Penske checked his system and clearly said that my order was placed on 12/14. He than said that it would take about 1.5 to 2 weeks to complete ...

Earlier in the day I had demanded that someone in authority at KFG call me asap. I received a call from the owner (mid day) and was told that she would "look into" what the delay was ...

Now, I definitely don't want to bash and will only present facts but, this while things seems wrong to me. When I asked others at KFG who could help me I had been told in the past that the owner handles all paperwork and is the only person who does ordering etc etc etc ...

Either way, she did call me and was very apologetic and accommodating and gauranteed that she would do whatever she could to get my order moved up in priority.

All of that is great and it is appreciated ...

In the end, taking money from people and holding it (IN YOUR ACCOUNT) while 30 days goes by and then the order is finally placed with PENSKE seems wrong to me.

I will bet anything that ZERO Penske orders were placed until 12/14 for any forum members and if that is the case, the delay should be explained to everyone ...

Has anyone who ordered a Penske shock from this group buy received it yet ? I would bet no ...

Mr Zappo,

Thanks for all the information. I believe I will be calling Penske myself tomorrow despite being told by KFG that mine will ship tomorrow. Based on what you learned from Penske, It appears KFG told me on two different occasions that my shock would ship early the following week, even though they apparently hadn't yet ordered it.

 

[Steel_Gin]

Beemerdon's FJR is already costing me farkle money!

Since he didn't farkle it right he should be picking up those costs.

 

[rmcobb]

I experienced all the same problems with KFG to include not quoting the whole job and hitting me up for extra dollars. I did not participate in the Group Buy, but they had a 20% discount over Halloween weekend, same kind of deal it appears they did for Black Friday except 20%, not the 25% they offered on Black Friday. Both of those better than the 15% they offer the Forum.

Anyway, my Penske took 6 weeks to arrive. My forks were done and returned within 10 days...........so no complaint there....other than the misquoting the price and hitting me up for more money while holding my forks hostage.

I too was totally disillusioned with the service and response from them.

But, everything is back on the bike so its all good............just can't recommend them from my experiences.

 

[Auburn]

I experienced all the same problems with KFG to include not quoting the whole job and hitting me up for extra dollars. I did not participate in the Group Buy, but they had a 20% discount over Halloween weekend, same kind of deal it appears they did for Black Friday except 20%, not the 25% they offered on Black Friday. Both of those better than the 15% they offer the Forum.
Anyway, my Penske took 6 weeks to arrive. My forks were done and returned within 10 days...........so no complaint there....other than the misquoting the price and hitting me up for more money while holding my forks hostage.

I too was totally disillusioned with the service and response from them.

But, everything is back on the bike so its all good............just can't recommend them from my experiences.

Just curious, what did you ask them to do to your forks? Was there additional parts needed beyond the normal parts and oil included with the service due to wear and tear that they could not have known until they were disassembled?

Did you address it with them or are you just complaining here?

I had them service my rear shock. Before the group buy occurred. But I didn't whine about paying full freight even though it was less than a month before the group buy was posted here.

I get tired of the passive aggressive pile ons. They are not obligated to even offer any group buys here or anywhere else. Be thankful when they do offer them because it does benefits us all. If they should choose to offer a better discount to people who subscribe to there mail list, so be it. You can always subscribe to the list so you might get that benefit in the future. Do you think the screwed you over because they didn't give you that price? Escapefjrist posted the deal here for those who had the ability to make the purchase within the time frame parameters that the deal was good for. If you couldn't or didn't know about it, is not KFG's fault.

Anyone who has been around motorcycles for a long time knows Penske (and I assume Ohlins) custom builds each shock to order. Who knows if people that called Penske really got a straight answer. What is Penske's motivation to confirm to you they have the order, when they could be backed up at the factory and causing the delays shipping. If they tet the blame go to the vendor it keeps Penske from the black eye(s).

 

[MrZappo]

I experienced all the same problems with KFG to include not quoting the whole job and hitting me up for extra dollars. I did not participate in the Group Buy, but they had a 20% discount over Halloween weekend, same kind of deal it appears they did for Black Friday except 20%, not the 25% they offered on Black Friday. Both of those better than the 15% they offer the Forum.
Anyway, my Penske took 6 weeks to arrive. My forks were done and returned within 10 days...........so no complaint there....other than the misquoting the price and hitting me up for more money while holding my forks hostage.

I too was totally disillusioned with the service and response from them.

But, everything is back on the bike so its all good............just can't recommend them from my experiences.

Anyone who has been around motorcycles for a long time knows Penske (and I assume Ohlins) custom builds each shock to order. Who knows if people that called Penske really got a straight answer. What is Penske's motivation to confirm to you they have the order, when they could be backed up at the factory and causing the delays shipping. If they tet the blame go to the vendor it keeps Penske from the black eye(s).

No disrespect intended but, this is not how this went down ...

Firstly, I would respond to your question of "What is Penske's motivation to confirm to you they have the order" by asking "What is their motivation to lie about it" ?

They are a big company ... We are not dealing with two guys in a garage who get embarrassed because they are running behind. And we are not talking to owners or anything like that ... I personally talked to two separate people on two separate occasions. Each of these people were just guys in the shop with a computer on their desk that has visibility into orders placed and production queues etc ... They looked up information I asked about and spit out what they saw on their screen.

Are you saying that one or both of these (employees) saw an order with my name on it and thought "I think Ill make some lies up because we are busy and backed up" ???

Why would they care about that ? It is not their problem ... Makes no sense ... Also, Penske is a reputable company .. They don't need to deflect upset customers onto lil' ol' KFG racing ...

I (we) (many members here) were told 1.5 to 2 weeks by KFG on numerous occasions. And when I asked Penske, they also said 1.5 to 2 weeks (from the time they get the order). And to my knowledge, Penske has generally met those commitments ... We will see ...

But, as I said, I asked the Penske guy and yesterday he confirmed to me that (according to his system) they got the order on 12/14. And maybe their system is off by a few days or something who knows ... But, it does not seem reasonable that their system is off by 30 DAYS ...

I can also attest to the general lack of followup by KFG racing to my repeated inquiries. Many questions asked, many return calls promised, Many return calls not received. They do not carry them selves with a customer service mentality. That is obvious to me ... Communication is key and they fall flat on their face in that regard. Period.

Now, I assume that they are a tech heavy and back office light operation so it stands to reason that their actual work is top notch as their reputation seems to support. And that is great. No one is assassinating their product.

But, it does not change the fact that the business side of the transaction has left a bad taste in my mouth and it could have been avoided by following general business 101 guidelines such as basic communication and honest timelines.

The fact is that I believe that they took my order and sat on my cash for a while. I base that opinion on what it looks like from where I sit. They only way my opinion would change is via "communication" which is unlikely.

As I said earlier, after I complained loudly and often, they did respond and are in the process of making it right which is appreciated. Honesty and followup from the beginning would have been appreciated more ...

 

[rushes]

It's hard to please all of the people all of the time.

I've been very happy dealing with them. Put me in the thumbsup group.

 

[Auburn]

No disrespect intended but, this is not how this went down ...

Firstly, I would respond to your question of "What is Penske's motivation to confirm to you they have the order" by asking "What is their motivation to lie about it" ?

Mr.Zappo you pose a fair question. The answer is neither of us know the answer.

The questions I posed are a reflection of my skepticism about reading a one sided complaint by mrcobb. Not saying the experience wasn't true, I just don't take everything at face value. My questions were specific to how rmcobb framed up his case with lots of specifics left out. Some of it doesn't add up to me and I wonder if he has an axe to grind or what the motivation is.

It's hard to please all of the people all of the time.
I've been very happy dealing with them. Put me in the thumbsup group.

Rushes - I have had the same experience too. KFG has been very supportive of the local tech meets we hold here in the PNW, even when they meets are during their busy racing season.

 

[MrZappo]

No disrespect intended but, this is not how this went down ...

Firstly, I would respond to your question of "What is Penske's motivation to confirm to you they have the order" by asking "What is their motivation to lie about it" ?

Mr.Zappo you pose a fair question. The answer is neither of us know the answer.

The questions I posed are a reflection of my skepticism about reading a one sided complaint by mrcobb. Not saying the experience wasn't true, I just don't take everything at face value. My questions were specific to how rmcobb framed up his case with lots of specifics left out. Some of it doesn't add up to me and I wonder if he has an axe to grind or what the motivation is.

It's hard to please all of the people all of the time.
I've been very happy dealing with them. Put me in the thumbsup group.

Rushes - I have had the same experience too. KFG has been very supportive of the local tech meets we hold here in the PNW, even when they meets are during their busy racing season.

Agreed ... And I don't have an ax to grind and I have no desire to bash a vendor on the internet for something that may just be related to being busy or an oversight. So, I wont do that ...

I think that I was careful to present facts without bashing ...

As I said, they (GP/KFG) do have a good reputation and it is likely well deserved. So, I will give them the benefit of doubt. The owner has already intervened on my behalf (and others) to rectify the situation and I recognize that.

My point was that a little communication could have avoided a number of temporarily unhappy people. So live and learn etc ... It happens ...

I have dealt with a number of people and vendors on this forum and everyone maintains a high standard and I (we) are used to that ...

I look forward to my new suspension and hope that it is as good as others have attested to ....

Regards ...

 

[rmcobb]

I experienced all the same problems with KFG to include not quoting the whole job and hitting me up for extra dollars. I did not participate in the Group Buy, but they had a 20% discount over Halloween weekend, same kind of deal it appears they did for Black Friday except 20%, not the 25% they offered on Black Friday. Both of those better than the 15% they offer the Forum.
Anyway, my Penske took 6 weeks to arrive. My forks were done and returned within 10 days...........so no complaint there....other than the misquoting the price and hitting me up for more money while holding my forks hostage.

I too was totally disillusioned with the service and response from them.

But, everything is back on the bike so its all good............just can't recommend them from my experiences.

Just curious, what did you ask them to do to your forks? Was there additional parts needed beyond the normal parts and oil included with the service due to wear and tear that they could not have known until they were disassembled?

Did you address it with them or are you just complaining here?

I had them service my rear shock. Before the group buy occurred. But I didn't whine about paying full freight even though it was less than a month before the group buy was posted here.

I get tired of the passive aggressive pile ons. They are not obligated to even offer any group buys here or anywhere else. Be thankful when they do offer them because it does benefits us all. If they should choose to offer a better discount to people who subscribe to there mail list, so be it. You can always subscribe to the list so you might get that benefit in the future. Do you think the screwed you over because they didn't give you that price? Escapefjrist posted the deal here for those who had the ability to make the purchase within the time frame parameters that the deal was good for. If you couldn't or didn't know about it, is not KFG's fault.

Anyone who has been around motorcycles for a long time knows Penske (and I assume Ohlins) custom builds each shock to order. Who knows if people that called Penske really got a straight answer. What is Penske's motivation to confirm to you they have the order, when they could be backed up at the factory and causing the delays shipping. If they tet the blame go to the vendor it keeps Penske from the black eye(s).

No passive agressive pile on, just my experiences and feelings. Data points in any discussion are needed for an accurate viewpoint. Thats why its important to speak up both positive and negative, although I know what you mean about forum "pile ons". Seen it many times and I typically don't start those kind of threads. My basic philosophy is deal with it and move on, making my own decision on whether to do business with someone based on my experiences. In the case of threads already started and well into the topic of what kind of experiences members have had, I will sometimes chime in, not always, both positive and negative, this time it was negative.

My biggest gripe wasn't the 6 weeks the Penske took, but the inaccurate quote they provided that resulted in after the forks were completed, it was " that will be another $240 dollars please". In speaking with them, they didn't even want to acknowledge that the original quote was inaccurate. Why did they only price out 1 spring? Why didn't they price out return shipping (even as an estimate), etc. I didn't know I needed to read the quote from a lawyers perspective. Again, paid the money, I still got a good deal, got the parts, installed the stuff and went riding! Life is good!

 

[DaJudge]

Well, I called KFG/GP Dec 16 to check on the status of my shock (ordered 11/28 at the "Small Business Saturday" 25% off sale - great deal) and maybe get a projected delivery date. I got a text response later that day that Penske would be shipping it to me directly and I should get it in about two weeks.

After reviewing this discussion, I checked with Penske today (spoke with Cole, who was very helpful) to see if I had a ship date and give them my e-mail address (for tracking info) in case they didn't already have it. Unfortunately, my 11/28 order with KFG/GP didn't get submitted until 12/14 (same date as MrZappo), so the shock is just now in the process of being built and should ship out by the end of the year.

Personally, I don't have any problem at all with KFG waiting until they get a certain number of shock orders then submit them all at once to Penske to get a better per-unit price (since they passed some of that along to me) if that's what happened. I'd simply prefer to know about that up front so I can plan accordingly, have the right expectations and not feel the need to double-check on my order.

The order details in Penske's hands didn't have my ride weight, but instead said to call KFG/GP for it. I went ahead and gave him that info so the order doesn't get delayed any more than it already has in case they have trouble contacting KFG during the holidays. I'm hoping to get the shock in the next 10-12 days since things will get busy at my work beginning Jan 4.

There may be riding opportunities this week, so I'm waiting for tracking info before I even THINK of pulling the stock shock. I'll clean and lube bearings/bushings while I'm in there too.

 

[Auburn]

Well, I called KFG/GP Dec 16 to check on the status of my shock (ordered 11/28 at the "Small Business Saturday" 25% off sale - great deal) and maybe get a projected delivery date. I got a text response later that day that Penske would be shipping it to me directly and I should get it in about two weeks.
After reviewing this discussion, I checked with Penske today (spoke with Cole, who was very helpful) to see if I had a ship date and give them my e-mail address (for tracking info) in case they didn't already have it. Unfortunately, my 11/28 order with KFG/GP didn't get submitted until 12/14 (same date as MrZappo), so the shock is just now in the process of being built and should ship out by the end of the year.

Personally, I don't have any problem at all with KFG waiting until they get a certain number of shock orders then submit them all at once to Penske to get a better per-unit price (since they passed some of that along to me) if that's what happened. I'd simply prefer to know about that up front so I can plan accordingly, have the right expectations and not feel the need to double-check on my order.

The order details in Penske's hands didn't have my ride weight, but instead said to call KFG/GP for it. I went ahead and gave him that info so the order doesn't get delayed any more than it already has in case they have trouble contacting KFG during the holidays. I'm hoping to get the shock in the next 10-12 days since things will get busy at my work beginning Jan 4.

There may be riding opportunities this week, so I'm waiting for tracking info before I even THINK of pulling the stock shock. I'll clean and lube bearings/bushings while I'm in there too.

It's a good time to do the swing arm and u-joint on the final drive splines too if you have the means to do it.

 

[MNFJR]

My Penske shock order from 11/12 finally did ship on Friday 12/17. I have a tracking number with delivery expected tomorrow 12/23.

I have not been able to determine when KFG actually did order it (they didn't respond to that question in an email), but it was certainly weeks after they took my money. As I said earlier I wouldn't have a problem if they told me up front that the order would be delayed, but instead they mislead me twice with regard to when it would ship. Why, what was the point of doing that?

Anyway, looking forward to getting my hands on it tomorrow.

 

[MrZappo]

Mine showed today. Happy at this point but would be happier if there had been better communication.

Either way, they made it right t. Looking forward to trying it out. Few more days of rebuilding things and then a warm weekend is all I need.

 

[Auburn]

My Penske shock order from 11/12 finally did ship on Friday 12/17. I have a tracking number with delivery expected tomorrow 12/23.I have not been able to determine when KFG actually did order it (they didn't respond to that question in an email), but it was certainly weeks after they took my money. As I said earlier I wouldn't have a problem if they told me up front that the order would be delayed, but instead they mislead me twice with regard to when it would ship. Why, what was the point of doing that?

Anyway, looking forward to getting my hands on it tomorrow.

Maybe as someone else suggested that they get a bigger discount to bundle several orders together with Penske. IIRC, when the original owner of GP did the group buys here they were organized by a forum member (Warchild) instead of directly by the company itself. And, IIRC, the directions had something about the shocks being bundle together to manufacturer as the discounts were based on how many were ordered, where in recent group buys, the discount rate has been a flat amount. But I am getting older and my memory could be fading...

 

[dcarver]

Now I'm wondering if I should call or just wait for it..

 

[MrZappo]

Now I'm wondering if I should call or just wait for it..

Well, those of us who called got it sooner ..... Just sayin'

YMMV

 

[dcarver]

Now I'm wondering if I should call or just wait for it..

Well, those of us who called got it sooner ..... Just sayin'

YMMV

True dat. But I'm just starting to get Naomi with jewelry.. So I'm not in a hurry.

 

[MNFJR]

Mine arrived last evening. Santa Clause drives a brown truck.

 

[snikr]

Yes the first few group buys for Wilber's shock were that way. Get all the orders and send them in. More is better. What I'm seeing with KFG is they are not telling the people when they order what they are doing (or maybe they didn't know what they were doing). Telling everyone who orders is "the key"! But some businesses don't seem to get that.

 

[zenwhipper]

I did my suspension with them a couple years back. Best mod ever for the bike. AND I had zero problems with them in the customer service realm. Great outfit in my opinion.