Test Ride Promo

[blrfjr]

This past Febuary, I went to the Motorcycle Expo in Indianapolis. I found the Yamaha both and though I wasnt shopping for a new bike I stopped to talk to one of the Reps. There was a Super Tenere on display there and we were talking it over. A good friend of mine is in the market for an adventure bike so, I was gathering info for him. The Rep told me about a Promotion program where if you test ride a new Yamaha you will receive a pair of oakley sunglasses. I said cool, sign me up. He took my info and said to wait for a post card in the mail that I would need to take to the dealer for the test ride and the glasses. So, I went to the dealer today for my test ride and when I told the salesman I wanted to ride the Tenere he said no. "They dont even let me ride that bike". Then he said the bike they have set up for test rides is over there,a big ugly cruiser. It was not anything I would care to ride or buy so I declined. He said do you just want the glasses and i said "if i cant ride what I came here for,yah I'll just take the glasses. Then i had to step into an office with a lady to fill out some paper work they states what I rode. It was a waiver really. Then I had to come home get on the internet and enter the info off the paper she gave me in order the get the glasses. What a sham!! Has anybody else done this.

Im assuming that they want me to test ride there bikes so I will love it and buy one. I didnt get to ride it so I didnt get to love it ergo I didnt buy it. I also have no feed back for my friend that IS looking to buy!! Whatever <_<

 

[DreamerJeff]

This past Febuary, I went to the Motorcycle Expo in Indianapolis. I found the Yamaha both and though I wasnt shopping for a new bike I stopped to talk to one of the Reps. There was a Super Tenere on display there and we were talking it over. A good friend of mine is in the market for an adventure bike so, I was gathering info for him. The Rep told me about a Promotion program where if you test ride a new Yamaha you will receive a pair of oakley sunglasses. I said cool, sign me up. He took my info and said to wait for a post card in the mail that I would need to take to the dealer for the test ride and the glasses. So, I went to the dealer today for my test ride and when I told the salesman I wanted to ride the Tenere he said no. "They dont even let me ride that bike". Then he said the bike they have set up for test rides is over there,a big ugly cruiser. It was not anything I would care to ride or buy so I declined. He said do you just want the glasses and i said "if i cant ride what I came here for,yah I'll just take the glasses. Then i had to step into an office with a lady to fill out some paper work they states what I rode. It was a waiver really. Then I had to come home get on the internet and enter the info off the paper she gave me in order the get the glasses. What a sham!! Has anybody else done this.

Im assuming that they want me to test ride there bikes so I will love it and buy one. I didnt get to ride it so I didnt get to love it ergo I didnt buy it. I also have no feed back for my friend that IS looking to buy!! Whatever <_<

I received a postcard recently and thought it would be great to test ride a new FZ6R to see how a middle weight allaround might feel. Also having new glasses was appealing. So I went in to the local Yamaha Dealer here in Bend and was asked the same thing, Did I just want the glasses or did I want to buy a bike. I tried to clarify to him that the test rides I've had in the past have been very instramental in my purchasing decisions in the future and that no amount of reading of magazines and road tests can compare to an actual road test. So he reluctantly agreed to get a bike ready sometime in the future for me. These guys sell bikes they don't allow you to ride them. Go figure.

 

[ShawnKing]

Has anybody else done this.

No - I go to the Oakley store and just buy my sunglasses.

 

[ShawnKing]

These guys sell bikes they don't allow you to ride them.

To be fair, there are a lot of reasons for that policy. Lots of dealers have been burned, insurance may not cover, state laws may not cover, etc. But you're point is taken - it's a giant PITA to not be able to test ride bikes.

I was lucky when I first started riding that there were three places I could rent a variety of bikes from and used those as "test bikes".

 

[twistedcricket]

Not all dealers are participating. The "big" dealer closest to me is not. The general manager said Yamaha was making them buy all models of bikes and the dealer didn't want to. I was told I could test ride whatever I wanted, even the new Super Tenere they had in stock, but I declined. I did go up and look at it but...

If you're not sure, call the dealer and ask first. Especially if they are out of the way.

 

[HotRodZilla]

I got my card the other day. I'm supposed to go Tuesday to ride an FZ8. Let's see if I actually get to ride one this time, or just end up with a free pair of Oakleys.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Interesting. Wait for the demo truck to come around. I rode the S-Ten a few months ago along with a spiffy new FJR. It sealed the deal on me wanting an FJR and NOT an S-Ten.

Now, about these free sunglasses....

Oh yea, and for test rides, Triumph has it figured out. Sniff around the various Triumph owners groups and forums. A large portion put a down payment on a bike after a test ride. Heck, if I'd have had the money at the time I'd be owning a Tiger 1050 right now as I was quite impressed with my test ride. Not only do they have their demo truck but most of the dealers have bikes for you to try out. They know it sells bikes and do it, too bad the rest can't figure this out.

 

[Thug]

Before I upgraded to my 09 I was seriously contemplating buying a Vmax...now my local dealer who is a petty good bloke was going to try and get one in "Special" just for me because he knew if I rode it and liked i would buy it. But the bullshit Yamaha Aus put him through was nothing short of fucktardidness.... NO test ride if i wanted I could commit to buying one first by putting a small deposit (5k from memory) with no test ride.

I told my dealer mate that if Yamaha was serious about selling these things then they should let people test ride them first!!!!

If they thought that was gonna pay close to 30k for a bike that I had never ridden they could go and suck my leftie....

needless to say I still own a beautiful Black 09!!!

 

[HotRodZilla]

I find it funny that Harley, BMW, and our triumph dealer that sells Triumph, Ducati, and Husqvarna all offer test rides, but the Japanese dealerships won't do it.

I was amazed when the sales guy said the Yamaha truck was not coming and the dealer would set me up for a ride on Tuesday...Like I said, we'll see what happens then.

 

[HotRodZilla]

So...To add to this. I went on Wednesday and took my ride. Finally got to ride the FZ8, and I gotta say I wasn't disappointed.

The sales guy did the "Do you really wanna ride the bike, or do you just want a free pair of glasses?" I think he was kind of surprised when I told him I really wanted to ride it. So, he took it off the floor and gave me the paperwork and got the bike fired up.

My first impression was, "Wow...This thing is small." It is a much smaller bike than the FJR, but after a bit, I adjusted and it never got uncomfortable. The clutch was a little grabby and disengaged very quickly. I chalked some of that up to the bike having .3 miles on it when I got on it.

The fuel light was flashing, so I stopped and put $5 in it, which was plenty for my 20 minute ride. I left the station, headed for the freeway on ramp, and some asshole immediately moved into my lane at the last second. I was only in 2nd or 3rd gear, so when I swerved and pinned it, the bike did really well. Then I gave the idiot the finger.

So, once on the freeway, the bike was pretty nice. It runs pretty high RPMS, which was surprising since it is a 6 speed. At 80, I even looked for 6th a couple times just to make sure I wasn't actually in 5th. At indicated 80, the RPMs are at 5600. On the FJR, the RPMs are only 4k at indicated 80. The difference was measurable. However, even with the higher revs, there was absolutely no vibration in the pegs, and very very little in the bars.

The controls were very familiar, Yamaha and all. I found it funny that with the naked bike, I could hear the exhaust all the way to my top speed of about 95. On the FJR, wind noise takes over after about 40mph. Not the FZ8. I could hear them all the way up through every gear. It actually had a good sound.

The suspension was frigging awesome. That bike soaked up bumps and gave a very nice ride. I could tell it was pretty stiff, but it was very complaint. I guess inverted forks and a better suspension package make a big difference. The brakes were great, and it shifted really well. It was a little stiff shifting from 2nd or 3rd back into first at stops, but again, I think it had a lot to do with being new. Like I said, it had .3 miles on it when I left the dealer. Almost 15 when I took it back.

Since the dealer I rode from is in the middle of Albuquerque, there was no getting to good twisty roads, but I rode it where I could. I got onto Unser blvd (like the race car driver...Al Unser) and got back onto the freeway to head east back towards the dealer. That onramp is a big right hand loop. I took it fast...Faster than I can on the FJR. Then I drug the right peg...Oops. Maybe I shoulda hung off, but it was impressive.

Took it back to the dealer, and smiled for a bit. It was a really cool little bike. It would be great for day trips and rides in the twisties. For a multi-day, multi-state trip, I think it would get tiring, especially with no windshield or protection, but for a fast good time, it is a totally capable bike, and I was impressed. It had great torque and pulled really well. Because it was so new, I didn't want to hammer it, so I never took it above 7 or 8 grand, and it didn't redline until 11k. I bet the space from 9 to about 10.5k is frigging fun.

Anyway, thought I would just give my opinions. I really liked that bike. Even if it was on BT021s.

I got back on my FJR, rode home, and filled out my internet stuff for my free Oakelys. Sweet!!

 

[DreamerJeff]

So...To add to this. I went on Wednesday and took my ride. Finally got to ride the FZ8, and I gotta say I wasn't disappointed.

The sales guy did the "Do you really wanna ride the bike, or do you just want a free pair of glasses?" I think he was kind of surprised when I told him I really wanted to ride it. So, he took it off the floor and gave me the paperwork and got the bike fired up.

My first impression was, "Wow...This thing is small." It is a much smaller bike than the FJR, but after a bit, I adjusted and it never got uncomfortable. The clutch was a little grabby and disengaged very quickly. I chalked some of that up to the bike having .3 miles on it when I got on it.

The fuel light was flashing, so I stopped and put $5 in it, which was plenty for my 20 minute ride. I left the station, headed for the freeway on ramp, and some asshole immediately moved into my lane at the last second. I was only in 2nd or 3rd gear, so when I swerved and pinned it, the bike did really well. Then I gave the idiot the finger.

So, once on the freeway, the bike was pretty nice. It runs pretty high RPMS, which was surprising since it is a 6 speed. At 80, I even looked for 6th a couple times just to make sure I wasn't actually in 5th. At indicated 80, the RPMs are at 5600. On the FJR, the RPMs are only 4k at indicated 80. The difference was measurable. However, even with the higher revs, there was absolutely no vibration in the pegs, and very very little in the bars.

The controls were very familiar, Yamaha and all. I found it funny that with the naked bike, I could hear the exhaust all the way to my top speed of about 95. On the FJR, wind noise takes over after about 40mph. Not the FZ8. I could hear them all the way up through every gear. It actually had a good sound.

The suspension was frigging awesome. That bike soaked up bumps and gave a very nice ride. I could tell it was pretty stiff, but it was very complaint. I guess inverted forks and a better suspension package make a big difference. The brakes were great, and it shifted really well. It was a little stiff shifting from 2nd or 3rd back into first at stops, but again, I think it had a lot to do with being new. Like I said, it had .3 miles on it when I left the dealer. Almost 15 when I took it back.

Since the dealer I rode from is in the middle of Albuquerque, there was no getting to good twisty roads, but I rode it where I could. I got onto Unser blvd (like the race car driver...Al Unser) and got back onto the freeway to head east back towards the dealer. That onramp is a big right hand loop. I took it fast...Faster than I can on the FJR. Then I drug the right peg...Oops. Maybe I shoulda hung off, but it was impressive.

Took it back to the dealer, and smiled for a bit. It was a really cool little bike. It would be great for day trips and rides in the twisties. For a multi-day, multi-state trip, I think it would get tiring, especially with no windshield or protection, but for a fast good time, it is a totally capable bike, and I was impressed. It had great torque and pulled really well. Because it was so new, I didn't want to hammer it, so I never took it above 7 or 8 grand, and it didn't redline until 11k. I bet the space from 9 to about 10.5k is frigging fun.

Anyway, thought I would just give my opinions. I really liked that bike. Even if it was on BT021s.

I got back on my FJR, rode home, and filled out my internet stuff for my free Oakelys. Sweet!!

Wow that's great. My test ride in Bend at ProCaliber consisted of a 45mph loop on the freeway and back of about 1 mile and 4 minutes. Even at that their was some experience. I remember the wind blast being very prominent and how light the FZ6R felt. The shifting was a little jerky and didn't have much torqe compared to the FJR of coarse.

 

[blrfjr]

I DID recieve a pair of Oakleys as promised. My son took care of my dogs while me and the wife took a 5 day trip dowm to the brp so I gave hime the glasses and he loved 'em. They wernt my style anyway.

In conclusion (post #1) I went to the BMW dealer with my buddy and they DID let him take a test ride and he DID BUY a GS. Yamaha is really losing out by not letting people take test rides. I'd rather buy a used bike with a test ride than a new one without. Nuff said

 

[2000LX]

I DID recieve a pair of Oakleys as promised. My son took care of my dogs while me and the wife took a 5 day trip dowm to the brp so I gave hime the glasses and he loved 'em. They wernt my style anyway.

In conclusion (post #1) I went to the BMW dealer with my buddy and they DID let him take a test ride and he DID BUY a GS. Yamaha is really losing out by not letting people take test rides. I'd rather buy a used bike with a test ride than a new one without. Nuff said

My wife and I had our local dealer fill out the form for us after our test rides. She stole my pair of Oakleys as soon we got them. She said she was doing me a favor because I looked stupid in them. Women... The Tenere is a nice ride but I still love my FJR.