Trashed Paint on New '06???

[Sparky]

Just picked up my new '06 today. Very pleased...until... I get her under the lights in the garage, and I'm looking at scratches. Not just a few mind you, but it looks like the thing was sandpaper'd in spots. Worse yet, several very obvious and large scuff marks on several places on the fairings. Maybe I should rephrase that. Not several places, ALL OVER the place.

Holy smokes! Had I seen these at the Dealer (I was all starry eyed just waiting to get her home) I would have said NO WAY. I'm seriously bummed here folks. Something is VERY not right with this scenario. Now one or 2 blems I can live with, but I honestly can't find a pristine spot on this machine.

Advice Please. Bike now has 200 mi. on the clock, but I'm absolutely disatisfied with the condition of the paint as delivered. It looks like it made the bloody show circuit or something.

 

[twowheelnut]

Damn, sorry to read this. The paint on these bikes is notoriously soft, but still, no excuse for it to get into your hands this way. Sounds like they dry wiped it instead of washing it?

Call the dealer 1st thing. Stand firm.

 

[Groo]

Sounds like they let anyone in the showroom sit on it.... was this bike PDPd for you, or did you buy it off the floor?

 

[Sparky]

The bike was PDP'd in Mid October. Not a showroom "squatter". It had been at the dealer for 6 days. I'm seriously bummed at this point. Talk about going from a high to a low...

I've been told this dealer is top notch though. Went with the recommendations from some long-timers in this forum who had nothing but positive things to say about the dealership. I guess this will be the litmus test with respect to my situation.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

The bike was PDP'd in Mid October. Not a showroom "squatter". It had been at the dealer for 6 days. I'm seriously bummed at this point. Talk about going from a high to a low...
I've been told this dealer is top notch though. Went with the recommendations from some long-timers in this forum who had nothing but positive things to say about the dealership. I guess this will be the litmus test with respect to my situation.

Go talk to em about it...they know the condition it was in and hoped you would take it without complaining. Go complain, hopefully they'll do the right thing and call it transit issues.

 

[Rogue]

Could also be they had the shop "Gopher" clean it before you picked it up, he trashed the paint and didn't tell anyone.

I was a mechanic and saw/heard storys that would make your hair curl!

 

[mindtrip]

Mine had a lot of 'swirl marks' on it, but when I used the Langka clear coat polish everything I thought was a scratch came right out. Do a search here for the post on touch-up paint for the '06...

 

[SkooterG]

Interesting. Lots here didn't pick up Sparky's hint and have been quick to villify the dealer.

Well, I'll come out and say it. Sparky bought his FJR from a very highly regarded dealership - Sunnyside Motorcycle. Same as FJRGoodies. A dealership Warchild is closely affiliated with. In fact, there is a good chance Warchild did the initial test ride on that FJR. Anybody want to go blaming him?

Didn't think so.

I wasn't there, so I don't know what happened. I know Sunnyside get's a lot of positive feedback. I would be surprised if they had anything to do with it. Suppose it's possible.

Whatever happened, I hope it gets resolved Sparky, as that is surely a major bummer for you.

 

[FJR_pig]

Sorry to hear about this. I'd been waiting to see your first post since you picked up from "our" dealership. Didn't expect it to read like that.

 

[FJRSTAR]

Just picked up my new '06 today. Very pleased...until... I get her under the lights in the garage, and I'm looking at scratches. Not just a few mind you, but it looks like the thing was sandpaper'd in spots. Worse yet, several very obvious and large scuff marks on several places on the fairings. Maybe I should rephrase that. Not several places, ALL OVER the place.
Holy smokes! Had I seen these at the Dealer (I was all starry eyed just waiting to get her home) I would have said NO WAY. I'm seriously bummed here folks. Something is VERY not right with this scenario. Now one or 2 blems I can live with, but I honestly can't find a pristine spot on this machine.

Advice Please. Bike now has 200 mi. on the clock, but I'm absolutely disatisfied with the condition of the paint as delivered. It looks like it made the bloody show circuit or something.

Well you do what you know you have to do, but be nice.

 

[Fred H.]

The clear coat paint on many vehicles, not just bikes, is very prone to showing small light scratches easily. The good news is that as easy as they scratch, they also can be very easily removed with some good quality clear coat polish. Meguires make a product call ScratchX that works well, and Turtle was makes a good Clear Coat Polish, as do others.

I bet if you spent 20 minutes with a good product and quality polishing cloths, that you could remove all those scratches.

The dark blue paint on this bike also is a bit of a curse, as it really accents every little scratch, and is also hard to keep clean. It is just about as bad as black. While I like the color, I can already see it is going to be a tough one to live with and keep looking nice.

 

[TAPnTX]

I bought an 03 BlackBird in Jan. 04. I was standing there when it came out of the crate, and never left the bike alone with the set-up guy. there were alot of rub marks on the bike, that had made the paint look like you say, it was sanded. I got the bike home, and spent about 4 hours detailing it, and pollishing out all the imperfections. Part of the problem here is the bike is a very dark color, and you can see the tiniest scratches.

I would just get some high quality polish, and correct it myself! Normally when I buy a new bike, I do not let the dealer wash it. I bring it home and very carefully clean the bike, as to not rub the fine dirt into the paint.

After the polish use some really good wax, and I bet all will be well with the new baby

Congratulation on the new bike!!!

Todd

 

[BlackB12]

While the dealer should fix this, sometimes it's just easier to get out the polish and buff out the clearcoat scratches and be done with it. Plus if it was the dealer that scratched it up like this I wouldn't bother having them fix it for me. Better yet, take it to a detail shop and get an estimate. Then tell the dealer to either pay it or buy the bike back.

Mike

 

[Sparky]

I appreciate all of the feedback folks. SkooterG is on the money. I have no reason to believe that the good folks at Sunnyside were aware of the cosmetic issues with my new machine. I hear too many good things about their organization to believe that send me out the door with something that wasn't right.

I did try to polish out one of the more prominent scuffs on the front fender using Griot's hand polish and a microfiber towel, but, alas, very minor improvement. Griot's is very high quality polish by the way.

What it looks like to me is that the finer "swirls" were likely caused with a dry-wipe of the bike. The scuffs are another story. Further observation also revealed a pretty hefty scratch in the windscreen about 6 inches long. To me, this kind of thing smacks of transit damage.

Going to call up Sunnyside today and get their take on the situation.

 

[Colin24]

A bit too late for you but a good piece of advice to anyone picking up a new bike (or even car).

Bring a digital camera and take a boatload of pics!

I did that when my Dad and I picked up our brand new '05 FJR's a few years back. Did the official stand behind the bike pic with the big grin on your face. But two days later we were washing the bikes after a ride and my dad notices a single long scratch on the very bottom of the right side fairing. We knew nothing had hit the bikes and we had not dropped them.

So I went back and checked the pics from when we picked up the bikes and sure enough there it was. It was hard to notice because of its location and we only found it later when my Dad was lying on the ground washing the bottom of the fairing. But once we knew what to look for in the pics it was clear as day.

The dealer was very good about it. I explained the situation but did not mention the pics. (Wanted to see what they would do). He said bring it in and they will take a pic so that they could make a warrenty claim to yamaha. Didn't argue about it at all! I was very impressed.

The scratch in our case looked very much like it might have been caused while removing the bike from the crate. Like the bottom caught on something sharp.

So as for your specific problem, you should certainly go back and talk to the dealer. Try to avoid being all pissed and angry when you go in. Be nice, but affirmative. If Sunnyside is everything people here make it out to be you should have no problems.

As for anyone else still waiting to pick up your bike. Bring a good quality camera (preferably digital with a high megapixel count) and take a load of pictures. And do this right at the bike shop. If you have a good picture of the problem when its sitting on the bike shops lot when you picked it up it is pretty difficult for the shop to squirm out of the way.

Hope this helps

Colin

 

[Groo]

The triangular fairing piece under the radiator was scratched on my '05 when I picked it up... I'm almost sure it was done in shipping. Pointed it out to Tony, he noted it, and I had a replacement part in my mailbox within a week or so. Still haven't put it on the bike, since that area usually is kinda dirty and the scratches are small and barely noticeable. Plus I've got the replacement as a spare if/when I want to replace the original.

 

[painman]

I had paint issues as well but not as bad as indicated. Also, the windshield looked like a 2 year old had dry wiped it off. I'm still trying to get the scratches out. It will be addressed at the dealer and my dealer did not put the bike together. It was done through someone else. Where's quality control here? PM. <>< <_<

 

[vinnie]

I'm going with the "gopher" theory here. :dribble:

It use to be that bikes had to be uncratered (sometimes that

was a major hassle) and you never knew when you'd find

cracked fairings or bent billet, and then assembled ($$). But

my understanding (not 100% sure on this )

is that these days a lot of bikes are no longer shipped cratered

but rather pre-assembled, on a pallet, strapped down the same way those

companies that will ship your bike for one place to another. The dealership

just puts in the fluids, checks the battery and cleans it up.

Usually clean up consists of hosing it down and a quick wipe off, usually

including the air hose.

REGARDLESS, your dealership should stand by you, but the fact that you've

put some miles on it and taken some time will mean that you're probably

going to have to listen to them "hem and haw" a bit. Is really a question of

what you want from them and how far they're willing to go your way.

Sorry dude. No matter what, the bike is still killer...Hang in there.

 

[Warchild]

Interesting. Lots here didn't pick up Sparky's hint and have been quick to villify the dealer.

Yes, it's interesting to see the "groupthink" mentality take hold here.... :glare:

The fact of the matter is: Sparky contacted Sunnyside and, as expected, they said definitely bring it back to them, and Sunnyside will investigate and attempt to polish them out. It this doesn't prove successful, then obviously, new plastic will have to be ordered.

'Tis a drag that all this occurred, Sparky, but Sunnyside will get you all hooked back up....