Yamaha in New Zealand..Yeah right

[gazza]

Well, Iv'e asked several Yamaha dealerships here in NZ re the arrival of the new ES or AE down here. The response i have had after they have contacted Yamaha New Zealand has been baffling to say the least. It appears they(Yamaha) prefer to keep the launch of new model bikes a very very low profile indeed. I assume from speaking to a couple of dealers they they NEED to move the old stock(not that we are talking large numbers here) before releasing new product which frankly does'nt go down with me that well considering Yamaha NZ supposedly goes through Yamaha Australia. Now as Queensland Ken is already riding his New model iv'e got to wonder what the hell is going on in NZ. So, bottom line is that iv'e got the coin($29,000 or thereabouts) and no Yamaha to spend it on. The whole thing just winds me up a little unlike a friend of mine who contacted Honda directly re the new VFR800 and was told it will be in the dealerships september. And no, I don't want a Honda.

Gazza

 

[Queensland Ken]

A real bummer there.

Remember that Mr Yamaha told me that the AEE's (the ES) were not coming in 3 days before the official launch of the AEE at the Brisbane Bike show.

I suppose they keep it a secret, as you say, get rid of the old stock first.

 

[rPGoatBoy]

If I were you, I'd call up the Yamaha mothership, tell them you're 2 weeks out from buying a Kawasaki Concours should you not be able to procure the '14 FJR you wanted. How many Yamaha dealerships are in all of NZ anyway? Not that you should have to, but perhaps you can flaunt your cash in front of a dealer and tell them you want the first '14 to hit the island?

 

[redneckj]

I wonder how much it would cost for shipping from Long Beach, CA to New Zealand? I got connections in the shipping industry there if your interested.

 

[Donal]

How difficult would it be to import one from Oz? You could always get some help from Queensland Ken the Electrical Wizard of Oz!................

 

[amboman]

So, what a about the dealers that try to pass off last years model as the newest release. They must think we are stupid. When I pointed out that the supposed 2014 model the dealer was showing me still had the mechanical adjustment on the rear suspension and yep no extra controls or switches on the bars he when all defensive and suddenly had to make a phone call. Not my local dealer by the way but one not so far from home.

 

[yamafitter]

So, what a about the dealers that try to pass off last years model as the newest release. They must think we are stupid. When I pointed out that the supposed 2014 model the dealer was showing me still had the mechanical adjustment on the rear suspension and yep no extra controls or switches on the bars he when all defensive and suddenly had to make a phone call. Not my local dealer by the way but one not so far from home.

Go buy the bike from the dealer and then sue the *******. You end up getting the bike for free along with enough money to fly to Japan first class, buy a brand new '14 AS right from the factory door and air freight it back as overweight baggage all at this bozo's expense. I would think word of that would get around to the other dealers fairly quickly.

 

[Queensland Ken]

I bought my 07 second hand late in 2011 with 11K kms.

The previous owner bought it new in early 2010, he wasn't happy at all when he finally realized that according to the vin # that the bike was already 4 years old.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Come to Ohio. For that much coin, you can buy a 2014 from a local dealer and go for one helluva tour.

 

[wfooshee]

So, what a about the dealers that try to pass off last years model as the newest release. They must think we are stupid. When I pointed out that the supposed 2014 model the dealer was showing me still had the mechanical adjustment on the rear suspension and yep no extra controls or switches on the bars he when all defensive and suddenly had to make a phone call. Not my local dealer by the way but one not so far from home.

Not ALL the '14s have the electronic suspension. The base 2014, at least here, is pretty much the same as the '13 in a different color. I'd be more than astonished if a dealer actually tried to pass off a different model year, because there are just too many ways to tell. Stickers, VIN, all kinds of stuff.

And on Queensland Ken's post, buying it new doesn't make it the current year. The guy you bought your from just wasn't paying attention somewhere. The paperwork HAD to tell him it was a 2010!

I bought a 1990 car one time just as the '92s were hitting the floors. 300 miles, brand new, just two years old. No problem!

 

[gazza]

I guess the deal here in NZ would be to bring one in from Australia and i don't really think Yamaha NZ would give a toss anyway.Far easier than the U.S., Australia only being 3 hours away. Of course as was pointed out to me you have to change the headlights as you guys in the US ride on the wrong side of the road. I am a bit partial to that red though.

Gazza

 

[amboman]

I love the look of the red as well but I guess we are lucky here in NZ we can have black, black or if you look hard enough. Yep you guessed it - black.

 

[rPGoatBoy]

I guess the deal here in NZ would be to bring one in from Australia and i don't really think Yamaha NZ would give a toss anyway.Far easier than the U.S., Australia only being 3 hours away. Of course as was pointed out to me you have to change the headlights as you guys in the US ride on the wrong side of the road. I am a bit partial to that red though.
Gazza

Huhwha? What do the headlights have to do with what side of the road you're on?

 

[gazza]

We drive on the left hand side of the road over here Goatboy so all vehicles on the road have headlights that flick up to the left. I would imagine for you guys driving on the wrong side of the road would be opposite so bringing a bike in from the U.S. i guess would have to do a headlight mod.Easily overlooked i'd say and i wouldn't get a WOF(warrant of fitness) without changing.

Gazza

 

[amboman]

+1 to the headlight difference. I imported a bike a few years ago and the reflectors in the headlights were permanently angled to the right which means here in NZ when driving on the left hand side of the road the head lights were aiming towards the oncoming traffic. Was an easy fix but cost a few dollars for new headlights so bike could get warrant of fitness.

 

[rPGoatBoy]

We drive on the left hand side of the road over here Goatboy so all vehicles on the road have headlights that flick up to the left. I would imagine for you guys driving on the wrong side of the road would be opposite so bringing a bike in from the U.S. i guess would have to do a headlight mod.Easily overlooked i'd say and i wouldn't get a WOF(warrant of fitness) without changing.
Gazza

Is this difference in headlight alignment outside of the adjustability of the headlights?

I wasn't aware we had angled headlights. Does this apply to NZ cars as well? Any headlight adjustment in a car I've ever performed has been directly ahead into a wall or fence from about 50 feet away, and I can't imagine the crown of the road would have that much of an effect.

 

[mcatrophy]

...I wasn't aware we had angled headlights...

All UK headlights including the FJR are angled to give more throw on the near-side (our left). I guess NZ, Oz, Japan are the same.
If we go onto the Continent, we are supposed to put masks on the headlights to restrict that extra throw to reduce dazzling of oncoming drivers.

I just use the adjuster to wind mine down, I do very little night-time driving on the Continent.

[edit] It's not the reflector or lens, the bulb is angled in its holder to give the angled beam. [/edit]

 

[Ignacio]

When I pointed out that the supposed 2014 model the dealer was showing me still had the mechanical adjustment on the rear suspension and yep no extra controls or switches on the bars he when all defensive and suddenly had to make a phone call. Not my local dealer by the way but one not so far from home.

The 2014A model has mechanical adjustment. And the 2014ES model still has the "Hard - Soft" sticker where the mechanical adjustment would be. I laughed about as I got mine.

Did the bike look identical to your 2010 or was the windshield area significantly updated? A W shape or separate nacelles? If the latter it was a 2013 or 2014 and (unless an ES) would be the same mechanically.

 

[amboman]

Hi,the confusing thing was that it had the new shaped fairing and windshield. It did have the manual suspension adjuster but reasons I questioned it was the dealer was advertising it as a 2014 I did not realise that it is possible to get anything other than the 2014 ES model here in NZ thanks for the input. Have since test ridden a 2014 ES and really the extra cash to upgrade form my 2010 just does not seem worth it to me.