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Cruiser
Posts: 59
Austin Texas Yaaaalll | Hello all.... Below find a letter that I wrote to Scott Wine President of Polaris. I copied the VP of Polaris who is in charge of the motorcycle division. The bottom line is the factory said that they were not going to cover this repair. I have been very patient over the last 2 1/2 months and will now go through my insurance carrier as an incident of vandalism, since the factory now claims that there is no possible way that this could have occurred during assembly of the motor. They may be correct or not, bottom line is I am disappointed. I still love the Vision and miss it.
Scott Wine, President Victory Motorcycles
2100 Hwy 55
Medina, MN 55340-9770
Mr. Wine
I purchased a Victory Vision in July of 2011. I wrote to you then to ask
for help in getting a 5 year extended warranty because a week after I
purchased the Vision the price dropped $3000.00 (letter enclosed). I
am very grateful that Victory accommodated my request, thank you.
As I mentioned in my letter then I like to put miles on the bike and I
have found the Vision to be the most comfortable and rewarding bike
that I have ever ridden. In the one year that I have had the bike I
have put 20,000 miles on it. I am a daily rider (commuting) as well as
an endurance rider, 1000 mile per day to get out west to Utah, AZ and
NM.
The reason I write this letter is that my wonderful Vision has been in
the shop (Napalm Motorsports in Austin, TX) for 2 months. The engine
has been taken out of the bike and a total tear down of the engine has
been done.
Let me state below the chronological events that led to this.
1.) 7/23/11- Purchased Victory Vision from McAlester Motorsports in
McAlester, OK.
2.) 7/30/11- 600-mile service done by Napalm Motorsports in Austin,
TX.
3.) 10/21/11 ? 4448 miles. Oil Change performed and inspection done
by Napalm Motorsports in Austin, TX. At this time I mentioned to
(Chris Halonen) service writer that I was concerned by a ticking noise
on start up coming from engine. He listened and said not to be
concerned.
4.) 12/10/11 ? 7,800 miles. ? I purchased Victory Oil Filter and
changed engine oil using Castrol ?ACT-EVO X-TRA 4T 20W50.
5.) 3/31/12 -12,163 miles. Purchased Victory Oil Filter and changed
engine oil using Castrol ?ACT-EVO X-TRA 4T 20W50.
6.) 6/2/12 ? 17,200 miles. Purchased Victory Oil Filter and changed
engine oil using Castrol ?ACT-EVO X-TRA 4T 20W50.
7.) 7/16/12 ? 19,560 miles. I took the bike to Napalm Motor-Sports
for tire change. I spoke with the new service writer (Thomas) and new
head mechanic (Jerry). I asked Jerry to come out and listen to my bike
as the ticking noise was still of concern to me. He did listen to it and
agreed that it needed investigation. He stated that he was booked
solid and asked if I could drop it off in 2 weeks.
8.) I dropped of bike on or about 7/28/12 and waited hear back from
Jerry.
9.) Various phone calls back and forth between Jerry and Victory
trying to figure out the ticking noise. A starter drive was replaced and
that did not solve the problem.
10.) Jerry called me to inform me that when I dropped the bike off it
was 5 days after my factory warranty had expired. That we would
need to be on the extended warranty and that he thought a total
teardown of the engine was needed to find the problem. I authorized
him to take the engine apart to find out what the problem was.
11.) I received a call from Jerry stating that he has found out what
the problem is. He took the motor completely down and in the oil
pump he has found a large plastic mass blocking the intake screen of
the oil pump. This plastic mass looks to be of clear Mylar packing
material that at one time would have been 8 ?? x 11? big. It is now in
many small pieces, It has holes punched in it and some obscure
markings on it. He feels that it was left in the engine when the
engine/transmission was being assembled. He thought it too large to
have been put in after engine was assembled. He has taken pictures of
it and sent it to someone at Victory to see if they can identify it.
12.) 09/15/12 - I went by Napalm Motorsports to talk to Jerry and look
at the plastic mass. Jerry said that pistons were scored and the crank
bearings showed damage. The oil pump screen is torn where the
plastic was sucked up against it. Jerry is amazed that there isn?t more
damage.
So here we are, here is the bottom line:
1.) I love this bike and have truly missed not being able to ride it for
the last 2 months. I am a daily rider.
2.) I brought this to the attention of the dealer at 5,000 miles and was
told not worry about it.
3.) On 7/16/12 - I brought the bike to Napalm Motorsports for a tire
change. While I was there I asked Jerry to take a look at the bike. He
listened to the bike and agreed that it needed to be looked into but did
not have the time then and asked if I could bring it back later.
I was not aware that if I brought the bike back in two weeks that it
would fall 5 days outside the factory warranty. I brought it to the
dealership for a tire change and to have the noise investigated on the
16th of July, which falls inside my factory warranty. I want this engine
repair/replacement to be done under the factory warranty.
4.) I do not know how, where or why the plastic foreign object came to
be in the engine.
5.) I have maintained the bike to specifications and have the
documentation to back it up.
Two months have past since this saga has started. I feel that I have been very patient. I would very much appreciate your help in this matter. Thank you,
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Cruiser
Posts: 219
Pittsburgh, PA | That whole story sucks. Let us know the final answer. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1290
Ruskin, Fl | Good luck. I hope they take care of it for your. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773
Pittsburgh, PA | omg how strange.... im so sorry this happened to you.. makes me wonder how that plastic got down there? could one of the oil filters done this? i read of victory/polaris having oil filters with NO INSIDES!! someone even posted photos.. or would it ever be possible someone removed your dip stick and pushed something down there? i mean "if" there is No Way it could have happened at the factory. (according to vic). |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 880
Orlando, FL | swmckinley54, was a bit confused. You state Vic is not going to cover this issue. Was the letter written before that decision, or after?
Here's my take. SUE THE BASTARDS if they do not give you a replacement engine/tranny. Ok, let your ins co cover what they will, pay the difference, then if the out of pocket cost is too much, sue 'em. (Keep in mind your insurance company might be entitled to any recovery as that would change the validity of your claim do to vandalism. Seems fairly apparent that this was an assembly issue. Perhaps a disgruntled assembly line employee. I love my Vic, but the dealerships and the Home Office sometimes have their arrogant heads up thier arse. But then most companies today have forgotten the remedy of taking care of the customer even if he is wrong. And of course we are never wrong! LOL They are so big, the financial impact of refusing to take care of the customers issue is immaterial. I'm sure you, like myself can remember the days when companies were small enough that taking care of the customer was extremely important to their success. Nowadays, ya need a lawyer. People wonder why so many lawyers exist. And I always chuckle, reminding them that if the need was not there, they would not exist! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 59
Austin Texas Yaaaalll | The letter was written before the I heard that they were not going to cover the damage. I wrote the letter as a proactive move. Now if indeed the damage is a result of vandalism, I can see their point, why should they pay? But I can see the point of a disgruntled employee also committing this act. I have no way of knowing which is the truth, nor when it happened. I am just acutely aware of the end result which is....I have a messed up bike and I am left to find an avenue of repair. I had the original factory warranty, extended warranty and comprehensive insurance. I am at the end of the line, unless I take legal action which I don't really have the funds to do.
I also believe this is a one off deal, not a pervasive problem at Victory, so I am not angry with Victory. I believe that the Vision/106 motor is truly a wonderful machine and would buy another.
The bottom line is that My bike is screwed up and I had nothing to do with it. I performed all scheduled maintenance and took proper care of the bike.
Nuff said bout that. |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| Yes you could get a lawyer but then there so big you could get a settle meant when your 95
Bit the bullet and sell it or buy a motor.
Sorry for your loss. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 102
Cary, NC | I had an engine problem with my 2011 VV also. After 1800 miles I got a low oil pressure light. The bike was taken to the dealer and it was determined that an o-ring was crushed on the engine build. I begged for a new engine as I did not trust the rebuilt engine. I was given a warranty extension to 5 years and told everything was fine. At 8000 miles the engine was burning oil. It was taken to the dealer and the rear cylinder, both pistons, rings and associated parts were replaced. Again I begged for a new engine and did not get one. The engine is now running like it should have when I first bought it. I love the way the bike rides and looks but I will always have a burning hatred for the way the whole situation was handled. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 104
ROCHESTER,NY | Don't call a lawyer yet, call your State Attorney General. They love this shit.
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Cruiser
Posts: 59
Austin Texas Yaaaalll | It ended up being a $5,000.00 dollar repair which the insurance cut me a check of $4000.00. Funny enough the customer service for Vic just called me and said the are looking into it. WHAT??????? 3 months after the fact, what are they going to do about it now?
Edited by swmckinley54 2012-10-30 7:34 AM
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Visionary
Posts: 1350
| It does sound strange that if the plastic bag was in there from manufacturing that it took a year to do something? |
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Warranty Issues