Warranty - Denied!

Well, the folks at Honda Motorcycle Warranty have responded with a resounding denied. Apparently they take exception to me doing my own work. My decision to work on my bike, with the assistance of professionals on the internet and the factory manual, apparently is not a good thing for Honda Warranty people.

Sorry, but the logic of this doesn't hold. If I were to be changing spark plugs and found a chunk of metal in the cylinders would they cover it? Are people with motorcycles under warranty supposed to have Honda mechanics do everything, including oil changes, to the tune of $95 per hour?

I am not done with them yet.

In all fairness, yes, I didn't bring the bike into the shop until after the warranty had expired. That not withstanding, this is a major problem that occurred before the warranty had expired, I did see a motorcycle mechanic when it was first noticed and the external symptom of this problem is extremely minor; just a little oil seepage.

Can you tell I am a bit frustrated with Honda right now?

And now for the Warranty...

Well, my little Honda Rebel is nestled safely at Ride Now on Boulder. Surprisingly, well not really, Honda Customer Service had no record of the call I made to them last week about my engine woes. So, I call again, this time getting a name and explaining the situation.

As before, I am told that since I didn't get my bike into the shop before the warranty expired, my expectations should be tempered. Further explaining that the symptom was extremely minor and was not viewed as an urgent situation by anyone I spoke with, did not seem to sway the attitude of the customer service representative.

But, on the up-side, a 'case manager' should contact me within the next few days. We shall see how it goes.

And now for something completely different... Think SP CFI, baby. I am NOT letting my motorcycle woes keep me down!

Thanks

A special thanks goes out to the little Red Winged Blackbirds that visited my little bird feeder this weekend. You see, there aren't many of these birds in the area. They prefer wet areas over the barren desert. Of nearly five years of having a bird feeder, this is a first.

And it came at an interesting, welcome time in my life.

Oh, as a motorcycle update, here is what I found when preparing to torque up the head and cylinder bolts on my Rebel... See all of those pretty stripped threads on the end? Those aren't from a nut that can be replaced. Rather, they are from the engine casing.

Here's the crux of the problem... This likely was caused before the warranty coverage had expired. The problem was that the only symptom was a little oil seepage, first discovereed in Kansas. So, not seeing a major problem, and with the agreement of a bike mechanic, I didn't worry about it until returning back to Vegas... AFTER the coverage period was over.

So, today she goes in. Hopefully the Ride Now dealership and the folks at Honda will agree to repair it within the warranty terms. I didn't mistreat her or ever touch that bolt. I didn't do it. Just feeling some 'motorcycle blues'.