OK, so this offeseason I planned to have a ton of stuff done to my bike- new wheels, suspension, rearsets, heated grips, a painted engine, a SSS put on, a tailchop and an ex box exhaust from a 695 welded to fit my new setup, along with various other bolt ons like new tires and an oil cooler. 


The problem is that I dont have a garage and tools, and am new to bikes.  So i went to a local shop to get it done.  The guy was informative, nice, and seemed like a good fit. I knew what I wanted done so I just needed somebody to do the wrench turning.   He's had my bike since fall.  I purchased the oil cooler, wheels, rearsets, suspension, swingarm.  He was responsible for purchasing a new rear sprocket, chain, grips, fitting the ex box, painting (vht, so spray) the engine (masking takes a while) and cooler, exhaust, and a few other little parts, sending some other parts to powdercoat, and assembling.

I paid upfront in deposits and a LOT of money has gone his way, not to mention parts that i no longer needed as a swap for "labor".


We had talked late in the winter about getting it rebuilt before his shop gets crazy in the spring.  I would call him frequently to check on the status, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere.  Then the spring rush came and I was stuck with no bike.  I kept calling to ask when we were going to build it and he would tell me something along the lines of "tomorrow- stop by at the end of the day to see the progress" but I'd get there and there would be nothing done.  Two weekends and a row he had me coming in to meet him on a saturday morning to help him, only to not call me until 3-4pm, then tell me sunday, then stand me up then as well.  Last week he called me tuesday to tell me that he had set aside last wednesday and thursday just for putting together my bike - another likely story, as thursday night I went in, and the painted engine was still unfinished and hanging, and the frame was still on the floor with the forks in the same shipped box.  I was visibly upset , and then called him the next day and got no answer.  A couple hours later his receptionist (gf) calle dme (for the first time ever instead of him) to tell me that she had me in the schedule for friday and saturday.   

This week he finally made some progress.  I went in tuesday and the bike was mocked up: 





(btw does the rear end look high to anyone else?)

The tires, which were like the first thing I told him to order, weren't in.  also, the engine needed another coat, the exhaust was being re-tigged (they screwed up the first time) and needed a coat of VHT, and a couple other small pieces needed a spray.    The problem was this meant the bike needed to be taken apart and back together again.  "You'lll be riding thursday" was what I was told and I told him i was going to hold him to that.    So I called yesterday and he said everything was ready and waiting on the new tire since he ordered the thinner one to spec for my old bike on the rear and needed the new one and it still wasnt in "supposedly it was coming wednesday".  He said he needed to pick it up at UPS and we were good to go.  Ok, so its been forever and we are about 6 weeks into when I was supposed to get the bike, I'm angry but he's done right? 

Then last night I get this email at like 1a.m. :   


Tom,

I have been running into finish issues with your bike.

I have put considerable effort into getting you ready and have not been able to meet the goal that I promised you.

In an effort to bring this project to a conclusion I need to push the finish date out.

I’m not sure that giving you a time frame is reasonable as I cannot foresee what more issues will arise.



I’m sure that this will agitate you as we have been down this avenue already.

I do regret not managing my time more wisely; a one man shop is just that.

I am posting a closed notice on the door and turning the phone off.

I will call you Friday afternoon to update you and have made this bike my only priority.


john


So what should I do?  I mean, there was a lot of stuff to do here, but NONE of it couldnt have been done 2 months ago.  Further, it really isn't that much work.  The engine has been sprayed black waiting for a finish coat for about a month.  I really just want to start riding and despite my long fuse am getting angry and depressed.

Sorry mang. You could stop by and check it out, but he sounds like he realizes he's f'ed up. If he stays true to his word and prioritizes it. Then all is good, if he starts messing off again, maybe it's time to pick it up, and get money back on the uncompleted portion. On the plus side it looks good. wt:

from the email it sounds like he is staying courteous and professional with you, and acknowledging your frustration - that counts for a little. 

Sounds like you guys need to have some realistic expectations about when all this work can be completed. 

Understanding how much work is involved for completion would be great but I doubt he knows or can estimate. A good start would be to sit down with the guy and work out what still needs to be done and work on that list. He can update you as each item is completed or runs into issues. If there are issues, he should list those as well so that you can see what he's coming up against and then track their progress as they are resolved. I'd also suggest going in there every night after work and helping. Try not to be frustrated with him, it won't help. I know the feeling, my bike has been in the shop for several weeks with nothing happening, it's not as long as yours but still frustrating.

Bike looks awesome btw, looking forward to seeing pics when it's done.

They also serve
Who only stand and wait. --John Milton

Hang in there dude. You are in the short rows now. Good things do take time.

Continue to be polite and graceful. In the end you win. You'll be ridin soon. mo:t:

But also, do make sure that you get what you paid for.

LA

Yeah, he got his timing all screwed up, but judging by this last email (and if he follows through with what he said), he seems professional enough to keep dealing with.  You're in the home stretch, so I say hang in there.

Sounds like he's attempting to make it right.

I'd be double checking his work like nobody's business though.  You'll certainly want to make sure that he doesn't take shortcuts in an effort to cut time and/or cost off the job.

Just remember that soon you will have the baddest 695 in the history of the world.  Too bad you don't have a second bike to keep your mind off not riding. 

What brand of wheels are those?  They look like carrozzeria forged Al wheels.  Are those stock forks which have been coated black or something else?  Are those radial brakes?  You have definitely put some money into this bike. 

Be persistent, I had my S4Rs in the dealership for 9 whole make the beast with two backsing months and they didn´t do jack. In the end I got a happy solution but it was a pain in the ass.

Not a lot you can do now except take him at his word.

Sounds like both he and you are on a learning experience.  It sounds like he needs a lesson in time management but it also sounds like he is admitting he screwed up.  He still sounds committed to seeing this project through to the end.  It looks like it's just assembly issues now.

It's going to be a great looking bike.  Patience Grasshopper 

Quote from: ducati_steve on May 09, 2008, 06:56:06 AM
Yeah, he got his timing all screwed up, but judging by this last email (and if he follows through with what he said), he seems professional enough to keep dealing with.  You're in the home stretch, so I say hang in there.

+1

You're in custom bike building land, when it comes to time and money, those are hard to get an accurate estimate.

I would be more concerned about getting good quality work.

If this is your first experience building a bike, you're to be commended for both your patience and your vision.  The bike looks like it'll turn out very well.  Any chance you'll have a garage and some tools in your future?  I'd hate to see you go down this road twice, and certainly don't deal with this guy again, despite his good intentions.  Being in business means managing time and resources, and this guy fails on both counts.  All that aside, I agree with the other posts here.  You're in the home stretch (hopefully) and should be riding soon.  I just hope this guy hasn't closed his shop permanently and left you hanging out to dry.  Keep camped out at his door and make sure your bike gets done, then ride off into the wind.  Good luck.

All - thanks for the compliments and advice. 

To answer a couple questions:

1) This is my my first bike, so also my first attempt to mod or build a bike
2) I won't have a garage or tools anytime soon but I will before I do this again
3) The big thing for me is that this is like the 8th time that this has happened where it was going to be built "tomorrow" and not happened
4)  The wheels are indeed the Carrozzeria forged aluminum V-Stars.  I like them, but they are heavier than advertised and they used the DSS front to match with the SSS wheel rather than making a new one so they look a little funny together
5)  The suspension is a GSXR swap, with AWESOME spacers made by qfactor from the old board (thanks a lot buddy).  I had them anodized and pulled apart with new

Lastly, and I know this is being redundant, but does anyone think that the swingarm is angled too high the way its sitting?  This is very important because they were custom making the top of the ex-box exhaust to fit through the swingarm appropriately ( I know, i know, i should have just bought the one for the 800, but I already had this one in ceramic black and John convinced me that they could make it fit easy and do it cheaper (while keeping the money local on the welder rather than to quat-d)


edit-  as I wrote that thing he called me and said that welding the ex-box was the problem...and he still hasnt re-painted the engine....

The rear does look a little high but part of that will be that you have no tires on your bike. Once you get tires on it won't look so bad. I'm hoping that you have a ride height adjuster added to your bike and a custom shock, if so you should be able to adjust the rear end height if it is too high for you. Make sure you have room to adjust down or up from where it is now or you could run into trouble.

I agree with mxwinky, don't slack on this, be there straight after work. To reiterate, remain calm and get a list of work to be completed to a reasonable level of detail. Then you can work out from there how long it'll take and account for delays. He may be a great mechanic but that doesn't mean he's good at managing his time. This means that you have to do it or just wait.

Good luck.

The saga continues...

I went in there on Saturday and nothing had been done to my bike.  The engine (unfinished) was still in the frame and everything else was off. John was working on someone else's bike that he apparently also dropped the ball on, understandable if he hadnt claimed I was the only priority in the email.

After standing there and staring into the abyss for awhile he explained that he hadnt been truthful with me because he didnt want to upset me since he had done nothing, and apologized for breaking trust.  He asked what he could do for me, and I said "work on my bike" to which he replied that the sooner i left so he could finish the other bike the sooner he could get to mine.  I explained that this sounded great but it was probably the 6th different bike he's said that about.  I also said that this project could have been completed in late march before the rush and he agreed.    He brought up the concept of compensating me back on the bill, gave me his word that I'd see progress if I came back at noon Sunday.

Went there at 12:45 Sunday and he wasn't there.

He called me at 5pm and told me a bunch of stuff was done and he would call me today with an update.

Should I be giving him a cutoff date?  The thing is, if he worked on this efficiently for a full day itd be done.

And what should I be thinking of for "compensation" on the bill?


We've had 3 weeks straight of great weather and as of this thursday its supposed to rain for 7 days....