Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
Received the following email from the dealership's service manager:
[my name] I spoke with Qlink today the raditors are on there way I should see them any day.
Thanks [service manager]
Sent this in response to the email:
Thanks [service manager].
The thing seems like it is worse than before- it was overheating yesterday just sitting there at idle.
(Overheating or not- the temp gauge was below the red zone, but coolant was spilling out at idle.)
It used to be that it would ONLY do that when the throttle was rev ved. It could sit there all day before at idle- without the cap on- and it would hardly hit the red zone when the fan would come on. Then it would cool down to below the screw in the gauge face, then go off until it heated up again. I never had coolant spilling out before just sitting there.
I'll watch for the radiator. Was there another part of this modification? (Did QLink put a different fan, sensor, or mounting change in the 2007 models? Or will it be pretty much identical except for size?) I can mod any brackets needed, but if you know of any mounting difference let me know and I'll start hunting through the aluminum pile this week!
Thanks again!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
October 19th, 2007
Monday, October 19th, 2007
Sent the following to [dealership owner]:
[dealership owner]
I received the radiator cap (on Wednesday I bet,) and put it on yesterday. The bike is still doing the same thing. I only had to add 3/4 of the 0.5 liters (I could figure this amount out...but it's late and I'm ready to roll!...) that I added last time to bring the radiator to the point of being full.
The next step was the / a bigger radiator?
I'm out of here for the weekend. If you need to get in touch with me, you can call me on the cell phone at any time of day. (Ringer is off if I'm in bed, so you can always leave a message.)
Oh- tell [the service manager] thanks for replacing the front fairing body panel clip. Mine dropped down into the fairing, rattling down to the underside where I'd have had to remove the whole lower section to get it out, when I took it off at one point. I found a generic body clip from back in the VW days and used that- but [the service manager] must have seen it and changed it out. Tell him thanks for that!
Have a good weekend if I don't talk to you!
Sent the following to [dealership owner]:
[dealership owner]
I received the radiator cap (on Wednesday I bet,) and put it on yesterday. The bike is still doing the same thing. I only had to add 3/4 of the 0.5 liters (I could figure this amount out...but it's late and I'm ready to roll!...) that I added last time to bring the radiator to the point of being full.
The next step was the / a bigger radiator?
I'm out of here for the weekend. If you need to get in touch with me, you can call me on the cell phone at any time of day. (Ringer is off if I'm in bed, so you can always leave a message.)
Oh- tell [the service manager] thanks for replacing the front fairing body panel clip. Mine dropped down into the fairing, rattling down to the underside where I'd have had to remove the whole lower section to get it out, when I took it off at one point. I found a generic body clip from back in the VW days and used that- but [the service manager] must have seen it and changed it out. Tell him thanks for that!
Have a good weekend if I don't talk to you!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
October 18th, 2007
Wednesday, October 18th
Received the radiator cap that should have been delivered the day I picked up my bike. Put the cap on, and the same things happened. This one was stamped with the CFMOTO logo, and “1.1”
When I opened the front fairing to gain access to the radiator, I just about fell over. The cap I had installed on the bike when it went to [the dealer] was marked "MEXICO" and 16psi. The cap I found returned FROM [the dealer] was marked "1.1" with the STANT logo on it.This means that [the dealer] actually HAD tried another radiator cap!! Imagine- another cap was put on and tried. It didn't work. Do you THINK the mechanic could have tried another one? What do you think? He had as many different caps to try as they had bikes on the showroom floor- and there were plenty of those. So which is it? He only put one on? He tried more than one? In any case, I was lied to.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
October 16th, 2007
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007
Received the following email from [the dealership owner]:
This is making me crazy! I had the bike out two days before you were here and it was overheating at extended idling and then settling down after riding at normal speeds. I don't understand it.
I was out for over half an hour with it last week. I realize it was still blowing coolant before you got here Friday and am very disappointed about that.
We have to return old parts to QLINK like we do with other vendors. We'll just have to keep plugging away at it. Will send cap when we get it.
[dealership owner]
Received the following email from [the dealership owner]:
This is making me crazy! I had the bike out two days before you were here and it was overheating at extended idling and then settling down after riding at normal speeds. I don't understand it.
I was out for over half an hour with it last week. I realize it was still blowing coolant before you got here Friday and am very disappointed about that.
We have to return old parts to QLINK like we do with other vendors. We'll just have to keep plugging away at it. Will send cap when we get it.
[dealership owner]
Monday, October 15, 2007
October 15th, 2007
Monday, October 15th, 2007
Sent the following email to [dealership owner]:
[dealership owner]-
Further riding verifies the problem hasn't changed at all. One thing though- the fan does NOT cycle like before. It seems sporadic. Before it would cycle fine- needle would rise above face screw, fan would come on. Needle would drop below face screw to about 1/3 hot and fan would go off. Now it is lucky to run even when touching red zone.
Can you tell me what was done? If it was the temp sender, can I have the old one back? The temps I'm experiencing are no different according to the gauge than before, indicating there was no difference between the old and new senders. (I don't know if the sender controls the fan or just a signal to the gauge without looking at it further.) At this point the bike is more likely to heat up faster because the fan does not come on when it's supposed to. At least this is what I've observed. I'll let it cool down tonight to cold, then start it and see what the fan is doing that way.
Thanks again!
Sent the following email to [dealership owner]:
[dealership owner]-
Further riding verifies the problem hasn't changed at all. One thing though- the fan does NOT cycle like before. It seems sporadic. Before it would cycle fine- needle would rise above face screw, fan would come on. Needle would drop below face screw to about 1/3 hot and fan would go off. Now it is lucky to run even when touching red zone.
Can you tell me what was done? If it was the temp sender, can I have the old one back? The temps I'm experiencing are no different according to the gauge than before, indicating there was no difference between the old and new senders. (I don't know if the sender controls the fan or just a signal to the gauge without looking at it further.) At this point the bike is more likely to heat up faster because the fan does not come on when it's supposed to. At least this is what I've observed. I'll let it cool down tonight to cold, then start it and see what the fan is doing that way.
Thanks again!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
October 13th, 2007- I am now my own repairman.
Saturday, October 13th, 2007
Drove the two hour trip to [the dealership] to pick up the scooter. At this point I was told that the bike was running better but still "hotter than what [the dealership owner] was used to seeing." I was told that they were expecting a radiator cap to show up on this day, but would probably be in the afternoon. For this reason, I started up there a little later, hoping the cap would show while I was there.
I bought about $90 worth of accessory items, including an armored riding jacket and gloves, while waiting. I also took a walk around the showroom to look at the bikes in stock. [The maintenance manager] was steadfast in saying that the new radiator cap could fix the problem, and that I might have gotten a second defective cap when I bought my replacement locally. Because of this, I looked at the bikes in stock to see what radiator caps they used. Sure enough, they were the same 1.1 / 16psi cap that the Pegasus uses.
I knew right away I was getting the shaft from [the service manager], who stood there each time we talked, arms crossed, and defensive about his opinion. The way a normal dealership would have done this would have been to try another cap from stock, or from bike inventory, on my scooter- before making me drive four hours in one day for nothing. Not here. He was either lying to the owner, or the owner didn't want to deal with the problem either.
When I was done walking around, the bike finally got put out front, and I saw that the cargo box was still fastened to the bike. It had been inspected. I test drove the bike by riding about five miles, and noticed that coolant was still pushing out of the coolant reservoir. Both [the service manager] and [the dealership owner] were concerned that the radiator cap was still not replaced, and were hoping this would end the issues.
[The dealership owner] discussed the issue with me at length. He seemed genuinely concerned about the problem, which, again, makes me think he didn't have close contact with the bike. He helped mount the scooter to my trailer. I reiterated how much experience I had with engine work, what I do for a living, and [the dealership owner] agreed to let me work on it under warranty.
Both [the service manager] and [the dealership owner] told me that I needed to keep "quiet on the internet." Which it is now painfully evident that I am not doing.
I think, if you read the whole saga here you will understand why I feel it important to tell. I've been more than patient. I've given a lot of time, effort, and money towards this. This was a brand new, dealer prepped item that was nearly twice as expensive as others in the same class. (If that can be said. I still feel this scooter could be in a league all of its own, but without support, and without a real warranty, it is completely worthless. It can't be on the road and used without it.)
As far as [the dealership] goes, I have to say a few things.
I've already mentioned that [the dealership owner] seemed very sympathetic regarding the problem. He picked my bike up over two hours from his shop on a return delivery to another customer. (Taking responsibility for anything that might happen to it during the trip.) He, it could be said, did as much as he could given the constraints put on him by QLink. And then some. The place seemed to work like a well-oiled machine. The counter help answered the phones, took orders, did clerical work, etc, and everything seemed very professional to me. If I were in the market for a scooter, and lived closer, I'd buy there first. Just not the same brand.
Despite pages of communication to the dealer and QLink, and one-on-one conversations with both, I was forced to have a number of repairs attempted prior to attempting a head gasket replacement.
This repair took place around October 11th. It took two days for me to go to the dealer to pick the bike up.
The reason I made the two hour trip was because I was told that the owner drove the bike around town, and that- other than running a bit hotter than "normal bikes," it wasn't blowing coolant. I was assured that a third radiator cap would fix this, and it was supposed to arrive the day I traveled to the dealer.
They told me that the parts they installed were from the 2007 scooter. (Temperature gauge sending unit and thermostat.) Prior to this, I had taken the thermostat out and hot-bath-tested it to see if it was o.k.. Of course, it was, and this was communicated to the dealer as well.
This is why I have now decided to tell the rest of this story. The real way. Bear with me as the posts are changed so that others won't have the same bullshit played on them as was on me.
So, this so-called "repair" fixed absolutely nothing. I decided, since I was being lied to, and since they paid no attention to all I had said to them, that I was taking the bike and fixing it myself.
Anyhow, from this point forward, the bike was mine, the work was in my hands, and all I had to do is struggle to communicate to the dealer, and wait forever for things to get shipped to them. They express mailed everything to me after each delivery.
Drove the two hour trip to [the dealership] to pick up the scooter. At this point I was told that the bike was running better but still "hotter than what [the dealership owner] was used to seeing." I was told that they were expecting a radiator cap to show up on this day, but would probably be in the afternoon. For this reason, I started up there a little later, hoping the cap would show while I was there.
I bought about $90 worth of accessory items, including an armored riding jacket and gloves, while waiting. I also took a walk around the showroom to look at the bikes in stock. [The maintenance manager] was steadfast in saying that the new radiator cap could fix the problem, and that I might have gotten a second defective cap when I bought my replacement locally. Because of this, I looked at the bikes in stock to see what radiator caps they used. Sure enough, they were the same 1.1 / 16psi cap that the Pegasus uses.
I knew right away I was getting the shaft from [the service manager], who stood there each time we talked, arms crossed, and defensive about his opinion. The way a normal dealership would have done this would have been to try another cap from stock, or from bike inventory, on my scooter- before making me drive four hours in one day for nothing. Not here. He was either lying to the owner, or the owner didn't want to deal with the problem either.
When I was done walking around, the bike finally got put out front, and I saw that the cargo box was still fastened to the bike. It had been inspected. I test drove the bike by riding about five miles, and noticed that coolant was still pushing out of the coolant reservoir. Both [the service manager] and [the dealership owner] were concerned that the radiator cap was still not replaced, and were hoping this would end the issues.
[The dealership owner] discussed the issue with me at length. He seemed genuinely concerned about the problem, which, again, makes me think he didn't have close contact with the bike. He helped mount the scooter to my trailer. I reiterated how much experience I had with engine work, what I do for a living, and [the dealership owner] agreed to let me work on it under warranty.
Both [the service manager] and [the dealership owner] told me that I needed to keep "quiet on the internet." Which it is now painfully evident that I am not doing.
I think, if you read the whole saga here you will understand why I feel it important to tell. I've been more than patient. I've given a lot of time, effort, and money towards this. This was a brand new, dealer prepped item that was nearly twice as expensive as others in the same class. (If that can be said. I still feel this scooter could be in a league all of its own, but without support, and without a real warranty, it is completely worthless. It can't be on the road and used without it.)
As far as [the dealership] goes, I have to say a few things.
I've already mentioned that [the dealership owner] seemed very sympathetic regarding the problem. He picked my bike up over two hours from his shop on a return delivery to another customer. (Taking responsibility for anything that might happen to it during the trip.) He, it could be said, did as much as he could given the constraints put on him by QLink. And then some. The place seemed to work like a well-oiled machine. The counter help answered the phones, took orders, did clerical work, etc, and everything seemed very professional to me. If I were in the market for a scooter, and lived closer, I'd buy there first. Just not the same brand.
Despite pages of communication to the dealer and QLink, and one-on-one conversations with both, I was forced to have a number of repairs attempted prior to attempting a head gasket replacement.
This repair took place around October 11th. It took two days for me to go to the dealer to pick the bike up.
The reason I made the two hour trip was because I was told that the owner drove the bike around town, and that- other than running a bit hotter than "normal bikes," it wasn't blowing coolant. I was assured that a third radiator cap would fix this, and it was supposed to arrive the day I traveled to the dealer.
They told me that the parts they installed were from the 2007 scooter. (Temperature gauge sending unit and thermostat.) Prior to this, I had taken the thermostat out and hot-bath-tested it to see if it was o.k.. Of course, it was, and this was communicated to the dealer as well.
This is why I have now decided to tell the rest of this story. The real way. Bear with me as the posts are changed so that others won't have the same bullshit played on them as was on me.
So, this so-called "repair" fixed absolutely nothing. I decided, since I was being lied to, and since they paid no attention to all I had said to them, that I was taking the bike and fixing it myself.
Anyhow, from this point forward, the bike was mine, the work was in my hands, and all I had to do is struggle to communicate to the dealer, and wait forever for things to get shipped to them. They express mailed everything to me after each delivery.
Friday, October 12, 2007
October 12th, 2007
Friday, October 12th, 2007
Sent the following email to [the dealership owner]:
Hey [dealership owner],
I'll be leaving around 11:00 this morning to head up. It'll probably take me right at about two hours to get there.
Did you guys have time to address the flat spot from stop to go? Can you throw a quick inspection on it? I'm going to have to remove the rear cargo "box" so I can strap down to the rear deck plate to trailer it home. Can you let me know whether I need to bring my own tools along to do that?
FYI- I noticed that your links to "discount apparel" are down- the page returns an error when trying to retrieve page:
[website page address]
I was looking for a bright colored windproof outer shell and maybe a few other things.
If you have any questions, you can reach me at the work number below until about 10:45. My cell phone number will be good from then on, except for the usual dead spots coming up [the roads heading to the dealership, and a nearby town along the route]. Leave a message and I'll get back to you.
Thanks again!
I received the following email from [the dealership owner]:
[my name]
I didn't notice a flat spot after take off. Seemed to run like all the Pegasus I've ridden. Will have the guys ride it this AM to check it out.
You may miss me today. I'm out of the office from 1:15 to 2:15. Hopefully you'll arrive before I leave. Given the timing your new radiator cap might be here by then!
If the owners papers and insurance info are on the bike we can get it inspected this morning. We don't do inspections ourselves but will get it done this AM if the papers are there.
I'll ask the guys to remove your top box this morning so you can transport it.
Ask the ladies to show you the AGV coats at $59.99 they are a bargain!
Look forward to meeting you!!
[the dealership owner]
Sent the following email to [the dealership owner]:
Hey [dealership owner],
I'll be leaving around 11:00 this morning to head up. It'll probably take me right at about two hours to get there.
Did you guys have time to address the flat spot from stop to go? Can you throw a quick inspection on it? I'm going to have to remove the rear cargo "box" so I can strap down to the rear deck plate to trailer it home. Can you let me know whether I need to bring my own tools along to do that?
FYI- I noticed that your links to "discount apparel" are down- the page returns an error when trying to retrieve page:
[website page address]
I was looking for a bright colored windproof outer shell and maybe a few other things.
If you have any questions, you can reach me at the work number below until about 10:45. My cell phone number will be good from then on, except for the usual dead spots coming up [the roads heading to the dealership, and a nearby town along the route]. Leave a message and I'll get back to you.
Thanks again!
I received the following email from [the dealership owner]:
[my name]
I didn't notice a flat spot after take off. Seemed to run like all the Pegasus I've ridden. Will have the guys ride it this AM to check it out.
You may miss me today. I'm out of the office from 1:15 to 2:15. Hopefully you'll arrive before I leave. Given the timing your new radiator cap might be here by then!
If the owners papers and insurance info are on the bike we can get it inspected this morning. We don't do inspections ourselves but will get it done this AM if the papers are there.
I'll ask the guys to remove your top box this morning so you can transport it.
Ask the ladies to show you the AGV coats at $59.99 they are a bargain!
Look forward to meeting you!!
[the dealership owner]
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