PDA

View Full Version : Personal battle with Bernie@ Performance Cycle


84broncoII
08-25-2009, 03:25 AM
:eek: I dont know what I did to this woman for her to be so spiteful and Mean.I truly believe that She hates Me .
I dont know what her motives are ?I truly believe She took a personal interest in making shure I was a dissatisfied customer .She told me on the phone that she is the owner so I guess she can run her business any way she chooses .
I have been dealing with Performance Cycle because I got refered to them by a friend ,Next door niebor .They basicly have a pretty good selection on the shelves of a wide veriaty of farkles for all bikes .It is all kind of overpriced but it saves the hassle of ordering directly from the web .
I know now that I'll never buy another tire there .probable get shot if I show up there especially if she reads this story :headbanger:.I guess I can only pray to God for that :angel:.Not the shot part ,just the reading the story .
THE EXPLODING TIRE:
:pale: I bought two tires from this place about three months ago because they had a sale on some Dunlops fifty bucks marked down from seventy as im a pretty frugal guy I decided to go see what I could find so I could go do some riding last weekend ( I gotta say though if anyone wants tires for Bikes Coyoty Motorsports has a better deal on all tires .they sell at cost and they have a huge wearhouse right in town so even special orders dont take more than a day or so.)Back to the story .:
I wake up and drive down to the store, ask the salesman about tires and He walks Me over to the rack. Asks Me what tire I want : Im thinking I want something that will last forever, so thats what I ask him for, several times; For the hardest tire they sell . Something that'll wear down slowly even if I ride on the street .I explain to Him ; I dont ride on the street .So, it doesnt have to be DOT aproved but never the lass I want it to last like a street tire. Knowing full well the hard terain tires are usually more expensive .He then asks Me what kind of places I like to ride .I tell Him all over Carnage canyon is the first thing that came to mind and the shale up there rips up soft tires .Im trying to paint a picture of the nastiest places around on tires so then I say CORE the track out there is like spinning tires on the street when its dry like it has been .He shows Me three tires the most expensive of which is just the oposit of hard it says on it its for soft terain.and He's trying to convince Me that its good for the street because its soft and the softer rubber gets a better bite on the street .Im gullable i just want a good tire .I dont buy that one though cause I think Hes full of shit .so I ask Him what else He has .then He gets a little pissy and shows Me two more .his aditude changes and He acts like Im waisting His time .I wanted to hear how much bullshit this guy was willing to shovel so I keep asking questions and He continues to grow more perterbed like I wasn't listening to Him in the first place .He quickly shows Me a desert tire but ads that they dont have it in my size .and another tire a prety good one a maxxis it that is a intermediate/hard terain tire and then He switched to the Dunlop and really lays it on .all the time He doesnt really let me think and has this aditude that Makes Me feel uncomfortable .i just say like before which tire is going to last the longest .so He goes back to the soft tire and I say no .I tell Him that I dont ride on soft terain and dont want a soft tire despite what He's been telling me .at that point i got a little confused and couldn't rember which tire they had in My size that was worth a shit cause this other guy came over and started some other crap .Im a little fed up and I ask again which tire is going to last the longest out of these tires and He says the Dunlop 952 it says its a all around tire intermediat /Hard tire .Best news I herd all the while so I agree and take the tire .They have a bunch of these tires on sale in other sizes and I ask him if this one is on sale and he says no not in that size .even though its a 952 and all the other 952's are on sale .I take the tire and now I know why they are on sale .:mad: They SUCK! It was the hardest tire i have ever had to install the sidewalls are pushed together and very difficult to spred it ripped all the hair off of My fingers and some skin too working the tube in and the rim locks .It was easy getting off later though because the rubber changed while riding on the track .alot of things went to shit quickly after I started riding on the tire .Off the start it got great traction even the second lap was really good .The third lap about 30 miles it really got hairy .The knobbies started chunking off .I didn't know at the time, I thought im just an old fart and tired ?? I finished the race all 100 miles 70 of them were a pretty wild ride .the knobbies kept chunking usually in a corner while braking hard and then the back tire jumps and throws i was rolling sideways on chunks of broken knobbies .and bald spots .The tire still seemed to track straight through the straights but I was giving it all the gas just to do the stuff I had done earler with only 3/4 throttle .
That was the first time I ever raced 100 miles I could bairly move or walk at the end I even needed help getting the bike on the trailer .everypart of My body ached . Last time I raced there ,it was very muddy and they stopped the race early about 7 laps and I went much slower on my KLR I wanted to keep going .I was sore after for a few days but nothing like this time with this bike .
Well enough of that : I rember Carl saying :"Thats a new tire?" as I was crossing the finishline.I guess He must have noticed it at the beginning ? I wasn't shure ? I figured I chewed it up pretty good but nothing like what I saw later .I got the bike on the trailer and thats when I noticed it but it didn't really hit me ? I was more interest in where I placed in the race and water and food .2.5 hours is along time to go with out water when Your working your ass off in the heat .Race was Sunday.
So Monday I spent taking Vicoden and working not thinking about the tire Tuesday I ran out of Vicoden and couldnt move .could bairly get up to pee
Wednesday was the same .Thursday I could walk again but didnt work much.same with Friday and Thank God for the weekend .
All this gave Me time to think about the race and to look the bike over I crashed three times after the third lap in a corner when the back tire lost traction .the bike was tough and bairly a scratch .change the fluids and Oh the tire???
I look the tire over and all the way around every other knob is gone there are pieces of some and some are bald some are still there but ready to break The knobs are in rows of two then three the problem is with the two rows the threes are warn but .
First thing I do is call Performance to ask if anyone else has had a problem with this tire .They say its a great tire and no I cant bring it back but they are willing to sell Me the Maxxis for 65.00 its normally 75.00 .I consider this and decide to do some more reserch on tires in general .come accros the Dunlop web sit and thier warrenty .The warrenty states that if theres a defect take the tire back to the retailer where purchased and a full refund will be made .I call Performance and they say they've never herd of such a thing and the tire is perfect .they blame me and where I was riding and the bike .they say those big bikes chew tires up.I tell them the 952 Sucks and that i left a E-mail with Dunlop and am waiting for a response .i didnt get any response from the e-mail .so I call the customer care at Dunlop .Al The representitive said He was not awaire of any problems with the 952 but said to have the retailer send a pic of the tire and He would refund My money or give me a new tire of My choise .That is when Bernie gets involved She was totally against dealing with the tire issue .After so much discussion She finnaly relented and sent the pic and talked to Dunlop and told me that She refused to give Me money or another tire but that the Dunlop guy insisted I have at least a new replacement tire .Im pretty shure this woman is on crack. So all I want is a good tire and I ask if She'll take back one of the tires I bought three months ago I explain I have never installed it and it still has the wrapping id like ti exchange it with cash for a good rear tire .Nope I must take the 952 tire that Dunlop offered and that is all She will do .And She wont sell Me the Maxxis for 65 anylonger because I put her through so much grief.She acted as though I should have never gotten Dunlop involved and that I was being rude .and a bother to her and Her company.
I explained to Her that i only wanted the tire if She would take back the other tire and that i would pay full retail if She would do that just so I could get a better tire and I would keep the crapy 952 otherwise I could go to Coyote motorsports and buy The Maxxis Desert IT an even better tire than the one She has for 62.00.

Burg460
08-25-2009, 11:49 AM
Damn that sucks. It seems like its hit or miss with atv/motorcycle shops these days. I hate shopping for tires. I look around on forums and try to see what people like before I buy. I have heard a lot about G-Force powersports on west colfax, I guess they have a large selection with good prices (at least for atv tires).

I have had a headache with powersports unlimited in greeley. It has taken them a month to get me a new fuel valve for my Polaris atv. The 1st time they lost the order completely, 2nd time they ordered the wrong part, and finally the 3rd time they got me the right valve. All this non sense for a $25 part! They have yet to get my tubes that I ordered. They were lost the 1st time, 2nd time was the wrong size and I was told they were discontinued and now I am waiting for them to come in now that they got the right size. I will admit they have been good so far and thanked me for being patient and not angry. LOL

RayLCC
08-25-2009, 12:52 PM
This is why "brick-n-mortar" places are getting their asses kicked by the internet. You would think that with all the easily available parts available online, at prices that the B-N-M places can't possibly match that these places would instead focus on customer service and making their place the spot that you want to go to.
NOPE! Most places continue the crappy service while at the same time whining and bitching that they can't compete and how unfair it is to them.
The way I handle a bad experience is this:
I make it a point to tell AT LEAST twenty five people who may be interested that I got a bad deal from the place. (I consider posting on a forum telling one person, that way theres still 24 more to talk to.)
Then I make sure to hold that passive grudge so its in the back of my mind to tell others when the subject comes up later.
Yeah, its best not to get me started on AT&T or Comcast cable. :)

bronc_17113
08-25-2009, 01:48 PM
yeah ray i'm the same way especially with midas
Typically i get everything I need from tricity cycle up here in Loveland and they have never done me wrong yet

84broncoII
08-25-2009, 06:05 PM
I had to tell somebody that way I got witnesses .The way i figure it ,Judging by the tone in Her voice and the treatment i got from Her Family .Seems I broke thier rules when i went to Dunlop .They have probably been getting kickbacks on that tire for a while now and if they sell one at full price to boot its simply a bonus .I'm just guessing and making jokes but i truly felt threatoned by thier demeanor .all kidding aside I would have felt better to call somebody to go down to pick-up that tire .
All's well that ends .I'm gonna pick up the pieces and never look back .
Im a vehical in the information Highway and thought id' just use some driver curtisy similar to a turn signal on the Highway .Letin You all know to be carfull where You step there's some pretty big piles out there:flipoff:

Starkman
08-26-2009, 10:54 AM
WOW!
I have been doing business with Performance for 15 years and have never heard of this kind of thing.

I have used 952s on my CR and have not seen the knob chuck problem but have seen it on all the other tires I have used. My KTM 625 chunked all the knobs from Maxxis Deserts on the third day in Baja after a got into trouble in a rock field with loose softball sized rock laying on top. I also ran the Maxxis on my CR three days on Moab and was impressed with their durability.

Just to clear up your mind about Hard vs Soft vs Intermediate terrian tires.

Hard terrians are for hardpack/rocks, the sidewalls will be stronger and the rubber will be softer to give more rubber grip. The knobs will be larger also.

Soft terrians are for mud. They will have harder rubber and small knobs with a tread pattern more like a paddle tire to scoop mud.

Intermediates will have different setups from different companies. Dunlop 952s are the most popular intermediate.

DOT knobbies are the most durable, they have to stand up to all kinds of enviroments. Michilen AC10s (not inexpensive) I had on my KTM where incredible.

Having worked for a motorcycle retailed I have to ask what pressures you where running? Big bore bikes will chunk knobs very easily, my Yamaha WR500 would do that if I ran low pressures (12 psi). And remember gauges are not very accurate.

As far as the tire being hard to install that is normal. The desert tires are even more stiff the first time you install. I let them sit in the sun and get them as warm as possible before install.

My other reccomendation is to buy tires from Rocky Mountain ATV. They are in Utah and ship in two days and if you watch thier site really good deals come up all the time. If you buy more than $100 shipping is free.

84broncoII
08-26-2009, 07:23 PM
It has been along time since I road dirt bikes everyday .I grew up in Thornton when the fields were still open and had the opertunity to practice 5 hours everyday I bought gas by doing chores or got it from My mother and step father as an alouance I had help at every turn I guess because I was young at the time and everyone gives advice when Your young .When your old it seems more difficult to come by .It seems just the oposite they all assume You have money and want to take it from You and if You find out they screwed up they dont give a shit .Even go so far as to make a big joke out of it .
I seem to rember in My younger days someone telling Me about cirtain tires that sat on shelvs too long in one position the side facing the sun would develop a different composition than the ones that were wrapped .Sometimes this fenominon could be delt with by running in the tire sort of running it for short periods of time and then letting it cool back down .Dunlop recomends a run in on all thier tires .The warrenty is void if the run in is not performed .when I was little My step dad used to make Me take it easy and He would frown at Me harshly everytime I spun a new tire .Then all of a sudden He would ask Me why I was lollygagging around and not riding like I usually did ?? We as a family all seven of us never once chunked a tire .maby it was due to My parents caution when we got new tires . I also rember a parts counter salesman telling Me once to be cautious of a cirtan brand of tires they had recieved from a retailer that had gone out of business it seems they had left thier tires on the shelf in one position for sometimes years long enough that the tires sold were coming back and new tires had to replace the bad tires .So with that said there was very little run in done on the tire i bought and the chunking was not only just the two knobs but all on one side of the tire in other words they were grouped either half or three quarters around .Maby I could have re-tempered the tire before the race? I dont know .I do know that before I do the 200 miler or another one hundred miler I will do My best to temper the tire and run in the tire .

84broncoII
08-26-2009, 07:41 PM
I gotta add that there are several different ways to run in a tire and all of them consist of driving and not being too harsh with the tire in the first 100 miles .first thing was to pump the tire up with varing levels of pressure and let the pressure out to hopfully remove kinks in the tube even ride it around the block and let the pressure out and pump it back up .My dad told Me to ride on the tire with lower pressure at first maby just around the block .Then We road on them and warmed them up with out spinning them and let them cool down usually overnight .Since we lived close to our riding area this procedure wasnt a problem .I however do not live where I ride or where I can do this so I have to make a trip to a riding area just to do run ins and this is a pain for Me im thinking of Maby asking for a pre run in tire or a machine that does pre-runs . Only buying pre run tires ??

Starkman
08-27-2009, 11:38 AM
I hear ya, but I have burned through a tire in 100 miles. After my experience in Baja it really brings to light how few miles you get from a rear knobbie tire. I think about when I ride at Rampart and you put in 60 to 70 miles a day. If you get 4 days out of a tire I feel you did well. I not talking bald but 3/4 tread is where you don't have any traction and it's now real square on the bottom. So, 240 to 280 miles from a rear tire...

84broncoII
08-27-2009, 03:03 PM
put about 1000 miles on My last tire it was a kenda and I thought it to be pretty shitty tire it was the cheepest tire I could find about 45 bucks brand new not on sale The knobs were pretty short to start with traction ?? not that good Last time i road on it was the race we were both at .I gotta say the chunked out dunlop probably had better traction chunked out than the kenda had brand new LOL. I gotta say that when I start thinking that its ok to ruin a tire in one day + spend another 60 to 100 entrance fee I think its time to quite racing .Im shure my wife would agree .She gave Me the old gafuaw the other day when I told her about the 60 entrance fee .So then I had to give Her $ to get Her hair done and have it colored and nails and new swimsuit and.. and.. and......

84broncoII
08-29-2009, 08:07 PM
I installes the new tire today .I just put the one on that Dunlop gave Me :D For the lack of funding to purchase a better tire .I gotta say that installing the replacement tire was easy.:confused:.about 15 min.:thumbsup:The other 952 that chunked out took me 8 hours at the end I litterally had a hammer and a 2x4 to get it over the lip of the rim that last 1/4 inch .this one pushed over the edge with simple nudge of the handle of a hammer .:rolleyes:Makes Me think that other tire was old and sat for a few years on the rack .The old tire that was 10 yrs old was more plyable that that tire .

shawns 64 F100
10-04-2009, 12:22 AM
ok this is sort of an old thread, but im playing catchup.

This is a very important subject and I feel everyone needs to read threads like this.

84broncoII I am sorry but I forgot your name, and we actually have met before,:o but my brain activity is down my RAM is like 64 mb :rolleyes:

From what I have read my guess is the first tire you bought took you 8 hours to install because it could be a very old tire that has been in the store for years, or sat in a wharehouse for years before even getting to the store. I bet if dunlop checked its build date code it would tell them how old. The age of the rubber and who knows what else may have happened ( sat in the sun somewhere for a long time, or a very dry hot wharehouse for years)

I agree the store should have handled this entire situation better. It sounds like they didnt treat you as a customer, or they treat all of their customers this way. Bad business for them.

I would have suggested coyote to you also, they seem to be a respectable place to go.

I havent dealt with a bike dealer in denver in ages though. And I do have background as an employee at a Honda Motorcycle Dealer in Texas. We never treated anyone like that.

I know many tire stores these days are trying to compete with the net, and an FYI is discount will match the internet price if you tell them which website and tire. (Remember to check if free shipping is offered)

I would also suggest to see if you can find out the actual date the tire was finally assembled so you know if it is new or old

Just a bored sick guy looking for something to discuss :eek:

84broncoII
10-04-2009, 06:40 AM
I think You are up to speed on all counts .especially the other people should read threads like this .It was not easy to identify that I was being bullied by these people and I got a little lucky .One of the most important things for Me to rember in situations like that is to stay calm.The adrenilin kicks in and I get feelings like I want to punch someone or maby its not worth it but the truth of the matter is. it is worth everypenny and the more people know how to deal with things like this the better.
Every time I have had trouble with a business.The business in question takes a firm stand of denial,Even going so far as to put the blame on Me ,Even when My truck fell off of a lift at a garage the owner said it was probably My falt??? I wasn't even there ? but if I had been hostle with him or vulger Im shure I would have been thrown out and had no recourse . I think its best to keep the lines of comunication open and be resonable ,even pleasant .and understanding .there will always be other people around and they wont hear the words but they will hear the tone in your voice and even that could cause problems .When a companies protective force kicks in .

shawns 64 F100
10-04-2009, 02:25 PM
I know how you feel with the way they treat customers im sure others wouldnt want to be treated that way, afterall it is your money paying their bills. I am the type that gets a nasty voice and will walk out and mention im going elsewhere where my business is appreciated.

One major point that anyone in customer service needs to learn is that you can't treat anyone innapropriately no matter what type of person they are. Sometimes you have to deal with people who give you a negative energy and sometimes it is just your own "personal space" that can cause a conflict in communication. A good salesman knows how to handle this and would have been able to deal with the situation much better. This entire ordeal would have never occurred if the first sale was done correctly, the tire would have never been sold if they knew what they were selling in the first place.

Here is another example on what I am getting at.

My cousin calls me last week asking me which brake pads does she need for her car. Ceramic or metallic. I asked her to tell the parts man you need to buy the Original Equipment compatable pads. The Partsman couldnt tell her (checker ASE Certified my ass) On her car the ceramic pads are too hard and may lastl onger but the rotors will wear out faster. So I told her to get the metallic. which are cheaper and are the compatable pads for her car even if the parts man cant tell her which are OE and which arent. I also told her to go to napa next time because they could sell her the correct parts for her vehicle :thumbsup:

She could have bought the ceramic then her next brake job would cost her 2-3 even 4 times as much money

I guess because im anti-social (call me frugal if you like)I dont like to spend more money than needed. Too Many people rely on others to spend money. Hey isnt that why our great country is where it is now? :eek:

84broncoII
10-04-2009, 06:03 PM
Im just really thankfull they dont sell organic pads anymore or I havent seen any since I bought a set 8 yrs ago for My old truck the material lasts about a year then Your down to metle and wearing the drum and they were expensive too go green My ars?

shawns 64 F100
10-04-2009, 11:47 PM
lol yeah, In remember organic pads. they were horrible

84broncoII
10-05-2009, 05:14 AM
I bought a set of organic pads when I lived in Apachy Junction arizona from a carquest ,Most expensive set they had .they were special order for My 62 pic-up .and suprising enough they didn't have a warrwenty on any of the sets they sold .I was in a strange town and not familiar with anyone and didnt have or know about computers then .up till that point I had always gotten pads that had either 1 yr or limited lifetime .from Checker auto in Thornton where i grew up .the year ones would last about 7000 miles and the other ones several yrs but they were expensive .when In arizona all I could rember was they were expensive LOL .
To make a too long story short the organic pads I got lasted about 3 months and they wore out so fast near the end I thrashed a drum .where i was living drums for that truck are imposible to find for Me I almost lost My truck cause I couldnt fix it .I ended up cobbling it together with some metalic pads and the old drum that no-one would turn because it was so bad .I used My hand grinder to it and a mettle file and then sandpaper and smoothed it down as best as I could by hand .it lasted 5 yrs that way .I got tired of it locking up at quick stops /stop lights .it was a rear drum so it didn't affect steering much just smoked the tire now and then lol .I was able to order a new drum here in denver and it was delivered the next day .that was about 4 yrs ago and the breaks are fine still with the metalic pads I cant even buy ceramic pads for My old 62 Ive never seen them listed anywhay .i thought ceramic pads were OEM on My BroncoII's though??

shawns 64 F100
10-05-2009, 07:20 PM
I dont know what the manufacturer put on your bronco II but some vehicles came with different types from the factory. This is why your parts man needs to know which is OE for each vehicle