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Wednesday, June 03, 2009THROWING A WOBBLE I'm the first to admit I'm pretty hopeless at remembering specific dates, but thanks to THIS I knew our 'problem' wasn't very old.Let me explain..............Hubs, myself & 8 good friends decided to take a run through to Ras al Khaimah for a long weekend. We supposedly were offered a good rate from the new Rotana Cove resort, so plans were made for a getaway. (A review on that will follow shortly. It'll contain much swearing methinks) Anyway, we loaded up Tallulah (my bike) & set off with 2 others riding their Harleys. Apart from numerous rehydration stops (the temperature hit 52C at one stage) our ride was uneventful until about 400m before the entrance to the resort. Tallulah developed a barely controllable wobble & both Hubs & myself knew immediately that we'd felt that same wobble before. Hubs managed to get the bike into the carpark without incident & it remained there until Sunday. On Saturday, Hubs phoned the manager of the Dubai Harley dealership & explained the problem. A recovery vehicle was sent & Tallulah was taken away to be 'fixed'. This is where I have a problem. In November last year, after developing the 'first' wobble, 5 different people rode Tallulah & determined there definitely was a problem with the rear wheel. The manager of the Abu Dhabi dealership reckoned there was nothing wrong. On Hubs' insistance that a closer examination be carried out, it was discovered that the lining of the rear tyre had shredded. It cost us Dh1100 to have that tyre replaced, despite the bike still being under warranty. We were told (after the fact & by another customer who'd had his tyre replaced free of charge) that we shouldn't have had to pay, as the tyres allegedly come with a guarantee. Needless to say, we weren't refunded. Fast forward >>>>>>>>>to a few days ago. When we went to collect the bike from the Dubai dealership, we were told that the tyre had indeed shredded, again. When Hubs said that this was the SECOND time in less than 6mths & only 1800km 'wear' & we shouldn't have to pay for it, he was informed that Dunlop are only guaranteeing their tyres for 50km. After that, it's tough tits. So, after an expensive break, we had to cough up a further Dh1595 to fix a defective tyre, which wasn't our responsibility. It seems that both the dealerships of Harley Davidson & Dunlop in the Middle East really couldn't give a damn about customer service. In recent months, the Abu Dhabi franchise of Harley Davidson has earned itself a rather tawdry reputation. Shoddy workmanship, poor customer relations & an air of 'take it or leave it' is blatantly obvious. When I enquired recently about reporting a matter to someone further up the food chain - i.e. going higher than the store manager/area manager, I was told I couldn't - simple as that. No one gets as far as the franchise holder - in my opinion, the person who is ultimately responsible for running a successful world renowned brand. Gawd forbid anyone should complain to the Al Masaood Group. It's way too busy raking in the dosh. Dunlop responded to an email Hubs sent linking to this post. Their response is as follows:
"For the UK, bar ride issues which are within first 10% of tread life Dunlop motorbike Tyre warranty is 5 years. Any allowances are % based on remaining legal tread depth. Regards Peter Wayte Product Support & Service"
Well at least Dunlop had the decency to respond & I sincerely thank them for that. I'll be taking his letter to Harley Davidson. Stay tuned! Labels: crappy Dunlop tyres, Harley Davidson, kak en betaal, piss poor service  
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