Riders of Bristol

[fluffyduck]

Thats cool, ive had nothing but bad so far....

[sadbiker]

Originally Posted by fluffyduck

Thats cool, ive had nothing but bad so far....

Fluffy I have a mate who would agree with you about Bridgwater, He bought a Aprilla Falco a couple of years ago when they had the franchise, it went in for the first service (500mile) and we then went on holiday heading for Italy, he got as far as Macon and it virtually become unrideable at slow speeds, cutting out and overheating, due to the timings we had for our holiday and French having a bank holiday he decided to limp it back to UK. It seem the throttle bodies were out of alignment when it got back to riders. We only presume due to the service, once resolved he took it out and as he went round a roundabout the bike wanted to launch itself. Seems a cable was now snagged whilst it had been in the workshop. He lost complete confidence in them and the bike, which was a shame as that model has such a good reputation. He sold it not long afterwards.

Personally I have always got on with Riders, having dealt with them for a long time, I had a GPX600R from Bridgwater new which snapped a conrod in half at 950 miles ripping the engine apart. Cutting a long story short, Phil Jessop the owner who at the time still worked the shop floor basically got a GPX still in its crate fully pdied for me on the day the bike was inspected by the workshop. I got there at 09:00 and left by 14:00 on the replacement.

Yes they ain't cheap for serving, but then even the so called independents aint that much cheaper, just do a bit more work for the price.

As for having 2 franchises thats better than being multi, Bridgwater learnt the hard way and finally reduced to HD and Ducati, giving up Kawasaki, Truimph and Aprilla on the way.

Honda have gone Solus and have to be honest I think it must make it very hard for a dealer to survive with limited new stock.

Unfortunetly its the Staff who make the dealership and from the comments you quoted I don't think whoever answered the phone should be working for a Ducati Dealership. Did you phone back and complain to the store manager about those comments its not in the managers interests to hear negitive comments like this.

[jambo]

well i was in riders of bridgwater the other day and was chatting away looking at the ducati's 749's and the chap said do you want to pop up to bristol and have a look and i said not really haven't heard a good word about that store and even he said i was not the first to say that, and that they get a lot of people coming from bristol to buy their bike's from them as they don't get on with bristol, in which he add is not so good to hear but then again it gets his bike sales up, lol !

try bridgwater and speak to simon or graham two really nice chaps !

jambo

[moto748]

Like Gilps and others, Riders Bristol are my local dealers. I ride past their place every day on my way home from work, and often pop in to buy spares (or just to do a bit of window-shopping!).

On the parts front I've always found them helpful and friendly. When I bought a TPS for my 900SS from them, and it went pop a few months later, even though in theory there's a "no warranty or exchange on electronic items" clause, in the circumstances, they sent it back to Ducati and I got a full refund (OK, not cash, but credit with them, and it ended up funding a set of belts, plugs etc for my 749). They're 150 quid each!

As for servicing, I use louigimoto. But I like to buy stuff from Riders from time to time, cos I don't see the point in burning bridges with your local dealer.

I must say when I happened to run into Mrs. Gilps in there one day collecting a new bike, she hardly seemed to be beating them off with a stick in the way you might expect, if you know what I mean.

[MultiRod]

I've been waiting ages for this moment to share with the country my experience of Riders of Bridgwater. In Feb 2004 I paid full list price for a brand new 998 Biposta. It was my first Ducati and as it was new it went to Riders of Bridgwater for its first (600m) service. Upon collecting the bike I immediately noticed that the inner lugs on the side fairing panels were positioned the wrong side of the nose fairing, stretching the fairing on its mounts. In addition, the chain was like a bow string and the engine was only filled with oil up to the minimum level marker. There was worse to come. Upon inspecting the bike at home I found to my horror that one of their monkeys (sorry mechanics) had obviously removed the original oil filter with a pair of water pump pliers, slipped and put a nice set of gauges in the crank casing. I immediately rang and complained and took the bike back for them to inspect. Upon arriving I attempted to book the bike in with Billy (****) at the service desk and informed him that as they were obviously incompetent I would be no further than six feet away from the bike during their inspection. They refused this due to insurance reasons. I then informed them that I would be back the next week with a member of Ducati UK.

True to my word I met with them the next week with Andrew Joyce (southern sales manager) from Ducati UK. You should have seen his face when they raised the bike on one of their ramps to inspect the faults. He tried to pacify me with an offer of a new pair of crankcases. I didn't see the point of this and asked instead for £1000 compensation as this is the figure that Riders ask for if you damage one of their bikes on a test ride. They refused this and it ended acrimoniously with me threatening legal action.

In the end I settled for them fitting a pair of Termi race cans very cheaply but even then when I later inspected the bike at home I found to my horror that they had damaged the original cans getting them off!

I kept the bike for three years and painfully parted with it last year. After my experience with Riders I felt that the bike was tarnished and was never the same to me after and during my three years of ownership.

I hope the new owner of WX04 EFR is happy with a great bike but please, don't take it to Riders. (By the way, I now own a Multistrada and am very happy with it).

[moto748]

Great first post!

Welcome, MultiRod!

[andyrh]

Welcome MultiRod

I can't comment on the Bristol operation, but I only use the cafe at Bridgwater.

They are a very poor main dealer IMHO and it would appear that this reputation is starting to spread.

I can give you a local recommendation if your interested.

[moto748]

I've only used the parts department at Bristol, and have always found them friendly, helpful, and efficient, to be fair.

[spindle]

AndyRH

I'm up beyond Wiveliscombe and would be very interested in that local recommendation

[Febbre Gialla999]

[quote=ducatisteeny;57679]Just wondered if anyone else has had a bad experience with Riders of Bristol?,

When you buy a 10 grand product for example breast implants , you would expects nay demand symetry. In the real world companies dont give a flying fig if one knocks on your knees. Once they have your money you are history.
You need to resort to your consumer rights and persistance. Seek free services as compensation as they aren't on commission for that.
As for the main man at Riders Bristol is he or her vertically challenged? tried to fob me off once when my implant drooped. He forgot who is always right......the customer.
Go back and talk to the bikers who arent prooning themselves outside the showroom windows. they will advise you as to where service is not provided by the cage you arrived in or the watch on your wrist.....Clutton.

[moto748]

Hey, don't bother him now!

He's too busy fixing my bike!

[jesteroo]

Originally Posted by MultiRod

I've been waiting ages for this moment to share with the country my experience of Riders of Bridgwater. In Feb 2004 I paid full list price for a brand new 998 Biposta. It was my first Ducati and as it was new it went to Riders of Bridgwater for its first (600m) service. Upon collecting the bike I immediately noticed that the inner lugs on the side fairing panels were positioned the wrong side of the nose fairing, stretching the fairing on its mounts. In addition, the chain was like a bow string and the engine was only filled with oil up to the minimum level marker. There was worse to come. Upon inspecting the bike at home I found to my horror that one of their monkeys (sorry mechanics) had obviously removed the original oil filter with a pair of water pump pliers, slipped and put a nice set of gauges in the crank casing. I immediately rang and complained and took the bike back for them to inspect. Upon arriving I attempted to book the bike in with Billy (****) at the service desk and informed him that as they were obviously incompetent I would be no further than six feet away from the bike during their inspection. They refused this due to insurance reasons. I then informed them that I would be back the next week with a member of Ducati UK.

True to my word I met with them the next week with Andrew Joyce (southern sales manager) from Ducati UK. You should have seen his face when they raised the bike on one of their ramps to inspect the faults. He tried to pacify me with an offer of a new pair of crankcases. I didn't see the point of this and asked instead for £1000 compensation as this is the figure that Riders ask for if you damage one of their bikes on a test ride. They refused this and it ended acrimoniously with me threatening legal action.

In the end I settled for them fitting a pair of Termi race cans very cheaply but even then when I later inspected the bike at home I found to my horror that they had damaged the original cans getting them off!

I kept the bike for three years and painfully parted with it last year. After my experience with Riders I felt that the bike was tarnished and was never the same to me after and during my three years of ownership.

I hope the new owner of WX04 EFR is happy with a great bike but please, don't take it to Riders. (By the way, I now own a Multistrada and am very happy with it).

Hi
What are they like for parts ?
Or is this just Service dept issues
Cheers

[MultiRod]

Hi,

Thanks for the warm welcome to the site guys. To be fair, they've always been good for parts. Try negotiating with them for expensive Ducati items. You'll be amazed!!!

Just bought a 1098 to go with the Multistrada. Anybody know any problems with them?

MultiRod