Riders of Bristol

**ducatisteeny** · 19 Mar 07, 03:23 PM

Just wondered if anyone else has had a bad experience with Riders of Bristol?, General attitude problem, had a problem with my 749 cutting out under full power and popped into them and asked if they could look at, the guy i dealt with is the main man there and the first question he asked was if i had purchased the bike from them!. I said that I had not but that it was covered by the extended Ducati warranty. He then preceded to say that there was a 10 day wait for service for existing customers but as i had not purchased the bike from them it would be 16 days for me!!!!

said they had to protect people who had purchased from them before

. He then asked where I had got the bike from and I told him Ducati Aylesbury to which he responded why on earth did I go there? I know that they did not have a 749s mono when I was looking so explained that this was the reason and could I not be dealt with a bit sooner as I had purchased lots of other stuff from them in the past, parts, clothing etc but he said that this made no difference. Booked the bike in anyway as I didnt want to travel all the way back to Aylesbury if I could help it, then he said the warranty probably wouldnt cover diagnostic work to which I said if it didnt we might as well stop with the booking as I was sold the warranty as being a Ducati one with proper Ducati warranty book etc was as good as the original, his reply nto that in an arrogant voice was that i would have to take that up with Aylesbury. Have ended up taking back to Aylesbury where they are looking at it now as In didnt want to take the chance of being charged by Riders and frankly didnt like their ATTITUDE. The customer service recieved by Ducati Aylesbury far outways that of Riders and I know from other bikers that I am by far not the first to experience this attitude, if Riders could have got away with it then their response was as good as YOU DIDNT BY THE BIKE FROM US, NOT INTERESTED!!!!!! Sorry to go on a bit but this ATTITUDE has seriously PIXXED me off and I will seriously consider complaining to Ducati uk as a warranty issue should be dealt with by any dealer without this sort of problem, I know other people are travelling further so as not to deal with RIDERS and would like to hear from anyone else who can back this up.................THANKS

**RodH** · 19 Mar 07, 03:58 PM

ducatisteeny Hi,

So far I've bought 2 bikes from Riders of Bristol and am in the process of buying my third. Over the past few years they have looked after all the Dukes I've owned, which have included 2 which I did not buy from them.

Unlike your situation, I have never had any problems or attitude from them (other than positive attitude), and in fact they have always gone out of their way to assist me whether it be for service work or parts or accessories etc. However, I've known folks who have been unhappy with the way they have been treated.

Reading several of the threads on here, it seems you will always find people with good and bad experiences at most dealers. Sorry to hear yours was bad, and I hope you get your bike sorted soon.

**goody76** · 19 Mar 07, 05:32 PM

yeah have to agree with Rod there... you always seem to find people with two differnet sides of the same coin....

i have had the good and bad..... so with the bad i can DEFO see where you are coming from..... on another point my bad has also been with that same main man.... but then my good experiences have been from dealing with everybody else but him..... so don't know if it's just him or whether he is just the sort to not have anyform of stress mangement and we keep catching him on bad days..... so see how it goes

all i can say is do give them the benefit of the doubt... i do..... and you never know he may have had a better day next time you see him....

But i do also agree with you though that we pay alot of money for the bike as well as the back up.... so don't need people who can't cope with the stress or who are so up there own a**e that they make our lives hell.....

So if you feel strongly about it tell someone.... might be the kick up the a**e they need to sort themselves out

**planetdervish** · 19 Mar 07, 08:15 PM

Hi ducatisteeny.

Just a suggestion - you could always try JHS Racing in Bristol (www.jhsracing.co.uk). They have a full rolling-road dyno test facility, so they could perform a thorough test on the way your bike's running under load, with proper computer analysis etc.; they also know their way around Ducatis pretty well. Having them run your bike up on the dyno would cost around £40 I think.

Another thought - and forgive me if this is stating the obvious - but you say it's cutting out under full power...you sure you're not just bouncing it off the rev limiter? This caught me by surprise the first time it happened - feels just like it's cutting out - which it is, in effect, I suppose.

**Rogero** · 29 Apr 07, 05:49 PM

I will never use Ducati Bristol for anything after the messed up my old duke and charged me £800 for the privelige ! JHS are superb and less than half the price and interested in you not just your cash.

**J749** · 01 May 07, 08:56 PM

Louigi moto is the best place in the west country to bring a ducati.

True ducati specialists, unlike others

www.louigimoto.com

**Shandy** · 01 May 07, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J749

Louigi moto is the best place in the west country to bring a ducati.

True ducati specialists, unlike others

www.louigimoto.com

Ill second that.

**Dolestar** · 17 May 07, 08:23 PM

my baby is in ducati bristol at the mo. its gunna cost a fortune (major service, rocker etc need doing).

As a matter of interest, when you have a major service, do they clean your bike?

**RodH** · 17 May 07, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dolestar

As a matter of interest, when you have a major service, do they clean your bike?

Mine always seem to come back clean after any service.

**Dolestar** · 17 May 07, 08:36 PM

excellent thanks!! i dont have paddock stands or an area suitable for a good thorough clean. The wheels have never shined like they deserve to, so i hope they clean them (not that itll last long! ruddy weather)

**Paivi** · 17 May 07, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RodH

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dolestar

As a matter of interest, when you have a major service, do they clean your bike?

Mine always seem to come back clean after any service.

Mine doesn't get cleaned; Brett at Daytona complains that my bike is too clean for that. I think he thinks I've rigged my clocks to show a higher mileage just so I can go and see him... :wink:

**sadbiker** · 18 May 07, 07:26 AM

Tends to be a main dealer issue, I would send a letter in to Phil Jessop who owns the dealership with a copy to Ducati UK stating your facts and how disgusted you are. Its not in his interested to upset customers who could possibley one day come to his shops to buy a Ducati. At the end of the day they are a DUCATI FRANCHISE and Ducati have paid money into setting up the Bristol Branch. The manager at Bristols name is Martin and so far he seems to have been helpful enought, he even loaned their display wagon for the Bristol Italian Moto Show with 2 new bikes for show.

With the service you have been given what now would compel you to buy from Bristol. After asking the question why didn't you buy from them in the first place now why would you!!!!!!!!

Shame as they have been helpful to me, but I tend to use Bridgwater more. I popped in a couple of weeks ago to Bridgwater on a Saturday first thing with rear brake issues, bike not supplied by them, they fitted it in straight away and get me on my way in a hour, yes I paid for this but was impressed with it being sorted out in this way. And miffed when they told me why I was unable to bleed my brakes properley.

**Dolestar** · 19 May 07, 06:29 PM

i was suppsed to have my bike back today, but i thought id ring before i head off for the train (i live in newport) and they said they are waiting on a part (speedo cable) that wont arrive until tues/weds...its a good thing i rang first - id of been miffed!!

**Dolestar** · 23 May 07, 06:23 PM

quick update:

I was hoping to go and collect my bike tomorrow, but following their riding test they have said that the bike would not rev over 5k. they think something is wrong with the TPS (throttle position sensor) - but there was no problem before!!!

im worried now becuase this service is about to bankrupt me if anything else goes wrong!! has anyone else had trouble with the TPS??

**Dolestar** · 31 May 07, 11:50 AM

and another update....

It wasnt the tps (luckily?) it was my chip - which was over fuelling massively. So i think what they really meant was that i have a huge flat spot around 5k - becuase ive noticed that and it hasnt stopped me revving beyond it.

So they ordered me a new one from their sister store (Bridgwater), which arrived but the box was open and the wrong chip was inside

They then promised a replacement would arrive beginning of this week, but so far nothing. I rang again today (they have only rung once during all of these problems - ive had had to do all the chasing) and it hasnt arrived in today's delviery, so itll be early next week now. SOD IT!!!

I need my bike for a trip to Torbay this weekend for my nephews Christening, plus im having major withdrawals.

Argh!! Oh and my final bill is £1375.18 ouch.