Boardtracker H-D update

[v4bob49]

The owners of Boardtracker H-D have not be able to resolve their financial problems with the MoCo. They have reached an agreement to sell their New Berlin WI store (Iron Town H-D) to the owner of Wisconsin Harley-Davidson which is located in Oconomowoc WI.

Unfortunately the situation at Boardtracker has gone from bad to worse. The MoCo has stopped shipping new bikes to them and had severely restricted the shipment of parts to the shop. I had personal experience with this since my TG was there for over 2 months as they waited for parts to complete the suspension upgrades for me. I was also going to have them put new cams in, but they were unable to get those parts due to bad credit.

As of Monday April 15 the dealership is closed. If you call, the phone goes directly to a recorded message that states: "You have reached Boardtracker Harley-Davidson, the dealership is closed." Their website is still working, but the online parts store is not. No info on what might happen next. When I talked to the Service Manager about the hold up on getting my trike done, he told me that he was getting no answers from the owner. He said they were trying to sell Boardtracker also, but so far had no offers. That was two weeks ago.

Fortunately for me, the parts for my suspension came in the next day and they got the trike back together and delivered it back to me exactly 1 week before they closed!

 

[Trampas]

Glad to hear you got your trike back before they closed the doors, heard about them closing on the HD forums, what a shame.

All for now Trampas

 

[MDO]

Glad you got your trike back.

We are lucky in my area, with 5 HD dealerships in a 40 mile area.

 

[peteg59]

Sounds like you got lucky in that you got your ride back and fixed before the lights went out at Boardtracker.

Unfortunately, I'd almost bet there are others not so lucky as you, & will have to fight to regain possession of their rides.

Too bad about that shop closing for good, as they had some of the best interweb factory pricing on parts than almost any other "Stealer"...

 

[consitter]

Sounds like you got lucky in that you got your ride back and fixed before the lights went out at Boardtracker.

Unfortunately, I'd almost bet there are others not so lucky as you, & will have to fight to regain possession of their rides.

Too bad about that shop closing for good, as they had some of the best interweb factory pricing on parts than almost any other "Stealer"...

Surdyke is the online place to shop now. Prices almost identical to Boardtracker.

 

[ShapeShifter]

Ah!.....Sadly, "The Chickens Have Come Home To Roost". Well this brings about the question of what's the current business health of Discount ESP? Their day to day operations used considerable financial, network and other resources that were provided by Boardtracker.:Shrug:

 

[DK Custom Products]

WOW!

Sad to read.

Just talked to Jim Palmer last week. Did NOT get a good feeling. Been doing business with him for a long time, and this was the first time I decided Not to purchase from him.

Kevin

 

[ShapeShifter]

The events that are unfolding and the possible fallout is sad indeed....Jim is definitely a stand up guy, but hopefully he won't end up an indirect victim as well.

 

[ultrafxr]

Jim is still saying Discount ESP is OK . . . and he said Boardtracker closing is temporary and it will reopen soon - under new ownership I don't know. This info was as of Tuesday, April 16th. I don't know what to believe. I bought an ESP from him back in December. My TG is under factory warranty until September, 2019, so I have plenty of time to go with a moco ESP if need by. Jim assures me that the holding company will honor the ESP and worst case the insurance company will step in and do so. Like Kevin I don't have a good feeling about this but will wait and see what develops.

 

[v4bob49]

Jim is still saying Discount ESP is OK . . . and he said Boardtracker closing is temporary and it will reopen soon - under new ownership I don't know. This info was as of Tuesday, April 16th. I don't know what to believe. I bought an ESP from him back in December. My TG is under factory warranty until September, 2019, so I have plenty of time to go with a moco ESP if need by. Jim assures me that the holding company will honor the ESP and worst case the insurance company will step in and do so. Like Kevin I don't have a good feeling about this but will wait and see what develops.

I hope Jim is right about Boardtracker reopening soon. He assured me that their closing will not affect his insurance business, at least for his current customers. Don't know how much it might affect future business for him? The ESP I bought is from the MoCo, so no worries there.

I'm actually about 10 miles closer to H-D of Madison, and while they have good people there too, I've gotten better deals at Kutter/Boardtracker so I hope they do reopen. Of course if it's under new owners/management who knows?

 

[MDF48]

Does it matter????

I purchased an ESP policy via Jim in February of 2018, just before my factory warranty was going to expire. I told Jim I wanted the CORNERSTONE ESP, not the other one they were now making their "primary" ESP.

After all of this mess about Boardtracker was all over the news and forums for about a month, I called Cornerstone directly. I told the representative who I was, my contract number and all pertinent information.

I then asked him, "if Discount ESP goes out of business, or any dealer that sold a Cornerstone ESP, would it make any difference as far as Cornerstone paying a legitimate claim?

His response to me was, "NO, they (Cornerstone) have been paid for their part of the money from the sell of the contract, and it doesn't matter what happens to the original "agent" that sold the initial contract. They will pay the claim if approved by the shop doing the work just like it always is.

Now, I don't have any idea how "far up the ladder" this guy was, but I feel sure he is at least knowledgeable of this situation.

I personally don't think I have anything to worry about unless Cornerstone was to go out of business. Not likely and I believe they underwrite the HD warranty the dealers sell?

Now if some of you smarter than me people with REAL knowledge about this subject have info contrary to the above, PLEASE HELP ALL OF US AND POST IT!

 

[MDO]

Just curious, is that in writing in the contract? What he tells you on the phone means nothing, it has to be in the 4 corners of the contract.

My 2 year warranty expires at the end of June this year & I wanted to get an ESP.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Just curious, is that in writing in the contract? What he tells you on the phone means nothing, it has to be in the 4 corners of the contract.

My 2 year warranty expires at the end of June this year & I wanted to get an ESP.

Michael, you have a good relation with your local dealer, give him a call

 

[MDF48]

Which Part?

Just curious, is that in writing in the contract? What he tells you on the phone means nothing, it has to be in the 4 corners of the contract.

My 2 year warranty expires at the end of June this year & I wanted to get an ESP.

Not sure which part of my post you are referring to when you ask............"is that in writing in the contract?" If you are talking about the part highlighted in Red, then NO that is not in any of the 10 pages of the contract from Cornerstone that I have.

You probably need to get Jim or somebody to email you a PDF file of the 10 page contract so you can read it. If you have a good Lawyer friend you might get him to look at it.

I don't have a PDF of the contract. I can tell you that all 10 pages of the contract are printed on Cornerstone pages with "CS NAT NWS 0913" printed on the bottom of all the pages and I received proof of coverage and wallet size cards showing the warranty time period and how to make a claim from Cornerstone in the mail.

 

[MDO]

WOW!

Sad to read.

Just talked to Jim Palmer last week. Did NOT get a good feeling. Been doing business with him for a long time, and this was the first time I decided Not to purchase from him.

Kevin

Kevin,

Have you found another source for a ESP contract?

 

[Trampas]

When I bought my 2018 the dealer ask about more warranty, they sell the Protective Asset Protection, big company that does cars, rv's, marine stuff and motorcycles, I elected to go with it, not what you would call cheap compared to Discount ESP but I was happy with the decision that I made and that included tire and rim coverage also. So I have a 2 year HD warranty plus another 5 years with the Protective company, also my dealer gives me a lifetime warranty on drivetrain, there is a catch to this, you have to have all service done by the dealer, that is the part I don't like or otherwise no lifetime warranty, not sure yet what I plan to do since I have always done most of my service myself.

All for now Trampas

 

[MDF48]

Some more info.

Couple of recent articles on this mess with Boardtracker etc. if you are interested.

https://www.gazettextra.com/news/bu...cle_884b962f-0c89-5913-960d-be43a1b283dc.html

https://harleyliberty.com/2019/04/1...sville-wisconsin-the-nightmare-just-happened/

 

[ISP-FL]

I purchased an ESP policy via Jim in February of 2018, just before my factory warranty was going to expire. I told Jim I wanted the CORNERSTONE ESP, not the other one they were now making their "primary" ESP.

After all of this mess about Boardtracker was all over the news and forums for about a month, I called Cornerstone directly. I told the representative who I was, my contract number and all pertinent information.

I then asked him, "if Discount ESP goes out of business, or any dealer that sold a Cornerstone ESP, would it make any difference as far as Cornerstone paying a legitimate claim?

His response to me was, "NO, they (Cornerstone) have been paid for their part of the money from the sell of the contract, and it doesn't matter what happens to the original "agent" that sold the initial contract. They will pay the claim if approved by the shop doing the work just like it always is.

Now, I don't have any idea how "far up the ladder" this guy was, but I feel sure he is at least knowledgeable of this situation.

I personally don't think I have anything to worry about unless Cornerstone was to go out of business. Not likely and I believe they underwrite the HD warranty the dealers sell?

Now if some of you smarter than me people with REAL knowledge about this subject have info contrary to the above, PLEASE HELP ALL OF US AND POST IT!

Mike, smart move getting the one from Cornerstone. They are a huge company and have been around for awhile. They have other ESC and ESP policies and not just motorcycles.

About 4 years ago I purchased a 2 year old Ultra from a non-Harley shop. They sold me the extended from Cornerstone. It was a 3 year plan and I cancelled it after about 18 months. Since I never had a claim I was entitled to half my money back minus a $100 service fee.

This is where you could get screwed if the dealer that originally sold you the plan is no longer around. Cornerstone sent a check to the dealer and the dealer had to add back in part of his initial profit. Then the dealer sent me the refund check.

If you just keep the plan in place and don't cancel early then you should be okay.

 

[MDF48]

Agree

Mike, smart move getting the one from Cornerstone. They are a huge company and have been around for awhile. They have other ESC and ESP policies and not just motorcycles.

About 4 years ago I purchased a 2 year old Ultra from a non-Harley shop. They sold me the extended from Cornerstone. It was a 3 year plan and I cancelled it after about 18 months. Since I never had a claim I was entitled to half my money back minus a $100 service fee.

This is where you could get screwed if the dealer that originally sold you the plan is no longer around. Cornerstone sent a check to the dealer and the dealer had to add back in part of his initial profit. Then the dealer sent me the refund check.

If you just keep the plan in place and don't cancel early then you should be okay.

Hmmmm, tha part of the equation is interesting. I am not planning on selling or trading this bike for at least 3-4 years. HA HA, now I know "PLANS" don't always work out. If I do sell it, it will be to and individual and I will let them transfer the warranty, assuming I can still do that "THEN". All of this mess will settle out for sure in the next couple of months. :gah:

 

[Saddletramp1946]

Nearest dealer is 40 miles away

I found this site while searching for info on the dealer near me that closed shop.

It really gripes me that the new owners ran it into the ground. Rudi Kutter worked hard to build a dealership, then after he was killed in bike accident, his wife opened an all new dealership in Janesville, WI close to me and it soared. It won numerous awards from the motor company and had a faithful following due to the numerous events it sponsored. The dealership sold to the Pomeroys who changed the theme to board tracker and before long the place was closed.

Corporate Harley cut off their credit line because they were selling bikes and parts and not paying back the corp. At least that is what happened according to the corp. They had a successful business, makes a guy wonder if one of them had an addiction and blew the money on gambling, or drugs, etc. So now, riders in my area have to go miles away to get service and parts.

Had to put new spokes on my bike because several were siezed and could not be snugged. I had to cut them with bolt cutters and lo and behold, NO PARTS from corp. Thankfully the Rockford dealer put out a search and found some at another dealer. A shop in Monroe trued the wheels up for me and I'm riding again before the snow starts flying. I bought some spokes from J&P which were not correct for the hub. Mine has the factory hub so I know it is correct but J&P showed theirs were a correct match. Therein lies the importance of having a reliable dealer near you. I lost three weeks of riding time messing with the missing/wrong spokes.

To their credit, J&P gave me a good price on tires. I bought the American Elites since they supposedly get better mileage and I really like them so far. They track straight and corner predictably. Haven't ridden in rain yet but that was highly rated by numerous others.

I sure hope the corp gets that dealership straightened out, that was a really great place to go for events. Always something going on. Now all the staff had to look elsewhere for work. Here it is August of 2021 and still no news on when or IF it will open.

Since I'm here, I'm gonna plug the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. I had been riding since 1964. The safety officer of the local HOG offered a discount on membership dues for anyone who took a safety course from MSF. So back in 2006 I signed up and I honestly learned a few really useful tips from that class. And just in time too. I encountered a cow in the road on a long left hand sweeping curve. The tips I learned at the MSF class were the only thing that saved me from a crash.

That's all for now. Ride safe, ride longer.

The owners of Boardtracker H-D have not be able to resolve their financial problems with the MoCo. They have reached an agreement to sell their New Berlin WI store (Iron Town H-D) to the owner of Wisconsin Harley-Davidson which is located in Oconomowoc WI.

Unfortunately the situation at Boardtracker has gone from bad to worse. The MoCo has stopped shipping new bikes to them and had severely restricted the shipment of parts to the shop. I had personal experience with this since my TG was there for over 2 months as they waited for parts to complete the suspension upgrades for me. I was also going to have them put new cams in, but they were unable to get those parts due to bad credit.

As of Monday April 15 the dealership is closed. If you call, the phone goes directly to a recorded message that states: "You have reached Boardtracker Harley-Davidson, the dealership is closed." Their website is still working, but the online parts store is not. No info on what might happen next. When I talked to the Service Manager about the hold up on getting my trike done, he told me that he was getting no answers from the owner. He said they were trying to sell Boardtracker also, but so far had no offers. That was two weeks ago.

Fortunately for me, the parts for my suspension came in the next day and they got the trike back together and delivered it back to me exactly 1 week before they closed!