extended service plans.

[vtom1800]

I am wondering what your thoughts are on extended service plans. I have a new to me 2012 goldwing 1800 with a CSC trike kit on it. How much trouble is it to find a certified mechanic to work on them if you have trouble on a long trip? Will the dealers work on them and honor the extended warranty? Getting ready to do a route 66 run.

Thanks

 

[Sully]

Check out as many plans as you can. Read the fine print carefully and ask a lot of questions. I had a plan that I kept for over two years and never had to use it. My plan stated that if it wasn't used you could cash it in. So I did after two and got back half my cost. It all depends on your plan....

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

Most of the aftermarket warranties are not worth what you pay. Many shops will expect you to pay the bill and collect from the insurance company. The reason is this. Basically all the 'i's and 't's have to be dotten and crossed just right of the shop is left with no payment. Also, many won't pay for "known issues" which is subjective. Also, the person who sells your the warranty makes big commision.

 

[cycle7447]

Interesting post. I am not aware of any aftermarket warranties that cover trikes (except Harley trikes).

Once I converted my bike to a trike, I searched high and low - no one would cover this. Good luck

 

[pwhoever]

IMHO, a service plan on a 2012 is just a waste of money. They are pretty bulletproof as long as you keep up with the scheduled maintenance. There isn't too much to fail or cause a breakdown on these. And maintenance won't be covered by an aftermarket warranty. The biggest problem you might have could be a transmission problem and although it does happen, it's not a problem on most. GoldWingrGreg is the expert in this and could detail how frequently it happens. My 2007 is still going strong.

And as far as the trike part, the only problems I've had were tire issues right after the conversion and CSC took care of this right away. And I had a leaky rear end pinion seal that was a bit of a bear but I fixed it. And had to replace the hubs after a failed bearing on one side and it wasn't expensive and was stupid easy to do myself. There really isn't much else to worry about on this.

Now on my 2016 Silverado bought new in 2016, I'm glad I have a GM protection plan and cost me around $2800 but I'm still covered for another 2 years and 35k miles on it. After getting it out of the shop a couple weeks ago for a leaky upper oil pan gasket and leaking transmission cooling lines, it almost covered the cost I paid. And I previously needed a fuel injector replaced as well as a front axle housing replaced because of a crack causing a leak. All these cost me nothing out of pocket along with free loaner.

But the Silverado is a different beast and a lot more complicated than a GL1800. Between the mechanicals and much more electronic equipment, the protection plan made sense and I'm glad I had it but on a Goldwing, it would just not be worth it. And any plans you are able to get will obviously be an aftermarket plan and what I have seen from others is that they will try anything to get out of covering the costs. You need to continue to do all required maintenance and provide proof of that to at least have a shot. But on the flip side, like I mentioned above, if you keep up on the required maintenance (brake and clutch fluid flush, coolant changes every 2 years, oil changes as needed, air filter changes, etc...) You probably won't have a breakdown anyway.

 

[vtom1800]

Thanks for the input. Talked to the local Honda dealer yesterday and they said that they wouldn't work on it!! Not even on the motorcycle part of the trike.. Bummer. Going to ride it like I stole it... Thanks again for the input.

 

[cycle7447]

Thanks for the input. Talked to the local Honda dealer yesterday and they said that they wouldn't work on it!! Not even on the motorcycle part of the trike.. Bummer. Going to ride it like I stole it... Thanks again for the input.

I have heard this time and time again - Honda dealers will not work on bikes that are over 10 years old. I am certain they have their reasons - however, I still wonder why.

Harley dealers on the other hand will work on just about anything. f they can get the parts, they will fix it. It may not be an overnight thing - but it seems they really want the business.

Had a neighbor that had a 20-year-old bike - was sitting in the garage for all this time. We checked the oil, battery was dead - but we still tried to jump it. No go - carbs were gummed up. Called the dealer - he said, bring it in and over the winter, they would work on it. Yep, they got it going and made all the repairs.

I was lucky. My Honda dealer in Ohio, Waymouth Honda worked on both my trike and my sidecar. They actually installed the sidecar. Trike was a 1989 bike and I kept that until 2004. Dealer did all of my work. So, there are (were) some Honda dealers that will do it.

Wishing you all the best.

 

[pwhoever]

I have heard this time and time again - Honda dealers will not work on bikes that are over 10 years old. I am certain they have their reasons - however, I still wonder why.

One reason is parts availability on older models. The last thing a dealer wants is a trike torn down in his shop to discover that the part(s) needed are no longer available. This is more a possibility on the older models and a 2012 still should have most stuff still available. Take a look at some of the online parts breakdowns for the older models to see what I mean.

Also as bikes get older, so do the components and more susceptible to breakage such as broken tabs, stripped screws, etc... So now we have a trike owner who wanted to save a few bucks and do a repair himself. He screws it up by stripping out a few screws and/or breaking a tab or two in a piece that is somewhat hidden. He is unable to fix it. Then he decides to bring it to dealer for repair but doesn't mention his mistakes. Dealer doesn't discover errors until well into teardown. He tells owner but owner insists that dealer caused the problem and dealer gets stuck because he wasn't able to prove that bike had damage prior to coming in. And if it's a painted part, the replacement will probably not match color anymore because original pieces will be sunbleached while new part is still original color.

So this is just 2 examples on why the 10 year rule. I don't think all Honda dealers follow it but I can't exactly blame the ones that do. It's also a marketing strategy. Honda and the dealers are in the business of selling new machines. And by parts on older ones getting discontinued, it pushes folks to buy newer models instead of repairing older ones.

 

[cycle7447]

One reason is parts availability on older models. The last thing a dealer wants is a trike torn down in his shop to discover that the part(s) needed are no longer available. This is more a possibility on the older models and a 2012 still should have most stuff still available. Take a look at some of the online parts breakdowns for the older models to see what I mean.

Also as bikes get older, so do the components and more susceptible to breakage such as broken tabs, stripped screws, etc... So now we have a trike owner who wanted to save a few bucks and do a repair himself. He screws it up by stripping out a few screws and/or breaking a tab or two in a piece that is somewhat hidden. He is unable to fix it. Then he decides to bring it to dealer for repair but doesn't mention his mistakes. Dealer doesn't discover errors until well into teardown. He tells owner but owner insists that dealer caused the problem and dealer gets stuck because he wasn't able to prove that bike had damage prior to coming in. And if it's a painted part, the replacement will probably not match color anymore because original pieces will be sunbleached while new part is still original color.

So this is just 2 examples on why the 10 year rule. I don't think all Honda dealers follow it but I can't exactly blame the ones that do. It's also a marketing strategy. Honda and the dealers are in the business of selling new machines. And by parts on older ones getting discontinued, it pushes folks to buy newer models instead of repairing older ones.

Sir - I completely see your point about parts. I have to agree with you there. We do however differ on the dealer being in the business to sell new. By that I mean - price our new bike. Then price the repairs for that bike due to an accident. Seems like the cost of $50K in parts to make at $28K bike (lol).

 

[pwhoever]

Thanks for the input. Talked to the local Honda dealer yesterday and they said that they wouldn't work on it!! Not even on the motorcycle part of the trike.. Bummer. Going to ride it like I stole it... Thanks again for the input.

Many times this comes down to the ability of a shop to handle a trike. They are obviously bigger than your standard bike so will consume more real estate while getting worked on. Along with that, many shops like to put the bikes on lifts to make it easier to work on. A trike will need a much wider lift that many bike shops just don't have. It's best to brush up on your mechanical skills and tackle as much on your own as you can. The side benefit is that you end up saving significantly on labor costs and learn more about your machine in the process.

The alternative is to search out trike shops in the area that also do motorcycle repairs as well or start looking for independent bike shops that could handle a trike as well. Independent shops also traditionally will have lower labor costs.

 

[pwhoever]

Sir - I completely see your point about parts. I have to agree with you there. We do however differ on the dealer being in the business to sell new. By that I mean - price our new bike. Then price the repairs for that bike due to an accident. Seems like the cost of $50K in parts to make at $28K bike (lol).

The dealers don't see much if any profit on the sales of parts. The bulk of any profit it goes to Mother Honda. They make the majority of their money from bike sales. And if going through an insurance company for accident repairs, after the replacement parts cost hit a certain level vs value of the vehicle, the insurance company will simply no longer agree to the fix and will total it out. If you are covering the repair costs yourself, then you get to decide the limit on how much you're willing to pay to get it back together.

But you are correct. The parts cost will add up rather quickly because many components will come as individual parts instead of complete components like saddlebags for example. It's amazing how quickly the cost of the parts added up rises. And then the dealer's shop has to assemble.

Many years ago, I was rear ended on my GL1500. I knew about replacement parts costs and was worried that the repairs would cause the bike to be totalled. (I actually had to help the adjustor to make sure he included every single part that was going to be needed on the estimates.) I wasn't too far off but insurance agreed to authorize the repair. Long story short, after everything was calculated by insurance company, I decided to take the check from them and do the repairs myself. The saddlebags and saddlebag frame needed to be replaced and the total cost was pretty significant. I found a set of used saddlebags in perfect condition at a more than reasonable cost but did buy a new saddlebag frame. The teardown and then reinstalling all the replacement stuff took some time but I pocketed a nice chunk of change as a result.