Well hello all,
I'm new to this site as of today. I have a Champion sidecar on order and is being shipped to Dauntless as well as my bike from So California to have it custom fitted to my bike. Now being a female that is not mechancially inclined I'm concerned, having been told Dauntless is one of the top companies to install a Champion Sidecar. I'm spending a boatload to have a Daytona 2+2 custom fitted to my VTX1300R. Including the Tracking TILT installed and front end modifications, larger (car tire) for the rear tire on the bike, amongst other minor items. Any opinions on my decision to go this direction would be GREATLY APPRECIATED since I'm obviously new to all this.
Regards
Linda
Originally written by OlBroad on 9/6/2006 3:01 PM
Well hello all,
I'm new to this site as of today. I have a Champion sidecar on order and is being shipped to Dauntless as well as my bike from So California to have it custom fitted to my bike. Now being a female that is not mechancially inclined I'm concerned, having been told Dauntless is one of the top companies to install a Champion Sidecar. I'm spending a boatload to have a Daytona 2+2 custom fitted to my VTX1300R. Including the Tracking TILT installed and front end modifications, larger (car tire) for the rear tire on the bike, amongst other minor items. Any opinions on my decision to go this direction would be GREATLY APPRECIATED since I'm obviously new to all this.Regards
Linda
You made the right decision. I've been riding with a sidecar on and off for almost 30 years. I'm on my second Dauntless setup and can say only good about him. Even when it appears that I threw away a critical piece with the packaging, Jay express mailed a free replacement. I've never met the man, but he has always gone above and beyond for me, including putting up with dozens of emails and phone calls when I was trying to decide on a motorcycle to use and a sidecar. Neither of these pieces came from him, only the subframe and attaching hardware, so he didn't get rich off of me.
Originally written by SidecarMike on 9/6/2006 5:29 PM
Originally written by OlBroad on 9/6/2006 3:01 PM
Well hello all,
I'm new to this site as of today. I have a Champion sidecar on order and is being shipped to Dauntless as well as my bike from So California to have it custom fitted to my bike. Now being a female that is not mechancially inclined I'm concerned, having been told Dauntless is one of the top companies to install a Champion Sidecar. I'm spending a boatload to have a Daytona 2+2 custom fitted to my VTX1300R. Including the Tracking TILT installed and front end modifications, larger (car tire) for the rear tire on the bike, amongst other minor items. Any opinions on my decision to go this direction would be GREATLY APPRECIATED since I'm obviously new to all this.Regards
Linda
You made the right decision. I've been riding with a sidecar on and off for almost 30 years. I'm on my second Dauntless setup and can say only good about him. Even when it appears that I threw away a critical piece with the packaging, Jay express mailed a free replacement. I've never met the man, but he has always gone above and beyond for me, including putting up with dozens of emails and phone calls when I was trying to decide on a motorcycle to use and a sidecar. Neither of these pieces came from him, only the subframe and attaching hardware, so he didn't get rich off of me.
I appreciate your input. Having my bike shipped up to Jay and having them customize it to my bike hopefully will be the best way to do. I surely hope so.... LOL and he's making enough from me to make up for what he didn't make from you... It's the least I can do... YIKES
I spent 6 hours Sunday installing a top front mount from Dauntless on a KLR. It was fussy, it would only go on one way, I had to clean some powder coat out of the bolt holes before it would fit. It was a royal pain in the butt. I can see where a shop mechanic would not want to take the time to do it right and where an incompetent wrench could bugger it all up.
It is the second one of these mounts I have installed. I chose to do it again because when I got done with it I knew I would have a perfectly fitting, rock solid mount, with a better finish than the factory Kawasaki pieces it was being bolted to. It was absolutely worth the trouble. I have no regrets.
My experience with Dauntless products has been very good. They have built two outfits for me and provided me mounting hardware for four more of my own bikes and several bikes I helped friends rig. The service and the hardware has always been first class.
I am sorry a couple of you have had problems. That just has not been my experience, at all.
I tried to research the alleged complaints on the BMW boards mentioned earlier in this thread. What I found were the same people making the noise here, one of whom hasn't actually done business with Jay. I also found a number of people saying they were happy with his work in the same threads. Much like what I see here. Go figure.
I am thinking, it may be a combination of a new product not quite fitting a particular BMW the way Jay expected it to, and no bike handy to make the corrections, the particular bikes the problems occurred on being across country and the hardware modified by the owners without Jay having a chance to evaluate the problem. That is a shame for all concerned and probably could have been handled better by all parties.
It would be nice if Jay could do something to make it right for you, tho' I can see where he might be disinclined to do so after the parts have been modified and he has endured this internet exchange.
It is disturbing to see you working hard to drive buisness away from a shop that has done so much good for the sidecar community and which I know to be
a very good shop indeed. You had an unhappy experience and I can see why you feel this way. Your experience does not agree with my own, and I suspect, even though you might have me believe otherwise, you are in the minority. Most folks seem to be quite happy with Dauntless products. I know I am.
It sounds as if you have your rig up and running now, which is great. I wish you many miles of fun and look forward to seeing you out on the road sometime.
Originally written by OlBroad on 9/6/2006 3:01 PM
Well hello all,
I'm new to this site as of today. I have a Champion sidecar on order and is being shipped to Dauntless as well as my bike from So California to have it custom fitted to my bike. Now being a female that is not mechancially inclined I'm concerned, having been told Dauntless is one of the top companies to install a Champion Sidecar. I'm spending a boatload to have a Daytona 2+2 custom fitted to my VTX1300R. Including the Tracking TILT installed and front end modifications, larger (car tire) for the rear tire on the bike, amongst other minor items. Any opinions on my decision to go this direction would be GREATLY APPRECIATED since I'm obviously new to all this.Regards
Linda
Linda, last March I purchased a VStrom and shipped it to Dauntless to get a Ural SC attached (which I purchased from them). Got nearly all the options, TILT, disc, stc. Yes it was expensive, but, it was done on schedule, Connie and I flew to Seattle, Jay's wife picked me up and we got the bike. Then took a 10 day trip back to SoCal down highway1/101. Had the time of our lives, hack was perfect.
Originally written by gregbenner on 9/6/2006 6:06 PM
Originally written by OlBroad on 9/6/2006 3:01 PM
Well hello all,
I'm new to this site as of today. I have a Champion sidecar on order and is being shipped to Dauntless as well as my bike from So California to have it custom fitted to my bike. Now being a female that is not mechancially inclined I'm concerned, having been told Dauntless is one of the top companies to install a Champion Sidecar. I'm spending a boatload to have a Daytona 2+2 custom fitted to my VTX1300R. Including the Tracking TILT installed and front end modifications, larger (car tire) for the rear tire on the bike, amongst other minor items. Any opinions on my decision to go this direction would be GREATLY APPRECIATED since I'm obviously new to all this.Regards
Linda
Linda, last March I purchased a VStrom and shipped it to Dauntless to get a Ural SC attached (which I purchased from them). Got nearly all the options, TILT, disc, stc. Yes it was expensive, but, it was done on schedule, Connie and I flew to Seattle, Jay's wife picked me up and we got the bike. Then took a 10 day trip back to SoCal down highway1/101. Had the time of our lives, hack was perfect.
Wow, that sounds very cool. I take it this was not your first hack (still getting use to the lingo here..lol) I have been reading the manual this afternoon on the home page on sidecars. Geesh! So much to know. A training program really sounds like a must for me for sure. Also after getting on it and getting a feel for what it can and can't do will make all the difference as well, but I think training on their equipment first might save mine... LOL
Linda, I do own another SC,a Ural retro I purchased last March. Also rode it from Seattle to LA in the rain mostly. Really liked it, more importantly, Connie loved it. That prompted me to get the Strom so we could do some touring.
I had never ridden a SC before, but Ural NW took some tme with me in a parking lot. First couple days were pretty slow.
I would highly reccomend lessons, I think there are several in the Pacific NW area (elsewhere on this forum, Red Menace).
We are neighbors, I have a cabin in Wrightwood. PM me when you get the rig, we can hook up for a ride.
greg
Originally written by gregbenner on 9/6/2006 7:27 PM
Linda, I do own another SC,a Ural retro I purchased last March. Also rode it from Seattle to LA in the rain mostly. Really liked it, more importantly, Connie loved it. That prompted me to get the Strom so we could do some touring.
I had never ridden a SC before, but Ural NW took some tme with me in a parking lot. First couple days were pretty slow.
I would highly reccomend lessons, I think there are several in the Pacific NW area (elsewhere on this forum, Red Menace).
We are neighbors, I have a cabin in Wrightwood. PM me when you get the rig, we can hook up for a ride.
greg
That sounds wonderful. This appears to be a very cool forum of folks. It won't even be shipped to Dauntless till at least Oct 22, Champion is really backlogged, I ordered it the first part of July, so it will be awhile still.. Anxiously awaiting a trip north. I've been very lucky over the years and never have been caught in the rain, that would be an experience as well. Especially if it is November coming down from Washington... Sand bags in the hack and the side of the road...lol
I might need water wings as well.
I really hope that all the recent posters will have a positive experience with their new sidecar projects. I surely am enjoying my new rig.
Something that seems to have fallen by the wayside in the recent posts is the reason for this subject.
On 9/6 RedMenace wrote:
"I am thinking, it may be a combination of a new product not quite fitting a particular BMW the way Jay expected it to, and no bike handy to make the corrections, the particular bikes the problems occurred on being across country and the hardware modified by the owners without Jay having a chance to evaluate the problem. That is a shame for all concerned and probably could have been handled better by all parties.
It would be nice if Jay could do something to make it right for you, tho' I can see where he might be disinclined to do so after the parts have been modified and he has endured this internet exchange."
Yes, it may be that Jay's problem is not one affecting a lot of his products. There are at least three of us who purchased mounts he advertised as fitting a BMW Cruiser when, in fact, they did not fit. In my post on 8/29, I quoted from an email Jay wrote to me, admitting that he had problems with the mounts. I corresponded with Jay on March 9, 27, May 2, 3, and 27 and posted my comments on 8/29. The last correspondence I received from Jay was on 5/2 and included the following:
"We have had problems with this mount as my now fired shop foreman decided he knew a better way to build it and changed things on it. We have since redesigned the mounts to fix the problem. I know this does you no good at this point, I see no reason we should pay to modify our parts when we could have had we known there was an issue resolved it."
Regarding Red's comment that Jay "has endured this internet exchange", he had almost 6 month to take care of the problem and elected not to do so. The sidecar mounting was done by Kurt Liebhaber of SCF Sidecars, someone who has more than 25 years experience building and mounting sidecars, someone who has never made one negative comment to me concerning Dauntless. Jay has just recently reinroduced his redesigned mounts for the BMW Cruiser. Was I to have waited on him between March - August? All I asked for was that he reimburse me for some of the shop time spent making his mounts work, certainly not an unreasonable request in view of how he disposed of Sergio's problem, the one that started this subject.
I have always been a very reasonable individual; infact, I suggested to Jay that he propose a win-win solution for both of us. The reality is, he will have to endure many more of the comments -- so far this thread has been viewed by over 1600 people from our relatively small community. Owning up to his problem and taking care of those customers affected would have been and still will be much simpler.
I guess everyone can have different experiences-and I am not down-playing Anyone's-. I met Jay at His Shop.(he met me on a Sat. normally closed) Very Helpful. Spent a lot of time with us. I hadn't got Bike yet- moving from airhead to K,due to Back and ankle surgery. I got a used Cal III, he only sold me the parts required after taking an inventory of the parts that came with.The Subframe fit perfect. LOTS of FREE Advice. And I Gained a new FRIEND. Like I said I'm not down playing anybody's-and can understand frustration over problems. Unless I'm directly involved in the deal-like I got to be with my parts and service-AND Like the Fellow with the True Problems-its just gossip to me. I respect everyone here, and thanks for all your Help getting us up. Thanks to all, Bob
This posting is upsetting. I frequent other forums and this same subject has surfaced. The issue has been viewed by more than 1,600 viewers if you include the other forums. You would have to assume that some of the other viewers are interested in getting or exploring the idea of a sidecar.
These posts leave a very negative impression regarding the sidecar industry. It does not matter if Jay and Dauntless are model citizens. These posts do not leave that impression. I have introduced some people to sidecars and did steer them clear of Dauntlesss, not because of any personal experience, but as a result of the perception.
Originally written by hackellis on 9/24/2006 2:54 PM
This posting is upsetting. I frequent other forums and this same subject has surfaced. The issue has been viewed by more than 1,600 viewers if you include the other forums. You would have to assume that some of the other viewers are interested in getting or exploring the idea of a sidecar.
These posts leave a very negative impression regarding the sidecar industry. It does not matter if Jay and Dauntless are model citizens. These posts do not leave that impression. I have introduced some people to sidecars and did steer them clear of Dauntlesss, not because of any personal experience, but as a result of the perception.
Had I not bought the Liberty from Pete, I would have bought a Legend from Jay and I have no doubt what ever it would have been a great transaction. Pete is a great guy to deal with and the Liberty is the Cadillac of sidecars in my opinion but I wouldn't have any qualms what ever dealing with Jay.
I rarely post but have lurked here for several years.
A good path to take if you have issues with a vendor or shop is to deal with them directly.
Taking a personal business matter and turning it into a public forum is NOT the high road to take.
Bruce
ps - have dealt with Jay on several occasions, not for big money though. He took the time to talk with me when it was obvious he was quite busy.
Jay is doing a set up for my new rig. I would have had to ship it up to him from So Cal but he was kind enough to offer to load it up with other bikes he was taking back to WA after making several deliveries down in the Bay Area this weekend if I could get it up there. I just got back yesterday from taking my bike up north to Modesto and dropping it at a Ural dealer (saw some beautiful rigs by the way) for Jay to pick up vs. having it shipped. Jay didn't have to offer that to me. that was going over and beyond as far as I'm concerned and I really appreciate that he would even make that offer.
Yes, this thread is getting old and unnecessary in my opinion. For goodness sakes I think we are adults here and should deal direct with an individual vs. whining here and attacking someones character, bashing someone doesn't resolve anything or change anything as well. This thread needs to be put out to pasture so to speak.
my 2 more cents.
Linda
PS> Jay if you read this I really appreciate your kindness in hauling my road dusty girl back up to your shop.
I agree that this is getting old. I think all parties need to compromise and get on with the future.
I agree with hackellis that this gives the wrong impression to "non-sidecar" population.
