Here is the latest update
- After my motorcycle was left at the Suzuki SVC on the 7th of December, a technical team from the company (
they happened to be in the state) visited the SVC, and provided the instructions to the team, which I listed in my update on
post #30 (Vibration issues with Suzuki Gixxer SF 250). Yes, those were ridiculous instructions!
- Next, the quagmire that is Suzuki's "internal processes" reared their ugly head. It took the company exactly 15 days to courier the vibration test tool from Kozhikode to Kochi. I could have walked from Kochi to Kozhikode, collected the tool and walked back, in less than a week......
- Today, I received a call from the showroom manager, in which he confirmed that Suzuki has accepted the replacement of the balancer shaft, due to it being the cause of the excess vibrations (
more on this, later in the post).
- Once again, before any conspiracy theorists start claiming that my motorcycle was part of the recall campaign of the 199 bikes identified by Suzuki, let me state that it isnt. However, the solution remains the same as what was recommended for those 199 motorcycles. You can draw your own conclusions on whether the recall only impacted 199 motorcycles (
as announced) or if Suzuki has swept things under the carpet.
- The good news is that the Suzuki plant remains shut from the 20th of December, for year end maintenance. Hence, the part cannot be sourced from them. Why is that good news, you ask? It would have taken another 21 days for the part to reach Kochi from the plant. Dont ask ....
- The better news is that the part is available at a Suzuki SVC in Tamil Nadu. Efforts are being made to get it couriered from there on Monday, which means that the part should arrive in Cochin, before the year end.
I must make special mention of the complete lack of support from Suzuki, as a company, on multiple levels.
- On the 7th of December, I sent an email to the customer care ID that is listed on their website.
- After gathering some more details, the ticket number CAS-328536-R9P8S4 was registered on the 10th of December.
- Since then, I have sent 6 follow up emails, asking for an update from the company. The total number of replies from Suzuki - Zero
![Frustration](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Frustration.gif)
- Through multiple stakeholders, I requested the local Area Service Manager to get in touch with me, to discuss the issue. The total number of calls from the Suzuki ASM - Zero
- It is clear that neither the ASM nor the company were really putting in any effort to resolving this in a timely manner. God bless Suzuki owners in Kerala!
- The SVC folks were helpful and trying their best, but their hands were tied by Suzuki's backward thinking processes and lack of technical oversight / support. I dont find fault with the SVC folks, at all. They are as eager as me, to get the bike back in top condition, so that I can resume my touring on it.
- After escalating strongly to Suzuki folks who arent even related to the service side of things, there was some progress today (
day 17). Without that, I would have gone at least another week, without any further developments. I shudder to think what other people will go through, when they face the same issue.
What could and should have been a fairly simple process, has been drawn out into a messy episode. I can confidently say that had this been a Royal Enfield motorcycle, the issue would have been sorted out, to my satisfaction, within a week. Sadly, Suzuki doesnt seem to care about customers, once the sale is made. Suzuki's systematic apathy to customers will not go unnoticed by the rider community. On one hand, their sales division is moving heaven and earth, to try and improve their numbers through different initiatives. On the other hand, their service management team is actively sabotaging all the hard work done by their counterparts in the sales side. The big loser in all this, is Suzuki, and nobody else.
Hopefully, Suzuki acknowledges the fact that this issue is widespread and does the needful for all its other Gixxer / SF 250 customers, who are facing this issue. While they are at it, maybe they can hire some interns to reply to emails from customers.....