[Brumby]

Hello friends,

I am looking for suggestions to help me realise my dream of owning a RE twin cylinder motorcycle.

A brief about the reason for this post

I am a sailor and I am in and out of country every three months.

I was planning to buy a twin cylinder RE motorcycle, ever since the reports about development of RE650 engine started to pop up on the internet.

I was present at the launch of interceptor 650 and mine was the 2nd booking on the day of launch.

The dealer never bothered to call me when the test drives started, and called my number for arranging the delivery of bike at a time when I was not at home (somewhere in May 2019). There was waiting period for the delivery and my chance to take the delivery was missed and my booking became inactive, after activation the booking number again gets in the queue with a tentative delivery after three months or so.

I just gave up the hopes for getting the delivery of the bike, the dealer never called back and I never enquired, it was sort of forgotten.

Then the supermetor 650 was launched, and I thought of trying my luck by shifting the booking to SM650.

After a test ride of SM650, I cancelled my booking for Interceptor 650 in March 2023 and booked a SM650. I explained to the sales executive about the situation and requested to arrange a delivery with in 3 months as this time I had a leave of about 4 months. Though he promised to try, but even after multiple reminders after about 2 months, his response was negative.

The sales executive left the job and I went back to work. While I was away, my wife again received a call from Soniya motors, somewhere in September 2024, confirming that our booking is now confirmed for delivery. My wife explained the situation to the sales executive, and expressed our inability to complete the payment and take delivery of the bike.

During my short stay at home in Nov-Dec 2023, I enquired about the possibility of taking the delivery, I was informed that, we called you multiple times and you refused to take the delivery (the reason for refusal does not matter). Your booking has become inactive, we will make the booking active again and will try but cannot guarantee.

I left for work by 3rd week of December 2023 and came back on 25 March 2024.

Today on 31 March 2024, I initiated the conversation with the dealer again, and the status is still the same, booking is inactive. I enquired about Shotgun and availability of test ride, which was confirmed in affirmative over the phone.

I went to the store, I saw the Shotgun and enquired about the bike, and about any possibility of having the early delivery if I switch the booking. The reply was again the same, 3 months of waiting.

I asked if any of the 650 bikes was available for immediate delivery, the sales executive gave a standard reply, "Three months waiting".

He even went on to explain me the reason of waiting. As per the sales executive, there is shortage of the crankshaft and hence there is waiting period.

Availability of test ride status for shotgun changed to "not available" at the store, and then suddenly changed to "available". I was disappointed by this attitude and left the store.

So presently I am stuck in this time loop with RE where most likely I can never own a 650 CC bike from RE.

I come home, have 3 months leave - bike will be available for delivery after 3 months - At this time I will be away from home - booking becomes inactive - the cycle starts again.

Since the order books are full, there is no effort from the dealer to help and arrange a delivery that suits my requirements.

I am in dilemma, what should I do, should I switch to another dealer or give up and cancel my booking.

Regarding the type of motorcycle, I am comfortable with almost all 650cc bikes that are available with RE except continental GT.

I presently I own a 2007 Std Bullet 350 and want to have a 650 CC bike for weekend joy rides.

Your suggestions are most welcome.

Thank you.

Cheers.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[deep_bang]

How about a used interceptor? There must be enough of them in the market now to get those easily.

While your preference may be for new, by buying used, you get the bike in a short time, there is the added advantage of lower price.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by Brumby

I come home, have 3 months leave - bike will be available for delivery after 3 months - At this time I will be away from home - booking becomes inactive - the cycle starts again.

Brumby,

1) Cancel your old booking and let the refund come in its own time. Don’t try to reactivate your booking every time.

2) Make up your mind which bike it is that you really want and stick to it.

3) Since the bike will be available after three months and your contract is three months, make a new booking on your last day at home, just when you are ready to sail.

4) Come back home after three months, take delivery of your dream bike and enjoy her to the fullest.

All the best!

Cheers

[Brumby]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

How about a used interceptor? There must be enough of them in the market now to get those easily.

While your preference may be for new, by buying used, you get the bike in a short time, there is the added advantage of lower price.

The preference is for a new one, never tried to search for a used one.

Originally Posted by Cyborg

Brumby,

1) Cancel your old booking and let the refund come in its own time. Don’t try to reactivate your booking every time.

2) Make up your mind which bike it is that you really want and stick to it.

3) Since the bike will be available after three months and your contract is three months, make a new booking on your last day at home, just when you are ready to sail.

4) Come back home after three months, take delivery of your dream bike and enjoy her to the fullest.

All the best!

Cheers

I tried that as well, infact I told the dealer for the tentative delivery date but the reply is standard,

"It cannot be done sir, company procedure is like that",

in short, for targets they are happy to show a booking for the month, delivery is not their problem, its either customer's headache or the company should increase the production.


Last year when I booked my bike, there were plenty of SM650s gathering dust outside the showroom, I asked for arranging delivery of one, but the reply was, "those are customers' bikes and there is delay in processing the funds from the customer's end".

I was going for an outright purchase, still they refused. I fail to comprehend how the whole process works.


On 03 April 2024, after discussion, I activated booking and got assurance that delivery will be made with the first batch of bikes received (2 months tentatively). Keeping the fingers crossed.

[gtx2]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

How about a used interceptor? There must be enough of them in the market now to get those easily.

While your preference may be for new, by buying used, you get the bike in a short time, there is the added advantage of lower price.

+1, resale market is full of well priced Interceptors. I'd personally not bother with the long wait and just go with a good resale bike. When I last enquired about Interceptor few months back, the wait the quoted was 6+ months for the alloy version.

[setuniket]

Try booking online with 1-2 accessories through MIY in RE website when you are about to sail.

By the time your customised motorcycle is shipped to the dealer, you should be back in india. Since the order would be customised the dealer should hold it for you.

[Freespirit27]

This crank shaft issues are a news and seem to be another 'galley packet'! On my recent booking the guy says Himalayan production is being ramped up so the other models are suffering! Well I guess RE has its hands full, and even people ashore are in the waiting modes. Could you not do the test ride of your model of choice (minus Shotgun) and book it and provide the papers and then authorise a friend (who will respond to calls) to do the balance formalities. Registration etc as required can be done when you get back. The timing as someone said needs to be like, book it on hitting shores and collect it at next port visit.

[Redex]

Hi,
send a letter or email to the CEO explaining your situation. Point out that you are a life long owner/fan of RE and will make a protest purchase of a Japanese bike if they are unwilling or unable to help. Just buy a Jap bike anyway. The end product will be much better than any RE bike.
Stir up social media for support. The last thing RE want is bad publicity. They have had long enough to sort out parts and production issues. 3 months minimum is a ridiculously long time to wait for a new bike, (or anything).
I cannot understand why, in this technological modern age, ha ha ha, that it is so difficult to spend money. At an age of 67 I thought the "computer age" was supposed to make life easier. I have wasted more time and had more problems trying to deal with everyday life using "modern" methods.
Every year I waste 3 to 4 hours trying to update my Garmin GPS, because Garmin Express Updater will not run. Last year I had to use a laptop running Windows 7 to get it to work. Contacted Garmin, told them I have had 3 Garmin GPS units for up to 20 years, and would switch to TomTom. Never got a reply. One Garmin is due for renewal so now going to buy 3 TomToms.
I still keep paper copies of everything and use cash whenever I can. Technology is unreliable and a waste of space.
Regards Neil

[AtheK]

Can a friend or colleague not take the delivery when you are not around. You can even request dealer to deliver the bike at your place if no one else rides in your circle, and then start using it once you are back.

[maverick029]

Originally Posted by AtheK

Can a friend or colleague not take the delivery when you are not around. You can even request dealer to deliver the bike at your place if no one else rides in your circle, and then start using it once you are back.

This is what i wanted to suggest as well!!
Make up your mind, keep the cash available and on d day maybe your friend can ride the bike back to your place and your wife makes the payment.

[Brumby]

Originally Posted by Freespirit27

This crank shaft issues are a news and seem to be another 'galley packet'! On my recent booking the guy says Himalayan production is being ramped up so the other models are suffering! Well I guess RE has its hands full, and even people ashore are in the waiting modes.

This is just crap that the sales guy told me, probably he doesn't even know how a crankshaft looks like, and he is unaware of the fact that I am a marine engineer and I know engine components in and out.

Originally Posted by AtheK

Can a friend or colleague not take the delivery when you are not around. You can even request dealer to deliver the bike at your place if no one else rides in your circle, and then start using it once you are back.

Originally Posted by maverick029

This is what i wanted to suggest as well!!
Make up your mind, keep the cash available and on d day maybe your friend can ride the bike back to your place and your wife makes the payment.

A drawback working on ships is that you do not have friends around (physically), the set of friends that I presently have were from the academy and I do not have any local friends, only acquaintances. All my friends from school and academy are spread all over the country. A few that I made while on board are foreign nationals or living in different cities.

Payment is not an issue at all, even if I have someone who could take delivery for me, I would still not do that, I prefer to check the vehicle by myself and only after being satisfied, I would proceed with further procedures (OCD).

[handsofsteel]

Originally Posted by Brumby

This is just crap that the sales guy told me, probably he doesn't even know how a crankshaft looks like, and he is unaware of the fact that I am a marine engineer and I know engine components in and out.

Digressing from the point but,...
Are you really sure you want a RE given your use profile of no use for 3 months and then 3 months of use?
(No offence to RE owners, but such a profile is not really conducive to the best of bikes/ vehicles)

[Proxima]

My suggestion - get a used Interceptor or Super Meteor (there are many on sale in Olx) and wait for the Classic 650 to launch later this year.

[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by Brumby

called my number for arranging the delivery of bike at a time when I was not at home (somewhere in May 2019). There was waiting period for the delivery and my chance to take the delivery was missed and my booking became inactive

...September 2024, confirming that our booking is now confirmed for delivery. My wife explained the situation to the sales executive, and expressed our inability to complete the payment and take delivery of the bike...

...we called you multiple times and you refused to take the delivery (the reason for refusal does not matter). Your booking has become inactive, we will make the booking active again and will try but cannot guarantee.

I am in dilemma, what should I do, should I switch to another dealer or give up and cancel my booking.

Your suggestions are most welcome.

First things first, I don't think we can blame RE or the dealer in your case. They have honoured your booking, however you didn't take delivery owing to your circumstances. Don't expect the dealer to empathise with your situation and expect them to step out of their box to help you out. Not happening unless you know the dealership owners directly, which I don't think is the case.

Originally Posted by Brumby

The preference is for a new one, never tried to search for a used one.

We can understand the preference, but if you can't work around the system and haven't been able to get your hands on a new motorcycle for 5 years, I think it's high time you start stepping out of your comfort zone. There are plenty of used 650s available which are less than a year old - just a basic OLX search will help you out with that.

Originally Posted by Brumby

I do not have any local friends, only acquaintances. All my friends from school and academy are spread all over the country.

I prefer to check the vehicle by myself and only after being satisfied, I would proceed with further procedures (OCD).

Come on man! You just keep complicating you scenario further. We're talking about RE here - so please understand there is a high chance that there may be quality issues on a brand new motorcycle as well. So if you reject one, then what? Go back to the same situation you were in 2019??

The system is not going to change itself for you. If you want something to change, it should come from you. Unless you make certain sacrifices, your dream will remain just a dream.

Happy shopping!