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Originally Posted by J.Ravi I find it difficult to bring my bird to neutral sometimes. My bullet has had more than her quota of quality issues, problems and niggles. Her petrol tank was replaced due to paint issues. Her faulty float was also replaced. The last, but not the least, the instrument cluster was replaced when the odometer reading was 5,722 km due to cracked glass. The petrol tank replacement was done after escalating to the higher level after the service centre guys did not act. I only pray that issues don't return or no new issues come up after the expiry of warranty! All said and done, it is the attitude of the manufacturer that counts more than anything else. |
Dear Mr.J.Ravi - thank you for your factual reply. "Product Issues" as traditionally known in India for a very long time and accepted as a part of product ownership are just not acceptable to an Indian customer in 2014. My take on "Product Performance" as it ought to be today is as follows:
The vehicle should perform and continue to perform the task for which it was purchased
almost invisibly (I have added the word "almost" to instil a sense of character in an automotive product (an automotive product purchase decision, more often than not, is a bit of a romance). Therefore, it is imperative that the customer should be able to continuously use the product sub-consciously and concentrate on his business-at-hand, rather than use his time to attend to the so-called "Product Issues".
In simple sentence, it goes like this:
Nothing happens to the vehicle - EVER - the customer only adds fuel and drives!
Dear Tgo - thanks for your very interesting comments. The distance covered by your bike determines its life expectancy which is woefully small. My reply is as follows:
1. Loss of compression (very serious).
2. Piston Slap (obviously very serious).
3. Excessive Tappet Noise (a major irritant which completely spoils the drive experience).
4. Oil consumption between refills (300 ml is a small quantity and may be within acceptable limit, need to check against specifications).
5. Rusting Wheels and Chrome (the whole owneship charm needs that the chrome must continue to shine. This is an essential "vehicle attribute").
6. Excessive Vibrations on the Handlebar (obviously a vehicle integration issue due to tolerance stack-up, need to identify non-conformance, correct, recheck and continue till solved).
7. Ergonomics of the RVMs (RVMs provided because CMVR says so, not because the customer wants them to be there, also wants them to work).
8. Loosening of nuts and bolts here and there which gives the bike falling apart feel, probably needs a good loctite treatment all around (obviously poor build and assembly quality. Fasteners come under "C" category parts and get merrily ignored).
9. Grinding noise in rear wheel / clutch while coasting at 30kmph (can have various reasons from the insignificant to the bizzare, "wrong part fitted" also included).
10. Have gone through two sets of front and rear wheel bearings. I guess they are installing them wrong (poor bought out parts quality, poor manufacturing quality, lack of technical control on aftersales product issue resolution process).
11. Poor quality of wiring, wires have sheaths which offer no protection when the wires are bent over metal edges (introduced to satisfy "audiences in meetings", not necessarily solving the product issue, this can lead to a short circuit and fire).
12. Poor Clutch Life / Installation, a clutch change at 34K and need another one at 51K now (even God Almighty may not exactly know what was the original equipment assembly part number and what is actually running inside now, incorrect parts get fitted in the field very regularly).
13. I never feel that I have a trouble free bike but I still love it (customer has formed the opinion, it will not change easily).
14. I don't blame the RE service managers, they either ride only the new bikes or old ones in the confines of their garages and own the commuter bikes so in terms of issues cropping up and the change that the owners (riding daily) feel in their bike are not known to them (this is not new, it is the same everywhere, with wages slightly higher than those of executive drivers, employee turnover ratio is very high).
15. Inspite of 1 to 14, "the only reason I consider going in for a new Thunderbird is that I feel that the bike is going to be new and I will not have to deal with these ageing related issues" (this is the result of passion towards the product portfolio, the customer wants to buy another one, knowing fully well that it may not work)!
I secretly wish that you own one so that the whole community is enlightened with your ownership experience and remedies (thanks for the offer, but I have better ways to spend my money, your list was only 14 issues, if I can determine 10 issues in 2 kms of drive, I will end up with more than 140 if I buy the thing, I have a job to do, I don't have time for non-productive activities)!
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Best regards,
Behram Dhabhar