Loaner Bikes

[Kiwi_Roy]

How many of you have a dealer that will lend you a bike while yours is in for service?
My local dealer is apparently not aware of the concept, dropped my bike off and had to get a taxi home.
Is that normal?

[Gliderjohn]

My local Honda, Kaw dealer is a decent place but they do not allow test rides let alone a loaner bike.
GliderJohn

[malik]

In my limited experience (& in a different country/market) the practice is not common. But if the dealer knows you well enough, and has some demo bikes that need some miles up, you might get lucky. Likely the time of day & which side of the bed he got out of that morning could be factors.

[Lannis]

No dealer I've ever dealt with would allow it.

Demo rides, yes, generous ones.   But "loaner" bikes ... ?    I suspect there are insurance issues, and he'd have to have the same kind of insurance that a Bike Rental place would have, and it's probably too expensive to "give it away" ...

Lannis

[Lannis]

This reminds me of the US stories of folk hiring Hertz Mustangs back in the day and doing a little track work with them. 

I expect that Ford and Hertz knew that was going to happen ...

Last time I was on the Isle of Man I talked to Tommy Leonard, who runs the only motorcycle dealership on the Island (mainly Honda when I was there).   I asked if he rented bikes, and he said that he USED to rent them ... at first a full line of them, and then just 125s, and then quit.

You can guess the reason ... way too many of his customers threw the bikes down the Mountain Course trying to play Ricky Racer, and it didn't pay any more.

Always somebody to make sure that we can't have nice things!

Lannis

[Kiwi_Roy]

Ok it seems like I was dreaming when I thought the dealer would lend you an old beater to ride when you drop a bike off for service.
I feel much better to know this is the norm.
They did phone me a taxi.

[usedtobefast]

A dealer in CA where I bought my Racer said they could provide a loaner for me when I brought the bike in for service, just have to book it in advance vs. just show up.   I used my sad "you are 2 hours away from me" story and that seemed to work.   

[Kiwi Dave]

In New Zealand for sure.
Plenty of shops would give you a loaner bike, is it the same now I do not know as I do not live there.

Unfortunately, not any more.  I reckon the rational might be, wow I really like this model, I need to buy it right now!

[DAMMAG]

We do if you ask for it. But let's face it, you can't have a fleet of loaner bikes for every service you do in a day.

[twowheeladdict]

How many of you have a dealer that will lend you a bike while yours is in for service?
My local dealer is apparently not aware of the concept, dropped my bike off and had to get a taxi home.
Is that normal?

I was getting a tire put on my V7III and test rode several bikes to pass the time.  I have ridden many bikes there over the years, but that is different than loaning a bike to go back home or run errands on.  The test rides range from 20 to 40 miles depending on how much I am enjoying the bike.

The Harley dealer will let me hop on a demo or used bike and go away for a couple hours.  The last time, I rode the Softail Deluxe over to the Royal Enfield dealer who just got Triumph back and spent some time looking over the new Triumph offerings.  We haven't had Triumph in the area since 2015. 

[skippy]

There is a boutique like dealer where I unfortunately made my most recent purchase. They are located in the very heart of a major metropolitan area. All I was there for was to by my bike and get out. I paid for almost the entire bike with cash and financed the rest. The term of finance was 48 months.
Sitting at the table signing all of the papers you of course are subjected to crappy sales pitches for services and accessories they want to tack on to your financing.
They started to give me the pitch for four varying service plans I could purchase. I won't go into detail on how I politely told them to.... well I declined.
All four plans had priority scheduling and mechanical coverage. I can't tell you what mechanical coverage covers that the warranty wouldn't.
That was it for the basic plan that is oddly enough called "The Basics" and I doubt it accounted for anything extra on the finance but I don't remember. Actually I take that last statement back. I think it did come at a cost. I just found the document outlining these plans that I had to initial and there is a great big X through the entire page with my signature and date at the bottom.
The next plan was called "Essentials" and it added GAP protection to the tune of $8 a month over 48 months which is $384 for the term over the cost of the basic plan.
The next plan was Called "Rider" and it added "up to 84 months of tire and wheel coverage" At best it was fresh rubber periodically but it came at a cost $1152. WTF! I can buy a lot of rubber for that kind of money.
The premium service package was called the "Worry Free" It added "Battery Protection" which means they would replace my battery if need be during the term of the loan. If I can't get 4 years out of a battery then something is wrong. But Hey, this added protection only adds $1440 to the total cost of the bike.
Now, back to the OP topic at hand. All of these added service packages come at an additional cost but they also all include a loaner bike when service is required on your primary steed.   

[Roebling3]

I'll not give my dealer a cramp to live with; but during the several up grades to the V7 IIIR, b4 driving off, I rode several V7 models. The gear howl, under power, is dreadful all the way to 4k/m and beyond; as is the pounding in the bars. An owner nearby, + the boss, + 2 techs agreed: 'they all do that' or 'I've not noticed'. I always wear ear plugs. I added foam grips. The howl through very good ear plugs?  Awful. Guzzi might best cook a deal w/an outside gear box source. Suzuki? Honda? (NO Getrags'). The tech is not new.  2nd thoughts: Are noisy gear trains behind the replacement of stock exhaust silencers?  R3~

[motorcop]

BMW MC of SE Michigan has a fleet of loaners while a bike is in being serviced.

[Bulldog9]

I've seen a few, but have rarely bought from a dealer let alone have a bike serviced there. Have mostly owned older bikes until recently.  I do know that MI used to have loaners on request, they kept my FJR for that purpose.

[Seventy One]

When I had my Versys 1000LT in for the 16k mile service I sat on the customer sofa for an hour before I was approached and offered a loaner bike...any bike on the floor.

They had a number of used, late-model H-D's and Victories but instead took a used KLR home. It was nice. I liked it much better than my Tiger.