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Bushtec and HD Frustration

8K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  Radioactive 
#1 ·
I ran into a Bushtec Trailer rep at the last Demo Ride Days at my local HD dealership. I have a Bushtec Roadstar trailer that I pulled with my Honda Valkyrie for a year, and loved having it for the long trips! Great trailer!

So the Rep shows me the new hitch they sell for the Road Glide and how it disappears once you remove the receiver. Sounds great, but what about the bike's warranty? He says it's no problem, and goes on about a legal precedence concerning voiding warranties due to after market parts etc etc. so I order one with the "plug n play isolator to isolate the bike electronics from the trailer wiring.

It all shows up the other day and is a very well built, beautifully finished hitch. It mounts up perfectly, and all is well.... until I begin the wiring process. The instructions didn't accurately describe my wiring, so I call the rep. He comes over and agrees, then tells me HD apparently changed the wiring, and I'll have to cut the connectors off the isolator and cut the rear lighting harness on the bike and splice and solder. I didn't like the sounds of that for fear of voiding the warranty, so I called the HD dealership and asked if they would do the wiring. The said no, and that if I mounted the hitch my warranty would be void. I asked about the legal precedence and they basically said it's HD policy, and I'd have to fight it out with HD. So, I called 5 other dealerships around the northwest and they all said the same thing without hesitation.
So, I call the Bushtec rep and tell him all of this. He immediately gets defensive and asks me what I expect him to do about it. I told him that I had decided not to tow the trailer and void my warranty, and that I wanted to return the hitch. He said I'd have to take it up with Bushtec and he'd do nothing about it. I wrote my check to the rep personally, and felt that he should refund my money, and deal with Bushtec on his end!

We argued back and forth for 10 minutes and I finally said fine! Great customer service! Two hours later, he calls back, apologizes, and tells me to remove the hitch and he'd refund my money. So, the next day I remove the hitch, box it all up and call him to come get it. He shows up and immediately starts inspecting every piece very very closely. Every place he found the slightest rub mark or any sign that the part had been mounted he put it back in the box and refused to refund the value of that part. I could understand if the parts were scratched or dented, but I'm talking about absolutely any mark of any kind! Of course I protested since he knew that the hitch had already been mounted when he told me to remove it and he'd refund my money. Some of the tiny little rub marks could have very easily been there when I got the hitch, but I hadn't taken a magnifying glass to it like he was.

Long story, a little shorter, the A-Hole left with the pin lock, the receiver lock, and wiring harnesses, and nothing else, and refunded me next to nothing out of my $500 purchase! He was a total Ass, and kept telling how lucky I was that he was doing this for me since Bushtec would just tell me to pack sand!

Anyway, I just need to vent, and let you know that if anyone is looking for a brand new Bushtech hitch minus the pin lock, lock for the receiver, and wiring harness, I'll make you a deal on one!!
 
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#2 ·
I have a trailer , so I dont need your hitch , this goes around over and over with Harley .. I have gotten different answers from different people , my take is the warranty depends on how well you get along with your local dealer .. Mine never sees me ..

My thought is I am leaving the hitch on and if it needs to go to the dealer , the hitch and harness will be removed before they get it .. Just hope it doesnt happen on the road ..

The only thing I know for certain is that the ESP does state if you are set up for towing , that the ESP is voided .. The warranty is unclear and really doesnt address the issue beyond "unapproved accessories" ..

I have been towing campers and cargo trailers , with Harleys , the far side of twenty years and this is the first bike with a warranty to be used for towing , so I dunno ..

FWIW , the hitch on my 1988 Tour Glide was bought from a Harley dealer in 1989 , go figger .

I would be on the phone with Bushtec like stink on poo

JtB
 
#3 ·
I wrote my check to the rep personally, and felt that he should refund my money, and deal with Bushtec on his end!
By having you write the him personally, I think that rep was trying something underhanded, like selling you a hitch that wasn't in BushTec's inventory anymore...or something like that. When you wanted a refund he was caught, and he used his inspection to refund as little of his pocket-money as he could.
 
#4 ·
I totally agree with Sharknose above. As someone who's been involved in the automotive aftermarket fopr longer than I care to tell, I've been involved in evewry phase or type of sales and repping. This sounds exactly like an independent rep who gets paid a small commission on everything that ships to dealers in his area who sold you a sample or show inventory unit and put the money in his own pocket. I'd call BushTec and tell them you have a significant problem with one of their field reps and ask to speak to the VP of Sales or National Sales Manager. Be firm but tactful - screaming and hollering will likely get you no where. There's definitely something very fishy going on with your experience.
 
#5 ·
You should have just kept it all and sent the Rep packing and a foot up his ass. Used it like Jack does or wait until your warranty is up.
 
#7 ·
I'm not an attorney so I can't speak to the finer points of the Magnussen-Moss Warranty act, but I'm pretty sure they can't void your warranty for having a hitch if they don't know you have one. One of the things I like about my hitch is that it comes off with 4 bolts and there were no additional holes drilled to put it on. The isolator is under a side cover and I guess I could have unspliced it, but I never did. The last time my bike was at a dealer was 3 years ago (still under warranty at the time) when they rebuilt it after a wreck and they never said a word about any of it.
 
#8 ·
Bush tech

I have a bushtech hitch on Mine and the company was great to deal with. I had some fit issues and some incorrect parts in the package. They replaced all the parts with no questions, even the ones with dings and marks. Call the company and lodge a complaint about the local rep. Better to spend 100 on a letter from a lawyer than be stuck with a 500.00 boat anchor..
 
#10 ·
I sent Bushtec an e-mail today describing the entire issue, start to finish, and detailing the behavior of their rep (Manager of West Coast Dealer Development, according to his card). I told them that I have been a loyal Bushtec customer for many years, and that this issue has left a bad taste in my mouth that I'm having a hard time not sharing with every forum I am a member of, which includes the Gold Wing Riders, The Valkyrie Riders, the M109R Owners, the Rune Riders, and of course this one. That's a lot of publicity, bad or good, depending on how they resolve this issue! It will be interesting to see how they respond! I'll let all of you know...bad or good!
 
#11 ·
Part of Magnussen-Moss is the relationship of the failed part/system to the aftermarket part. For example, if you blow a head gasket, they can't say your warranty is void and not fix it just because you installed a new windscreen. Or just the opposite. Say the windscreen trim rubbed a hole in the fairing. They can't deny warranty work just because you put aftermarket pipes on. In this case, if you splice wiring together and there's an electrical issue, they can deny warranty work as they'll say your wiring job messed things up. Or they could deny clutch repairs because you prematurely wore that out by pulling a trailer.

I'd have told the salesman he could either take it all back (and refund the entire amount) or you'd keep it all and call/write Bushtec. I kinda doubt you'll get to talk to the head honcho over there but you might get a regional sales director or something.
 
#14 ·
Part of Magnussen-Moss is the relationship of the failed part/system to the aftermarket part. For example, if you blow a head gasket, they can't say your warranty is void and not fix it just because you installed a new windscreen. Or just the opposite. Say the windscreen trim rubbed a hole in the fairing. They can't deny warranty work just because you put aftermarket pipes on. In this case, if you splice wiring together and there's an electrical issue, they can deny warranty work as they'll say your wiring job messed things up. Or they could deny clutch repairs because you prematurely wore that out by pulling a trailer.
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My fully loaded trailer weighs less than a fat girl in a sidecar, which HD blesses (their parts catalogue even lists a heavy-duty drive belt for use with sidecars.) Can't see any distinction as far as drive train issues. I think the "No Towing" recommendation is based on loss of control issues.
 
#13 ·
Well, yesterday I sent a letter to Bushtec descibing what happened and this morning I get a call from Ron Yearwood, the General Manager at Bushtec! Mr. Yearwood was very concerned about what had happened, and how it had happened! He said that this is not how Bushtec does business, and, as some of you had eluded, was wondering why this independent rep was selling hitches directly. Apparently, that's not what he is supposed to be doing! Mr. Yearwood said they would be having a conversation with the rep very soon!

Anyway, Mr. Yearwood was very supportive and said I would be contacted very soon by one of his guys and would be given a complete refund for the hitch!

Kudos to Bushtec for showing why they are on the top of the motorcycle trailer manufacture industry!
 
#15 ·
Good for you. I figured they would handle it that way.

I had a similar incident about 10 years ago with an exhaust company. Turned out the rep was taking items that the company was covering as warranty items and was selling them on the side as blems and pocketing the cash.

When I had a problem the rep refused to help and when I contacted the company direct they were more than interested in my situation. FLowmaster gave me a complete exhaust...headers to mufflers fee of charge for my troubles after the president of the company called me directly to apologize.
 
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