Daves Blog

Sent an email to Kuryakyn forwarding the one below as I still haven’t heard from them. Do you think they’re hiding? I do. I find this unacceptable customer service in this day and age and as far as I’m concerned I’ll never knowingly buy another Kuryakyn product as long as I live. Not because the product didn’t fit as advertised although that’s bad enough but because they chose to ignore me. Fine, I’ll ignore them.

Kuryakyn replied to my email today after I send them a second one chasing a reply to the first…

Below is the response from our Master Tech. I had him look at the link you sent and to see what is going on. Please read: “On our bike that was pictured there is a 3/4″ gap between the exhaust tip and the lower trim. Ours are not centered either between the saddlebags. The tips only position themselves where the exhaust is. Every Goldwing is going to be a little different. The angle of the picture may have something to do with the looks, but that is not to deceive anyone it is just chosen for the look of the shot.”

The design has not been changed. I hope this helps. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance, thanks!

Huh? Who mentioned deceiving anyone? Not me. Now that they mention it however it makes me wonder how many more emails they’ve had about this? I wonder?

Anyhow, this answer is nonsense and does nothing to explain the differences. Camera angles my foot… 3/4 inch gap in the pic in the brochure? Oh, yeah, right, I’m an idiot lol. I took some time and put together the following email for them…

Thanks for the reply, I much appreciate it. However, I’m afraid to say it doesn’t explain the situation at all.

I am attaching some pictures which I hope will do a better job of explaining it than I can in words and I would very much appreciate you showing these to the appropriate people so that I might then be able to understand what’s gone wrong.

This first picture is from your brochure and web site with my own scaled measurements. This is picture 2039_image1.gif.

The second picture shows one of the exhaust tips I purchased. As you can see this looks nothing like the one’s in your picture and has a major difference in the positioning of the exhaust in relation to the end. This cannot be explained by differences in photographic angles and bike fitment. The differences are simply too large. This is picture DSC00394.JPG.

Finally I have attached a picture showing how these end up fitted on my Goldwing. Together with the measurements and positioning which again are nothing like your picture. This is picture IMG_1748a.JPG.

Please take a look at these and I think you will see clearly what I have tried to explain and I would appreciate an explanation.

Many thanks,

So, let’s see what they come back and say now.

Meike and I went out today as the weather was looking pretty good. Only about 4 degrees C but fairly dry and not a lot of wind. We didn’t go far, just to Laycock but while we there I took some pics of the bike with the new exhaust tips fitted…

Maybe some people will like that look, but I think it looks awful because of the design being different to that in the Kuryakyn catalog.

I had a closer look today when we got home and I can see a couple of major differences. In the catalogue they are shown with almost a flat top and the inside edge is also flat. This would lift the tips up and out as such. In reality though they are central to the pipes if that makes sense. I took them off tonight, cleaned them thoroughly and repacked them. They’re for sale. (Edit: Jan 22nd 2007, they’re now sold). I’ve also emailed Kuryakyn to ask for an explanation. There is simply no way to make these tips look like those in their catalogue.

I am so disgusted with this and I so much dislike the standard tips that I also went looking on Wingstuff to see what else is available. Some time in the past I’d seen Hondaline tips and I thought I’d have a closer look at those. One of the things I like about Wingstuff is that many people including me write good, honest reviews of the products they’ve purchased… Well, as soon as I saw a review from a chap called Walter and then found the following picture on his profile I was sold… Order placed!

Doesn’t that look fantastic? Nice one Walter and thanks for the review and for replying to my email to ask some questions. Great guy and great to meet someone so far away and yet so similar in interests and taste. That’s what I like about the Goldwing - friends!

I really think today was the last ride of 2006. The weather forecast looks awful for the next couple of weeks and we’re spending Christmas in Germany with Meike folks. Oh well, here’s to the weather improving in 2007… can’t wait.

Went and got my Kuryakyn 3 hole exhaust tips today and spent 30 minutes fitting them. To be honest I am extremely disappointed with the result. They don’t look anything like the picture in the Kuryakyn brochure and I don’t see now how they ever could. I feel cheated. In the brochure they’re shown sitting really close under the saddlebags and central to each saddlebag. In reality there’s a 3/4 inch gap between the exhaust and saddlebag and they look much nearer to the mudguard in other words not central under the saddlebag. I don’t like the look of it all. I’ll leave them on for now but I’m not happy with the look. Instead of looking smart they look cheesy. I’ll post a pic or two tomorrow to show what I’m talking about.

Heard from Karen at Fatboyz today that my Kuryakyn exhaust tips are in stock. I’ll go along and pick them up, probably this weekend. Can’t wait to see what they look like.

On the GWOCGB forum today someone pointed out that US bikes don’t have laquered wheels! That confirmed what I’ve discovered anyhow and it’s something that really lets the bike down. I wonder why? The suggested solution is to get them powder coated and I’ve seen some pictures of this that makes them look stunning. Something else to add to the shopping list lol.

Gave the Goldwing its first service this morning. So much easier than working on the ST1300 I had previously. Changing the oil filter was a breeze as it’s at the front of the engine as is the oil drain bolt. So, an oil and filter change at 2100 miles. Filled with Castrol GPS semi synthetic oil. They had sold me the wrong oil filter last weekend of course. I knew they didn’t have a clue. Fortunately the one I had left from my ST was the right one. I also checked over all the cables and bearings etc as per the service manual to make sure nothing has worked loose. Every is in order and the engine I’m sure will be happier for it’s new oil.

My amber Muth Mirrors arrived today and I fitted them tonight.

Truly excellent quality, finish and function. These things are bright, but only when viewed from an angle to the side of the bike. From the riders position they’re just a useful reminder but completely non dazzling.

Excellent service from all involved and a great safety aid. Muth handled this issue very well in my opinion and responded very quickly to get me what I needed.

Went to Fatboyzdiner (again) today and finally ordered the Kuryakyn 3 hole exhaust tips that I’ve wanted ever since I saw them on another Goldwing. Karen reckonned they’d be about a week to ten days to get. Can’t wait as I think they’ll finish off the rear end very nicely.

On the way home I took the long way and called into PJ Taylors in Calne who claim to be a Honda specialist. I wanted oil and a filter in readiness for servicing the bike before winter. It really didn’t fill me with any confidence when first they couldn’t find the oil filter on the parts fiche and then I noticed they were looking at the parts fiche for a 2004 GL1800. I told them again it was a 2006 but they insisted there were no changes that would affect the oil fliter. I left with the oil filter they told me was the right one and 5 litres of Castrol GPS semi synthetic oil.