Motowheels Junk Fender

I rencently purchased a 2001 996 and have been spending oodles of $$$ on mods. One of these purchases was a carbon front fender from Motowheels. The fneder moutned great, and was mounted EXACTLY like the stock fender, which it replaced. No rubbing in and around the garage. After 50 miles of riding, I discovered the fender had rubbed thru on the rear at the channel where the brake lines is afixed to the fender. The brake line was mounted EXACTLY as it had been on the stock fender - in the channel, using the hole provided in the fender. Upon contacting Motowheels, I was informed that there was nothing they were willing to do. Also, I received the attached e-mail, which was likely sent to me in error, describing the modifications necessary to make the fender fit properly. Funny thing is, I have purchased aftermarket carbon products in the past with a variety of fitment problems. Prior to making this most recent purchase, I called and asked Matt at Motowheels if there was any problems I needed to know about before making this purchase. I would have been happy to have purchased a fender from my local Ducati dealership. The price was comparable. My only issue was the inevitable wait for delivery. Anyway...here I am, with a brand new fender ready for the garbage and being given the option of buying another from Motowheels. NOt going to happen. You know, I still have to purchase a set of Mag wheels, rear sets and a few other choice mods for this bike. I can't believe this is the type of service a business would offer to a repeat Ducati customer??!?!??!! "martin" <martin@motowheels.com> | Save to Address Book | Block Sender

To : "'Matt Walker'" <matt@motowheels.com>

Cc : <apancroft@netzero.com>


Subject : RE: Carbon front fender fitment

Date : Tue, Nov 14, 2006 02:01 PM




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Hi Matt

I've seen that happen on other carbon fenders. There is not a lot of
clearance at that point.

The brake lines pull the fender down a lttle if not mounted in that groove -
just enough to cause the hole. If the tire is a little taller than stock it
will rub as the tire expands.

If he could of causght it earlier he could have slotted the holes, moved the
brake line or sent the fender back.

Now that it is damaged we only have to things we can do:

(1) offer him a new fender at dealer cost. Holes will need to be slotted and
the brake line must be mounted in the groove.

(2) send that damaged one back and we will send it out to get fixed. Holes
will need to be slotted and the brake line must be mounted in the groove.

Best Regards,
Martin

[mals900ss]

Then if you were supposed to get that mail and it looks like you were, then there is an offer to rectify the situation in point 2.

** (2) send that damaged one back and we will send it out to get fixed. Holes
will need to be slotted and the brake line must be mounted in the groove. **

I can understand your frustration but personally the only parts I EXPECT to fit first time, perfectly, EVERYTIME are genuine itrems from the dealership.

Take them up on the offer to get it repaired because as with ALL parts you buy " it is up to the person fitting the item to ensure the part is correct for the application.

Have a burbon and settle a little

Mal

Thanks for your reply!! But, you obviously didn't read my post. I DID ask them if there were any problems with the piece, I did mount it proprerly AND why should I have to be incovenienced and have to pay for shipping when I inquired prior to making the purchase!!! And, frankly, my problem is the poor customer service.

[Maximus-Speedicus]

My mistake... I took your location of "The Hood" as being local to the shop you bought it from...

Still it does look like they were offering to fix it..

Perhaps you didn;t read your own post.. You asked Matt if there were any problems or something or what ever.. he said "no'.. then he gets an email telling HIM the holes might need slotting... Looks like what he told you may just have been correct to the best of his knowledge. so what are you quibbling about?? postage of a few bucks to them? that I guess is one of the risks of not dealing face to face, sometimes things go wrong.. it's life.

I sell Auto Parts for a living... about 20 years of it.. There are often times we are not privilege to knowing everything about everything.. On that note we also have no way of knowing how intelligent the people we are selling to either.

Once I sold a set of brake pads to a bloke and even asked him if he knew what he was doing.. "Yep" was the answer. 3 hours later he drives down complaining the new pads were just as noisy as the ones he took off, jumping up and down... We jacked it up a had a look.. he'd fitted the new pads with one backing plate against the disc, the braking material against the caliper piston. Even after we fixed it without cost he felt it was my fault and the manufacturers for not supplying instructions.

As gold member says.. Schmoke und a pankake? No No?? Zen Zer is no pleezing zom people...

Mal

After reading your reply, a few things come to mind...

First; The seller should be more diligent in ensuring that the liason between themselves and the customer should have a knowledge base better than, "Limited Experience".

Next; Your conclusion that my being ion "The Hood" would suggest that I was in the neighborhood of the shop in question?!??!!?!

Finally; You sell auto parts , have for 20 years...how would you be qualified to address my concerns?? I mean...you sell auto parts!!!!

[cheech]

Do you have a pic? It maybe because of your brakelines are pulled too tight and causing the fender to bind and rub against eachother. My Carbotech did not even come with a hole to mount the stock clip or channel for the brakelines to sit into. Till this day, it never rubbed, sits right over the fender, and is not secured.

one more question...
What tire profile are you running? how much gap do you have between the tire and the fender?

[moto]

I offered to fix at no charge but you declined. In another email to you, I also told you that if you sent it back and it was found to be defective, I would replace it.

But here is the deal:
If a customer brought in a fender to us to install and it got damaged like that, we would replace it because it would be our fault for not checking clearances. It would not matter who made the fender or where he bought it from as we installed a good fender that did not have a hole in it when he brought it in.

I can't give you a new fender because you did not check the clearance.
A poor fitting fender can be returned to the manufacturer. A one with a hole cannot. We are not made of money here, I can't help everyone that makes a mistake in installing a product.

We suspected that clearances were not checked adequately because a hole that size would to have been rubbing pretty hard to wear out in 50 miles. We felt you were stretching the truth - so we were not going to being giving away the farm on your word--that is why we asked for the fender back before making that call.

We offered to fix it for free and replace it if it was bad--which is more than a lot of shops are willing to do. But when you declined, it was your choice.

Sometimes it is better to cut ties with an unreasonable customer than have to kowtow to them. We like our customers to be happy. But when you get attitude on the other side- no one here is inclined to go out of their way to get shit on. If you were halfway cool when you emailed me, we probably would have gave you a fender while we fixed the other one and painted it for use on one of our own bikes.

[SouthsideDuc]

This thread (and a similar one on the board today) reminds me:

1. Why, after waiting tables and working at a bar in college, I swore to never again work in a job where I had to deal with the public again.

2. That I finally need to get around to ordering my rearsets from Motowheels.

Tony

Yea, yea, blah, blah!!!! Woulda, coulda, shoulda. The fender was installed properly. It is, as are others in this industry, an inferior product. I mean...do I need to get a micrometer out to confirm tolerences for a fender??? It rolled fine in the garage. On the road, with a stock tire, it apparently wasn't what is was suppose to be. And, "go out of your way to get $hit on!"????? Nice customer service!!!! This is why backyard businesses loose customers. And, "More than other shops would be willing to do"...yes, if those other shops were kinda...unscrupulous, I guess they would not be willing be remedy the situation either. Remember, I called prior to making the purchase and confirmed that there was no known troubles with these parts and was assured that they bolt right up. Now, after the sale, I'm being told that I need to slot this, torque this, do a couple of backflips, hold my breath and pray to Allah that all goes well. Nope, sorry, no bueno...I'll eat the loss, call it a lesson learned and go back to buying from the dealer. This way, I can be certain that I get what I pay for. And, just to review, my e-mail to you..."I am a bit disappointed and frustrated". Yeah, I can see where that may constitute hotheaded content. Good luck to you and those who are daring enough to throw their $$ down the drain, or at Motowheels.

Bye, Bye

[raffyk]

This thread is now locked.

To the original poster. You should have tried to settle this outside the forum. Failing that, contacting a Moderator or Administrator would have been the next step.

Furthermore, when you registered, you agreed to this site's Guidelines. Particularly the following section:

"What's said behind closed doors stays behind closed doors: Don't air your (or anyone else's) dirty laundry in public. There is absolutely NO NEED to post a private email in a public forum. It is inconsiderate and violates an unsaid trust between you and the sender. Treat private emails the same way you would a telephone call. How would you like your private conversation between you and another member of the group played out on CNN?"