New XEvo 400ie

[loonymoon]

Glad Carl is staying. I wonder if that technician that's been causing all your troubles (or at least a lot of them) is the same one that drilled holes in my original number plate in the wrong place, he seems very incompetant, they should get rid of him as it's costing them their reputation. I'm surprised Danny Palmer puts up with it as I was there once when he had a bit of a stress session with Martyn  as he was trying to sort out my replacement numberplate when he also had another customer waiting ( my fault as I arrived at the wrong moment),  I wouldn't have thought he'd have taken any B. S. !!

Oh and here's a piccy of the belly pan on Mark's 400 supplied by A.R. Motorcycles

[Kev]

Well Julie (The lass on reception) has been moved back to the Fiat dealer in Watford and there is a new guy in there, don't think this technician is the one responsible for your number plate problem as he only joined a couple of months ago - I think Carl is a bit P***ed off with him TBH.
By the way, the original Black one i ordered at the beginning of March turned up at the dealer on Friday - Tempted to say have this one back and i will take that one !!

[loonymoon]

Doesn't sound like a bad idea TBH.

I wish they'd kept Julie she seemed to be helpful and enthusiastic. That might be why I haven't heard from them about my belly pan then. I may give them a ring at some point though at the moment I'm too busy to pop in any time soon anyway!

[Kev]

This is how it came back ! - Not Happy !

[Dave Milnes]

That is disgraceful. That dealer needs boycotting big time. If that's the quality of their workmanship I wouldn't let them near my bike for a brake pad change!!
Even if it was an accident to let it go out in that condition is not good, it smacks of lazy workmanship, forcing something rather than properly removing all the fixings and dismantling parts properly.

[Kev]

Well they have promised me it would be sorted at no cost to me - Just getting fed up with keep taking it in - One job fixed - Another two created!

[loonymoon]

Wow that really is bad! I was expecting a couple of scratches! I would go somewhere else, geomoto perhaps!

[Kev]

Well one last chance me thinks - if it all goes Pete Tong after this then i might have to look at other options - it was just so handy being just across the road!

[macker19]

Thanks for the picture looneymoon. I can go back to the dealer now and show it to him

[loonymoon]

Well one last chance me thinks - if it all goes Pete Tong after this then i might have to look at other options - it was just so handy being just across the road!

I
There is that!! It's difficult because we think Carl the main mechanic is OK. I wish they'd sort out the chimps that work with him though! I'm going to try to get my scoot to Cheeky when it needs a service, but it's a 120 mile ride to get there.

[Kev]

Yes - Carl was totally mortified by it all and very apologetic as was Martyn - To be fair to them, they have done what they said and had a go at dealing with the issues and apart from the hassle of keep taking it in, if this final session sorts it out once and for all, i am prepared to draw a line under it and start afresh, but on the understanding that if anything like this ever happens again, i won't be so understanding. 

[loonymoon]

God looking at the photo again on the computer (was on the phone last night), I'm even more shocked at that damage, that's TERRIBLE. I can't beleive the guy didn't mention it to anyone either, did he think no-one would notice.  That panel is a bugger to get in right as I found out when I did the horn on mine but to have snapped it like that he must have applied a lot of force, nearest I came was to snapping the lugs, but I managed not to.

I don't really know what to make of the place now, my dealings with Martyn, Julie and Carl have been fine, but I don't think I'd trust them for anything if it might be touched by that guy!

 I feel bad for you because I've been enjoying my scoot for the last 3 months and you've had nothing but nightmares, I can't imagine how upset I'd have been if it was me, I'd have wished I'd never got rid of the X8 just like you wish you'd never got rid of the Maj!

[loonymoon]

By the way, I like that silver colour - I never liked the dull  dark grey the XEvo came in, I don't think I've seen one in that silver before. I might have chosen that if I'd been given the option. My X8 was a silver/grey metallic and that was a nice colour.

[loonymoon]

Had a fantastic ride down to Swanage on Friday. I went non stop virtually all the way only stopping at the petrol station 2 miles from my mum and dad's house. 146 miles in just under 3 hours, the temperature didn't dip below 27 degrees all the way down. Peaking as I joined the M3 where it went up to 30 degrees. The XEvo was running like a dream and due to there not being much traffic I decided to stay on the motorway and held an indicated 80mph (75mph gps) for at least a full hour. Once I got to the petrol station I reckoned I'd only put my foot down 3 or less times on the entire ride. The journey returned just under 77mpg.

Today coming back it was almost as hot but I decided to take the more scenic route through Salisbury, Stockbridge and A303/M3/M25. After a lovely country section of the ride, I stopped off at Micheldever just before joining the A303 to have a bottle of water and a quick stretch of legs.



Then I was off again. The M25 was very slow around the roadworks so I was filtering but it was tricky due to the narrow lanes, it would have taken me a long time to get through it in a car though. Got home about 3.5 hours later after 157 miles, petrol light just came on on the scoot as I neared home.

Very nice ride and not too much numb bum even on the nearly 3 hour non-stop section on the way down.

[Mr.Chips]

Great!
I love that section of the A30 between Salisbury and Stockbridge - it's my route of choice when I vist my sister in Salisbury.

 

[loonymoon]

Yes, it takes longer than the motorway (unless there's a jam), but it seems shorter as it's FAR more interesting to ride.

Here's a pic my dad took of me on the XEvo with my mum on her vespa as I left this afternoon. Mum accompanied me for the first few miles. I love that GTS it's such a lovely scooter.



It's quite funny actually, in this recent picture, mum doesn't look so unlike how she looked in my avatar picture which was taken probably 40 years ago!

[nolezmaj]

Yup, only scarf is missing 

[loonymoon]

Yes, I should get dad to take a pic of mum to re-posing the shot with the Vespa just like it was with the Lambretta all those years ago. That'd be cool!

[loonymoon]

Just wondered if everything is now sorted with your scoot Kev? I assume there's been no further disasters??? Mines on 2600 miles and still 100% fine. Haven't yet asked Palmers about the Belly pan though.

[Kev]

Funny you should say that Carmen - Still no result on the damaged side panel - had all good intentions to go into there on my way home, then went a got a bloody puncture on the rear on the M1 - Just my luck! - Managed to limp it to the service station where the air line swallowed £2 and gave me precisely zero air ! - the tyre was now well flat so had to get the missus to come out with the little 12v inflater we have at home, got the thing pumped up enough to do the last two and a half miles and stuck it straight in the garage.
Found the smallest of panel pins right in the centre of the tread so hopefully will be able to repair it (Not knowing how far i went on the M1 with it going down it is hard to say if it is beyond repair) - It looks OK though. - so no trip to Palmer's tonight - On the plus side i was very impressed (for a change) on how easy the rear wheel is to get off - 14 minutes in total - a fair bit easier than the Majesty.
Palmer's said they would fix the puncture tomorrow so i will tackle the other issues then - It now seems to be drinking coolant - I had to put nearly a pint and a quarter in it at the weekend, no obvious signs of leakage - knowing my luck the head gasket is on the way out ! - AND SO THE SAGA CONTINUES !!!!!

[loonymoon]

Bloody hell, you really are having some luck!! Coolant as well now!!

[loonymoon]

Just wondered re: your brake problem Kev - One thing I had happen on the X8 was a small leak of fluid from the rear brake caliper which caused the handle to go right back to the hand grip - this then seemingly fixed itself and stopped leaking and one pumped a few times the pressure came back, though when checking the fluid level it was low so I topped it up. Luckily Dave at Thompsons saw the stain where the fluid had leaked out and so replaced the caliper on the very last day of warranty (bike was 2 years old so much older than yours and a few more miles), the brake was working perfectly well when I took it in and because I had topped the fluid up he couldn't see anything wrong with it. I just wondered if the same thing might be happening on your Xevo?

It was a strange thing as I have no idea how the leak could have cured itself, but have a look on the casings below the caliper and see if you see any stain, also check the brake fluid level to be sure.

[Dave Milnes]

If I was you Kev, I'd get shut of that bike PDQ, it's jinxed.
Trade it in for something else from a competent dealers, even something older that won't cost you much.
Remember an older bike with plenty of miles on the clock is probably one that has been a good one, or it would be low mileage 'cos it never worked!
If you don't fancy another Piaggio (and I wouldn't blame you) look at the X-max, Majesty, or even some of the cheap Chinese scoots. Some of them are actually quite good, the Sim and Jonways especially although there aren't many over 250cc.

[loonymoon]

Yep if it were me I'd think the same, can't say I've been lucky with mine as other owners have had the same experience as me, I guess I'm just lucky that I didn't get your one at the time... that bike IS jinxed!! I've never heard a worse story.

[Kev]

Hi Guys, Sorry been missing for a few days.
Still no joy with the broken side panel - Getting some BS that they are on back order from Italy and can take two to three months - I am going to start banging tables now as i have just about had enough!.
I will probably get shot of it (Once it is in some form of presentable order) because of the problems and the fact that i might be out of a job very shortly  - never rains but it pours !!!
Anyway i am badgering Palmers daily for a final resolve to this so i can move on and start enjoying two wheel transport again (Job permitting), I might have to dust off the old mountain bike from the shed  heaven forbid !!