I talked in July about the cool trip I was about to take on my little Bullet, from the northwest Chicago suburbs across the Wisconsin state line to the Mighty Mississippi, then following the river south to St Louis and back up old Route 66 to Chicago. Two and a half hours into my three day trip, Friday, July 19, the bike seized up and stranded me.
I had it towed to the dealership and they took it apart, figured out it had blown the head gasket and spewed oil everywhere, and somewhere along the way something "popped" and basically blew all the oil out. The crankshaft bearing seized, locked the motor up, bad news.
The factory tried backing out of the warranty claim by saying I "must not have broken it in properly." Untrue - I followed the procedure exactly and it was AGONIZING!! Nevertheless, I followed the run-in procedure to the letter and the motor blew. The dealer went to bat for me, described me and my motorcycles and my riding habits and whatever, and Royal Enfield accepted that and it is being fixed under warranty.
Now at this point, two weeks went by. It was now the beginning of August and I had to go to the dealership to get any info at all! Then I was told that they had ordered parts and were waiting on them. August went by. In September, they were still waiting on parts. Most of September went by. Finally I was told that a crankshaft came in (and by told, I mean that I stopped by the dealership again to ask) but that they changed the sprocket and they didn't include one so we had to order a new sprocket, too. And I waited.
Now, September has come and gone. It is October. The bike has been gone for 78 days. 52 business days. This was my favorite bike. It's the only motorcycle I've ever had that has left me stranded anywhere, but still I loved it. It's the only motorcycle I've really ever shined and polished. I loved riding it, even though it wasn't very fast and didn't handle very well. I just loved it.
But now, two and a half months later, I could not be more frustrated. I am done waiting. I am... done.
There is conflicting information about the Illinois Lemon Law. The Attorney General site says that it doesn't include motorcycles, but reading the statute and the American Motorcyclist Association say that it does. I meet the qualifications, but I don't know what to do now. I called Royal Enfield but the owner is traveling and is abroad, and Kevin, the owner, seems to be the only one with any authority.
Has anyone done a Lemon Law claim? Any advice or help for me?
