To start, I don't usually write reviews, however, given my recent experience at Honda Northwest in Crystal Lake, IL I thought it best to share my experience with current and future customers of this establishment.
In July of 2018, and upon return from South Dakota on my 2008 Honda Goldwing, I decided to get the tires on my 1989 Honda Goldwing (which I loaned to my brother for our ride to SD) replaced, and given that I live less than 5 miles from Honda Northwest, I decided to take it there for the tire replacement ((I had also bought my '83 Goldwing from Honda Northwest (different owners)).
Upon completion, I picked up the bike, brought it home and parked it in the garage as I mainly ride my '08. In the spring of 2019 I changed the oil in both bikes and noticed that the fork cover on the '89 was missing and that a couple of the fender covers were not snapped into place. In addition, when I took it on the road to warm it up it seemed to have a "shake".
I took the bike back to Honda Northwest and explained to the gentleman at the parts/service desk that the fork cover was missing since having the tires changed in July of '18 (in hopes that it was sitting on a shelf somewhere). His reply? "July of last year?, It's probably not around here anymore". First, it shouldn't be "around here anymore" anyway. It should be on my bike. Then I wouldn't have had to come back looking for it. Second, the response should have been "I apologize. We'll take a look for it and if we can't find it, we'll order you one".
I also stated the bike had a shake since the tire change (keep in mind there's less than 50 miles on the bike since the tire change). His reply was "are you here to drop it off"? I stated I could, but would have to get my wife to pick me up. At that time, Jessie walked up and the parts/service guy states to him "you want him to bring it back, right"? Jessie asks what the problem is, and then states he'll take it for a ride to check the shake. Upon return he states he can feel a "slight" shake around 35 MPH and is going to take it into the shop to check the tire pressures. He brings the bike out and states they added air to the tires and noticed that there weren't any wheel weights on the front tire, but that "sometimes the wheel has a zero balance". He then states that they'll look for the fork cover. I asked that they call me whether they find it or not, so that if need be, I could try to locate one myself. To-date, no return call. I ended up locating and buying one off of Ebay.
Here's the bottom line for me. I can live without a fork cover - it's a cosmetic item. I will not however skimp when it comes to the safety of my wife and I while riding. The tell-tale signs of poor workmanship leading to the possibility of an accident were all there. Fork cover missing (screws to hold cover were in-place), fender panels loose, wobble in front end, no wheel weights. If this were my dealership, and given the signs discussed above, I would have expected my team to pull the bike in, remove the wheel, check it for balance, and assure all bolts were torqued to spec's. To me, the time expended to do so is cheap insurance. At the end of the day, I'll remove the wheel myself and run it up to Nielsen's to have it balanced and then re-install it and torque to spec's (never said I didn't know how - have been doing it since I was 14 when I had my first bike - Suzuki TS185) - just didn't have the time.)
We all have choices in life. I will not leave mine up to this dealer. read more