Just got back from my dealer. Back in the very beginning of October my prima pipe's mounting bracket weld failed. (I got it in April.) The pipe was dealer-installed. The shop's been having trouble getting in touch with people to get this settled under warranty (mine runs out towards the end of this month). The mounting bracket is still attached, but the L-shaped piece that's welded to the can and main bracket isn't attached to the bracket any longer.
Today, I got the bad news. Scooterworks has told my dealer that even though Genuine said it would be handled, they had no business saying that and the pipe has too many miles on it (about 6000) and has been mine too long to be even considered covered. My dealer was REALLY unhappy and disappointed...and I'm not exactly thrilled, either.
Any advice on what to do next? I'm still a little stunned at Scooterworks' response. That was a bit of a slap to the face.
I'd dig out the original warranty info (if you still have it) and go over it with a magnifying glass to read the fine print. It seems that 6 months for a warranty is a little short. But of course this filing quoted from the BBB website may say it all...
BBB Rating for Prima Worldwide Warranty
Based on BBB files, Prima Worldwide Warranty has a BBB Rating of F on a scale from A+ to F.
Factors that lowered this business' rating include:
Failure to respond to one complaint filed against business.
BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating. BBB made at least two requests for background information from the business. BBB has not received a response from business and/or has not been able to verify information received from business.
BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business. BBB made at least two requests for background information from the business. BBB has not received a response from the business and/or has not been able to verify information received from business.
You didn't receive the 2 year warranty with your Buddy? In my opinion that should be covered no matter how many miles you put on. It's the time frame that matters. If it is still within the warranty period then it should be covered.
If this gets to big of a hassle, check out a local weld shop and ask how much they would charge to weld the bracket back on, which shouldn't be much, I would think tops 50.00 not more. Or the bike shop might now of a weld shop that they could do complimentary for you to keep you the customer happy.
the pipe is not stock so even dealer installed, I wouldn't expect it to be covered under the scooter warranty. what I understood was genuine says is if dealer installed and the pipe screws up something else mechanical, they'll cover it. not that they cover the pipe itself. these welds fail time and time again and 6k miles is about average.
I wouldn't see this as a scooterworks issue or a buddy warranty issue. it's a prima issue and they give no such warranty.
I was so bummed when mine failed, too. My shop fashioned an ugly but effective bracket that has held up since April anyways.
These pipes need to be installed knowing that it won't last. 6k miles is again, average, for how long they last. But I'd say no, it's not scooterworks or genuine's issue. If prima wants to help you, awesome but otherwise it's up to you to install another pipe. Did you keep stock? Might the shop have a pipe from buy-back wrecked bike?
D...ang.
I've got the stock pipe, though it's kinda ugly-looking now. I'll dig it out and see if it can be prettified.
I didn't realize 6k was the average lifespan...if I'd known that, I wouldn't have gotten it. Buying a new pipe or two every year at 300 a pop just for a little extra performance isn't even close to worth it IMHO.
I seem to remember Kaos saying he had his last weld break reinforced and rewelded...I'll see if anyone I know knows a welder that'd be willing to work on trade. Maybe I can catch a student at one of the local colleges' metal programs.
I'm saying that from what I've read and discussed is that the weld fail before 10k and I had the same reaction - do I want to by one every year. My mechanic really did a great job on the reweld. It's not pretty but it's thick and holding so YAY!
i'm too scared to run stock with my kit. I just can't imagine it's good for the scoot.
The pipe is not covered at all by your scooter's warranty and I don't think there are any warranty documents that come with the pipe.
In most instances, the dealers wind up re-welding them or Scooterworks replaces them. They must know that these fail frequently and that 6K average before the welds fail just isn't sufficient.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
crap....so my blackjack was bought in Nov., has 1185 miles on it, so...when can i expect the weld to fail? should i contact my dealer now to see what can be done?
"When you're racing, that's when you're really alive. Everything else...everything...just becomes waiting to race." - Steve McQueen
Tam Tam wrote:crap....so my blackjack was bought in Nov., has 1185 miles on it, so...when can i expect the weld to fail? should i contact my dealer now to see what can be done?
not [/b]ALL welds fail. Those that do fail tend to do after 5k miles. Mine was roughly 10k. One thing that could contribute to the failure is increased vibration from other mods. I'd be curious to see how many of the failed welds are on scooters that have modified the bike even if simply changing to different weights in the variator or getting the performance clutch.
the only sure fire to avoid the prima pipe weld fail is to skip the prima pipe. The blackjack ships with a stock pipe and I think the dealer is supposed to offer you that pipe if you want it. You could go the life of the bike and have no weld failure. If you keep the rest stock, I bet you stand a better chance at that but that's just my guess, not fact.
Is it Prima pipe issue or stock fails as well? I just want to know what to expect . My Buddy is stock from head to toe.
My moto is if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If I want faster I will buy a faster stock bike. Bling like mirrors and handles and chrome is all I would mess with. I am afraid to turn on the deadlights because I do not ride often even in the summer and I am afraid of battery drain that would be the only mod I would consider because it is inexpensive and is quite useful
I am not a scooter snob.
I am a scooter connoisseur
Thanks for the advice.ya'll. Yeah, my scoot is chromed out and extra lights, but have no plans yet for engine mods. I'll just be checking the exhaust from now on. I can't help it, but I like the sound of my prima exhaust, and will do what I have to(in reason) to keep it going.
Loud and proud in Texas!
"When you're racing, that's when you're really alive. Everything else...everything...just becomes waiting to race." - Steve McQueen
Whatever happened to a time when a company produced a product that they actually (a) made a quality product and/or (b) on the rare occasion something did go wrong, they corrected it with a smile? The pipe isn’t the only Prima issue and it isn’t limited to Prima.
Non-scooter related we have a 30K Tacoma that has had problems and until we hit 100,000 miles, nothing was ever found or done about one of them and after 100K they suddenly found the problem as it cost me close to $900 over 8 months and then even after numerous trips back they finally have told us we need a $2,500 harness, yet they would install it free since we have been such a great (sucker) customer! When pressed we were finally told all their attempts to date were trying to short cut the problem to save us money – and they still won’t admit the core problem.
Back to Prima – this is a weld issue and has come up before. Why hasn’t Prima made adjustments to their fabrication to support the consumer (who keeps’ them in business). Welds should never give under any circumstances. The metal should give first! They don’t need R&D, the product is out there – they need to pay attention to the end users and re-engineer their mounting system or stop making that part.
well i hate to say it but the whole prima line isnt worth it
the bags fade fast the 50cc bbks are good for s&^%
the pipes dont hold up
the only thing that i have seen branded prima that has lasted at all was teh rollers
here is a solution to get them to fix the prima brand stop buying the product
as long as people buy it they will keep making it is
if you want a pipe you dont have to ahve a prima there are tons of gy6 pipes out there and many come with adjustable mounting points to work on many scooters
if its a 50 that you are looking at there are over 300 diffrent pipes for the hm engine yes you may have to adjust or make your own bracket
but heck even with the zuma i had to do that as the pipe i wanted wasnt made for the zuma
jijifer wrote:My mechanic really did a great job on the reweld. It's not pretty but it's thick and holding so YAY!
time will tell.
I was just talking to your mechanic this morning, and he suggested that I ask you for some pics of the custom stainless steel bracket that he fabricated for you. As I posted in another thread, the weld on my Prima pipe recently failed (at 6500 miles).
Like you said, time will tell, and Robot said that the bracket that he installed on your pipe has lasted 20,000 miles so far. That's pretty good. That's what I want. I would like to have Greasy fabricate something similar for me if I could get a look at what Robot did.
that would be the only mod I would consider because it is inexpensive and is quite useful
