Your thoughts needed

[sandy]

OK bit of a long one this but I really would appreciate your opions.

About 2 months after I bought my V7 RACER I noticed what I thought was a scratch on the fuel tank
I ignored it for a while but then I noticed it growing in length.
By the time I got it to my dealers it had gone from the side of the tank, right the way over the top.
The lacquer also started to peel and it really did look unsightly.

***BTW I since found out that the chrome is a special paint finish, and not plate. ***

It looked like the chrome finish had started to split.

My dealer took photo's and aproached Moto Guzzi for a warranty claim.

About 2 weeks later I was informed that my claim had been denied, due to what Guzzi claimed were "external factors"

OK so if the bike hadn't been new I may not have bothered but it was awful, so I bit the bullet a couple of months later, and ordered a new one from Corsa Italian who had one in stock, at a cost to me of £500 ($800 approx).

About 2 weeks after I fitted it, I get a call from my dealer to say that Guzzi have changed their minds and will now honour a warranty claim.



Too late to get a refund and in any case, I couldn't expect Corsa to take the tank back for a full refund, as it was now used.

Months later (another story), my new fuel tank arrives and I drive over to collect it, thinking Oh Well, I now have a spare.

The parts guy said that Guzzi might want the old tank back, but it's unlikely.

Well I just got a call to say that they do want it back.

I'm digging my heels in. :x

I think I should be allowed to keep it.

By aknowledging I did have a warranty claim, they more or less admitted that they should have honoured it in the first place.

The fact that they didn't cost me a lot of money, which is why I think they've got a bit of a cheek asking me for the old one back.

I want to keep it and have it re-painted but it's the principle of it.

Do you think I'm being unreasonable.

 

[john zibell]

It is not uncommon for parts replaced under warranty to be returned for evaluation of the failure. Since the chrome finish is a new process for Guzzi, they probably want to see what happened, and try to determine why it happened.

 

[sandy]

It is not uncommon for parts replaced under warranty to be returned for evaluation of the failure. Since the chrome finish is a new process for Guzzi, they probably want to see what happened, and try to determine why it happened.

Of course I fully understand that.
That is not my issue here.
If they had just done what they should have done in the first place, and replaced my tank, there wouldn't be a problem.
Look at it another way.
Lets say your engine self destructed, and the manufacturer denied you a claim, saying it was your fault, and you subsequently paid for the repairs yourself.
If the maker then contacted you and said they would do the work under warranty, after you'd spent your own money, and then refused to compensate you for the money you had spent, would you not feel a bit hard done by ?

 

[Mark111]

2 seperate Issues here but I would give them tank so they can find out what caused the problem and hopefully solve an issue that could affect may other customers in the future.

Mark

 

[Carl Allison]

Tell them you want quid pro quo. A new steel tank from the new V7's in exchange for the failed tank.

 

[sandy]

Tell them you want quid pro quo. A new steel tank from the new V7's in exchange for the failed tank.

The new tanks are steel ?

 

[Roblatt]

You bought a bike with one tank, not two. Give the damaged one back.
Using your analogy, if you write-off you bike, you get an insurance payout, and keep the wreck. Not so.

Besides, as mentioned above, their analysis of the problem helps prevent the problem for future buyers.


Robert

 

[Carl Allison]

Tell them you want quid pro quo. A new steel tank from the new V7's in exchange for the failed tank.

The new tanks are steel ?

Yes, but I haven't got a clue when they'll start showing up at dealers. The announcement was made at the EICMA show last week. Certainly, they'll show up in the USA later than in Europe. It goes along with the engine upgrade.

 

[Will]

My thoughts are you should give Guzzi the original tank back, keep the one you bought, accept the 3rd tank from Guzzi and ask Corsa Italiana if they'll take it & refund you for that one as it's not been used.

Failing that you could always sell it. There's probably someone out there who wants to upgrade their V7 or someone who's Racer is out of warranty and has a flawed tank.

 

[Penis Rotor]

Over here, probably because we're a small market, people experiencing this are being given the bum's rush not by the importer but by the factory direct. Your case is, far, far from unusual but here customers are told they bought something that is a 'Special', 'Show' type bike and that unless, basically, the factory drone feels like honouring the warranty? Tough!

It STINKS but I'm afraid I'm unsurprised.

Didn't I post these here?

Pete

PS. Get a Cafe tank. Much nicer!

 

[leafman60]

My thoughts are you should give Guzzi the original tank back, keep the one you bought, accept the 3rd tank from Guzzi and ask Corsa Italiana if they'll take it & refund you for that one as it's not been used.

Failing that you could always sell it. There's probably someone out there who wants to upgrade their V7 or someone who's Racer is out of warranty and has a flawed tank.

That was gonna be my suggestion as I read this thread. Worth a try.

Looks to me like Guzzi should do something extra for you to compensate you for having gone out on a limb based upon their earlier decision.

Looks like they still have problems knowing how to run a motorcycle company. Bad PR.

 

[sandy]

Pete

PS. Get a Cafe tank. Much nicer!

Wow, that's exactly how mine has gone but on mainly on the side.
I am pleased to report however, that the new tank I bought from Corsa doesn't show any signs of deterioration (yet)
The new one I EVENTUALLY got under warranty sits in my attic as a spare.
That said, there is a company here in the UK, in Scotland that specialises in building alloy tanks and it's not that expensive.
I think that's the way I'll go eventually.

 

[kampe]

The cracks are the result of pressure building up when the fueltank heats up and is not able to vent the overpressure. Make sure your new tank can vent it's overpressure through the hole that is located underneat the tank cap.

 

[Penis Rotor]

The cracks are the result of pressure building up when the fueltank heats up and is not able to vent the overpressure. Make sure your new tank can vent it's overpressure through the hole that is located underneat the tank cap.

No it's not. Sorry.It is some sort of weird oxidization that occurs if the clear gets pierced. All it takes is a large insect with a chittinous carapace to hit the tank at speed and its all over, red-rover. It is simply a crap finish. They KNOW its a crap finish, thats why they don't sell the 'Racer' with the Sputtering' tank in the USA 'Cos they know they'd get their arses sued off. One with a Sputtering, (Sputtered??) tank did make it to the USA by mistake. The guy that bought it paid some absurd price for it and its tank promptly did that! No, he wasn't a happy bunny.

Pete

 

[Tom]

Looks like you'll have to turn in the tank for the new one under warranty. Keep the new one as a spare. You'll have to sit on it for awhile. It'll be worth more later.

 

[gstallons]

You must return the fuel tank. If anything is warranted such as a mechanical part, the dealership is required to keep the parts for a specified amount of time so the factory rep. "might" want to take them or look at the damages. This is to keep the dealership honest and filing bogus claims. If and when the time has lapsed the dealership can do what they want to with the parts......

 

[sandy]

The cracks are the result of pressure building up when the fueltank heats up and is not able to vent the overpressure. Make sure your new tank can vent it's overpressure through the hole that is located underneat the tank cap.

I am inclined to go along with that and here's why.
About a month after I got the bike, after I returned home for a ride, I opened the filler cap about an hour later, and the tank deflated with a loud hiss.
It was very dramatic, like a balloon.
The deflation was very visible and I heard creaking underneath.
Interestingly, I never noticed this when I was fuelling up, and the reason I believe is that whilst in motion, the air was blowing heat away.
It was only after the bike had been standing for a while, that it happened, as the heat from the cylinders was effectively heating up the tank like elements in a kettle.
This had been going on for quite some time before I noticed it.
I got my dealer to have a look, and he immediately ordered me a new fill cap assembly (UK bikes vent through the cap).
This didn't work, so I resorted to cutting a tiny slither out of the rubber gasket inside the filler cap, which whilst not ideal, did stop the expansion of the tank 100%
It was about then I noticed the crack in the chrome finish, so it stands to reason that the constant inflation / deflation of the tank, with the associated stresses on the materials, caused them to weaken and crack.
I was talking about this recently to another guy I met with a Racer who's bike was not doing this, and his tank was pristine despite having covered quite big mileage.
My new tank from Corsa, with my erm, slightly modified fuel cap gasket is also displaying no signs of the problem and it's been on for about as long now as the old one was when it started happening.

 

[Penis Rotor]

It may be a part of the problem, even the root cause in your case, but the end resultand what causes it would seem to be the same. When you run your fingers over the 'Cracks' are they detectable by feel? all the tanks I've seen with this problem, (Three now I think.) the 'cracks' are purely a visual blemish, it must be some sort of chemical reaction as there is nothing 'Coming Off' or separating apart from the clearcoat over the top.

Pete

 

[sandy]

With mine, I covered the affected area with a self adhesive tank pad just to hide the scratch.
I decided I didn't like it so peeled it off and to my horror, the clear coat came off with it.
The result after that was exactly like the one in the photo, but only in the area where the lacquer had come off.
Now after I got my new tank, I decided to take take the Guzzi stickers off, which was hard work, but the lacquer remained intact.
This leads me to believe that it had weakened due to the expansion and contraction just in that area on the side of the tank where the knees rest, which is a flat area more likely to be weakened by the constant expansion.
This is all very confusing.
I mean chrome on plastic is nothing new.
My BMW has chrome plated plastic side panels which are subect to a lot of punishment in terms of rubbing, but there isn't even any sign of wear on those and that bike is 15 years old.

 

[kampe]

I guess that both options are true. The thin cracks are pressure cracks and the others are when the transparent top coat is damaged and peels of. The metal rubs off easely when it has no protection. I guess you are obliged to return the old tank beacause you got another under warrenty.