Buyer Beware - Ryan Christian

Me too

 

Let me go into more factual details, since Ryan wants to call me ignorant. The “among other things” part of my original post.

To begin, this bike was located in Florida, and I recently moved to Southern California. I did not know any mechanics here, and was expecting a bike that was fully functional. That’s what I was promised when sold.

The bike was sold to me by Ryan Christian, and was built by Vincent Devita of Pro-Line Race Preparation.

Okay, let's go over the full story, step by step...
Aug 30, 2016 - I was inquiring about the bike. You explained that the bike will be tuned with whatever exhaust I wanted (we were talking about exhaust options) https://www.dropbox.com/s/t898ik8ztfb9yun/Screen Shot 2017-03-27 at 8.47.45 PM.png?dl=0

Aug 30, 2016 - I decided to buy the bike, pending a complete successful build, and sent you a $500 deposit.

Sept 15, 2016 - I speak with Vinny about the bike. He says when I get the bike, it will come with a personal manual, oils to use, plugs, and even torque numbers for frame, as they will be different than the manual.

Sept 26, 2016 - Ryan said the bike was ready for shipping, so I sent the rest of the money, cleared on 10/6. I called Vinny and he said the bike wasn't ready. He hadn't even started on it yet. Ryan basically lied to get the money so that you could use it for paying Vinny to do the build and continue using the bike as a spare for your October races (Vinny explains this to me later in the timeline).... something we did not agree on.

Nov 11, 2016 - Vinny tells me to schedule shipping day in December as opposed to earlier, so he can have the bike fully broken in and tuned for me. I agree because I'd rather have a bike that's fully ready than rushed.

Nov 21, 2016 - Scheduled a shipping company and let them know the bike will be picked up between Dec 12 and Dec 18.

Dec 11, 2016 - Vinny tells me bike is ready for shipping.

Dec 13, 2016 - Vinny tells me the Bazzaz stopped working, and the bike is not tuned, yet the shipping guy is an hour away from picking up the bike. He also tells me that I don’t need a Bazzaz, and that I can use the YEC to tune the bike directly. I can have a mechanic install the Bazzaz QS with the YEC and ride the bike that way. I was too worried about the break-in and tuning of the bike to really worry about the Bazzaz at this point.

Dec 13, 2016 - Ryan asked if I would accept a new set of Optimal Racing bodywork in replacement of the tune. I said no, I'd rather be reimbursed for the tune - https://smile.amazon.com/photos/share/lJcuxx6YZIz1UhC5Q7EIiRpqigCvEjwzJbR8CyhsLsm

Dec 18, 2016 - Vinny texts me telling me he'll find a trustworthy shop to finish the tuning, as he does not want someone to damage the bike during break-in and tuning. He also tells me that there is coolant in the system and it will need to be flushed with water when I get the bike.

Dec 19, 2016 - I get the bike, finally, after 3.5 months from my deposit, and over 2 months after payment.

Dec 23, 2016 – I have to leave for Christmas break to visit family and will have no time to do any work to the bike.

Jan 31, 2017 – Vinny does not have a shop, but agrees to a shop that I find. It’s one that was recommended to me by someone I knew in NJ before I moved to San Diego. Vinny also knows the NJ guy, so he agrees I take it to the shop. Vinny instructs me that the dyno place here needs to break in the engine with an eddy current break at 8000 rpm and do light loads up to 30 40% for another 15-20 miles to fully break it in…. not to go straight into tuning. Definitely no dyno run.

Jan 31, 2017 - I ask Vinny for the copies of all the info on the bike he originally promised me. He says there was a small piece of paper taped on the box like a shipping label that should have it all. I said there was no apparent paper there (expecting a manual, as he originally promised a lot of stuff), and I threw out the box. Vinny claims it was a copy of his hand written notes. I allegedly got hand written notes when I was supposed to have a lot of information on the bike. This was not professional at all.

Feb 9, 2017 – I replace the coolant with water. I have never worked on an R6 before, so I followed the service manual.

Feb 11, 2017 – I take the bike to the mechanic we agreed upon. This guy’s shop is 2 hours away from me, but I’d rather take it to someone that I sort of trust, than anyone I find on google maps. The guy gets back to me and says the engine is leaking oil and coolant. The oil is leaking from a bunch of bolts, and the coolant from the mechanical seal.

Feb 16, 2017 – Vinny says the mechanic I took it to has no idea what he’s talking about, and that I should take it to another shop. He also tells me the tune is too expensive at that shop, and he’ll find a cheaper shop for me to take it to for the tune. Vinny now claims that he broke in the engine, and doesn’t need a break-in process any more, just a quick tune to ensure the AF ratio reads 13, as he tuned it when he had the bike, and the tune here would only be to adjust for my type of fuel.

Feb 16, 2017 – Vinny also explains that Ryan had the R6 without the refresh all the way until October as a backup motorcycle.

March 3, 2017 – Vinny sends me a water pump, and I install it at home, with his help over text on 3/5. He claims I burned the mechanical seal during the flush. This is hard to believe, as I did follow the service manual, but you never know – mistakes happen. It was a $30 part and a half hour job by me to replace the water pump, so that was not the issue… the oil leak was the issue at the time.

March 6, 2017 – Vinny recommends a new person to send the bike to for the YEC ECU mapping. He says he spoke to him, and Ryan also spoke to him, and everything is set. Ryan even calls me the day of and tells me the guy only wants $120 to install the Bazzaz QS to the YEC, and that he can pay me over paypal. This mechanic lives 35 mins away from me, so I drive there during my lunch break, only to find out they don’t do YEC ECU mappings. The mechanic there says he never spoke to Ryan, and didn’t fully understand what Vinny was talking about because he was talking too fast.

March 6, 2017 – Vinny tells me he has no time for me because he has to prepare for Daytona. Ryan is MIA.

March 8, 2017 – I do some research and find my own mechanic to send it to. This guy lives 1 hour away from me. Find out no oil leaks from engine, and that Vinny was just using way too much lube on the bolts, which were sweating out. I finally have an answer that the engine is not leaking, after 10 hours of driving to 3 mechanics.

The mechanic also advises me to get the Bazzaz working, or get my money for it to buy a new one. The Bazzaz is much better to tune than the YEC, as it provides a smoother map. The Bazzaz QS will also work pretty bad with the YEC ECU. I did not know this stuff before, so I ask Ryan for the Bazzaz to be fixed.

Ryan gets in contact with Bazzaz and they tell me to ship the Bazzaz over to Bazzaz.

March 16, 2017 – I packing up the Bazzaz to be mailed, and realize the harness has plugs connected to themselves. The ground wire also looks chewed. I decide to reinstall the bazzaz to see if the installation was the issue. It turns out the Bazzaz works… except for the AFM. I get a new O2 sensor for the AFM, and get the entire thing working.

March 21, 2017 – Bike gets tuned, and was told the tune on the bike was way off. The right rearset fell off during tuning, because it was not on tight.

March 21, 2017 - I ask for the reimbursement money for the tune. At this point Ryan says he doesn’t owe me anything. Makes no sense since we agreed upon the reimbursement Aug 30 when I wanted to buy the bike and Dec 13, when the bike was shipped.

March 21, 2017 – I discover the crank is an 06+. I did not know how to tell when Vinny originally sent me the picture while the bike was being built, but was told that the crank is an 06+ when my mechanic looks at the picture. The picture Vinny sent me of the crankshaft he put on the bike reads 2CO, which is an 06+ crankshaft. The 05 crankshaft should read 5SL. Vinny swears it’s an 05 crank with 05 rods, and was custom ground. He also asked me to stop messaging him. I would think that a seasoned mechanic such as Vinny would know that a 2CO is an 06+ crank, and at least tell me the full story – it’s an 06+ crank that’s been cut to 05 crank specs. What he told me was that the crank is an 05 in a 2011 bike because the 05 crank was stronger than the 06+ crank. Apparently, I have the weaker crank? I am still confused on all of this.

March 24, 2017 – Take it to the track for a trackday prior to the race weekend. Issues I encountered during the trackday were:

• Rear wheel nut was torqued to 1000 ft lbs (exaggeration). That thing was impossible to remove.
• Front brake master reservoir was completely loose. The front brake lost feel at one point and I ran off track. I had to bleed the front brake and tighten the master reservoir.
• The engine started overheating while riding. I am still not sure what the issue is, as the air has been properly bleeded… there is no air in the system. Looking at the new water/water wetter in the radiator, it looks really dirty, like the radiator or something in the pipes was really rusty. I will need to flush and retreat the system. I will also have to replace that radiator to see if that fixes the issue. I lost a track day trying to figure out what was wrong with the cooling system, and had to cancel my races for the weekend. Will still need to spend another track day figuring out what the issue is.

 

In addition to all of this, I was promised the following with the motorcycle:

• Like new set of white fairings - I received a very worn set of yellow fairings
• Woodcarft case covers on the right hand side of the bike - I was provided leo vince case covers
• A spare radiator - I was not provided one, and the current radiator is real beat up and I think the reason for the overheating
• Spare fairing stay - not provided
• Spare levers - not provided
• Spare wheels with rotors - I was provided the spare wheels, but no rotors
• Vortex realstes - I was provided graves rear sets. Although the graves are better, I wanted the vortex because the spares are cheaper.

To be fair, I was given some things that were not promised, like a Brembo master and Graves Velocity Stacks (which turned out to be just the lowers).

Another point – the bike was marketed as a Meen build. After calling Gary, the engine builder for Meen, and giving him the engine case number, he tells me the engine is not his. Confronting Vinny about this, I am told that the Chassis is Meen, whereas the engine is from someone else. At one point Vinny mentions over text that the engine is Versah, but then tells me over the phone the engine build is not Versah, but some guys who built it somewhere (he doesn’t know), and that he merely refreshed the engine.

At this point, I think the bike was rushed when it was built, and Vinny didn’t have time to tune it. He wanted to use the Bazzaz AFM, but found out it was not working, so he disconnected some Bazzaz stuff and claimed it’s not working, and couldn’t get it tuned... or didn’t have time to properly install it when he put the bike back together. I don’t know, I’m speculating here because I have no idea how a mechanic can’t figure out how to install a bazzaz.

I paid for a bike on 9/26. I received the bike on 12/19, almost 3 months later, without a tune, and claimed not working Bazzaz. I agree with them to go to the first place to get it tuned properly. Bad luck on my part, the place there didn’t know the bolts were overlubed and mistook that for the engine leaking. I take it to the 2nd mechanic Vinny recommends, guy doesn’t work on YEC ECUs. I finally take it to a place I research, hoping this guy works out… and he does. All I ask for now is what was promised to me, the tuning money.

I have spent so much time on this bike, and I have asked a bunch of questions, but not the same question multiple times like you say. Vinny has been responsive, but as a professional, he should have prepared this bike 100% for me. He should not have left it to last minute to tune the bike, only to find out the Bazzaz is “not working.” It would have saved me a bunch of trips, and the headaches of thinking I got a fresh engine with oil leaks.

 

This thread is Babuska approved.

 

I'm not sure why, but the images do not come up, so I just pasted their links

 

I mean I got the idea from the Babuska thread, and felt something like this is important for two things:

1. To help me get reimbursed for the money that is owed to me, if the seller has any type of morals
2. To help others understand who they're dealing with. I'm sure this guy will sell another bike in the future.

He was a cool guy at first, but things started turning downhill when he asked for the money and the bike wasn't ready. Even more so when the Bazzaz was claimed not to work an hour before the shipper was there, after having talked about getting the bike ready for 3 months.

 

Yep. And the New York disclaimer has made my life much more easier

 

There may be a valid complaint but WTF is wrong with people. You have x amount of issues with a bike and you don't give it a once over before you hit the track? Ya I'd ride it.

 

FWIW, I was told by a tuner I trust that the '08 cranks were the years that snapped unless they were cryogenically treated.

 

I think the problem is the "middle" man here...lol. Goodness when are people going to learn. Im suprised he didnt mention the adiabatic charge was a few kelvin shy of optimal.

 

Hmm. That timeline...

 

Does is make 107 reliable horsepower?

 

TL/DR

 

I can sell you a BSB Superbike, I don't own it, well kind of sort of

 

I want that in ms project showing the dependencies of events and how they are linked with pictures.

 

No doubt. How many times has his name popped up over the years in posts like this?!

 

Where's Skip?

 

enough he might be earning the "pro" in his entitys name!
that pet drama lllama is worth whatever was paid!

 

Damn. Had totally forgotten about that.