So, I bought the 675 motor advertised on FB marketplace a few weeks ago. I paid the full asking with no negotiation as I thought it was a fair price, sent the money plus the cost of shipping. The seller said he was waiting for a new cam chain guide which took over a week to arrive. I installed the motor and it ran fine but was difficult to start. (slow cranking despite a new battery) I ran the bike for about 6 miles keeping the revs below 10k and noticed after about 6 miles it was starting to get hot.. when I pulled in, it was starting to rattle and stalled. I re-started the motor to confirm the rattle with my helmet off and immediately shut it off as it was rattling on the cam chain side. Upon inspection, I found a lot of shredded cam chain guide material in the cam chain tunnel and under the rocker cover. The motor has now been removed from the bike and stripped down. The failure resulted from the tensioner material clogging the oil ways and oil pump filter screen resulting in oil starvation and siezure of the crank on 2 of the rods. After checking, I found the chain guide that was installed was for a 2011 model. (this motor is a 2008 model year) I contacted the seller as he said this was the part he was waiting for. He refused to talk and would only communicate by text. He said the motor was sold without warranty and would not agree to a partial refund. Basically because of his mistake, I am out $900 on a motor I never got to use. In my opinion, the right thing to do here agree a refund. (I suggested $500) He has stopped responding to my messages. He is trying to sell other parts here and parting out a bike. He has since blocked me on FB and taken down all his for sale posts there.. His name is Blair Ramey and he lives in Bakersfiled, California. Whilst i understand the risks of buying on line, I live by the "do the right thing" motto, obvioulsy he does not! Thoughts?
In my opinion he should refund you or do a partial refund at a minimum. How did you pay him? If you used PayPal you could try to make a claim to get your money back. I’ve never had a problem using the wera classifieds but have had and seen many similar issues when using Facebook marketplace or the motorcycle groups. When spending that much I’d want to be absolutely sure about the seller before shelling out that amount of cash. Good luck.
Thanks. I paid by PayPal and will try to file a claim but am doubtful. The guy was a racer so I assumed he A) knew what he was doing and B) he would be a straight up decent person. I guess I was wrong on both counts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Good luck. I'm slowly realizing that racer or shop owner means nothing in being upfront and truthful with online sales.. Sad to say but eBay has been better with luck of good parts. I recently got hosed on a leaking steering damper. Ugh .
Agree with others especially considering that it was a clear f-up by the seller installing the wrong part. A stand-up person would meet you halfway. Thanks for posting the info.
Personally, unless the motor was advertised without any warranty- as long as it ran when you got it you're SOL. In reality, Paypal is very much on the buyers side, so I bet they will give you a refund. This is coming from someone who has bought used motors that blew up the first weekend and even a complete "ex-AMA bike with 250 miles on rebuild" that blew up the first trackday.
What is his WERA forum name? That way we can stay away from him. This community is beginning to be filled with MF thieves!!! mostly on FB, I stopped doing Friends and Family transactions LONG ago!! I just got taken by a guy selling an R6 tank, luckily I paid via PayPal goods and services and got my refund!
I am not sure he is on here. Figured I would post his name so it rings a bell if anyone comes across him. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I could only imagine what that motor felt like when/if he rolled it over after replacing that chain guide. It actually looks like he never reset the tensioner (if stock) and just ran the bolts home securing tensioner to the motor. That dude should put the wrenches down. Now, to play devils advocate, at the sign of hard starting I'd have started taking things apart and inspecting. Good luck. Hope you get satisfaction.
Going by some threads in the tech section I wouldn't state racers know how to work on bikes anymore than I can make them go fast. That's a shit ton of wear in a short time. Do you know what the correct part looks like as a comparison?
