06 Mastiff, $35,000 pile of junk.

prodiver

Member
In 2006 I purchased a new Mastiff. I had numerous problems with it that Big Dog took care during the warranty period. The warranty expired in August 08 and the bike had 9600 miles on it. In June of 08 I purchased an extended warranty on the bike for $3500.00 from Pinacle Protection Plan. I have never missed a service on this bike for as long as I have had it and it has never been run hard.
At 12,000 miles the starter Jackshaft broke. I took the bike to a service center and told them to contact the warranty company and to do a 12k service on the bike . When the bike was being repaired the mechanic called and said it also needed tires and brakes so I also had that done. The bill was almost 2 grand and the insurance co. picked up $766.00 for the jack shaft. When I went to pick up the bike there was a note written on the repair order that said top end a little noisy should probably have rebuilt at earliest convenience. I asked the mechanic what that was all about since the bike only had 12k on it. He said not to worry just get it taken care of at the next service interval. If they had called me before I picked up the bike and said it needed a valve job I would have said do it. The bike did not make it to the next service. At 15k a valve broke and went through the piston and trashed the lower end of the motor. I took the bike into the dealer and they checked the damage and called the insurance co. The insurance company refused to pay for any damage because of what was written on the last repair order. The order said "should have rebuilt at earliest convenience" which would have been the 15k service. The dealer quoted me 8 grand to replace the motor. I have contacted the insurance co. and talked to Big Dog to try to get something done and Big Dog has refused to help at all. Their warranty is for time and not miles. This bike has been a pain in the ass since I purchased it. I find it hard to believe that a $35,000.00 motorcycle would need a complete top end at 12k mi.
So basically what I have now is a motorcycle that I have more than 35 grand invested in, that I got to ride for 15k miles and it is now junk. I intend to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Insurance Commissioner and anyone else that will listen but for the time being I am SOL. I retired a year ago and am living on a fixed income so I do not have 8k to spend on a motor and I don't think I should need to with the low miles that are on this piece of junk. If anyone out there has had similar problems with Big Dog or an insurance company, please contact me. Big Dog has lost a good customer.
 

Gabriel

Active Member
I really dislike insurance company's of any kind. If you fart wrong they don't pay. What's odd is that it dropped a valve @ 12K. It sounds like it was very lean or had a defective valve.
Wonder what S&S would have to say about it?
 

gixxbynite

Member
so sorry about your issues, but i am sure you have heard that enough. i think you should contact s&s because this is a reflection of them. even though bid dog does their own thing with the engine, its still an s&s engine. there are stories of guys with 50k trouble free miles and there are stories of far less mileage. i guess its just a gamble. i have learned that sometimes not riding your bike hard can turn out to be a bad thing. as well as not riding it at all. in your case you had mediocre mileage and great maintenance so there is no reason why your bike should not be running. and i agree. to spend 35k for anything and have it not running sucks. to my knowledge big dog is down to 30 employees. so i cant imagine they are going to be very helpful when the employees are probably wondering if they are going to have a job tomorrow. perhaps they have even become spiteful... customer service is always better when business is boomin.
 

Vegas

Well-Known Member
You aren't going to make many friends around here starting out with a huge whine session. This is not Big Dogs forum, it's the members forum. I'm sure it can be rebuilt for less than 8k.
 

Little-Boo

Well-Known Member
Troop Supporter

Moespeeds

Well-Known Member
An Ultima 127 can be had for less than 5k. You can recoupe most of that selling what's left of your S&S. A competent mechanic can do the swap in a few hours. You could also rebuild your S&S for far cheaper, you can get EVO rebuild DVD's on ebay. Don't go to BD for it, find a local wrench that works on Harleys. It sucks, but it's a hot rod and a roll of the dice at best. Unfortunately, most just don't know what they are getting into when they buy these things.
 

stlmikie

I wish I had more money.
I would be pissed at the insurance company that you have you extended through. You think if you bought a car and after the warranty was up you blew the motor up and took it back they would do anything else under warranty? Hell no you would get laughed off the lot. I would contact sns. After I had it out with the insurance.
 

BikersDream

We build what you Dream!
Issues

In 2006 I purchased a new Mastiff. I had numerous problems with it that Big Dog took care during the warranty period. The warranty expired in August 08 and the bike had 9600 miles on it. In June of 08 I purchased an extended warranty on the bike for $3500.00 from Pinacle Protection Plan. I have never missed a service on this bike for as long as I have had it and it has never been run hard.
At 12,000 miles the starter Jackshaft broke. I took the bike to a service center and told them to contact the warranty company and to do a 12k service on the bike . When the bike was being repaired the mechanic called and said it also needed tires and brakes so I also had that done. The bill was almost 2 grand and the insurance co. picked up $766.00 for the jack shaft. When I went to pick up the bike there was a note written on the repair order that said top end a little noisy should probably have rebuilt at earliest convenience. I asked the mechanic what that was all about since the bike only had 12k on it. He said not to worry just get it taken care of at the next service interval. If they had called me before I picked up the bike and said it needed a valve job I would have said do it. The bike did not make it to the next service. At 15k a valve broke and went through the piston and trashed the lower end of the motor. I took the bike into the dealer and they checked the damage and called the insurance co. The insurance company refused to pay for any damage because of what was written on the last repair order. The order said "should have rebuilt at earliest convenience" which would have been the 15k service. The dealer quoted me 8 grand to replace the motor. I have contacted the insurance co. and talked to Big Dog to try to get something done and Big Dog has refused to help at all. Their warranty is for time and not miles. This bike has been a pain in the ass since I purchased it. I find it hard to believe that a $35,000.00 motorcycle would need a complete top end at 12k mi.
So basically what I have now is a motorcycle that I have more than 35 grand invested in, that I got to ride for 15k miles and it is now junk. I intend to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Insurance Commissioner and anyone else that will listen but for the time being I am SOL. I retired a year ago and am living on a fixed income so I do not have 8k to spend on a motor and I don't think I should need to with the low miles that are on this piece of junk. If anyone out there has had similar problems with Big Dog or an insurance company, please contact me. Big Dog has lost a good customer.
First thing I see wrong is $3500.00 for a Pinacle Protection Plan:loony:? We charge $1900.00 for our Extreme Guard Warranty’s. Same coverage. Second is you should go back to the dealer ask if this tech has factory training or MMI schooling? How bad was the top end when you picked it up:bang:? What caused the failure:bang:? This dealer should help you out on this. Third S&S did not recommend the TP box on early Big Dogs. The miss alignment of TP rocker boxes to S&S valves had the valve guides prematurely wearing out the guides so S&S was not responsible for this problem. Big Dog installed the boxes so it’s a Big Dog issue. Action? I would ask kindly to the dealer please help me with all the labor. The send the damaged parts to S&S for evaluation. You will be surprised how much S&S can be easy on repairing heads, crank, Ect.:argue: Kindness gets us all better results!


Steve
 
:up:
In 2006 I purchased a new Mastiff. I had numerous problems with it that Big Dog took care during the warranty period. The warranty expired in August 08 and the bike had 9600 miles on it. In June of 08 I purchased an extended warranty on the bike for $3500.00 from Pinacle Protection Plan. I have never missed a service on this bike for as long as I have had it and it has never been run hard.
At 12,000 miles the starter Jackshaft broke. I took the bike to a service center and told them to contact the warranty company and to do a 12k service on the bike . When the bike was being repaired the mechanic called and said it also needed tires and brakes so I also had that done. The bill was almost 2 grand and the insurance co. picked up $766.00 for the jack shaft. When I went to pick up the bike there was a note written on the repair order that said top end a little noisy should probably have rebuilt at earliest convenience. I asked the mechanic what that was all about since the bike only had 12k on it. He said not to worry just get it taken care of at the next service interval. If they had called me before I picked up the bike and said it needed a valve job I would have said do it. The bike did not make it to the next service. At 15k a valve broke and went through the piston and trashed the lower end of the motor. I took the bike into the dealer and they checked the damage and called the insurance co. The insurance company refused to pay for any damage because of what was written on the last repair order. The order said "should have rebuilt at earliest convenience" which would have been the 15k service. The dealer quoted me 8 grand to replace the motor. I have contacted the insurance co. and talked to Big Dog to try to get something done and Big Dog has refused to help at all. Their warranty is for time and not miles. This bike has been a pain in the ass since I purchased it. I find it hard to believe that a $35,000.00 motorcycle would need a complete top end at 12k mi.
So basically what I have now is a motorcycle that I have more than 35 grand invested in, that I got to ride for 15k miles and it is now junk. I intend to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Insurance Commissioner and anyone else that will listen

PM ME YOUR ADDRESS, $5,500.00 cash on it's way
 
Whine? Really? I think if a persons hard earned investment in what was probably a dream bike goes to hell and a hand basket is no big deal to some. A Forum is for open discussion both positive and negative sir.
 

toadstool

Active Member
Whine? Really? I think if a persons hard earned investment in what was probably a dream bike goes to hell and a hand basket is no big deal to some. A Forum is for open discussion both positive and negative sir.
I agree, give the guy a break. Big Dogs are not all sunshine and skittles as we would like them to be. Many of us have had issues with our bikes. He has a bad problem and is asking for advice. If I had this bike, I can't think of a better description than a "piece of junk". It’s not like he belligerently trashed the company as a whole.

My advice, anytime you don't get what you expect out of a conversation with a service rep, go higher up. The squeeky wheel gets the grease. From my experience though, Big Dog is hard to deal with. They are very "by the book".
 

BadBrad

2005 Pitbull
Prodiver,
I feel your pain. I bought a 2005 pitbull this year and had the valve break mid stem and fuck up that entire front upper end. Like one of the guys mentioned, I bought parts off ebay and was back up and running for about $1500 with me doing about half the work. Had I known what I know now, I would have done all the work and only been out about $500. All the same, I had a bike with under 10K miles and a catastrophic failure with the valve. It sucks but shit happens. Wish I could do more for you. I don't have the money in it that you do or the warrenty but I had the same feelings you do. Hope things work out for you.
 

Vegas

Well-Known Member
These aren't hondas. They are CUSTOM bikes. When you sign on the dotted line you inherit all the problems that incurs. Old technology, solid motor mounts, custom paint, etc I know it's not what you want to hear but it's the truth. Honda=no problems, no power, no looks, no pride..... Big Dog=problems, power, looks, american pride.
 

kiwi

Active Member
These aren't hondas. They are CUSTOM bikes. When you sign on the dotted line you inherit all the problems that incurs. Old technology, solid motor mounts, custom paint, etc I know it's not what you want to hear but it's the truth. Honda=no problems, no power, no looks, no pride..... Big Dog=problems, power, looks, american pride.
i agree :2thumbs:
 

RubWhore

Asshole Extraordinaire
I agree with Vegas the Poser that buys one of these bikes and thinks he will have a relationship of trouble free miles is crazy,its a custom chopper most of the Ma and Pa shops are just waiting to pray on,used to be the only way to obtain a custom bike was to build it and then you knew the answer to every problem but as times change we now have folks mass producing dreams and with dreams there are always a few nightmares.
 
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BBChopper

Supports 2 Disabled Vets
Troop Supporter
These aren't hondas. They are CUSTOM bikes. When you sign on the dotted line you inherit all the problems that incurs. Old technology, solid motor mounts, custom paint, etc I know it's not what you want to hear but it's the truth. Honda=no problems, no power, no looks, no pride..... Big Dog=problems, power, looks, american pride.
Well put Vegas!:2thumbs:

Best thing you can do is sell it and get a Furby!!!!
 

Byrddogg

Active Member
Your first post should be an Intro.
http://www.bigdogbiker.com/forums/introductions/16532-all-important-first-post-intro.html



Sorry to hear about this issue. Perhaps we can help you work thru some of these problems?:cheers:
Yeah INTRO Please :confused:

You aren't going to make many friends around here starting out with a huge whine session. This is not Big Dogs forum, it's the members forum. I'm sure it can be rebuilt for less than 8k.
True

Well put Vegas!:2thumbs:

Best thing you can do is sell it and get a Furby!!!!
When all else Fails :whoop:
 
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