Another Oldbikebarn.com Fail

[braveryd]

I'm very sorry that I'm posting another bad review for oldbikebarn.com. I really should have looked at the Buy Reviews first. It's just that a few years back I ordered some Honda CB360T carb rebuild kits from them and I got it in a week. I had one good experience with them and thought it would be fine. But perhaps oldbikebarn has really gone down hill over the years.

All I ordered were 4 carb rebuild kits and it's been almost a week without an update. Though it took them only a few hours to charge me.

Now I'm $90 down and no updates from them. Any idea on how one would go about getting that $90 back? It seems as though they don't have a phone number anymore on their website and their 1-800 number doesn't ever have anyone manning the phones.

Or should I talk to the credit card company? I've never talked to them about something like this so would it be a fraud claim?

[SqDancerLynn1]

It's really too early to do anything. I would wait a few more days. If I remember right they are in Canada

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Why are you ordering carb kits anyway? Have you had a chance to read up and study the "best practices" for reviving these CV carbs on our GS bikes? Carb kits don't have everything you need and are usually filled with low-quality parts. All you need is a float bowl gasket and an O-ring kit from cycleorings.com. I'll quote from the "mega-welcome"...

Every GS850 [and most other models] has (or had) a set of well-known issues that MUST be addressed before you have a solid baseline for further troubleshooting. It's a vintage bike, and it's quite common (as in, every single GS850 I have had contact with) that there are multiple problems that have crept up and slowly gotten worse over the years. It's not like a newer vehicle, where there's generally one problem at a time.

These common issues are:

1. Intake O-rings (install NEW OEM or Viton only - common nitrile O-rings will quickly deteriorate from heat)
2. Intake Boots (install NEW -- these cannot be repaired)
3. Valve clearances (more important than most people think)
4. Carb/airbox boots
5. Airbox sealing
6. Air filter sealing
7. Petcock (install a NEW one)
8. On '79 models, install new points or Dyna electronic ignition (or at least verify that the old points are working correctly)
9. On all models, it's fairly common to have problems with the spark plug caps. These are $3 or $4 each, and often worth replacing if you're keeping the stock coils/wires.
10. Stock exhaust with NO leaks or holes -- good seals at the head and at the junctions underneath.

What I have noticed at the rallies is that very, very few 850Gs are actually running right. Make VERY sure it's actually running the way it's supposed to before busting out the modifications.

Brian's E-Z and fun plan for GS850 happiness:

1) Seal the airbox and air filter with weatherstripping.

2) Ensure no intake leaks. Spraying WD-40 or water doesn't tell you much, since very small air leaks can cause problems even though they won't suck in enough WD-40 to make a difference. Replace your intake boot o-rings and boots if needed, and seriously consider spending the lousy $28 for new airbox/carb boots.

3) Ensure clean carbs with correct settings, new o-rings, and original OEM jets. No, not just squirted with something. I mean completely disassembled.

4) Check/adjust valve clearances (Manual calls for every 4,000 miles. This is not optional.)

5) Ensure healthy electrical system.

6) Seriously consider upgrading coils and plug wires.

7) Install new, stock NGK B8-ES plugs gapped to .031".

8 ) Fine-tune float height and idle mixture screw to ensure best off-idle transition.

9) Clean air filter and reinstall with only the lightest oil mist -- over-oiling and/or letting the filter get dirty is a common and critical mistake, and will make the bike run funny at low speeds and run rich. This may take a few tries.

10) Make sure the exhaust seals are sealing.

11) Ooh, much better now, huh? You're gonna need upgraded suspension - Progressive or better fork springs and shocks. Set suspension sag appropriately.

12) Upgrade brakes with new pads and stainless lines to deal with all that extra speed.

13) Install new petcock, since I'm going to head to the roof with a rifle if I have to read about yet another #2 plug fouling and failed hillbilly attempts to rebuild the petcock and/or deny there's a problem.

14) Oh yeah -- check compression somewhere in there to ensure the valves and rings are reasonably healthy.

15) You'll probably need new OEM clutch springs -- the clutches last forever, but the springs get tired after 20 years or so under pressure. E-Z and cheap.

Carburetor maintenance:

Replace the intake boot o-rings, and possibly the intake boots. Here's the procedure:

http://bwringer.com/gs/intakeorings.html

Here's an overview of what happens with this particular problem:

http://cycleorings.com/intake.html

You'll also want to examine the boots between the carbs and the airbox. There's a good chance these are OK, but check them over.
And finally, if things still aren't exactly right, you'll want to order a set of o-rings for BS carbs from the GS owner's best friend, Robert Barr:
http://cycleorings.com
Once you receive these rare rings of delight, then you'll want to thoroughly clean and rebuild your carburetors. Here are step-by-step instructions that make this simple:
http://thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm






Thank you for your indulgence,


BassCliff

[67fire]

Eric

[bwringer]

Over the last several months, I've seen several reports here and on other motorcycling forums of people getting defrauded by OBB and not one person chiming in to say they actually got their order.

They used to actually ship a few items once in a while, but I would now regard them as nothing more than a complete scam operation.

Talk to your credit card issuer ASAP to let them know you may have fallen victim to a scam and make sure you follow their advice to the letter. It's probably not the first time they've heard of OBB, and they may just give you your money back without much fuss at all.

If enough people complain, there will eventually be enough chargebacks that OBB will lose their merchant account and won't be able to get another. I'm amazed this hasn't happened yet, frankly.

[bwringer]

Also, it's very important that anyone who has been burned by OldBikeBarn (or one of their aliases) send a PM or email to the GSR forum administrator, Frank to put them back on the deadbeat list.

Their listing is "use caution" right now because a few people got some of their parts several months ago. It appears they're now back to not shipping anything, so please send an update to Frank.

Here's more info:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=66449

[jeff.saunders]

Of all the online vendors out there, OBB is the one that really tees me off. Because they are so poor - failing to ship promptly (if ever), never answering emails, ignoring v-mails - they create a massive amount of doubt in the mind of people buying online. The number of times we get calls from customers just wanting to talk to us before they buy online is crazy - and many of these callers have been scammed by OBB (and others). Their poor service actually creates more work on us.

For a while OBB even had the audacity to place a BBB seal of approval on their web site until the BBB instituted action on them.

All I can suggest to anyone who has ordered from OBB and failed to get product, talk to your cc company and get them to issue a chargeback. If enough people do this, OBB will lose their ability to process credit cards.

[kudagra]

Well Ill be a Guinea pig as well. I just ordered 3 caliper kits and paid the extra 50 cents for USPS Priority shipping. Total of around 56 bucks.

BTW..they are in upstate NY. The BBB has them listed with an F rating for parts sales and a B for bike sales.

http://www.bbb.org/upstate-new-york/business-reviews/motorcycles-supplies-and-parts/old-bike-barn-in-plattsburgh-ny-194627609/

The also still have the BBB online Reliabilty Program icon on the bottom right corner of the home page.

[mriddle]

Sorry about your your issues but love your tag line

Call Z1 next time

Well Ill be a Guinea pig as well. I just ordered 3 caliper kits and paid the extra 50 cents for USPS Priority shipping. Total of around 56 bucks.

BTW..they are in upstate NY. The BBB has them listed with an F rating for parts sales and a B for bike sales.

http://www.bbb.org/upstate-new-york/business-reviews/motorcycles-supplies-and-parts/old-bike-barn-in-plattsburgh-ny-194627609/

The also still have the BBB online Reliabilty Program icon on the bottom right corner of the home page.

[braveryd]

Thank you for the input everybody. I just checked their website and my order has updated saying that it is now closed but I have not received a shipping confirmation or a tracking number. I think I'll wait it out and see what happens.

[Octain]

Thank you for the input everybody. I just checked their website and my order has updated saying that it is now closed but I have not received a shipping confirmation or a tracking number. I think I'll wait it out and see what happens.

Any updates? Did you get your parts?

[kudagra]

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=71246

On 8/21 I ordered 3 caliper kits for my bike from OBB well after closing time. Monday (8/24) my parts were packed and sent to USPS for shipping. I recieved an email that morning with a copy of my bill and another email telling me my package had shipped (along with a tracking number.

I tracked my package everyday till it was delivered on 8/27.

Opened the package and all parts were as described and new. The next cheaper company selling these kits was Z1. 22.50 compared to 16.50. Shipping was only $7 and I opted to pay .50 more for priority. I would suggest priority just to get the tracking number.

All in all I'd give them an A+ in my one and only experience. Good Price, quick shipping, good email contact.

http://trkcnfrm1.smi.usps.com/PTSInternetWeb/InterLabelInquiry.do?origTrackNum=9101148008600202198394

Electronic shipping sent the same day as it was actually shipped. So far better then AllBikeBrakes.com

[almarconi]

So far better then AllBikeBrakes.com

So..what wrong with allbikebrakes.com ???

[kudagra]

So..what wrong with allbikebrakes.com ???

Ordered Monday. Had electronic shipping sent on Tuesday...didnt actually give it to UPS till the evening on Thursday.. so they porked me for the weekend.

Seems that alot of places gave the shipping guy the week off. BikeBandit was slower then usual (ordered Monday didnt get till Saturday), some crap my wife bought for the kitchen (another project that takes time away from me being in the garage) never got shipped, and the Horned Viking helmet I bought for a friend as a joke never shipped either.

[almarconi]

Ordered Monday. Had electronic shipping sent on Tuesday...didnt actually give it to UPS till the evening on Thursday.. so they porked me for the weekend.

You think it was because of the holiday?