ARRRGGGGHHH Rune is in, but I can't get to it for 2 days

[Dragon Rider]

crap, dealer called and rune is in, cleaned, tested and ready for me to come get it. But to get a deal I went 90 miles away and I can't get a ride to the dealer until Friday afternoon. :evil: :evil: :evil:

[RuneSki]

Dragon,
It will seem like an eternity, but it will soon come. Good, correction, "GREAT" things are worth waiting for!!!!
Congrats again,
Rich K ( Rune Ski )

[Rune 005]

Congratulations and you will Love the ride home

[pjcruiser]

Dragon,
Know what you mean!!! I ordered one as well, '05 CBC of course!!, The dealer gave me the usual 7-10 day window and I'm into day 8 anxious as a kid in a candy store, or even better a FIRST DATE back in the day! (Doweremember those)?!
Then mine is a 4 1/2 hour round trip to get....shooting for Sat/Sun....keep cruisin' brother.

8)
PJCruiser

[ianvalkyrie]

Agree with comments above the wait will be worth it. :D :D

I bought mine in June of this year whilst working overseas in kazakhstan, the deal done by Internet with private seller.

Flew home to the UK on the Wednesday like you could not get a lift till the Friday then 6 hour 370 Mile trip to pick up, then the most enjoyable 370 Mile trip home ever with the biggest grin on my face all the way, even if this did include an extra 2 hours on the return journey due to the UK Motorway system which would be better described as a car Park at peak times, had people hanging out their windows to take Pic's and ask what it was whilst weaving my way through the traffic jams, as you dont see too many over in the UK.

Then had booked a European touring trip for three weeks on my valkyrie, leaving first thing on the Saturday, so had to leave the new toy in doors and dream about it all the time i was away, Now that was real hard :( :(

Anyway now almost 5 months later and still get the biggest Buzz whenever i get out on the Rune.

So you will never get tired of that, enjoy a great trip home and take the long way back its worth it 8) 8) 8)

IanS

[Rune 005]

Ian,

Do they allow you to split lanes in the U.K., i.e. ride between traffic lanes on a motorcycle,

[dog]

I just called your dealer and they want to really earn your business so they've decided to come and pick you up. It's called 'customer service' and this is where it all starts. Just give em a call back (Now) Enjoy the bike. Good news travels faster. dog

[pjcruiser]

I said 4 1/2 hours round trip I meant 9 hours round trip.....4 1/2 each way!!! still can't wait...............

Ride safe,
PJCruiser

I bet you don't see many of those in the UK....I never have when I've been over there......

[dog]

Did you call em and did they call you back and set it all up for you? Just curious.....................dog

[Dragon Rider]

I'm sure they would pick me up at the greyhound station, its just a mile from the shop, but I have already missed the bus for today, but tomorrow I get it and have the afternoon off, 8) 8) I plan to have it broken in with a few hundred miles on the tires before night fall :D :D

[ianvalkyrie]

Ian,

Do they allow you to split lanes in the U.K., i.e. ride between traffic lanes on a motorcycle,

Hello
Well we do tend to go down the middle of traffic quite a lot even in single carriage ways, as the road system in some places in the UK is pretty awfull, even the motorways are a joke at times as i said more like car Parks at peak times. i do not think it's prohibited in the UK, and to be honest 97% of other road users pull over slightly to let you through, unfortunately you do get the odd driver who tries to close up on you, i find that 128DB of Rivco air horns usually works :D :D Got them on my Valkyrie
Never had a problem with the Rune as they are always looking in their mirrors wondering what is coming up between the lanes :lol: 8)

Cheers
IanS

[Rune 005]

California is one of the few states in the US thats allows splitting lanes, I'm not exactly sure how many do allow it. I have visited your wonderful country and driven on your fine :drive1: road system and even on some single track roads. I would like to come back and visit in the near future. I have some very good friends in Newmarket.

[ianvalkyrie]

Hey thats great Newmarket is only just down the road from me, around 60 miles away so if you do head this way let me know and we can arrange a meeting, few drinks and swap stories, am sure you could even get a ride on the Valk or Rune.

Keep me posted if you start to make any plans as i do work overseas, so am away a lot.

IanS

[Toxic]

So I ordered mine 5 weeks ago. Got the same 8-10 day nonsense from the dealer. 4 weeks later, after the first snow and the cold weather set in it arrived. GOD DAMN nice bike. I drove it home the night I got it and tooled around town a bit - 45 miles on the ODO when i put it to bed.

Rained the next day
Rained the day after
then it was high of 39 - so I took it out. froze my yarbles off but it now has 90 miles on the ODO.

went to Philly for business this week and the baby sat covered in my garage patiently waiting for my return.

This Sunday - high in mid to upper 60's so I plan on being on the back of the Rune all day. Going to take it out with some of my X buddies to Madison County Iowa for some site seeing - Covered Bridges - John Wayne's birthplace - good old fashioned small town america stuff.

Should have close to 500 on the ODO when I reture :)

But the wait was torture - talk about getting a dose of buyers remorse. Had that right up to the time I walked into the dealers and saw it right in the middle of the floor.

There is a HD dealer riht next door and I was told that they all came over to gawk at he Rune - one saying - that is something HD would never build - what a piece of art.

You will love it.

[Dragon Rider]

And in six hours I will be on the wait to pick it up, :D :D

[Rune 005]

Ian,

It may be a year or so before we make it back to Newmarket. Going to Italy next month, going to have a drink with Hannibal. But I will let you know when we are coming.

[RedValk]

let's talk about that. For those of us ....that were in this FROM DAY ONE.....it went like this:

Wait for about 3-4 months in the SPring of 02......for comfirmation that MAYBE there was some cool new bike we were looking for.

Then ....in July of 02, Charlie Keller speaks to the crowd at the valkyrie rally at InZane Valk event....near the Marysville Ohio plant....telling us YES....something was coming, but we have to wait for the OFFICIAL announcement from Honda at the dealer show on 13 Sep 2002. So we wait some more.

Then, 13 Sep 2002, Honda annuonces the RUNE!!!!

Now, since we are told VERY limited numbers...like MAYBE ONLY one per dealer....so you need to be NUMBER ONE on some dealer's list.....so most of us involved wanting one back then (remember, i'm talking September of 2002 here!!!!!) ....run to our dealer and pay a deposit....to get on a list. my local dealer already had another guy.....MY BEST FRIEND....on his list. so i drive down to Troy AL to see if that Honda dealer has a list yet. NOPE. so i'm number one on his list....number two at my local Montgomery dealer's list. Oh, I'M LUCKY....my local dealers ONLY require a $500 deposit. SOME dealers, require $1000 or more......and some, non-refundable!

And now....as of 14 September 2002....I wait....and I wait....and I wait.....and I...............................

Winter comes. NOTHING. Spring comes. NOTHING. Honda says MAYBE in May? Maybe??

May comes, NOTHING. Honda says MAYBE June? June comes....NOTHING. July comes....Honda says MAYBE something?

FINALLY, a FEW folks get their bikes in the US. (some more back ground. Our first Rune board was a MSN board. It formed in Sep 2002. This Board came to be 11 May 2004. For the first two years, we were on the other MSN board. But we were tracking ALL this stuff....about the bikes....on THAT board back then......)

Then end of July, a few more folks in US get bikes. But MOST dealers get NOTHING. and NO word on when your order will come in. SO REMEMBER, many of us have had deposits....on bikes we ordered.....since SEPTEMBER 2002!!!!!! now we are at the END OF JULY 2003. WITH NOTHING. NO WORD. NO DATE. NO PROMISE......

Finally, August. Same thing. No word. No bike. NOW....a few bikes are showing up at dealers.....dealers that did NOT have a list, so nobody is committed to the bike! When Honda and my dealer still couldn't tell me JACK about the black cherry with chrome wheels and rear bars i have had on order....approaching ONE year now....with money down.....i decide to take action.

MOST of the bikes showing up at first.....are black. No chrome wheels. In fact, ALL of the early bikes had NO chrome wheels. Later, we find out THAT was the hold up. the chrome wheels. Most of us had chrome wheels ordered. And Honda had problems with those chrome wheels. they weren't talking about it....they kept us in the dark. But that was the hold up........

So, i look up EVERY dealer within 200 miles of me .....and check to see if they have a Rune. I find three places with Runes....all Black and spec 47 and forward bars. One place wants what MOST dealers at the time wanted, RETAIL. 26k....plus all the other usual crap.....to get it out the door. That dealer is in Columbus, GA. i scratch them off my list.

Two other dealers are willing to "deal". Mind you, MOST OTHERS....at this point....are paying RETAIL OR ABOVE.....IF....IF...they can even find a bike! I talk both the two dealers into a "deal" ....and it was a deal at the time....to buy the black spec 47 for about 24k out the door. Again, ask others, at the time, that was a STEAL. some out in CA were paying close to 30k!!!!!!!!!!

Most dealers had no bikes. I drive down to Dothan, AL....look over the black with forward bars and spec 47 wheels....and "do the deal".

I have the FIRST Rune in Alabama ( i know, cause when i go to title it, it takes almost an hour for the clerks to enter it into the state database, figure out what to do with it........). It is also one of the very few in the US at this time (early August).

REMEMBER, STILL....the bike i ordered has NOT come in. It is 9 August, 2003. I now have MY Rune.....though NOT what i ordered. Still no word on when.....if.....the bike i ordered will ever come in?????

SLOWLY, some other Runes trickle in. it is September of 2003. one by one, others on the board get their bikes...finally. STILL...no chrome wheels. Sometime in the fall, a FEW chrome wheel bikes START showing up here and there. they have LOWER serial numbers...like they were made.....but sat around waiting on those chrome wheels!

Now, in Sept/October....you can also find a FEW red or blue bikes at a FEW dealers.....not spoken for. STILL, many are waiting ....now over a year....for the bikes they ordered...and paid deposits on!

December 2003, the bike i ordered....FINALLY comes in. I tell the dealer thanks, but i have one. He tries for almost three months to sell the red rear bar Spec 47 bike (oh yea, it did NOT come in with the chrome wheels i had ordered....Honda released it with some note to the dealer that due to problems with chrome wheels, some bike orders with chrome wheels...were being 'replaced' with spec 47 instead. ALL THAT TIME WAITING....and they could have done that back in July/August and let me have it then with the spec 47 wheels! GLAD I DIDN'T WAIT ANYMORE!).

(another side note, in Dec 03 i change out the forward bars for rear bars on my black Rune.....and am glad i did! Others on the board are doing this too)

Feb 2004, dealer gets another Rune...a black one....unexpected. So now, this small dealer, has two on the floor, with no interested buyers. He gets worried, and tells me if i know anyone willing to buy the Red one, he'll let it go for about 22k out the door. In Feb of 2004....that's a pretty good price. some people are seeing prices like 21k on the internet...but 22k aint bad. I buy the bike....the one i originally ordered in Sep of 2002....for my wife....for 22k. minus the chrome wheels i wanted and had ordered.

I could go on....telling more of the story...of waiting....of prices falling....of surplus Runes sitting on dealers floors....some sitting for OVER A YEAR. But that's another story for another day 8) :roll:

So, next time some of you "new" guys think you had a wait........yea, you had a wait. but it wasn't ANYTHING like the wait those of us who tracked this bike since its inception had!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :twisted:

[ironmike]

Amen to that Tim. I got my black cherry in August of 2003, and was happy to get it for sticker, after checking with Ohio dealers. I then had the wheels and other stuff chromed over the winter of 2003-2004. I'm reminded of what a great purchase it was, every time I ride the bike.

Iron Mike

[Dragon Rider]

Yea, but you have been riding the coolest bike around for years now, :a13:

[RedValk]

amen to that. i don't regret the price...the wait....it's been WELL worth it. STILL....OVER THREE years later, every time we go somewhere, it still gets.....THE LOOK. Just sunday, the wife and i rode the Runes into town...and stopped at a famous burger joint (Cheeburger-CHeeburger). we parked right in front of the restaurant and ate out on the porch ...where we could clearly see the bikes. THis place was in an open air mall....a very busy place. Almost EVERY person who walked by the bikes....stopped to look at them....admire them. People came up to us as we were leaving, wanting to talk about the bikes, ask what they were, etc.

After more than THREE years, STILL....that's the reaction you get.

oh yea, it's been worth every penny...and any wait....one has to endure!!!!!!!

[dog]

Since I paid cash my wait time was pretty long in the business office as this was their first and only time selling this bike,a real long time for the demonstration on how to remove the seat and lastly how to set the HISS and unset it! They were pretty ignorant on any features and stumbled on every question I had! Also when they were going to gas up the bike it wouldn't start and put in a brand new delux battery (their most expensive) and away I went. I service my bike elsewhere. For various reasons. 17.685.00 out the door and will sell me the extended warranty at a later date for 350.00. Ignorance is bliss in this case. The owner was happy to see it leave their showroom. I was happy to leave their showroom too. dog

[bigv]

great write up Tim!!!! I thought my 3-4 weeks were agony as I searched for one this past summer and having to drive down to NJ to buy it.

[SiteData]

I had a $1,000.00 deposit on my Rune one year before it was made.
It was bought and paid for in May 2003, one month before it was delivered, and I paid $500.00 over list.

Best bargain I ever had!

[Dragon Rider]

YEEEEEHAAWWWW

http://vrcc.photostash.com/vrcc_16918/3%20bikes.JPG

[pjcruiser]

Amen guys! Congrats Toxic.....yeah....got THE call last night...my '05 CBC is in! Leave tomorrow morn at 5am for the almost 5 hour drive to pick it up.....the wait tho a short 9 or 10 days from order has been excrutiating....rained the past 2 days....clearing tomorrow tho cold and 40 mph winds...yehaa.....in the 60's next few days....can't wait for the ride...the looks....ALL of it.....

Oh...this is great...sales guy calls me today as their uncrating it and says the right rear view mirror is busted off....he says from shipping...and he ordered another and they will overnight it to me in 5-7 days or so...I also told them I want fresh fluids ESP Dot 4 due to the postings on '05 break lock ups...

Anyway that will be THE LONGEST 5 hour drive tomorrow...

Ride safe,
PJCruiser

[Runeatic]

Ok! I have all you guys beat on the wait thing. First around Oct 2nd, I see VTXOAK post pics of his new Black Cherry Red on the M109 site and I say to myself, man, I've got to get one of these. So I call around on the 3rd and find a good price in Tampa, (120 miles away), and the guy tells me I can get one by Sat the 7th, but I hesitate and wait till the 11th Wed to pull the trigger and he tells me next Wed the 11th since I waited to call, but I'm off on a Carribean Cruise that week and tell him I'll pick it up on the 14th on the way back from the cruise. So here I am Island hopping,gambling,drinking,eatin and all the time thinkin about the Rune on Saturday. Well finally all that fun was over and I picked up the Rune which was the highlight of my vacation. You guys try waiting in the middle of the ocean for your Rune!!!! :twisted:

[Toxic]

Sure you had to wait in the middle of the ocean - but when you get back - you will be in Florida and be able to ride all year - tomorrow - high of 40 here in freaking Nebraska - I need to move soon. :)

[asacuta]

Toxic:

You could move here: it was -17 C this morning with snow on the ground.

[Runeatic]

I still don't know why most of you stay in those cold states. Money? Family? It really is worth the fact that the sun shines 99% of the time and mid to high 70's in December is just great for a ride. Moved out of Jersey in 85 and never looked back...

[RedValk]

sometimes i think south/central Alabama is TOO far north for me. I rode into work today.....again. Temp was 50 on ride in. will be in 70s on ride home (about 30 miles).

of course, to us, 50 F seems cold :oops: 8)

Heck i've got another rally to go to in a couple of weeks. Panama City Beach 10-12 November.

Riding season here never ends either, though not quite as warm/good as south Florida!

[3putt]

The guys who paid more for their Rune also got to enjoy it for a couple of years before those of us who paid less. After riding this fantastic machine for the past 5 months, I think they got the better deal. We here in south Florida or California on the coast I think are in God's pocket in that we ride every day all year. Life can be good if you just let it happen and not worry about who paid what and enjoy the ride-the Rune ride.

[Dragon Rider]

of course, to us, 50 F seems cold

I rode to work today, 34 degress with freezing fog, but there are no bridges on my back way, so I was pretty sure there was no ice.

kinda chilly, think I may get that windvest :shock:

[SiteData]

We here in south Florida are in God's pocket in that we ride every day all year.

Oh yes…………I do remember joyfully riding around through the gentle breezes of Wilma this time last year.

[Toxic]

Well no place is perfect but Omaha is home till my kids are in college. Then I will head to the South East - Probably someplace in South Carolina by the Tennessee, Georgia area. A nice country home with a BIG out building for the stable of rides and workshop to keep me out of trouble in retirement :)

It will be there or Northwest Arkansas - man I was there for the BBBQ ralley last month - REALLLLLLY NICE!!! And you can get a 3000 sq ft home in a sub division for under $200K.

[Runeatic]

Wilma? Just a windy night for us here on the west coast, Charlie was the worst but it was over in an hour. 74 this morning, Seemed like mid 80's by noon. Local Bike contest tonight with a balmy 77. If it gets below 60, I just don't ride and that won't be until late Feb, early March.