I thought I would like you all to know (especially anyone who has not dealt with RPM). I have had some issues with my cams so Randy stepped in to help out, the manufacturer gave him heaps of shit but he was still batting for me. He went well beyond what he should've done. I have to admit this saga got so bad I wanted to sell the FJ, anyway Randy basically tried 110% to get my issue solved so that I could keep the Yami rolling.
I guess now after all that I'd feel like shit if I thought of selling it now, so I decided to keep going and Randy has a loyal customer for life. We as a group will never find a better dealer than Randy - Look after him.
Thanks, and don't worry I am not done with Mega Cycle and their very poor customer service. :diablo:
Oh and by the way I am not longer a Mega Cycle camshaft dealer or supporter; I have had enough since this morning the female owner, Barbara, told me I was an "asshole" for asking to speak with her husband, the person who actually inspected the cams, instead of listening to her give me every excuse in the world (for the fourth time) why the cams failed for the second time in less than a year.
Randy - RPM
Quote from: racerrad8 on December 18, 2013, 05:42:49 PM
Thanks, and don't worry I am not done with Mega Cycle and their very poor customer service. :diablo:
Oh and by the way I am not longer a Mega Cycle camshaft dealer or supporter; I have had enough since this morning the female owner, Barbara, told me I was an "asshole" for asking to speak with her husband, the person who actually inspected the cams, instead of listening to her give me every excuse in the world (for the fourth time) why the cams failed for the second time in less than a year.
Randy - RPM
What concerns me is that they would/ will never honour (Ausy spelling)their warranty regardless, As Randy stated, I was guilty before going into the court room, these cams first failed after 15Kkms, Randy had them fixed (for a reduced cost). After 10K km they started to fail again but on different cam lobes so I "suspect" only the damaged lobes were previously fixed but the lobes without noticeable wear were not.
NOTE: I did not purchase these cams from Randy originally, so his involvement was only to Help a fellow FJ owner.
I'll be too scared to go to sleep tonight in case my nightmare is of Randy in tights :rofl2: in a boxing ring with Barbara in tights
What excuses did they give..."not enough zinc", "wrong assembly lube" "synthetic oil used" etc?
Quote from: JMR on December 18, 2013, 07:13:46 PM
What excuses did they give..."not enough zinc", "wrong assembly lube" "synthetic oil used" etc?
All of the above and twenty others but never the real answer, I can accept if I was in the wrong but tell me what I did wrong with some analysis to back it up, that's all we (randy and I) wanted instead they stated the full list of faults and nothing concrete. They gave Randy a mouthful for asking about their findings to this failure.
Lets face it even "IF" (which I didn't) I used crap oil, standard valve springs etc (you get the picture of worst case conditions) for general street use to work and back and for week end cruising with a blat here and there the cams should last longer than 15K kms (the first time), and 10K kms after the so called repairs on different cam lobes (the second time).
Quote from: JMR on December 18, 2013, 07:13:46 PM
What excuses did they give..."not enough zinc", "wrong assembly lube" "synthetic oil used" etc?
Yes and I quote...
We are not fixing them for free
did not use any assembly lube
coil bind
Idle too low
Idle too long
Weak valve springs
Wrong valve springs
Too stiff valve springs
Wrong mineral oil; no zinc
Wrong synthetic oil; must be Redline (which they have in stock) or Motul
I need to using additive ZDDPlus (which they also have in stock)
Not changing the oil at the proper intervals
He is not one of your customers that takes care of his bike
The cores are over 20 years old
They have more than 10k in the repair
This is common on the FJ because the oiling system is terrible
The cam journals are bad
The climate of Australia is hotter than that of the US
These are race cams, they are not for a street bike.
They are already repaired, so no warranty; it does not matter what are warranty policy says.
Are you really questioning my knowledge of cams?
I have never sold anything to you, I cannot find any receipts for you
and the best one..."He (BOZO) is lying to you about these cams; he has screwed them up and is not telling you the truth"
Randy - RPM
Been reading your cam saga with interest bozo......
No wanting to step on Randys toes (and probably not now that he has given up on MegaCycle) - have you heard of Wade Cams in Melbourne?
I rang them up today just to enquire whether they have done any FJ cams - YES is the reply, tho to date only stock profiles.
I have been a customer of theirs since 1970. A very knowledgeable cam grinding business. I fully intend to have them grind the cams for my 1350 build when I finally get around to getting some lift and duration figures sorted and building it.
Look them up on the net mate - I don't think they will disappoint.
Cheers
Harvy
Sorry to hear that MegaCycle is uncooperative.... I trust Randy's instincts on this one.
Remember.....We have MegaCycle cams in a couple of bikes on this forum (eg.Wizzard) so we need to see if this is a one time occurance or not.... Hopefully just a one time issue.
Thanks Harvy for checking into Wade Cams, and it raises the question:
With the MegaCycle weenies out, what does that leave us for aftermarket grinds?
Yoshimura? They have some XJR cams (new blanks, not re welds) but pricey (IIRC) at ~$450 each.
Hank Scott had some nice billet cams at one time...
I already contacted Web Cams and they have already made me a dealer. I am going to send the defective cams down to them for their opinion. They told me a lot of their new customers are unhappy mega customers. They will grind what ever I want.
Pat, those billet cams hank sold were stock profile for the race car.
I also talked with Web about a Bonneville grind...
Randy - RPM
Quote from: Pat Conlon on December 18, 2013, 10:08:38 PM
MegaCycle cams in a couple of bikes on this forum (eg.Wizzard) so we need to see if this is a one time occurance or not....
So I'm nervous now on the cams... I'm at about 10K on the rebuild and so far everything still looks new under the valve cover. I had it off about 500mi ago for another valve adjustment and seats appear to have settled in pretty much. One exhaust side valve either got much looser or I f'd it up the time before... next time will tell I think.
If anything unusual comes up I'll post for the group learning, but so far so good. My biggest issue remains 2,500-3,000mi on a rear tire... :yahoo:
Frank
Quote from: Harvy on December 18, 2013, 09:49:13 PM
Been reading your cam saga with interest bozo......
No wanting to step on Randys toes (and probably not now that he has given up on MegaCycle) - have you heard of Wade Cams in Melbourne?
I rang them up today just to enquire whether they have done any FJ cams - YES is the reply, tho to date only stock profiles.
I have been a customer of theirs since 1970. A very knowledgeable cam grinding business. I fully intend to have them grind the cams for my 1350 build when I finally get around to getting some lift and duration figures sorted and building it.
Look them up on the net mate - I don't think they will disappoint.
Cheers
Harvy
Thankyou Harvy, i'll let this saga cool down just in case Randy comes up with a solution (and I don't mean hosing Barbara down - I'm being polite). I will check them out next time I'm in Melbourne.
Quote from: Pat Conlon on December 18, 2013, 10:08:38 PM
Sorry to hear that MegaCycle is uncooperative.... I trust Randy's instincts on this one.
Remember.....We have MegaCycle cams in a couple of bikes on this forum (eg.Wizzard) so we need to see if this is a one time occurance or not.... Hopefully just a one time issue.
Thanks Harvy for checking into Wade Cams, and it raises the question:
With the MegaCycle weenies out, what does that leave us for aftermarket grinds?
Yoshimura? They have some XJR cams (new blanks, not re welds) but pricey (IIRC) at ~$450 each.
Hank Scott had some nice billet cams at one time...
It appears the fault was in that batch that were made in the early years, I bought them new from a reputable legends racer, the cams sat for a long time but they were still new, the second time this happened Mega cycle was meant to repair the lobes but considering I paid for rebuild and regrind it appears they only fixed the known worn lobes and not the others which have now failed. So at this stage I'd say your cams are safe.
Sorry to hear of your experience. Web had lobe problems with different Hayabusa grinds about 9 or 10 years ago. There was a bit of a run around there as well with many of the same lines Randy heard. I have Web in my FJ (with no problems except they really cut the base circle) BUT I have used over 100 Megacycle hardwelds and billet cams (mostly in rocker arm engines) over the years with only 1 reported failure (which was second to to much spring pressure).
What makes things difficult is there are basically only 2 hardweld suppliers in the USA. This also is the case with valvetrain parts with Kibblewhite being a large supplier of motorcycle parts. I have had problems with some of their products.
Now....if we all had Chevy small blocks in the bikes there would be just a bit more choice out there.
Quote from: JMR on December 19, 2013, 07:15:43 AM
Sorry to hear of your experience. Web had lobe problems with different Hayabusa grinds about 9 or 10 years ago. There was a bit of a run around there as well with many of the same lines Randy heard. I have Web in my FJ (with no problems except they really cut the base circle) BUT I have used over 100 Megacycle hardwelds and billet cams (mostly in rocker arm engines) over the years with only 1 reported failure (which was second to to much spring pressure).
What makes things difficult is there are basically only 2 hardweld suppliers in the USA. This also is the case with valvetrain parts with Kibblewhite being a large supplier of motorcycle parts. I have had problems with some of their products.
Now....if we all had Chevy small blocks in the bikes there would be just a bit more choice out there.
JMR, I have kibblewhite springs on my valves, it has been mentioned that hardwelds cam faces don't like heavier valve springs (Randy might know more on this topic). I appear to have a set of cams from a bad run, but that doesn't explain why Megacycle gave Randy a hard time when he wanted their evaluation of what might've happened.
Quote from: Bozo on December 19, 2013, 07:35:47 AM
Quote from: JMR on December 19, 2013, 07:15:43 AM
Sorry to hear of your experience. Web had lobe problems with different Hayabusa grinds about 9 or 10 years ago. There was a bit of a run around there as well with many of the same lines Randy heard. I have Web in my FJ (with no problems except they really cut the base circle) BUT I have used over 100 Megacycle hardwelds and billet cams (mostly in rocker arm engines) over the years with only 1 reported failure (which was second to to much spring pressure).
What makes things difficult is there are basically only 2 hardweld suppliers in the USA. This also is the case with valvetrain parts with Kibblewhite being a large supplier of motorcycle parts. I have had problems with some of their products.
Now....if we all had Chevy small blocks in the bikes there would be just a bit more choice out there.
JMR, I have kibblewhite springs on my valves, it has been mentioned that hardwelds cam faces don't like heavier valve springs (Randy might know more on this topic). I appear to have a set of cams from a bad run, but that doesn't explain why Megacycle gave Randy a hard time when he wanted their evaluation of what might've happened.
I agree with you. I have been hung out to dry over the years too with basically nothing more than "it sucks to be you". If I had a dime for everytime I have heard...."that's the first time I've heard of that".
The only way to install Kibblewite springs...IMO and practice...is to measure spring pressure at the installed height and various lifts. Kibblewhite specs for spring installed height are generally to stiff IMO.
Quote from: JMR on December 19, 2013, 07:15:43 AM
...BUT I have used over 100 Megacycle hardwelds
That is probably the most frustrating part of the whole thing. I have been using Mega Cycle cams for year too and they treated me terribly when I actually had a problem. There was no help in trying to determine the problem, just the basic message, "it is not our fault, we are not fixing it for free".
I have build over 200 FJ engines and probably close to 500 cylinder heads and I can honestly say that there is not too much I have not seen.
So, for them to act like I am some person who is just calling to tell them their cams are bad does not make good business practices. Then for Barbara to tell me she has never even sold me anything and I had to provide a few invoice numbers so she could find it really was discouraging.
Like, I said...the final straw was for her to call me an "asshole" and then tell me I need to make a decision as I am wasting her time and to send me money to her just floored me.
There has only been one time in my life that I have been as discouraged with customer service and I actually had the credit card company charge back the credit card transaction for that instance. Mega Cycle is smart in that aspect, you can mail them a check or money order as they do not take credit cards because if they did they would probably be out of business due to their lack of respect for any & all customers who would take action and charge back the transaction(s).
Call me an "asshole", "wasting their time", "send me your money" = great customer service?
Someday, I will break down the complete story... (popcorn)
Randy - RPM
Wow, just wow! What idiots. :negative:
Merry Christmas everyone,
I was going to post this weekend about my recent visit to the new RPM shop.
However, this thread has prompted me to take a few minutes from work to state the following: I happened to be at Randy's shop for some serious carburetor work on one of the days when he received a series of phone calls from Megacycles. Hearing only Randy's part of the conversation, I did not realize the extent of the disagreement nor the derogatory treatment he was receiving from Megacycles.
Randy remained professional and never lost his composure. All he said to me was that he was having a problem with a set of cams and apologized for taking time away from my carb project. After reading through this thread, it is apparent that Randy's diplomacy is far above what most people would have been able to maintain under such circumstances.
As far as the carbs on my bike? My folks said that if I made home before dark they would take me to McDonald's for my favorite Happy Meal. So leaving the gentleman from RPM I managed to take a considerable time off of the usual 5 hour ride home. While it is not all back road, on & off the throttle high rpm riding, it was nonetheless NOT ideal riding conditions ( smooth road & no wind). However I maintained an average cruise speed of not less than 80 mph and at times into the high 80's & low 90's. 5K rpm @ 85 mph. Fueling up at 186 miles on the odometer trued out to 41mph. So yes, the carb work was successful, returning mileage to normal numbers.
Thanks Randy.
Ride safe everyone,
Mike Ramos
Quote from: Mike Ramos on December 19, 2013, 04:21:24 PM
...average cruise speed of not less than 80 mph and at times into the high 80's & low 90's.....
Ride Safe Everyone :rofl:
Quote from: JMR on December 19, 2013, 08:30:25 AM
Quote from: Bozo on December 19, 2013, 07:35:47 AM
Quote from: JMR on December 19, 2013, 07:15:43 AM
Sorry to hear of your experience. Web had lobe problems with different Hayabusa grinds about 9 or 10 years ago. There was a bit of a run around there as well with many of the same lines Randy heard. I have Web in my FJ (with no problems except they really cut the base circle) BUT I have used over 100 Megacycle hardwelds and billet cams (mostly in rocker arm engines) over the years with only 1 reported failure (which was second to to much spring pressure).
What makes things difficult is there are basically only 2 hardweld suppliers in the USA. This also is the case with valvetrain parts with Kibblewhite being a large supplier of motorcycle parts. I have had problems with some of their products.
Now....if we all had Chevy small blocks in the bikes there would be just a bit more choice out there.
JMR, I have kibblewhite springs on my valves, it has been mentioned that hardwelds cam faces don't like heavier valve springs (Randy might know more on this topic). I appear to have a set of cams from a bad run, but that doesn't explain why Megacycle gave Randy a hard time when he wanted their evaluation of what might've happened.
I agree with you. I have been hung out to dry over the years too with basically nothing more than "it sucks to be you". If I had a dime for everytime I have heard...."that's the first time I've heard of that".
The only way to install Kibblewite springs...IMO and practice...is to measure spring pressure at the installed height and various lifts. Kibblewhite specs for spring installed height are generally to stiff IMO.
Interesting about the valve springs?? (popcorn) (popcorn) (popcorn)
Randy did ask me to check the spring pressure but I had already re-installed the stock cams, my bad.
Quote from: racerrad8 on December 19, 2013, 11:34:40 AM
Quote from: JMR on December 19, 2013, 07:15:43 AM
...BUT I have used over 100 Megacycle hardwelds
That is probably the most frustrating part of the whole thing. I have been using Mega Cycle cams for year too and they treated me terribly when I actually had a problem. There was no help in trying to determine the problem, just the basic message, "it is not our fault, we are not fixing it for free".
I have build over 200 FJ engines and probably close to 500 cylinder heads and I can honestly say that there is not too much I have not seen.
So, for them to act like I am some person who is just calling to tell them their cams are bad does not make good business practices. Then for Barbara to tell me she has never even sold me anything and I had to provide a few invoice numbers so she could find it really was discouraging.
Like, I said...the final straw was for her to call me an "asshole" and then tell me I need to make a decision as I am wasting her time and to send me money to her just floored me.
There has only been one time in my life that I have been as discouraged with customer service and I actually had the credit card company charge back the credit card transaction for that instance. Mega Cycle is smart in that aspect, you can mail them a check or money order as they do not take credit cards because if they did they would probably be out of business due to their lack of respect for any & all customers who would take action and charge back the transaction(s).
Call me an "asshole", "wasting their time", "send me your money" = great customer service?
Someday, I will break down the complete story... (popcorn)
Randy - RPM
I agree.....no need for that kind of language and attitude......indefensible.
Sounds like a great advertisement for Web Cams...
Quote from: fj1289 on December 20, 2013, 07:05:32 PM
Sounds like a great advertisement for Web Cams...
The best advertisement for WEB cams is Barbara from Megacycle.
I have to be honest, as a fellow business owner, sometimes it is difficult to remain calm in the face of a situation like that. congratulations Randy :hi: i know this thread is directed towards bad P.R. skills but due to the expense and difficulty in obtaining new hot bumpsticks, have any of you played with re-grinds? i know of several auto machinist shops around that could hook me up for like $100, i just have a hard time justifying throwing $7-900 at a set when when i only want .100" lift, but maybe thats too much for factory shim-bucket?
thanks
Blake