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Salt Lake City, UT
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KGAspeed
7/11/2017 3:48pm
7/11/2017 3:48pm
Edited Date/Time
7/11/2017 3:50pm
My main riding buddy sent his motor to Millennium just over eight weeks ago - a Husky 2 stroke that needed a full rebuild; top and bottom. He shipped his motor May 12th.
Their communication has not been great and as the title states, they've had it for over six weeks. I'm about as frustrated as my friend, as it directly effects me too (not having my main bro to ride with).
After the first three weeks, they finally then told him they have a 20 day turn around on complete rebuilds. That would have been good to know in the beginning. But again, we're way past 20 days and their first time estimate was "2 weeks".
Is this typical with Millennium? 2 months for a two stroke rebuild?
Their communication has not been great and as the title states, they've had it for over six weeks. I'm about as frustrated as my friend, as it directly effects me too (not having my main bro to ride with).
After the first three weeks, they finally then told him they have a 20 day turn around on complete rebuilds. That would have been good to know in the beginning. But again, we're way past 20 days and their first time estimate was "2 weeks".
Is this typical with Millennium? 2 months for a two stroke rebuild?
2 strokes are so simplistic not sure why anyone would send one away to be rebuilt (especially with YouTube and all)...
If I was in your buddies situation I wouldn't even be able to sleep at night! Sucks to be wasting riding time waiting!
But my friend was also concerned about the need to balance the new crank, so he chose to send it off and let a dedicated shop that is known for motor work, get it done right.
Simple, yeah, but the bottom ends are still really time consuming and I'm not en expert with anything below the base gasket. This should have been a quick 2-3 week deal.
The Shop
A good shop will always be busy and the quality of work worth waiting for. Nothing good comes from rushing. Might suck to wait... but thats why I own 2 bikes! if one is broke I use the other one.
Like I said, I own a service business. If we are too busy, I hire more employees to carry the load and keep our productivity in balance. There is no way I could tell a customer "hey we're really busy and overloaded with work, you're going to have to wait two months for us to begin your project."
Quality work doesn't mean you have to wait an unreasonable amount of time.
Maybe this is a fluke, but they are radio-silent unless my friend contacts them, which he has been doing every week.
From their website:
Q.How long does it take to get my cylinder back?
A. Click to reveal:
Typical turn around times are 5-7 business days for single cylinder and head services, 7-10 business days for mono blocks, inlines, and integral top cases, 14-21 business days on automotive and engine building services.
One of our better local paint guys told me 1-2 weeks turn around on a tank ,fender, and number plates to be painted. That turned into 4 months also.
If big $$$ jobs are rolling in, a small $$ job always gets shoved to the back, it seems.
It sounds like you are posting info from your friend, so, I would be willing to bet there is some honest disconnect somewhere.
Its possible they have made a mistake, but anytime it has happened with them, they own up and correct it.
Who did you talk to? What is the latest diagnosis and ETA?
I'm assuming they have bigger fish to fry and this isn't a priority.
Last he heard was early last week. They said "we will try to push it through this week."
Obviously we aren't going to solve this problem here. I was just more curious if this experience was a rare occurance or not.
I'm in construction and we have schedules we need to try and keep on track. You give the home owners or generals the best time line you can , and just be honest from the very start.
If you say.... " I need two weeks to finish this , plus or minus a day or two "......you better come through. Even if the home owner or general want it done sooner...you stick to your guns.
If I told a customer...." I need 20 days ".....then take 2 months....I would be in court. Being sued and probably not recieve one dime.
There are only so many silver bullets a company can use. As a company , you either need to hire more employees or work double time to get things done. You ....do....not...lie , so you can take on more work then you can handle. Best thing....be honest from the first day...always.
It actually doesn't matter how long it takes, as long as you're upfront about it from the beginning so the customer knows... then they have no reason to be upset, because they will have entered the agreement knowing the timeframe.
Pit Row
Good workshops are busy most of the time but good workshops also know when to they can't take on more work because they have too much on already, Sometimes its in-practicable to hire staff for the short term to cater for a busy period especially in a job that requires engine rebuilding skills. Its always better to say "Sorry I can't do it for you any time soon I'm just too busy, but if you really need it done asap such and such may be able to help you" rather than take on the job and have it sit around for 2 months while the customer gets pissed off and tells all his mates to never go see that bastard that told me "20 Days turn around". You may lose one job but at least you didn't lie to a customer and have him leave thinking he will be riding the week after next with a fresh engine...
There are a lot of possible variables that can leave a rebuild dead in the water. Are parts on back order? Did the cylinder need replating? Do they press cranks in house?
Ask your friend.
No clue how long it would take for an entire motor.
Like German/Italian era Husky that's a real pain in the ass to get parts for.
Post a reply to: Millennium Tech - Motor Rebuild Going on 2 Months