No mods for me for a while or I'll lose my warranty.

[Slossy]

Went to the local Yamaha dealer here in Hong Kong, I asked about the DNA air filter as I was interested in ordering one from Europe. They told me if I did, I would loose my warranty.
Just to wind the guy up a bit I said I was thinking about changing the exhaust. He said, no you cant do that either or you'll loose the warranty. But they can refit a akrapovic titanium for HK$10,000 (about Euro 1,000), but it's 3 months delivery. I said this is almost half the price from the Aprilia dealer near by. He replied with 'Ah but ours has the MT-07 logo and you wont lose your warranty'. So looks like no modifications for me for another seven months. Is this happening in other countries?

 

[bluemachine]

no. my bike is loaded with mods and it had its 600 miles service this week with no problems at all.

 

[afwestpunk]

sounds more like a hustle but most dealer claim that until someone lawyer's up

 

[Slossy]

I thought so. Unfortunately this kind of practice is the norm in Hong Kong. Businesses here are overly protective and greedy.

 

[afwestpunk]

saw the same thing in Korea and Japan

 

[FierceGerbil]

Work around

There's always a way around that. I can't speak for your country but in the US an aftermarket air filter doesn't void warranty. Otherwise the manufacturer would have to supply said filter free of charge. That applies to all filters and fluids. The Akrapovic Ti is listed as the only exhaust upgrade that allows retaining warranty. A trick on ECU reflashing is to get a second factory ECU. That way you have one modified and one standard to swap between should a warranty or service be needed. Goes for exhaust too. Keep the original, especially if you go with something other than Akra Ti. Here a manufacturer has to prove that a product you used caused a failure excluding messing with electronics. Go above the dealer and contact corporate to find out what you can and can't do. And keep in mind the tricks I brought up. Good luck and hope you're having some awesome rides.

 

[Peter]

In my interpretation if you modify some part of the bike the warranty remains on the other (independent) parts.
So if you change the exhaust and have problems with ABS or brakes no problem at all. Theoretically.

The dealers are quite strange there. The warranty is not a gift.

 

[sdrio]

OK, well in a roundabout way, I do this for a living.

I would never take what a dealer says about warranties at face value. What they think applies and what is a fact in law can be very different.

This isn't necessarily going to apply to Hong Kong, although I believe their legal system is very similar to the UK, but in general . . ;

Most of the legislation in the UK concerning a seller's obligations relating to goods sold directly to consumers is contained in the sale of goods act 1979 (SOGA).

The act broadly requires the goods to be fit for purpose, to be as described in the contract of sale, and to be of sufficient quality to not break within a reasonable time. Those obligations are entirely separate from any warranty, and nothing in the warranty or any other agreement/contract can relieve the seller of those obligations.

Effectively, a warranty is a marketing tool. Most of what it promises is the sellers liability anyway, whether they give the warranty or not. All it does is says 'We'll stick to our legal obligations, and rather than you have to sue for them, here they are in writing'. It's a sensible way to approach it, but it's nothing like the sacrosanct document a dealer will say it is.

In practice, what this means is that while a dealer may say something you do will void the warranty, it will not relieve him of his obligations under the law, which often adds up to the same thing.

But be cautious. If you fit a super duper carlos fandango radiator cover, and the bike overheats, it's going to be hard for you to argue the mod you made didn't cause that. If however you fit the rad cover and the rear suspension collapses, the dealer is going to be shit out of luck if he tries to argue you've voided your warranty and he has no responsibility. He has to fix it under his SOGA obligations.

Summary - the warranty might be 'voided', but it doesn't mean the seller doesn't have to fix the problem.