Center stand has arrived

[Spaceteach]

Looks like Honda North America finally got some center stands. I ordered mine when I bought the bike on Sept 5 and it came in yesterday. Hopefully some of the others who have been waiting on one ordered from the dealer got (or will soon get) the good news also.
The install included the expected hassle with the springs, but went pretty well.
I'm really impressed with the operation of the stand. Putting the bike on the stand is about the easiest of any bike I've seen or had.

Bob

 

[wgwgoldwing]

Good deal! I've been waiting since mid-September. The told me 12/15. Earlier would be a pleasant suprise. Hopfully the touring windshields have arrived too.


WGW

 

[dzknmd]

I was notified last week that mine has arrived at the dealer.

 

[Jguarfn28]

Still waiting in Albuquerque area:-(

 

[calbigbird]

Still waiting in So. Cal. My dealer did say the new release date for the taller windshield is Dec. 6th. We'll see.

 

[Xcellor8]

Still waiting also. Dealer originally said expected delivery November 15th, I called November 29th and they said early December. Really sad I have to wait almost 4 months for a part that should have come with the bike.

 

[frozenpoet]

Pretty poor planning on Honda's part. You would think that they would have the parts ready for at least 75% of the bikes that would be sold in the first model year.

 

[wgwgoldwing]

Yeah, it's a drag having to wait, but look at the bright side, at least we have the bike. If they waited to release the bike until the accessories were available, we wouldn't have the bike yet.


WGW

 

[Spaceteach]

Pretty poor planning on Honda's part. You would think that they would have the parts ready for at least 75% of the bikes that would be sold in the first model year.

I agree that waiting for accessories sucks, but to a certain extent I can almost understand it.

To me, Honda was taking a pretty big gamble by producing a bike that really doesn't fit any existing niche. I doubt they had any certainty of what 75% of first model year sales would be. While we obviously feel this bike is a sales hit, I don't know if Honda looks at it the same way. They also released the bike over half way through the riding season, which may have reduced their early sales projections. Combine a whole new concept for the bike with a late season introduction, and they probably felt they were taking a big enough gamble on the bike without the added up front cost of producing high numbers of accessories with no guarantee that they would be in demand.

Let's face it, we're all early adopters of a new model bike. The good news is we got a pretty nice ride. The bad news is we are going to be in a holding pattern waiting on accessories for a while. FWIW I got a Yamaha FZ1 when they first came out and I waited a lot longer on accessories for it than I have for anything on the NC.

Bob

 

[frozenpoet]

Yeah 75 percent was overkill, also makes you wonder if they are selling more units than they thought they would.

 

[danrev]

Bought my bike in late August. Just got my Top Box and center stand last week. But I didn't mind the wait. Partly because I didn't even have my motorcycle endorsement with I got the bike, only a learner's permit; so couldn't ride it very much, because in Oregon you need someone to ride along with you when you have a permit. (Not really sure about the logic of this.) But mainly, I didn't mind waiting, because I was just happy to be riding again after a long time away. In six months I won't even remember how long the wait was for the accessories.