Warranty Woe

The Bomber (my Suzuki SV650S) started making a peculiar whistling sound after my last big ride, back in late March. Turns out it's the fuel pump. This is not a good thing. What's worse is that in the time between noticing the peculiar noise, asking various people what they thought it might be, and getting it looked at by my busy mechanic, the 2 year, unlimited kilometre warranty expired.

A new fuel pump is not cheap. The lovely people at Dahlitz Motorcycles, where I bought the Bomber, are waiting to see whether Suzuki Australia will come to the party and allow the warranty claim. It'd certainly be a nice move on Suzuki's part. Think of the goodwill it would engender.

The Bomber is my second Suzuki, and I've been so happy with it that I fully intend to keep buying Suzukis. Ok, maybe not the Gladius (ickypoo!) – but I have said before that I would happily keep buying SV650Ss for the rest of my motorcycling life.

So now I play the waiting game. My Betty Paranoia is growing to epic proportions, and I'm too scared to ride far in case the fuel pump gives up the ghost altogether while I'm out on some road in the middle of nowhere. I finish my Public Service job at the end of next week, and have 10 days 'between jobs' when it would be really nice to be able to go for a few rides.

The alternative, if Suzuki won't play along, is to fork out the $900 (plus labour) - OUCH - for a new fuel pump, to ensure I'm back on reliable wheels before I have to start my new job. Did I mention I got the teaching job, by the way?

Sigh. Timing.