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Post by ellpee on Jun 22, 2019 7:07:43 GMT -6
Smiley face, part arrived yesterday afternoon. Sad face, not same as original, light switch part is different. Smiley face, guy says plastic parts will fit properly and he can rearrange some wires to make the light switch simply all on/all off, which is fine with me. So maybe I'll finally get the scoot back home so I can put it back together and get some riding in. Stay tuned for progress reports ….
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Post by ellpee on Jun 21, 2019 13:03:49 GMT -6
As already discussed in this thread, I ordered the part through RapidRepair. When I got around to calling IceBear directly, they always asked who was my dealer, but were willing to deal with me once I told them that. They probably would not have let me actually order something else, but were willing to give me status on an existing order-thru-dealer. I sensed a certain reluctance, but they did give me the answers I wanted.
That being said, they told me my part had arrived and they were mailing it on 6/18; got a confirmatory call from Rapid Repair the next day as well, with a tracking number. But that tracking number still shows USPS hasn't actually received the package from Ice Bear -- all that's happened is that a shipping label was generated on 6/18. Not sure who is putting out questionable info here, I.B. or USPS. So all I can do is check the mailbox every afternoon, no point in making any further calls as far as I can see. Might pop by the local post office today to see what they say.
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Post by ellpee on Jun 19, 2019 10:49:31 GMT -6
19 days later (total of 78 +/- but who's counting?), Ice Bear Parts Dept says part has arrived, being mailed CA-->AZ 6/18. Feel like a kid before Xmas. I'm sure my fixit guy will be glad to finally get that scoot out of his shop, assuming I.B. is telling me straight. Do have to say, Ice Bear doesn't much like to talk with individual owners of their products, first question is usually "Who is your Dealer?" Reasonable question if they had like, oh, I dunno, maybe more than five dealers on the whole continent?! Seems to me one per STATE would at least be reasonable if they want to establish a credible presence in the US. Anyhow, it appears closure may be near on my most current adventure as owner of a Chinese scoot.
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Post by ellpee on Jun 1, 2019 10:46:22 GMT -6
Just to keep the thread alive …
Got frustrated yesterday and called Ice Bear in California directly to talk to their parts department. One in the afternoon there, mind you. Guy who answered said parts people had already left for the day/weekend, won't be back until Monday. Nice working hours, huh? Or maybe that's how they're told to deal with calls that may be from frustrated customers?
Monday update: called and was told container with my part is due in to CA next week. Will see if that turns out to be the case, not betting the farm on it. (FWIW, the call dropped twice while I was on hold. Curious....)
And to Crwford, glad your experiences have been good, feel free to stop rubbing salt in my wounds every post.
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Post by ellpee on May 28, 2019 9:37:36 GMT -6
Yeah, no kidding. Same day confirmation with a tracking number from half the companies on the planet (even some Chinese ones I've ordered other things from), 60 days with Ice Bear and not so much as a Xmas card. For a $15 item they sell for $50+.
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Post by ellpee on May 25, 2019 9:14:14 GMT -6
Eight weeks now and not a peep out of Ice Bear about the back-ordered right switch unit.
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Post by ellpee on Apr 13, 2019 9:28:48 GMT -6
Thanks for the info. Will keep Bobcat in mind. Haven't found much elsewhere on the internet (except Jim and Ice Bear, of course). I did find a couple aftermarket suppliers that have basically divorced themselves from Ice Bear due to problems encountered.
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Post by ellpee on Apr 9, 2019 14:56:43 GMT -6
Well, if the "old style" 300's are being phased out, and parts are therefore not being kept in stock, seems like I'm more like 90% right within the context of this discussion. Jim did mention the fuel injection thing. Fuel injection all well and good, but then what do we "legacy" people do about keeping our older, carbureted scooters going? See my comment a couple posts ago about still being able to get parts for cars that haven't been manufactured for years, or even decades. Not nice to leave customers high and dry like that so their only option is to buy another of your newer-and-better products and send their old one to the landfill.
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Post by ellpee on Apr 8, 2019 8:47:24 GMT -6
My first was a Roketa, and I had lots of electrical issues with it until I finally put in one of Oregon's gorilla-grade regulators. But with the Magnum it's been one darn thing after another, brakes, plastics, electrical, throttle, carburetor x 3, fuel pump x 2, and on and on and on. Lesson learned. From now on, ABC (anything but Chinese). Only hope my posts here can save somebody else what I've been through.
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Post by ellpee on Apr 4, 2019 14:33:33 GMT -6
Latest, after a three-way chat between me, my shop guy, and Jim, we're going to just order thru Jim and wait it out. Left switch is in stock, but right switch could take 6-8 weeks. Cost for both $115 more or less (aftermarket switches were $20, but of course they didn't fit). Only good news, my guy will store the scoot until the parts get here instead of me trailering it back and forth.
Bulletin for other Ice Bear trike owners, Jim says they've discontinued the entire 300 series, which is their alibi for not having replacement parts in stock. Anybody considering a Magnum or Zodiac or Tornado that might still be out there in the supply chain, beware. One more black mark on Ice Bear's report card as far as I'm concerned. Pretty sure you can still get parts for Saturns, and Pontiacs, and Plymouths, and probably even Packards!
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Post by ellpee on Apr 3, 2019 15:15:02 GMT -6
RapidJim is having his parts person check with Ice Bear, initial response was "out of stock" but they are supposedly physically checking the warehouse to be sure (Jim thought that would be something they would always have in stock). Meanwhile I'm continuing to search the Internet for something better than the last one I bought, which looked fine externally but the innards were not compatible. If I knew of a scooter junkyard or somebody selling one for parts I'd almost be at that stage by now. Once, JUST ONCE, I'd like to order a part from Ice Bear and have them actually have it in stock in their California warehouse!
(BTW, although Jim uses the Yamaha YP-250 service manual to work on the Magnums, if you try to Google for YP-250 parts (or ask a Yamaha dealer about them, which I did), you'll come up blank. Dealer said the YP-250 might be a model they didn't market in the US.)
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Post by ellpee on Apr 2, 2019 11:03:03 GMT -6
The saga goes on. Guy said I should replace both handlebar switch assemblies, ordered what looked like equivalents from Amazon, don't work. Electrical is okay (as in he can re-wire around that), but plastics don't line up right when reinstalling, so have contacted RapidJim about OEM replacements. Hopefully won't be another 6-8 week backorder situation. If I can get this scoot back into a "sellable" condition, it's going to be really hard to justify keeping it any longer.
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Post by ellpee on Apr 1, 2019 14:32:25 GMT -6
Latest, guy says wiring my electric fuel pump into the line that feeds the enricher was the core of my problem. Pump draws considerable amps, enricher end of what comes out of the key switch couldn't handle it, so eventually other competing things started flickering and then just gave up. Solution was dedicated feed from battery to pump through a relay, key on turns on the relay and gives pump its own dedicated wire from the battery, no amperage competition with lights/horn/etc etc. Proof, of course, will be in the road trip pudding; he says it'll be ready to roll tomorrow, after which I have to put all the front plastics back on and we'll see what happens. Also cracked the rear plastic again trailering it down there, so have that kind of repair work to do. Good thing I'm retired and have plenty of time to hassle around with this stuff.
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Post by ellpee on Mar 27, 2019 8:13:50 GMT -6
Well I went looking for electrical advice and actually found a very Mom'n'Pop auto electrical shop that was willing to work on the Magnum. So I trailered it down there yesterday, we'll see if he can identify the problem. Rapid Jim did steer me to a reasonable wiring diagram, which helps somewhat, but my skills in that regard are limited, hopefully this guy can pinpoint it. Baffles me how all the dash indicator lights can be lighting up at once when the accessories they are associated with are completely inoperative. Seems counterintuitive.
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Post by ellpee on Mar 21, 2019 17:41:55 GMT -6
New key switch did nada. Have emailed Rapid Jim for any help he is willing to give, otherwise it goes on Craigslist as an "as is" for somebody electrically smarter than I. Too old to be dealing with this dookey every few months! List of problems with this Ice Bear product is getting way, way too long.
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