2Ln, you are right, but for those of us in the middle of it not unlike your vendor issues, you left out irritating, depressing, ridiculous, unforgivable........et al.
Could not agree more Rog. Can't tell you how many times the thought "sonofabitch I'm glad I like the red bike" has crossed my mind when I read of all the trouble you guys with the 06s have had to deal. There is only so much satisfaction that can be taken, after all, from knowing you don't have to really worry about washing the bike. That satisfaction, however, as limited as it is, would pale in comparison, no matter how large the satisfaction might actually be, to the lack of satisfaction and simple respect so many of you have received from the Motor Company.
Many of us have realized for quite some time that when push comes to shove we're buying commodities so are as HDI is concerned. In some respects that's even a legitimate response on their part. But their focus on a near term bottom line ahead of the clients that supply that bottom line has to, eventually, be tempered by a humanity that has to be concomitant to selling a very human product.
We ride these damned machines primarily because of the way they make us feel. The Motor Company knows, and preys on, the fact that that feeling is very hard to break. In cases like this they test the limits though. I can say, "well, they didn't come for me" (pardon the crude historical metaphor) with this problem and get on the red bike I love. Hide my head in the sand and only commiserate with all of you still dealing with the problem. But I know that I could just have easily been caught up in some other systemic mistake; or might yet someday.
The simple fact that I've avoided such major corporate hassles and only witnessed them befall others is why I'm still on the bike I am though. If they ever treated me the way they've too often and too repeatedly dealt with many of you here I'd be on another machine though.