The J&M Fiasco

Well, I've been asked more than a couple of times about the fiasco I've had involving the J&M equipment I installed mid-1999.  So, instead of answering the same questions over and over, here it is.

When I decided to do a top-end on my bike, I also decided to add an intercom unit and provide the capability of listening to music and weather through the helmet and bike radio gear.  What I should have done is gone through Harley but instead I went with J&M.

I called J&M and they gave me the name of an authorized dealer, Fay-Meyer Honda in Denver. I called Fay-Meyer and told them what I wanted.   At first they were a bit hesitant about installing on something other than a Honda but then said there would be no problem.  The cost savings they passed on to me sounded like a great deal (if it's too good to be true...) so I agreed. 

The equipment arrived before I had to tear down the engine and I made an appointment and took the bike in.  I picked it up later that day.  When I did, the seat was torn, the audio volume button was broken and when I tried using the headset with the radio the static was so bad I had to turn it off.  Needless-to-say, I had to bring the bike back in.

I made an appointment to bring it in the next weekend.  They worked on it trying to improve the sound quality and stated that I needed to put in resister plugs and everything would be better.  I picked the bike up and as I was heading onto the freeway I discovered that the mechanic hadn't tightened down the tank; it was banging loosely around.  I pulled over and tightened the front bolt and continued on my way.  When I reached Castle Rock I discovered that the entire tank was loose, e.g., the back bolt as well was loose (under the seat).  When I got home I checked with Harley for resister plugs but they were confused because they've never had this problem before.  So... I went to Pep Boys and found resister plugs that would work on my bike.  I put them in but no change; static was almost painful.

Another call to Fay-Meyer and another appointment was made.   This time they told me to buy an audio sound filter.  I did and they installed it and everything seemed to be ok (they also rewired the entire assembly).  Later, I decided to try the system without the resister plugs and everything worked fine so no more resister plugs.  However, since Harley doesn't have any problems with their systems, I suspect it is either the J&M unit is poorly constructed (more on that later) or the Harley units are much superior to the rest of the crowd.

Anyway, I took a trip with my nephew to New Mexico to put everything to the test after all the modifications had been made to the bike.   Everything, except the J&M, worked as expected.  The J&M unit completely failed.  If I pressed the sound up button the sound increased to a point and then began decreasing.  I was unable to set both the volume and squelch for the intercom.  In fact, after a couple of months, the intercom failed to work at all.

So I did what anyone else would probably do - I called J&M technical support.  I also sent them an e-mail and Cc: Fay-Meyer Honda.  Now, remember, Fay-Meyer Honda installed the thing and they were a dealer for J&M (J&M has since changed their statements on their literature).  What did the tech support guy tell me?  Go ask Fay-Meyer Honda if they will be nice enough to help you out with the problem.  What did Fay-Meyer Honda say?  Absolutely nothing.  Nada, zilch.

When I had my accident in February, Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson had to pull everything apart from the tank forward.  They were amazed that this system needed a noise filter considering that no one has ever complained about such a problem with the Harley's before.  They also found that the wiring had been done poorly and that the rear headset connector was rubbed to the wire by the tires.  Pretty amazing, huh.

I sent a couple of more e-mails to both J&M and Fay-Meyer (who has never responded) and always got the same answer - take it apart yourself and send it to us.  If we agree its broken we'll send you a new unit.  An e-mail (I have them all) sent to the President of J&M went unanswered.  My question to him?   Why should I take this thing apart when someone else, a dealer of J&M, installed it?  They should take it apart, send it at their own expense, then reinstall it when the new unit is received.  The no answer was, again, an indicator.

When cold weather arrived, I lost all desire to do anything about the J&M junk and decided that since I have a two year warranty I'd worry about it in the Spring.  Well, it's spring and time to continue the saga... I'll keep you posted.

Live to Ride,
Ride to Live