A Keighley man has hit out at a motorcycle dealer after his new bike broke down within an hour of him leaving the showroom.

Jim Alexander, 46, of Oakbank Road, is demanding his money back from Motorcycle City in Shipley. But the company says he is simply confused about the workings of the bike.

Mr Alexander bought a Kawasaki bike from Motorcycle City for £4,200 on July 3. He went for a ride before taking it home. But after 40 minutes, the bike started back-firing and broke down.

Mr Alexander claims that after phoning the company to complain, staff asked him to bring the bike to the shop, so they could examine it.

He says: "I said 'I can't ride it like that - it's not safe to ride'."

The company then took the bike and repaired it. It worked as normal.

But a few days later, something else happened. "Petrol started spewing out," says Mr Alexander. "They refused to come out to collect it, because the man they needed was in Aberdeen. The bloke at the shop suggested I had the tap switched on on the petrol tank and stick a can under it. About four pints of petrol leaked out of it. It stopped after two hours."

Ten days later, according to Mr Alexander, Motorcycle City took the bike away and has had it ever since.

He claims that the company refuses to refund him and he is taking legal action against it through Turner and Wall solicitors. "All I am after is my money back to buy a different bike from a different dealer," he says.

According to Chris Hulme, general manager of Motorcycle City, it is a simple matter of motorcycle maintenance. He believes Mr Alexander has not mastered the bike's fuel system.

He says: "It has something like a ball cock, which shuts the valve off, and a float which shuts the petrol off, so you don't get too much fuel. You have a flow pipe, like in a toilet cistern. If it's sticking or not functioning properly, it's usually because of dirt."

The fuel works through a vacuum and has two settings of 'prime' and 'on'. The prime position switches the fuel pipe to gravity, which can cause a leak if the vehicle is parked. This is what he believes Mr Alexander has done. He says: "I think he's experienced old machines where you used to have 'on' and 'off' - he has confused 'prime' with 'off'. Mr Hulme says he has tried to explain this to Mr Alexander, but to no avail.

"We have had similar cases, where people have checked and agreed with us, but this man has launched a campaign to get his money back," he says. "The only logical explanation is that he does not like the bike. We are willing to exchange the motorcycle to a favourable deal and bring the thing back to the realms of reality."

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