[Bandit 6S]

No matter where I take my bike for service work, I get the same answer. "We'll get to it in about a week or so and let you know." Its almost always more than a week. I always call ahead to let them know I'm coming but that doesn't seem to help. I use my bike for commuting and don't like the idea of it sitting in the stealer for week untouched when I could be riding. I always do all the PM and replace wear items before they are worn out. I don't mind that they are busy and it will take some time to get to working on it but make me an appointment and I'll make sure the bike is there on time. This is how it works with cars so why not bikes? What has spurred this thread is that Friday was the nicest day of the year so far here in the Northeast. I miraculously had the day off and my bike is in the shop having a jet kit installed. They said it would be about a week. I now know it will be sometime next week untill I see it. Hell, I don't know much about carbs but I could have screwed it up 4 times and still had the bike done sooner. Just my little rant about poor service practices by the stealers in my area.

BTW the dealer is always good to me on prices and is usually the quickest for service work. Another shop told me I would have to leave the bike there a min of two weeks to have tires put on. Then he gave me some BS about some bikes being hard to work on and that they charge for how many hours it takes to do the job, not a flat rate. If I ever have to deal with these guys you can bet I'll be standing there watching the guy work on my bike. :bash:

 

[Jim's R1]

I agree with you. That's the very reason, that when I bought my new bike, I paid for a service contract. It includes all my oil changes/PM for three years and extends the warranty for three years. The biggest advantage though was the priority service. I call to schedule an appointment for oil changes or PM and I get the bike back the next day instead of the next week. I guess the reason bike shops get so backed up, is they don't have the full service departments dealerships have, also there are fewer bike shops than car garages. Just my :2cents:

Jim

 

[Gas Man]

Dealerships are horrible for this stuff.... Jet kit at the dealer... Why did you take it there? Heck, every dealer in Michigan won't even install such a thing due to laws against them.

When I had my jet kit installed it was by a private shop... had it done in a day and a half... dropped it off the night before(say Thurs night) and he had it done by Saturday afternoon... :dthumb:

Anyway, I too have a 3 year service warrenty on my Kaw... took it in one time for a bad water pump gear and they had it for 4 weeks!!! :rant: :cursin: Between waiting in line (2weeks)..dealing with the manufacture...ordering parts... then the mechanic took a week vacation, then finally getting it back together... POOF! A month gone by!!! I was PISSED and let them know it!!! They wanted to keep it another week and I bietched and laid about a 45 foot patch of rubber in my truck... got a call not 2 minutes later from the service manager saying he'd have it done the next day!!

"Squeeky wheel gets the grease"... remember that boys!!!

 

[No Worries]

That's whats great about older bikes out of warranty. You can do the work yourself on crummy days. What's the hardest part about installing a jet? Taking off the carb and reinstalling. The second hardest part is taking off all the phillips head screws without stripping the heads. Cleaning the carb and installing the needle and jets are easy parts.

 

[SpeedWerks.com]

Hey, you're in PA. Make a trip down to DE and visit us. We'll take good care of you and your bike and I promise it won't be a PITA! Depending on what you need done, if you make an appointment ahead of time, we might be able to do it same day so you can ride down and ride back.

 

[thirdgenlxi]

Oh man you don't have to tell me what a pain it is.... I'm in the middle of a fight with my dealer right now. This last week I take my bike in to Rick Case Honda (where I bought it from) cuz it has a pretty good brake vibration in the front. Being a mechanic myself of course I checked it out before taking it in cuz I wanted to know what it was. Right front brake rotor is warped, badly enough I can see it moving back and forth when spun with a straightedge next to the rotor. At this same time I also cleaned and regreased the caliper slide pins, and sanded (by hand) the pads and rotors to make sure everything was clean. Anyways, drop it off there and get a call the next day, he says "your pads are totally glazed over causing the vibration, and the calipers need to be cleaned because they're not retracting all the way". Hmmm... lets think about this a minute :skep: They say I need a brake job to the tune of $230 something. Go to pick it up and ask the service advisor if he had measured the runout on the rotors, he says yes. I ask to talk to the tech, which I later found out is the shop foreman though he's still a dumbass to me, and I ask him what's up with this BS story, and ask again clearly "did you measure the runout on the rotors". He says "the rotors are fine". I say once again... BS!! Then he tells me because of a few scratches on my left fairing and stator cover from a light drop (less than 5 mph), that it didn't matter anyways cuz that pretty much voids my warranty. Once again I say :bs: . After arguing with him for a bit, he rolls his eyes at me and walks away without saying anything. Just to make sure I'm not crazy, I dig out the dial indicator and measure the runout... spec is 0.008 in (0.20 mm), my right front is 0.019 in (0.48 mm)... but according to the tech "the rotors are fine" ( :bs: ) Sooo I call back the next day (yesterday) and talk to the service manager, he says warranty doesn't cover brakes. I explain that I know it doesn't cover brake pads and other wear items, or rotors if they're scored or anything, but they should not be warped on a 5 1/2 month old bike, and only 17k miles, mostly highway so brakes are used little. After arguing with him for a bit, he still says your S.O.L, warranty won't cover it. So then I called Rick Case himself, left a message cuz he wasn't there but the customer relations lady returned my call and I told her everything that happened and what was said, and she's going to get in contact with the service manager and try and work something out, and she'll call me back on monday. So that's where I'm at. If this doesn't work I'm calling Honda next. I'm sorry but I just can't see having to buy a $300 replacement part on a 5 1/2 month old bike.... if I wanted to do that I would have bought a used bike, that's one of the reasons I bought a new one to begin with!! :cursin:

Oops, sorry bout the long ass :rant:, LOL. I've just been sooo pissed about that lately... if there's one thing I absolutely cannot stand that just eerks me to no extent, it's when people lie to me. Ok I'm done ranting now

 

[Bandit 6S]

Hey Speedwerks, thanks for the invite

Dover is a pretty good haul from here but could be a fun weekend trip. I'm planning on having the bike dyno'd to make sure everything is right so maybe I'll take you up on that. :dthumb:

The reason I took the bike to the dealer is I have never worked on carbs before and don't have a garage. Working in the gravel driveway is just not alot of fun for that sort of work. Also the dealers price for the install is 100 bucks. To get a float gauge and carb sync kit would be more than half of that anyway so I figured to just let him do it. Should have posted a thread sooner. I could have went to Speedwerks and had it done right the first time without the aggravation.

Hey thirdgenlxi, no need to apologize for the rant. Misery loves company. On the up side, they're still brewing lots of suds to drown our sorrows in! :cheers:

 

[bulldog]

That's whats great about older bikes out of warranty. You can do the work yourself on crummy days. What's the hardest part about installing a jet? Taking off the carb and reinstalling. The second hardest part is taking off all the phillips head screws without stripping the heads. Cleaning the carb and installing the needle and jets are easy parts.

yeah it is i had to replace my carb on my dirtbike and i just about stripped all the dam screws to the old one

 

[carlmorrell]

15 years ago, before I had the guts to do ALL my work, I took my Interceptor in for a routine valve adjustment. I had done 3 valve / cylinder on a twin. But never 4 valves/cylnder and 4 cams.

I picked up the bike and one mile down the road, the motor sounded extremly rude. So I turned around and went back to the shop. The owner insisted it was a pre-existing condition, that I was trying to cover up and blame on them. I had no engine building experience so they had me over a barrel. It cost me $800 to get the motor fixed.

That was the last time my bike saw the insides of a dealer or any service station. DO IT YOURSELF!!!! There are very few procedures you can not do at home.

 

[SpeedWerks.com]

Dover is a pretty good haul from here but could be a fun weekend trip. I'm planning on having the bike dyno'd to make sure everything is right so maybe I'll take you up on that. :dthumb:

The reason I took the bike to the dealer is I have never worked on carbs before and don't have a garage. Working in the gravel driveway is just not alot of fun for that sort of work. Also the dealers price for the install is 100 bucks. To get a float gauge and carb sync kit would be more than half of that anyway so I figured to just let him do it. Should have posted a thread sooner. I could have went to Speedwerks and had it done right the first time without the aggravation.

Hey thirdgenlxi, no need to apologize for the rant. Misery loves company. On the up side, they're still brewing lots of suds to drown our sorrows in! :cheers:

If there's anything we can help with, you let us know! We have been a performance shop for ten years, and I guarantee you will get better treatment than going to the dealer, better pricing, and we'll take good care of you.

 

[Gas Man]

If there's anything we can help with, you let us know! We have been a performance shop for ten years, and I guarantee you will get better treatment than going to the dealer, better pricing, and we'll take good care of you.

Mark those words... I've never been to their shop but I know the people and how they deal with their customers!! TOP NOTCH!!! You won't find one customer anywhere, especially on TWF that can say anything bad about them!

SpeedWerks RULES!!

 

[Pippi]

Wait a minute......5 1/2 month old bike with 17K miles??????

:crazy:

 

[jeeps84]

Wait a minute......5 1/2 month old bike with 17K miles??????

:crazy:

I think he meant 1,700.
Dealer shops suck A$$! :rant:

 

[bumblebee]

yes, he means 17,000...I have a 9 month old bike with 14,000 Remember, we live in the Sunshine State!

 

[Pigface1]

It sucks, luckily I have friends at the local dealer so I can get my oil changed, etc, while I wait. There's a gun range next door, so I just go over there to remind myself just how bad of a shot I am. :lol:

As a whole, though, it's horrible. . First come, first serve, we'll get it out when we can. I can't believe the logistics are that much different than a car dealership.

 

[thirdgenlxi]

I think he meant 1,700.
Dealer shops suck A$$! :rant:

Nope... Bee is right, that wasn't a typo!

Just took this a few mins ago

 

[Pigface1]

"Sunrise, FL." I went to Nova Southeastern. That feels like another lifetime. :crazy:

 

[thirdgenlxi]

"Sunrise, FL." I went to Nova Southeastern. That feels like another lifetime. :crazy:

Oh yea?? LOL That's like my backyard! My uncle owns a patio furniture store (also where my dad works) that's in a shopping center (the one with the Pier 1 Imports in front) right there on University Dr right next to Nova.

 

[Gas Man]

Third...that rocks!! Good for you!! Got 13K on my 2002... wish I had more!!

 

[KillerTiller]

damn ......only got 6,278 miles on my 98 gsxr 750.........