So I’ve had these experiences with a shop that I’ve been bottling up for some time and need to vent. This shop has been highly recommended from everyone I’ve talked to about them and thought I’d try them out, 7 times.
1. I stopped by the shop and talked about running problems I’d been experiencing. I mentioned that I just checked the valves and I need to have the throttle bodies synchronized. I made an appointment. I dropped the bike off for service. The shop returned the bike to me the next day saying, “Oh we want to do a full service so schedule another appointment.†I thought the most logical thing to do was to perform the service since I have an appointment and my bike was in their shop. I took the bike home.
2. I went in and picked up spark plugs and the staff gave me the wrong model, just after looking it up in the reference manual I returned it.
3. I ordered a part, waited a week, then decided to call to follow up and was told that they never ordered it. I cancelled it.
4. I bought a tire from them and they installed it. When I picked up the motorcycle I noticed that the rim was missing a magnet, which translates to me that the tire wasn’t balanced.
5. Rode for about 300 miles and upon opening the throttle I felt the bike surge. Checked the chain and found almost 2.5†of play and the tensioner plate was loose by ¼ turn. 3 teeth were sheared from the rear sprocket and the countershaft sprocket was seriously fish-hooked. Mind you, I check my chain and sprockets once a week.
However, in all fairness I do have to mention that I did have two favorable experiences. I picked up two parts and received them favorably.
In a time when labor rates are $90/hour I spend every dollar cautiously. For $90/hour I would even expect my bike to be cleaned at the least upon delivery to the customer but that is just me. In summary, I will never EVER set foot in this shop again even for a sticker.
This concludes my rant. This confirms my belief in staying a DIY'er.
ranting helps if you have a shop name/location
Quote from: ghostface on December 05, 2008, 09:24:16 AM
So I’ve had these experiences with a shop that I’ve been bottling up for some time and need to vent. This shop has been highly recommended from everyone I’ve talked to about them and thought I’d try them out, 7 times.
1. I stopped by the shop and talked about running problems I’d been experiencing. I mentioned that I just checked the valves and I need to have the throttle bodies synchronized. I made an appointment. I dropped the bike off for service. The shop returned the bike to me the next day saying, “Oh we want to do a full service so schedule another appointment.†I thought the most logical thing to do was to perform the service since I have an appointment and my bike was in their shop. I took the bike home.
2. I went in and picked up spark plugs and the staff gave me the wrong model, just after looking it up in the reference manual I returned it.
3. I ordered a part, waited a week, then decided to call to follow up and was told that they never ordered it. I cancelled it.
4. I bought a tire from them and they installed it. When I picked up the motorcycle I noticed that the rim was missing a magnet, which translates to me that the tire wasn’t balanced.
5. Rode for about 300 miles and upon opening the throttle I felt the bike surge. Checked the chain and found almost 2.5†of play and the tensioner plate was loose by ¼ turn. 3 teeth were sheared from the rear sprocket and the countershaft sprocket was seriously fish-hooked. Mind you, I check my chain and sprockets once a week.
However, in all fairness I do have to mention that I did have two favorable experiences. I picked up two parts and received them favorably.
In a time when labor rates are $90/hour I spend every dollar cautiously. For $90/hour I would even expect my bike to be cleaned at the least upon delivery to the customer but that is just me. In summary, I will never EVER set foot in this shop again even for a sticker.
This concludes my rant. This confirms my belief in staying a DIY'er.
Let's see if I understand what you are saying.
You brought the bike in for half hour adjustment and don't understand why they asked for an appointment to do a service that takes a better part of the day?
The rim was missing a magnet ??? Do you mean a balance weight? How do you know it was missing one? Each time you mount a tire it needs different weight in different locations, or, sometimes, no weight at all.
Your sprocket was worn This didn't happen in 300 miles. Agreed they should have seen it and brought it to your attention if they changed a tire on the bike. Three broken teeth (which could have happened in the 300 miles) would explain the extra slack in the chain. What was loose? the axle nut or the screw that holds the plate in place? Was it loose or did you just tighten it another quarter of a turn? Did you go back to them? They can't rectify a problem if they don't know about it.
Quote from: howie on December 05, 2008, 10:24:16 AM
Let's see if I understand what you are saying.
You brought the bike in for half hour adjustment and don't understand why they asked for an appointment to do a service that takes a better part of the day?
The rim was missing a magnet ??? Do you mean a balance weight? How do you know it was missing one? Each time you mount a tire it needs different weight in different locations, or, sometimes, no weight at all.
Your sprocket was worn This didn't happen in 300 miles. Agreed they should have seen it and brought it to your attention if they changed a tire on the bike. Three broken teeth (which could have happened in the 300 miles) would explain the extra slack in the chain. What was loose? the axle nut or the screw that holds the plate in place? Was it loose or did you just tighten it another quarter of a turn? Did you go back to them? They can't rectify a problem if they don't know about it.
Yup brought it in for a speculated 1 hour appointment but they didn't want to just synch the throttle bodies like I asked. They wanted to perform a full service. As mentioned, I already checked valve clearances. I brought it in for something specific and it wasn't done.
Correct, i should have written weight. I knew it was missing one because it wan't there (duh). I've never had a rear tire not have a weight in my 60k mile lifetime on 2 wheels.
My sprockets had minor wear, unworthy of replacement prior to the tire swap. The teeth sheared off as a result of a 30 mile return trip home after experiencing the "surge.' I immediately pulled over, checked the chain and noticed the slack. When I got home I didn't even need a breaker bar to get the rear axle nut off. Whenever you tighten the rear axle, the tensioner plate bolt should be tightened when finished. As far as rectifying a problem, I did it myself. Sorries have no value in my world. I get jack shyte from that.
Quote from: ghostface on December 05, 2008, 11:38:06 AM
Yup brought it in for a speculated 1 hour appointment but they didn't want to just synch the throttle bodies like I asked. They wanted to perform a full service. As mentioned, I already checked valve clearances. I brought it in for something specific and it wasn't done.
Correct, i should have written weight. I knew it was missing one because it wan't there (duh). I've never had a rear tire not have a weight in my 60k lifetime on 2 wheels.
My sprockets had minor wear, unworthy of replacement prior to the tire swap. The teeth sheared off as a result of a 30 mile return trip home after experiencing the "surge.' I immeditely pulled over, checked the chain and noticed the slack. When I got home I didn't even need a breaker bar to get the rear axle nut off. Whenever you tighten the rear axle the tensioner plate bolt should be tightened when finished. As far as rectifying a problem, I did it myself. Sorries have no value in my world. I get jack shyte from that.
OK, now I understand better. I would be annoyed to say the least by making an unneeded trip. They should have said what they intended in the first place. Then you could decide what you want to do. If the axle slipped because the nut was not tightened this could cause teeth to break. The only way to know for sure if the tire is in balannce would be to check it on a balancer, it is rare, but sometimes a weight is not required, though you have good reason to believe it was not balanced. Rectifying the problem yourself is fine and sorry doesn't help, but the dealer needs to know what is going on so corrections can be made. Besides, sounds like the dealer owes you a chain and set of sprockets.