S2R 800 12K service how much? Where should I go?

[Labbedds]

I need to get my 12K service in the next 3 weeks.  How much did you pay?  Where did you go?  How much of it did you do yourself before taking it in.  How long did it take?  Did they give you a loaner?

[ROBsS4R]

Nichols

No Loaner First come first serve. They normally have your bike for a week.

Best service in Town and prob the cheapest unless you do it yourself.

Price Varies depending on what you need done. I paid around $600 for missing my 6k and getting my 12k at 14k with belts replaced.
I am at 22k now and prob wont get mine serviced till 24k =)

Your 800 will be cheaper to service

http://www.nicholsmfg.com/mc.html

[Labbedds]

Yeah I was thinking Nichols too, kinda far out so have to get a ride back.  Glad to see you had a good experience with them.  Yup need the belts replaced.

[desmoquattro]

Desmotosport.

In San Francisco, just as cheap as Nichols, and does equivalent work.

My 12k on the S4R was roughly $675. And that's a 4-valver.

[Spidey]

Nichols or Desmotosport.  Don't bother looking anywhere else.  I go to Desmotosport exclusively.

Desmotosport.

In San Francisco, just as cheap as Nichols, and does equivalent work.

My 12k on the S4R was roughly $675. And that's a 4-valver.

I *love* Desmotosport to death and think they do an AWESOME job, but I don't think they're as inexpensive as Nichols.  I'd call hose two to check, labbeds.  If you want the cheapest, Nichols.  If you want more convenient, Desmotosport.

No matter where you go, make an appointment and tell them when you need your bike back.  You won't get a loaner, but if you just drop it off w/o calling first or without giving them a date by which you need it, they might sit on it. 

For a 12k, I'd either do it all myself or have a shop do all of it.  There's value in having an experienced Duc mechanic get their face in your bike for a few hours every 12k or so.  They'll catch stuff you might miss. 

[Labbedds]

I agree, I was going to do some stuff myself but I figure for how much I'll pay to get the parts, I don't have the amount of tools or knowledge an experienced wrencher has.  At 12K I want it done right.  Shouldn't need another service until after I graduate so might as well do it right.  I think you're right about Nichol's being less expensive also.  I want to support the local shops but the budget is more important than loyalty at this point .  After school, whole different storry 

[desmoquattro]

You might also ask duckwrench13 how much that service should be.

[Labbedds]

He said pretty close to Nichols. 

[Vindingo]

I got my 12k done at Nichols and I had a good experiance there.  It was probably a couple hundred cheaper than Desmoto and there was a 3 day turn around.  I didnt think it was too bad. 

The only bad thing is taking PT from the city all the way down there.  You take BART to Fremont, then a bus from there to Milpitas which actually drops you off about 200 yards from the Nichols shop.  Round trip is about 2 hours, maybe 2.5 depending on when you catch the bus at the station. 

[Labbedds]

If I went the Nichols route I'd have a ride. 

[cloudseeker]

I had great service at Nichol's in the past.  However, tomorrow I'm dropping my own off for the 12k at Desmotosport.  They said they could get it back to me same day.  Way convenient, and I've only heard good things.  I'll report back - first time trying 'em.

[Labbedds]

The dilemma is that it doesn't really matter how long it takes to get back or if it's an incovenience.  I just need quality work at a good price.  I can live without the bike for two weeks if I have to in order to save a couple hundo.

[Cynic]

I've bikes serviced at both Nichols and Desmosport, and Nichols is cheaper, and if you can stand being with out your bike for some time they are the place to go.  I always use Desmo now because you can make an appointment with them and since I commute on my bike, I can't not have it for the week or so it will take Nichols to get the service done, especially in the summer when they are super busy.  It sounds like you can stand not having your bike for a while, so I think you'll be heading down to Milpitas soon

[Labbedds]

Word.  Yeah it's a city commuter so no biggie.  Thanks everyone for your help.

[ptam]

I've been to a few of the shops in the bay area, only avoiding Munroe's due to the reputation they've seemed to have with the community and with my dealings with their sales area.  Although I've heard they've got some new service management, so things may have changed.

I've been to Nichols and found them to be honest and their prices reasonable.  They were able to squeeze me in fiarly easily.  The downside is that they're a bit out of the way, and as others have said, expect to leave your bike with them for about a week.

I've had good luck with Hattar so far.  They have a pickup service which has been nice.  They've picked up the bike from me in the morning and dropped it back off to me that evening.  

My experiences with Desmotosport have been less than favorable.  I found that their prices were not substantially less than the dealers in the area.  I think that those who have a good relationship with the owner get fantastic service from them.  If you are John Q. Public walking off the street, it might not be all that different from the other options here.

As I heard from everyone how great they were, and I knew nothing about motorcycles, I had them do a pre-purchase inspection and an oil change if everything checked out great.  They reported back to me that it was in excellent condition.  I received the bike back with new oil and an under tighted oil filter, so it leaked when the bike was cold.  As I had the bike a bit longer and begun to understand things, I realized that the bike had been in a prior accident as well as some suspension pieces were actually rusted out and needed to be replaced.  Again, as they were highly recommended by all the locals, I decided to give them a second change for the 6k service.  They were pleasant and able to get me in quickly, however, when I got the bike home from them, I realized they underfilled the oil for the oil change (it was under the minimum level line on the sight glass) and when I reviewed my bill, I was charged for parts not even installed on my bike (which to me borders on fraud).  I went back the following day and tried to discuss it with them, only to have a quart of oil shoved in my face and no appology for charging me for (the part and labor) something they did not install.

Agreed with Spidey, wherever you choose to go, call ahead and make an appointment, all the shops seem to be busy but will squeeze you in and try and accomodate when you need it back and there really isn't a point to partially do the 12k service yourself and drop it off, you're not going to save any money really and its worth it to have a tech look your bike over as it is.  I'm not aware of any shops giving out loaners.