yet another reason not to go to the dealer

[Mike Hart]

This is a pic of Shu's brother's XJ750 after coming back from a tune-up at the dealer, we put on the carb stick and...



I would say they kinda didn't get the synch right, eh?

It sure ran better after we evened it all out!

[sixtysix]

I never go to the dealer, I even rebuild my own engines and transmissions ( I have done 3 auto transmissions, my self) The dealer can continue to rip other people off but I don't even bother.

Gary

[Phill the strat]

hi Mike H,
well if you had already got such a nice toy as this carb stik then why take the bike to the dealer to start with....seems like throwing away good dinero for nothing.....unless of course you went back to the dealer and got a full refund plus extra so as not to publish details of such incompetence

Phill

[Mike Hart]

twerent me!

Phill, read the post man, read the post -
the bike belonged to the brother of a friend,
the friend showed up, we made it right.

I go to dealers once in a while to buy
a part if I need it TODAY, otherwise...

(garlic, cross, silver bullet)

[Phill the strat]

I knew that....I knew that........(I'm just trying to get rid of that "newbie" tag.....brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr shudder.............

Phill

[Mike Hart]

just one more...

Just one more, you'll be an XSive

[Mike Hart]

avatar

I see you got the avatar bit handled

[strom]

I never had the bike at a dealers... for a couple a reasons..
1. They suck
2. They suck
3. They suck
4. When a crankshaft bearing went to bearing hell (I hope), I took the crank to a dealer. He said 800-1000$. I said go to hell and we had an agreement. I got a new crank w all rods and bearings for 150$ from Austria (Tnx to MC Satans brothers).
5. They suck
6. I have a really good friend, which knows his way around everything. We had the ZX600R engine apart twice, and when put together it always started on the 1st try. He's helping me with the XS too. I wish there were more ppl like him around...
7. They suck
8. They suck
9. If they wanna make profit, they should make it on ppl who bring their bikes in the shop for oil changes. I don't understand ppl who don't know how to unscrew a screw, wait for a few min, screw it back in and put new oil in. OK, filter can be a bit more complicated. Depends on the bike.
10. They suck
11. I've never heard of a dealer that doesn't suck, but there still may be a few out there.

[sixtysix]

I like this strom guy!

[strom]

Why, thanx, sixtysix.. I like me too
I'm glad there's ppl like u guys out there.. I hope I get to meet u sometimes.. but doing the US/Canada tour is my secondary objective... france, east germany, greece, turkey, australia 1st...
And if any of you find yourselves in my part of EU, let me know... Slovenia is small, but there are some great rides and lots to see (http://www.matkurja.com/eng/resource...nment/tourist/)

PS: As u may have noticed, I use a lot of bad language, words like [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored], [censored] and [censored].
Don't worry, I have an excuse... I live practicaly on the Balkan peninsula, and we curse a lot, so if I say u [censored] to a guy, he won't be too mad...
JP, I'm sure God understands... I don't go to church anymore, but God and I have an understanding.. I don't do anything he/she would not approve of. Well, sometimes I do, but not on purpose. Sometimes he does sth like that too.. then we have a long talk (well, me at least), and everything is fine and dandy once again.

[Dragonrider]

In honor of this thread, and cause it seemed appropriate to the subject at hand, I thought I would dredge up an old post of mine . . . this is from May 2 this year.

Why I do my own work:

Other then the obvious . . . that I like to work on stuff . . .

Me # 1—I take my bike in to be inspected. Despite required specific purpose plate on the bike to stick inspection sticker on, inspection guy sticks the sticker on the fender on my brand new polyurethane paint job. Owner of the shop is unapologetic and calls the police to have me removed from the premises. Motorcycle cop (in a cage) shows up and the owner relents when the officer informs me that <yes he can force me to leave without fixing the problem> but <misdemeanor assault is only a $140 fine>

Since I am 300 pounds and a substantial bit of that is muscle I just looked at the owner and smiled. Then I checked my wallet to see how much cash I had. About this time the cop turned his back to us and crossed his arms. Miraculously the problem was rapidly corrected. Cool cop.

Me # 2—Another annual inspection rolls around. Obviously a different shop this time. 90-pound 12-year old looking guy makes like he is going to ride my bike (XS-1100 Midnight Special) around the block. Looks very flustered when I tell him he can only do it if he shows me his MC license and can keep the bike up from a 10-15 degree tilt. He can’t do either one. Flusters me a bit that this guy is licensed by the state to do the required inspection on MY motorcycle.

Me # 3—Buy brand new Valkyrie. Yippeeeeee! Have dealer install really nice highway pegs and Memphis Shades windshield. One-week later highway peg # 1 falls off. Makes interesting noise as it bounces down the highway and smacks into the grill of the “primo” ’69 Firebird that was behind me. No damage luckily, and the Firebird driver was pretty cool about it. Go over the (brand-new) bike with a fine-tooth comb and find the other peg loose, several missing nuts and/or washers on the windshield, and the headlight is loose from the fork (1 bolt and both nuts missing).

Coworker # 1—Buys brand new bike, dealer forgets to put any lube in the final drive. Co-worker # 1 figures this out when the case cracks open and he can see glowing things inside (as he is stranded on the highway in the middle of the night). Finally got it fixed under warrantee . . . but had to argue and argue and argue . . . many moons went by . . .

Co-worker # 2—Takes bike in to have oil changed. Dealer calls him and tells him that it will be at least three weeks, as they are waiting on parts. Parts? What parts? Turns out the service guy got bikes mixed up and removed the rear tire, after using the impact wrench (in the wrong direction) in order to strip off the axle nut.

Co-worker # 3—Has new tires installed. Two weeks later almost wrecks out due to sudden severe wobble. Finds several loose bolts on the final-drive to shaft cover/swing arm (‘wing).

Co-worker # 3—Again. Takes ‘wing in for tires again (at least he rides) and is astonished to receive a call at work from the dealer the next day telling him <good news--his bike has been sold already>! Needless to say, new owner and current owner are now at a bit of a conflict. Takes days to sort out. 2200 miles put on the bike in the mean time.

Co-worker # 4—Takes his bike in for annual service and tune-up. Shop finishes the work, then takes the bike on a test ride. Wrecks out same bike (totaled). This happened today.

Folks, if you cannot or will not do your own wrenching—learn. If you still cannot, only use a shop that will allow you to be in the service area. Otherwise, you will need to follow all the procedures yourself afterward anyway to make sure they did it right. Nearly every bolt/item on a motorcycle is critical.

Epilogue:
Correction to above post, coworker # 4's bike was not totaled . . . as the dealer replaced all the scuffed and smushed parts and threw in a bunch of free chrome stuff . . . coworker # 4 is not too bright, as he did not even force them to check the frame (bike T-boned a car and threw the rider over the car) and I expect it is bent. Course he is a bike owner, not a bike rider . . . so he never goes anywhere anyway.

[strom]

Same here... a friend takes his lovingly restored bike to the annual checkup, and this kid that was working there says he has to take a ride to check the brakes.
My friend freaks out, calls the manager and the kid is fired...
They're not allowed even to sit on the bike... all they can do is check the lights, tires for age and thread, exhaust for emissions and loudness, and the brakes IF they have a device built for that... most of them don't.

LP

[nashville_bill]

Just when I was getting a little discouraged and thinking about, MAYBE, taking it to the dealer. I new better but I was getting weak. I have had bikes for almost 40 years and havn't taken one to a dealer since I was a teenager. They screwed it up then.

[kentaylor]

Whoo hooo, look at that clean shop floor! Your dealer ought to see that, as well as your manometer!

Ken
XS1100SF

[Bob]

A dealer? Work on my bike?

When I got a sudden burst of intelligence and decided to start riding again, I had---and still do---two very good friends who taught me to work on my bike. Because of them, my Clymer manual, and this website, I have done things to my bike I never would have thought possible. I trust my own work---shadetree as it may be---far more than I would a dealer's. Besides, there's just a certain amount of pride involved----not to mention the savings involved. Btw.....Some information on this website (somehow not noted in the Clymer manual) saved me from buying ignition coils that I did not need. The resistance on my coils was wayyyyyy too high according to Clymer, until I found out from this website that the secondary resistance measurement in the manual did NOT include the plug caps even though the diagram showed them. Turns out, I had two bad plug caps......$10 is a whole lot cheaper than new coils. A VERY BIG THANKS for this website.