never trust a dealer

[Axel]

Last year at this time I felt underconfident and took my ride to a (Suzuki) dealer for a tune-up and check up . I asked him to change all fluids . So today I was checking my middle drive vent tube location and noticed a rust colored fluid leaking from the filler. A jab with the dipstik revealed a rusty sludgy goop . Anyhow after new fluid ,the bike runs better . GAWD ,I feel so stupid .

[John]

Two mistakes

1) Taking it to a dealer other than Yamaha. They won't know s#it about a Yamaha.
2) Taking it to a dealer, period. The kid that did the work is probably younger than the bike, and doesn't know s#it about an old Yamaha.

[prometheus578]

Now Axle... why would a Suzuki mech know about Yamaha's separate middle drive oil. These bikes are the only one's I've ever seen have that. (not saying that there aren't others...)

[bikerphil]

dealers

Yeah, those guys pretty much don't give a flyin' F*$# about any bike as old as ours. He probably coundn't find the drain plug. Gotta do your own work on these classics.

[egsols]

My newest 11 has bills from a Yamaha dealer from 2 years ago when PO had it). They said they redid did the carbs and petcocks. When I got it the the right petcock was on the left side, the left petcock on the right side, automotive fuel lines with cable ties, lines reversed running to octo, vacuum line run from advance unit to octo, othe vacuum line run from intake to carb and lastly a note on the work order to "ensure petcocks are always switched to off when not running"

All this from a dealer that was around when I was a kid.......they went of of business last year!

[ross]

dealship tales....

hey there folks...since i have owned my XS, i have come 2 the decision to not let any dealership work on my bike (other than changing out the tires).....funny thing is that my dealership understands that and helps me when they can.....the mechanics and i have had a few chats and they are amazed that my bike is even still running as good as she is....had a guy at the gas station looking my bike over when i came out from paying and we wound up talking about 10 minutes (just enough time to fill up his full sized van)....when he found out what i paid a week 2 go to work, he almost cried.....hehehe....anywho, here are a couple of tales of dealership hell....

it pays to go to the dealership when you watch 2 guys with a 4 ft "persuader" bar install the new front tire on the rim.....

it pays to watch your mechanic work on your bike.....mechanic could not figure how to get the rear tire off...i had to walk him thru it until it was off the bike...and i have not even been that far....was funny as h*ll as the service manager was watching us in the garage at the time.....

it pays to go to the dealership and get an estimate....took her in this past week to get an estimate for getting the carbs synced....(i know i gonna get sh*t for this one...).....kid that was gonna write it up wasn't even born when she was made.....BUT, the mechanic was.....both guys came out and looked her over....i explained what i had done and the results i had gotten....he laughed (?)......come 2 find out, he has a honda cbx (6 cyl) and had just done his....he gave "mucho free advice" for correcting the syncing problem.....(i will have 2 buy him a case of beer 2morrow)

needless to say, the setup i had in "the $64,000 question" thread was not correct.....to sync 4 carbs, one MUST have 4 gauges to get it correct.....i will be posting more results of my syncing in a later post tommorrow.....from what i have learned so far, i know i can get these s*ckers right on...ross

[GNEPIG]

Oh great, another one of those threads=

Lets all say it together; all dealers suck, all dealers are bad : rah rah ree

Guess we can't hurt Promepheus's feelings this time= doesn't work there anymore.

[ross]

hey there GNEPIG...not 2 argue, but i actually do get along with my dealership....but i do have another dealership in the area that if your bike is older that 3 years, they won't even talk 2 ya.....needless 2 say i don't use them 2 much....as long as when you go into the dealership with some knowledge under your helmet, they just sort of stand back, say "WTF" and let you find out the info you need....just got good "free" advice from the mechanic that proved worthy....and trust me, i don't want to wake up all the dealership Nazi's....ross

[SiP]

When I got my bike from it's PO he took great pride in telling me that the last three services had been professionally done!

When I set about going over it I found:
1. The O ring was missing from the oil filter and it was severly overtightened (any guesses why)
2. The air filter was FULL of crap and two dead wasps!

Professional maybe - just not professional motor bike mechs, maybe hairdressers?

[mason79]

this applies to car dealers as well

[TopCatGr58]

Hey folks,

Just as a reminder, as GNEPIG stated, we have several Professional Motorcycle Mechanics on this site:
Prometheus, GNEPIG, DIVERRAY, and they KNOW their stuff!! Apologies if I've forgotten or left someone out!

But they are all pretty OLD!!

So...not all bike mechanics at dealerships are those young inexperienced guys that haven't seen a real carb!!

Just thankful that these guys, and the many other GURUS and such grace us with their presence and knowledge!!
T.C.

[ross]

the XSive knowledge....

topcatgr58....i respect and honor your "shout out" to all the elder members....with age comes wisdom...i should know, i have a grandmother that is 102 and still alive....to loose her is a true loss of knowledge....all that i know has come from my elders....i just am thankful that the dealership i work with has a mechanic that understands old bikes....ross

[prometheus578]

Actually, Friend GNEPIG... I'm deeply disturbed."

(But we all know that)

I saw this thread several hours ago... and debated.
Is it worth my time to comment?
I certainly don't want a replay of last year's hissy fit.

Let me just point out to some of our newer members, and remind some of our not newer members, that a lot of the advice given here, and the "free time" spent walking you through proceedures and such, is being given by former, and current...
DEALERSHIP MECHANICS.

"My name is Prometheus... and I endorse this message."


Oh, thanks, T.C.
Stole all my drama, again.

Let's not forget Geezer... he who probed the mysteries of the regulator and built a better mousetrap.

[ross]

i support the XSive platform

prom...you get my vote for supporting the XS community........just asking, but what is your view on the gas prices effecting american consumers?....free coffee for every american?.....ross

[Incubus]

I know a dealership mechanic here in Austin. Well, he's really not the mechanic, per se, he also owns the place. It's a tiny little dealership that's been there since our bikes were new and beyond, and this guy worked on every bike that's been through. They sold a bunch of XS11s back in the day, and this is the guy who worked on them. He was apparently fond of the old beasts, because he keeps, in inventory at least one set of any of the parts known to go wrong on an XS11. Weird stuff, like shifter springs. His prices are also very rare. I think he uses an old price book.

I've never had him touch my bike. It's a pride thing for me that no one turns a bolt on my rides but me. But I've had several long converations about this bike with this guy. He's been real helpful. Not as helpful as the folks on this board, but I've spent a lot more time with y'all.

Put me on the side that says dealership mechanics are OK.

Patrick