price gouge for carb rebuild? Good Mechanic in LA?

[118R]

Thanks for all the input on my previous post re: running out of gas...

(see: XS runs like crap since running out of gas.)


So I had to suck it up and take the bike to a shop. I live in Los Angeles and brought it to Hollywood Yamaha. As I pulled up, the tech said he knew exactly what was wrong with it by the sound. Needs carbs rebuilt. They quoted me 650. I agreed because I really need it done and have no time. It sounded high though. actual came to 750 plus tax. This sounds insane but I have to pay if I want the bike back. Is this unusual? Anyone know a good (reliable/honest)mechanic in Los Angeles?

[mason79]

ouch! sounds really high

most people with these bikes try to work on them themsleves as a hobby and learn as they go along with the help from this forum.

make sure you get a guarantee for the work, my po had the carbs done b4 i bought it and i had to do it all over again 3 or 4 times to make it right, they left a leaky float in it, and it was a yamaha dealer....

[psycoreefer]

You might want to check but I'm almost sure most states have a law in place that says you don't have to pay more then the quoted price for service unless the dealer OK'd the higher price with you first. I know here in michigan thats the case.

Anyways 650 seems really high, I can't imagine it being more then 2 or 3 hours labor for a tech, plus parts so figure 3 X $75(labor) + $100(parts) = $325. Heck I think I've seen a guy on e-bay offering to clean & rebuild XS carbs for a couple hundred bucks.

I'd suggest doing it yourself. There is a ton of help here on the forum if you get stuck and lots of tips on how to do it right in the tech tips and by searching. I was worried about it when I did mine but its not that hard. Just take your time and pay attention to what your doing.

[randy]

118R,

After all that and the $750 bill, does it run correctly?

I'm reminded of the old designers' adage:

"Good, Fast or Cheap, you can only have TWO"

Good & Fast = not Cheap

Fast & Cheap = not Good

Good & Cheap = not Fast

[trbig]

In most states that I know of, they can charge up to 20% over the estimate price without having to call. At $750, they are within that.

I'm with the others though... That thing better purr like a kitten before I'd pay that much. Most people on here won't pay that much for a whole running bike. It makes me wonder what they did to them to justify that cost?? These carbs are pretty straight forward/ simple.

Tod

[olebiker]

It was likely the first time the guy pulled the carbs on an XS. Never mind putting them back on. Cleaning them likely didn't take very long. That is why a lot of dealers won't touch one of these old girls. If you are gonna ride old bikes better buy some tools and do some reading. If not make payments on a new one might be cheaper in the long run.

[DavesXS]

First mistake I saw was taking it to a place called "Hollywood Yamaha"
Did they have valet parking?
J/King

Matthews fun machines won't work on a bike that age.

I'd seek out uncle bobs bike repairs or something like that.

Good and cheep, so what if there slow.

[edavi394]

Wow that sounds really high but then agian considering where you live and took the bike thats probably a fair price. I know the cost of living is high there. if you ever need it rebuilt agian (which you will if you keep the bike) and don't want to DIY then use should look for a KEIHIN 33MM I think you can get a new one for that price and it would be A LOT BETTER! any way I hope it is runing good now. let us know.

[thewiz]

Yup ... too much money alright

I have said many times on this forum that, when I was in your position, I found only a few willing to work on my 30yr old bikes. These shops took the money alright, but never and I do mean NEVER fixed a damn thing. Planedick is in Yorba Linda/Anaheim area and may work on you bike very reasonably. He loves 'em and knows 'em. He's just plain good. Send him a PM if ya' want .... he's thinkin' about gettin a little business started.

[118R]

Thanks for all the great feedback guys.

[tarzan]

That price would make a guy walk funny for a month.That just hurts.You know you can buy these carbs rebuilt on ebay for half that.Sorry ,I'm not trying to make you feel bad.But I agree with whats already been said as far as these old bikes take their share of TLC especially when you first get 'em. And you can get upside down moneywise with them real fast if you dont want to try working on 'em yourself.If a person can read he can work on these fairly easy with the help of these guys on here.I know I have got plenty of good advice and info here.Hope you get some great times from your new bike and welcome.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey 118R,

Have you had the bike worked on yet, or were you checking here before having it done to make sure you weren't getting a raw deal on the work price???

IF you haven't had the work done yet, but still would rather have an experienced tech/mech who is VERY FAMILIAR with these bikes and carbs do the work....THEN look at the XS Parts for Sale forum.

THere is a STICKY thread there, I just added a new post to it at the END, for carb rebuilding work, and the fellow IS in Ca!!!! He's 81xsproject, Jessie Cahill, and comes highly recommended, several members have already availed themselves of his services and are very happy with the results!!!

Hope you haven't had it worked on yet!! Pays to check HERE before leaping!
T.C.

[powerram50]

ouch that is more than twice what i paid for my whole bike.

[81xsproject]

You might check out my add at the bottom of the Member Services thread.

The other better option is getting the help here at channel 11 to DIY. You know, teach a man to fish...

[mro]

A shop with some XS Xperience....
About 4 hours labor to remove, clean, adjust floats, reinstall and tune a stock XS if no other problems.
A shop machanic should slow down if he runs across a frozen screw or float pin so hopefully not to break something and have to order parts that can be hard to get and save the customer from having to pay for both a failed attempt and new parts.
(if it has mods like after market exhaust and pod filters then may take longer to tune altho carbs off/on be quick)


mro