Repair shop decorum?

[nudemetalz]

Well, I’m a little ticked off at present.

As you may or may not know, I (we) have been having a little trouble with the RF400 lately.
It’s been cutting out onto 3 cylinders and basically, I’ve been going through it trying to resolve without much success.

Anyway,…..I got Mrs Nudie to drop the RF400 into a motorcycle repair shop to get a quote and a booking.
The said mechanic/owner said “RF400’s are completely rubbish,. You shouldn’t have bought it. They’re gutless and very expensive to run. How do you know that 30,000 kms is not 130,000 kms and it’s just worn out.”

Now she was quite demoralised by this and rang me to tell me when she got home.

Now, what sort of professionalism do you call that !!!!!!!

So what if RF400’s are not the BEST bike in the world, that’s not how you treat potential customers.

Now I could name this shop, but then I wouldn’t be being professional now would I !


Am I just making a fuss over nothing?

[bert_is_evil]

go on - name and shame

[imdying]

Now she was quite demoralised by this and rang me to tell me when she got home.

Now, what sort of professionalism do you call that !!!!!!!

So what if RF400’s are not the BEST bike in the world, that’s not how you treat potential customers.

Now I could name this shop, but then I wouldn’t be being professional now would I !Stuff it... turnabout is fair play, name and shame. In my experience, women hate going to mechanics at the best of time... and that comment is a borderline thing to say to a guy imho. Given that bikes are often ones pride and joy, and a very personal thing, the only person a comment like that should be made to is a mate in jest.

[nudemetalz]

Totally agree with you, Imdying.

That certain "repair shop" in Johnsonville will not be visited or recommended by me or Bridget ever.

I just find this ironic after doing a thread about awesome service to one of the opposite within a couple of days.
Needless to say, the RF is booked into Welly Motorcycle Centre.

[imdying]

I suspect they're a bit scared to work on it... without a service manual I'm picking the VTEC etc built into the RF400s could be a bit daunting if it's faulty. Wouldn't be my first choice of bikes to practice fault finding on :lol:

[degrom]

I suspect they're a bit scared to work on it... without a service manual I'm picking the VTEC etc built into the RF400s could be a bit daunting if it's faulty. Wouldn't be my first choice of bikes to practice fault finding on :lol:

I found that my ZZR400 was the same... Not a lot of info on it and parts was another story.... The bike was nice, though a bit underpowered for it's size...

[nudemetalz]

I suspect they're a bit scared to work on it... without a service manual I'm picking the VTEC etc built into the RF400s could be a bit daunting if it's faulty. Wouldn't be my first choice of bikes to practice fault finding on :lol:

I'm picking it's nothing internal, it's a carburetion issue.
Certainly well within a repair shop's capability.
But even so, if it was considered to be too difficult, surely that is not the appropriate response.

[Finn]

That certain "repair shop" in Johnsonville will not be visited or recommended by me or Bridget ever.

I think "Name & Shame" means the shop, not your lady.

[nudemetalz]

I think "Name & Shame" means the shop, not your lady.

Yeah figured that, just wanting to add a personal touch to it.

Most Wellingtonians will know exactly who I am talking about.

[Finn]

Yeah figured that, just wanting to add a personal touch to it.

Most Wellingtonians will know exactly who I am talking about.

I know. Shit, even I know who your talking about.

[bistard]

Yeah figured that, just wanting to add a personal touch to it.

Most Wellingtonians will know exactly who I am talking about.

As discussed,sure as hell do!!

[Sniper]

Let the whole of KB know.

[Beemer]

That certain "repair shop" in Johnsonville will not be visited or recommended by me or Bridget ever.

Not sure if it's the same name but when I last called into the shop I thought "Dick by name, dick by nature!" Hell, he tried to sell me a GN250 for heaven's sake!

[merv]

Last I heard you were talking of the fuel leak/high usage thing. Did you ever get to the bottom of what that was? Could it be you have one buggered needle valve that's enough to make one cylinder cut out. On the other thread you said it ran fine and no mention of it going onto 3 cylinders.

[Motu]

Now,you don't really want the complete story on this subject do you Merv? The standard KB process is to not tell what really went on...and not to name names,well,until someone asks that is.Most importantly never let the other side tell their story - it is the KB Way,abide by the rules please.

[nudemetalz]

Yeah, it started doing that now as well !!

[merv]

So how far did you get looking at the carbs or is that what you wanted the shop to do?

As for the shop, Richards (there I've named him) is not one I've been to so can't comment on how good he is (I don't use shop mechanics anyway) but I do think his comments are a bit over the top. Sounds like he's got too much easy work on at the moment to be taking on a tricky one.

[nudemetalz]

I pulled the carbs apart but they need properly setting up.
Also some air blown through them would help.
I cleaned the internals as much as I could.

But she loves the bike nonetheless, just frustrated at it running roughly at present.
It is by no means a bad bike, that's for sure.

[Colapop]

He's like that. I can't figure out why people swear by him. I took the Savage in there (before you helped) and was told "That bikes shot, you've thrown your money away" WTF?? This was before I had a chance to ask him anything. I give second chances but after another couple of instances - I will not go back. In fact I actively recommend people not go there.

R . I . C . H . A . R . D I . N J . O . H . N . S . O . N . V . I . L . L . E

It's a word search puzzle - see if you can work it out

[tl_tub]

I took my old 250kat to him a bit, and although busy he always did his best to squeeze me in. I cant say i had any bad experiences there, maybe he was just having a bad day? It happens to all of us i guess?

[megageoff76]

Ive never had any bad experiences there either. It doesn't sound like him at all...weird.

[Nasty]

I rang him on the advice of a seller as he was the guy who serviced a bike on a regular basis ... he basically told me not to buy the bike ... was too old and really would only be a problem .. blah blah .. .any second hand bike or new bike going by some of the threads on here can be a problem!! :yes:

[Lou Girardin]

That sounds quite typical. They spend their working lives learning how to fix things, and remain complete lacking in social skills.

[Motu]

I survived for decades in this game without social skills - it's the customers who have changed,not me.I am polite...untill pushed - then I am not polite at all.

[James Deuce]

Yeah, but you were raised right Motu.

I grind my teeth over having a go at vehicle workshops. I've only ever once had a falling out with a shop and that was a personality issue, which sounds a bit like is may be the same thing in this case.

I think this guy is probably too busy to take a trouble shooting project on, but he's definitely done himself no favours by bagging bike and buyer instead of just saying, "No thanks."

He's probably worked on a couple of older bikes with a series of cascading problems and not liked the reaction when he's handed over a bill for three times what the owner expected. But then that can be avoided with clear communication.

[nudemetalz]

We would have had no problem if he said "No thanks".
Wouldn't have even needed to state a reason for.

I'm not the sort of person who likes going around bagging people or shops for that matter.
If he reads this thread and gives his side and then I'd be happy with that too.

[F5 Dave]

Here we go again

It’s funny us hu-mans & how we communicate.

If someone had said that to my wife I’d be pretty peeved.

On the other side of it Richard is the only mechanic I’d trust to work on my bike. At least you know it isn’t the boy giving it a go. I stopped taking my bike to shops years ago & I do most things myself these days because of F’ups at big shops, but a decent mechanic is worth gold.

Problem is honesty is often mixed with opinionated & throw in occasionally grumpy & what happened above is probably the outcome.

I’d hate to think he lost a lot of business over an internet thread.

Anyway I hope your wife’s bike gets sorted. If she is happy then it is a great bike for her. If it is fouling plugs do look at the needles & if the emulsion tubes are ovalised (Very little will be a problem). The 900s like to do that & it fouls the plugs (or one or two), on the LHS for some silly reason general consensus seems to be. But Suzi coils can be dicky as well. Check for hair & crap under the float needles if flooding.

[Motu]

We would have had no problem if he said "No thanks".
.

He's not allowd to - he advertises to offer a service and has to fullfill that offer.To say no is discrimination and has serious repercussions from the Fair Trading Act.We can say we are too busy....even if the shop is empty...we can quote a very high price or say it's not worth fixing.Any method to discourage the customer short of insult,but I have used insults in the past....better to be having a battle of words than a battle over a vehicle and who should pay for what...impounding and all that nasty shit.The motor trade is full of stories of customers who said - ''Don't worry mate,just weld it up to get me home,I'll never come back against you on it''

[onearmedbandit]

Now,you don't really want the complete story on this subject do you Merv? The standard KB process is to not tell what really went on...and not to name names,well,until someone asks that is.Most importantly never let the other side tell their story - it is the KB Way,abide by the rules please.


Sigh, that old record again Motu. I would've thought you'd have enough worldly experience to know it's not juyst a KB thing, but a human nature thing. Bored of reading this 'KB mentality' thing or 'KB vigilanty' thing, why keep on attacking the site over these issues.

[Motu]

It's a stuck record all right! But we are on this site are we not? This is where I see it...this is where I comment on it.Kinda like the waving threads....it's not a KB thing....but they are here...and here is where they are.Stuck in a groove man....

[imdying]

It's a stuck record all right! But we are on this site are we not? This is where I see it...this is where I comment on it.Kinda like the waving threads....it's not a KB thing....but they are here...and here is where they are.Stuck in a groove man....I think that he was using the polite version of, 'If you don't like the way things are on the Kiwibiker forums, you're welcome to fuck off rather than constantly bitching like a women'.

[nudemetalz]

Anyway I hope your wife’s bike gets sorted. If she is happy then it is a great bike for her. If it is fouling plugs do look at the needles & if the emulsion tubes are ovalised (Very little will be a problem). The 900s like to do that & it fouls the plugs (or one or two), on the LHS for some silly reason general consensus seems to be. But Suzi coils can be dicky as well. Check for hair & crap under the float needles if flooding.

Thanks for the advice, I'll check that out too. It's number 2 cylinder that's fouling (inner left). So sounds like what you say could be it.

Cheers
NDMz

[F5 Dave]

Well something to look for but don't focus on it lest you miss something else.

Dig around the factorypro.com site & you will see what I am talking about re ovalisation. Also check that the slides haven't worn the plastic carriers they slide against. Now at this point I only assume they have similar carbs to the 900 so am talking from a whole lot of guessing.

[merv]

So from what F5 Dave is saying this could be very similar to what Riffer had to deal with on his RF. This ovalising of the emulsion tubes (needle jets in my language) was a new one to me and could explain high fuel use, but if its leaking fuel in the garage you may have a float valve issue too on that number 2 cylinder. Are you going to have another look at it yourself or were you going to WMCC with it?

Motu is just a grumpy old man in the trade so don't worry about his digs at you about "the truth".

[nudemetalz]

I'm going to replace all of the leads (already done the plugs).

I'll strip the carbs again and check them out, see what # 2 is like in relation to the other 3 (which seem to be okay).

I've got it booked into WMCC Friday week, even if I get it sort of solved I'll get them to balance it on their machine.

[merv]

OK good luck!

[Motu]

I think that he was using the polite version of, 'If you don't like the way things are on the Kiwibiker forums, you're welcome to fuck off rather than constantly bitching like a women'.

Funny how OAB seems to post in the crooked car salesman threads.

Who said I don't like they way things are here,I enjoy stirring these dorks up.OAB seems to be the one having a problem....and perhaps you too....do you want a hanky?

[nudemetalz]

Thanks Merv :)

[imdying]

Who said I don't like they way things are here,I enjoy stirring these dorks up.OAB seems to be the one having a problem....and perhaps you too....do you want a hanky?Watch the door doesn't hit you in the arse on the way out...

[onearmedbandit]

Funny how OAB seems to post in the crooked car salesman threads.

Who said I don't like they way things are here,I enjoy stirring these dorks up.OAB seems to be the one having a problem....and perhaps you too....do you want a hanky?


Yes but when I do I take the piss out of used car salesman myself. I don't get in a huff when someone slams a car salesman, I couldn't give a fuck.

Problem? Yeah I've got a problem, I ask you to sort it but you'd probably do a shoddy job and I'd have to ridicule your work on the inter web.

[nudemetalz]

With regards to slamming a salesman, as he never did any work for me, I wasn't criticising his work but the way my wife was treated. That's my biggest issue and I would be peeved with anyone who treated her like that (motorcycling or not). I was very nearly tempted to go down and pay a visit to him myself but thought better of it.

[onearmedbandit]

And that's the point of this thread. Whether intended or not, the representitive of this particular company let a customer down with their flippant remarks. The outcome is still the same, no repeat business from that punter.

I know the customer isn't always right, I know mechanics get asked occassionally to perform miracles under intense demands, etc etc etc, but treating a customer like they did is just dumb.

[Ixion]

So from what F5 Dave is saying this could be very similar to what Riffer had to deal with on his RF. This ovalising of the emulsion tubes (needle jets in my language) was a new one to me and could explain high fuel use, but if its leaking fuel in the garage you may have a float valve issue too on that number 2 cylinder. Are you going to have another look at it yourself or were you going to WMCC with it?

Motu is just a grumpy old man in the trade so don't worry about his digs at you about "the truth".
Bear in mind that wear of emulsion tubes (etc) take splace at about the same rate regardless of bike (and thus carb) size. ie the needle on the carb on a 400 will wear the same number of mm of the tube in X km as the needle on the carb on a 900.

But, because the tube itself is (usually) smaller on the smaller carb, that same no of mm of wear is proportionately greater.

In short , carb wear will show up quicker , and worse, on small carbs.

[nudemetalz]

I see on trademe there is a set of RF400 carbs for $100.
Wonder if it's worth investing, so if the tubes are worn I can make a good set from two.
They're cheap !!

[pzkpfw]

Is there anyone around (NZ) selling carb re-build kits?

[Ixion]

Yeah, there's a dude on Trademe spcialises in them. Even does them for the old 'zuki two smokers. he sells on Ebay , too. Does seat covers as well. Seems well respected.

[nudemetalz]

I would have thought carb kits for the RF400 wouldn't exist.

[Motu]

And that's the point of this thread. Whether intended or not, the representitive of this particular company let a customer down with their flippant remarks. The outcome is still the same, no repeat business from that punter.

.

And my stand is I don't like someone to be tried by judge and jury on this site without a chance of defence.Call me an unpaid defence lawyer.There are always two sides to a dispute,and on this site we seldom see the otherside.

[Pwalo]

I would have thought carb kits for the RF400 wouldn't exist.

Come on it's a Suzuki. Probably common to Bandit 400s, GSXF 400s, and the other 400 fours that they produce for the Japanese market.

You might even be able to pick up a brand spanking set if you had a contact in Japan.

As far as I know the RF 400s didn't have any particular problems, but any carb problem is going to take a wee bit of time and patience to sort.

Might pay to have a word to Riffer.

[Ixion]

I would have thought carb kits for the RF400 wouldn't exist.

I didn't mean for the RF400 in particular - he has lots. Can probably get any sort I woud think, the RF400 is just the usual Jap carbs, I think, nothing oddball.

[onearmedbandit]

And my stand is I don't like someone to be tried by judge and jury on this site without a chance of defence.Call me an unpaid defence lawyer.There are always two sides to a dispute,and on this site we seldom see the otherside.



got Mrs Nudie to drop the RF400 into a motorcycle repair shop to get a quote and a booking.
The said mechanic/owner said “RF400’s are completely rubbish,. You shouldn’t have bought it. They’re gutless and very expensive to run. How do you know that 30,000 kms is not 130,000 kms and it’s just worn out.”

I fail to see how these comments could be justified.

[Ixion]

They're opininated , but not unjustifiable. May be WRONG of course, but that's another matter. Everyone's entitled to their opinion.

Rephrase what he said :

"hm, RF400? OK, they're not a wildly popular model, some folk have reported issues with them. They're reputedly not great in performance, and expensive to run. Personally, I'd hesitate before buying one.What you're describing sounds more like what I'd expect from a mileage of 130000, not 30000, are you entirely confident of that mileage, bearing in mind that unscrupulous folk have been known to fiddle speedos? I'm suspecting here that investigation may turn up other problems."

Exactly the same statements, maybe a bit more tactfully put. And I would think that a person who didn't like the RF400 could probably justify any of them (and, you could make exactly the same statements about half the bikes on the market bike and justify them!).

Whether such blunt tactlessness is wise in a tradesman is of course another matter.

[nudemetalz]

Well put, Ixion.
Would have been okay with that and figured I would get a second opinion from another shop while not really thinking anything less of the original shop.

It's like when I got the Guzzi, all a mechanic could say to me is "you're going to have lots of problems with the electrics, it's Italian !
". Well granted I have had some problems but I ALSO won't be getting him to do any servicing on it.
However, I do like that shop in Adelaide Road and the owner is a great guy.

[imdying]

Re: the carbs on trademe.

I would be reluctant to start spending money without first diagnosing the cause. Throwing money at things sometimes works, but can get out of hand very quickly.

[F5 Dave]

Agreed

As I said earlier "Well something to look for but don't focus on it lest you miss something else."

Or as one of my friends used to say

Listen to what people say, but don't listen to what people say

[Edbear]

Throwing money at things sometimes works, but can get out of hand very quickly.



Ask any married bloke...:yes:

[nudemetalz]

Well I feel it is fuel related because before we bought it, the previous owner used to leave it parked up for long periods without running it.
You know what that does to stale fuel ay !!

[merv]

Yeah the stuff turns all gummy looking like shelac and clogs up everything. Did your carbs look all bunged up? CRC Clean R Carb gets all that stuff off, don't breathe it too much though.

[nudemetalz]

They didn't look too bad but then again there's only so much you can do with blowing into the carbs and with rags.

[Dodgyiti]

Nudez- I have introduced my lady to bike shops and suppliers that I regularly use so she gets a fair go, she has been well tucked in the past and it is a sad fact of life. Now they know that if they deal with her well, they won't have to deal with me.
In saying that, in the past I was wearing the overalls (and steel caps) on the other side of the counter and was on occasion forced to talk to customers :sick: - so in all fairness of my own (grumpy) example, ya got him on a bad day.

I had a vent on that sort of thing here:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=10829

Good luck with the 400, everything is a jewel to someone

[nudemetalz]

Had at look at your previous post, Dodgyiti.
Good points in there.

S'pose she got him on a bad day, and that is entirely possible, but I do not know of any guy who would let there wife be talked down to like that.
Like i said earlier, it never got to the point of even discussing if he was prepared to look at it, he just said the bike is crap.
Now from the various PM's I've received, this has happened quite a lot so the "bad-day" excuse starts to stretch a tad....

Bridgy didn't even want me to post this, let alone go down and visit him (which may not have been very pretty..)

But thanks for your response D'Iti.

[Clivoris]

Interestingly,
I was in at Richard's today and yesterday to get tyres put on rims and some other bibs and bobs. He was real helpful and straightup. I have known him to be blunt in the past but generally the quality of his work seems good. His location is real handy for me compared to other options.

[hobdar]

Hmm sounds like he jumped to conclusions with no diagnostic work, and ran her bike down, i would be peeved with that too and taken my bike somewhere else to be worked on. He defiantly could have been um mm more diplomatic rather than disrespecting her and her bike

Everyones bike (in most cases) is there pride and joy and no matter how much of a pig it is you don't need to say it out loud to the rider..unless they have a scooter and then.......fair slather....(kidding)

[Wasp]

what an arsehole - reminds me of the time the motormart guys called my poor old vtz "a shitty little thing"

[Mr Skid]

"hm, RF400? OK, they're not a wildly popular model, some folk have reported issues with them. They're reputedly not great in performance, and expensive to run. Personally, I'd hesitate before buying one.What you're describing sounds more like what I'd expect from a mileage of 130000, not 30000, are you entirely confident of that mileage, bearing in mind that unscrupulous folk have been known to fiddle speedos? I'm suspecting here that investigation may turn up other problems."
That sounds like the sorta bullshit I'd expect from an IT consultant.

You're not an IT consultant, are you Ixion?

[Ixion]

Not any more. I've gone straight. Y'can't prove a thing.

Besides, if I was an IT consultant, (a) I'd charge. One days work to prepare the situational analysis. Another 2 days for a gap analysis against best practice. And another day to prepare the executive summary I posted. Total 4 days @$1500/day total $6000 . Plus disbursements. Plus media. Plus travel. Plus GST. Project management separtely billed. Plus support @10% . (b) An IT consultant would NEVER be so rash as to commit himself to a personal opinion.

[Lou Girardin]

And my stand is I don't like someone to be tried by judge and jury on this site without a chance of defence.Call me an unpaid defence lawyer.There are always two sides to a dispute,and on this site we seldom see the otherside.

On the other hand, there have been three complaints here about a certain Suzuki dealer. They monitor this site and yet have not written of word in their defence.
Could it be that there is no defence?
Face it Motu, bikers are generally poorly served by the repair industry. Even a highly regarded workshop left fairing fasteners off one of my bikes and shorted out the helmet speaker control fitted to it.

[Deviant Esq]

Face it Motu, bikers are generally poorly served by the repair industry. Even a highly regarded workshop left fairing fasteners off one of my bikes and shorted out the helmet speaker control fitted to it.

It's quite worrying for a biking newbie actually. Whenever I go into a bike shop to look at buying a bike, or take my bike to get it serviced, I always feel as though I'm not being taken seriously. I've been palmed off several times by various shops, and had others just not bother with me at all, not bother to return calls or anything. One trouble for me is I don't really know anyone in the industry, someone I can trust to look after my bike and charge a reasonable price. I don't mind paying for the right job, it's just hard to know where to go. :(

Where do Christchurch members take their bike when they want a job done on it? I don't mind dealing with someone who is a bit short, as in, not a diplomat, aye Motu, but so long as they do a good job they're alright in my books. And I'm happy to pay for the service as well. And come back to them in the future. :sweatdrop

[Motu]

Face it Motu, bikers are generally poorly served by the repair industry. .

And if we go by reports on this site - the assessory industry,used bike sales,new bike sales,in fact it's a wonder these places are still in business.Come on Lou,you know what the problem is - communication! Nudemetalz says his wife says this guy said - oh come on,you can't hang a guy on this sort of heresay.The first bike shop that refused to work on older bikes was run by your boss,he realised more than 30 years ago there was no money or reputation to be earned working on shitboxes,even if the owners were insulted.It hasn't harmed his business and I don't think there is anyone in Auckland at least who has been in the game longer than him.

[Freakshow]

I have been taking my bikes to Richard and I would say he has a lot to work on with his social side and yes he is blunt. But each time he has done more than what i have asked. And like Wasp said about his comments on the VTR. I have noticed riding a 250 the service at the bigger bike shops was crap! Now I have moved up its a different story. Dont they know 250 riders are only on 250s to get bigger bikes when their time is done. You would have thought that they would want to hook them with great service when they are still on the 250.

[nudemetalz]

Perhaps it is all heresay, but as I have stated, I'm sure he is an excellent mechanic, but to draw customers in, you have to act at least a little bit diplomatic and professional. Otherwise, they don't come and you don't get work.

[Motu]

It's a problem that will probably hang around for a few years yet until some new young blood comes in.Most tradesmen are not people people,they don't go into business to have relationships with their customers,they want to do what they are trained to fix,not to engage in PC crap with customers.You will find most mechanics,like Lou,or Mike Pero....who have communication skills will move out of the industry and become reps or salesmen....and so the industry loses the very people it needs.I've been running workshops since 1980 when I was a workshop foreman,I still have poor people skills,and no desire to improve myself in this area as I have no interest in how people tick....but am interested in how engines tick.Young people have better people skills these days....but few are entering trades.I don't expect you to know very much about your car,that's why you bring it to me.....but don't expect me to know the finer points of how to fit into society,that is not my concern.

After more than 30 years my wife is still shocked with how I treat people,what I say and how I say it - ''Do you want people to think you are an idiot? You just can't say things like that!'' We could be generous and call it personality,I think it's just being myself.

[Paul in NZ]

After more than 30 years my wife is still shocked with how I treat people,what I say and how I say it - ''Do you want people to think you are an idiot? You just can't say things like that!'' We could be generous and call it personality,I think it's just being myself.

Bloody hell - you sure we are not related somehow?

[Ixion]

Perhaps you are both idiots? Like the old pub sign "The three loggerheads"

(Subtle , eh)

[bert_is_evil]

I've been taking my bike to Richard for about a year now and have only had good experiences, every time I go in he fixes or adjusts something extra without upping the bill. Just got a new tyre fitted and he matched the verbal quote I got from another shop without question. He is quite a straight talker of course - I called up when I first got the bike to ask about having the suspension softened so I could reach the ground properly, he said I should eat more pies instead and laughed....before adjusting it for me and showing me how to do it myself if I needed in the future.

[Indiana_Jones]

Holeshot on barry's point were utter bollocks to me. I won't be gonig there again.

-Indy

[Pixie]

Last I heard you were talking of the fuel leak/high usage thing. Did you ever get to the bottom of what that was? Could it be you have one buggered needle valve that's enough to make one cylinder cut out. On the other thread you said it ran fine and no mention of it going onto 3 cylinders.

I worked on a RF 900 that would run on 3 cylinders.The cause was debris that had partially blocked the filter gauzes on carbs 1 and 4.The fuel is distributed via a manifold.Carbs 2 and 3 have T fittings on their fuel inlets and don't tend to collect debris.Carbs 1 and 4 are at the end of the fuel line and debris ends up there.
You need to take the float bowls off and remove the floats, needle valve and seats. the gauze filter should be visible.
I can't remember the exact location,but it wasn't difficult to find.

The debris looked like belly button lint

[Pixie]

On another tack,What the guy said did nothing other than damage his reputation.
If he kept his mouth shut instead of running off at the mouth he'd be fine.Work on the bike,if he finds evidence of excessive mileage over what is logged,then tell the owner.Otherwise his opinion is just bullshit the customer doesn't need to hear.

I laugh at comments of how mechanics don't want to deal with customers,but it seems they can't keep their mouths shut when they are dealing with them.The crap just flows and flows

[Dodgyiti]

I know a top knotch car mechanic who owns his own sought after shop- he gets grumpy with just about anyone (regulars and new blood) if he has too much work on.
Personality is a part of it.

Just standing in there and hearing a regular customer almost begging him to take a look and he says " F**k off, I'm busy"

Classic :yes:

[toycollector10]

While serviceing takes place

Watching $50/hour
Watching and talking $60/hour
Watching and asking questions $70/hour
Watching and giving advice $80/hour


An oldie but a goodie..

[DougieNZ]

I have also had a bad experience with "Richard".

I recommended him to a friend as he was quite handy to where we lived. Got his yamaha 750 "serviced" there preior to a brass Monkey Trip. On the way back the bike was getting harder and harder to change gear. Pulled in to a Yamaha dealer and he had a look at the oil and said "what clown put that in there"?

The oil was the completely wrong type for the bike. Oil changed, no more problem.

My mate still gives me a hard time.

Each to their own, but I will never be back...

[Bonez]

I worked on a RF 900 that would run on 3 cylinders.The cause was debris that had partially blocked the filter gauzes on carbs 1 and 4.The fuel is distributed via a manifold.Carbs 2 and 3 have T fittings on their fuel inlets and don't tend to collect debris.Carbs 1 and 4 are at the end of the fuel line and debris ends up there.
You need to take the float bowls off and remove the floats, needle valve and seats. the gauze filter should be visible.
I can't remember the exact location,but it wasn't difficult to find.

The debris looked like belly button lintAn inline filter just after tap/ outlet from the tank should help prevent that happening.

[Motu]

While serviceing takes place

Watching $50/hour
Watching and talking $60/hour
Watching and asking questions $70/hour
Watching and giving advice $80/hour


An oldie but a goodie..

I used to work for a guy who got a lot of enjoyment out of his customers.His favorite trick was when someone asked if they could wait while their car was repaired,he would say ''No problem,you can sit in the waiting area over there''.4 hours later they would ask when their car would be ready and he'd say we would be starting on it in a couple of hours.''But you said I could wait for it!'' ....'Yes,you can wait for your car,I said there was no problem with that,you can wait all day if you like''.Heh heh....

[Guitana]

I deal with Richard on a regular basis and have found him to be a genuinely good guy he goes the extra mile for his customers!