The bike shop of the future?

[Grasshopperus]

So this is a pie-in-the-sky idea.

The premise; bike buyers want to know everything they can find out about the bike they're going to buy & bike sellers want to be able to prove a service history.

What if...

All the work that was done to your bike was done under the watchful eye of a camera and recorded in perpetuity? When you take your bike to your local shop to get a service or whatever there would be a camera that would watch everything that the mechanic did to it.

It'd be great for sellers as you could simply provide a link to a list of videos that were taken in workshops showing regular servicing actually happening. You'd be able to watch hours of mind-numbingly-boring valve clearance checking, tyre changes, oil & filter changes etc.

As a buyer you could actually verify that the bike you're about to buy has been serviced.

As a current owner you could see what the mechanic actually did to fix problems.

Customers would love it. There'd definitely be a $$-figure attached to the value this would add (I can't believe I just used that term).

This is probably the sort of thing you'd see in high-end exotic shops before filtering down to your 'local'. I could imagine an exotic car owner wouldn't mind an extra 5% charge to get this as the base cost would be so high anyway.

Cons (yeah there's plenty)
===================

* No one likes being constantly under surveillance. The mechanics wouldn't appreciate it too much (can't scratch your arse without first making sure you're out of camera-shot). Casino staff are constantly under surveillance though so it's not completely out of the question. Maybe the recordings would be video only, not audio.

* Extra costs for a shop. This would be a big cost now but over time as technology becomes easier to use it wouldn't be. IT, storage, networking blah blah

* Reputation. It'd be real easy for a shop to get a bad reputation from a single video showing a mechanic doing something wrong.

/end Cons

I'm certain that *eventually* this sort of thing will be common-place. As soon as one shop starts offering this service then all the others would be under pressure to conform.

I'd be interested to hear what you guys think about this.

[Virago]

It's already in use.

I think it's called American Chopper...

[Bender]

Yep, just what I want to spend three hours watching - a mechanic stripping and rebuilding the carbs of my bike. Not like I've got better things to do or anything.

If I had the three hours I'd just do it myself.

If I didn't trust the mechanic the bike wouldn't be there in the first place - this idea is the answer to a question no-one is asking.

[Grasshopperus]

Yep, just what I want to spend three hours watching - a mechanic stripping and rebuilding the carbs of my bike. Not like I've got better things to do or anything.

Well, yeah. It wouldn't be an entertainment source, just some photographic evidence that stuff had actually been done to your bike. But yeah, boring-as-hell.

[nzspokes]

A receipt from the shop does me.

[Shaun]

I think your idea is healthy

It deffinately Proves the maintanence history and quality of the work that has been done on your bike, which will aid the sale price of it when you are due to change bikes, as well as make the customer more confortable and confident in the work being done on there babies.

I have regually over the last few years done a similar process using Digital photos, ie, before during and after and supplied this to my customer.

Most shops would never do this, as it show/prove all the fuk ups happening out there

[Grasshopperus]

I think your idea is healthy

It deffinately Proves the maintanence history and quality of the work that has been done on your bike, which will aid the sale price of it when you are due to change bikes, as well as make the customer more confortable and confident in the work being done on there babies.

I have regually over the last few years done a similar process using Digital photos, ie, before during and after and supplied this to my customer.

Most shops would never do this, as it show/prove all the fuk ups happening out there

Thanks mate. Yeah, it's just an evolution upon the digital photo idea.

[Gremlin]

For the more expensive bikes, often they have a more advanced ECU, that has a service history in it, or it's logged and only available through the dealer net.

You could evolve that, and allow the customer to see their information, maybe make notes etc...

But as for viewing video, as spokes said, if I didn't trust the shop, the bike wouldn't be there, and as for something happening, it's part of a good relationship with a good shop, they'd see you right. Buggered if I would waste time seeing video. Also raises privacy issues... like, what if someone else was in the workshop, they'd be on your video etc.

[Brayden]

Sounds like a good idea to me. Also gives you confidence in knowing that the mechanic has actually done work he is charging you for

[spannermad]

Try and find a mechanic that would put up with "BIG BROTHER" looking over his shoulder .

[nzspokes]

For the more expensive bikes, often they have a more advanced ECU, that has a service history in it, or it's logged and only available through the dealer net.

Where would the USB port be on my bike to find that?

[riffer]

Where would the USB port be on my bike to find that?

The CBX250RS is a bit old for that; it's most likely a serial port. Look for a DB15 plug point.

[Road kill]

It would work for me,,,or just Shawns Digital pic's step by step thing.
As it is now I buy my bikes based on the fact I'll have to work on them myself.
I've known a few bike mechanics and I've known a few small shop owners.
The stories that have come out over a few beers have been interesting to say the lest.

The trouble is "how do you know who's who? ,,,so you end up saying "to hell with them all.

[BMWST?]

i dont think there will be bike shops as we know them

[george formby]

Time is the biggest issue, 3 hours work is 3 hours work, useful if you want to flick a memory stick into your poota & skim through but otherwise sitting their watching looking for fault seems a bit futile. Mind you, I bet their is a limited market for it.

I should imagine the risk of a sweaty butt crack moment is very high & you cannot un-see things like that.