Servicing costs - why so vague?

[Robert Taylor]

No, but my house is built to withstand the stresses its expected to encounter.
You are clearly stating that this is not the case for motorbikes

I think you should go and work in a motorcycle shop for several months, THEN AND ONLY THEN you will comprehend. Crasher from way back has aatempted to explian to you and he works in one, he knows

[Robert Taylor]

I must admit that most motorcycle workshops (in the UK) I've dealt with have given me a fixed price for a service. If they find something not covered in the service as they are checking they let me know and give me a quote to do that work.

Mind you it's a long time since I took a bike to a workshop to be serviced.

Great for the people that got a free first service. I was happy with the deal I got, and taking the bike back to where it was purchased from for a service isn't practical.

First free services were commonplace through the industry several years back, now they are less common as margins have eroded significantly. In many cases its now unsustainable to offer a first free service, and if one is offered are corners being cut?

[Robert Taylor]

No. I'm simply telling you motorcycles are a different kettle of fish, and require complete going over from new to be safe once things settle/bed in. If you'd like your bike to weight 500kg, it wouldn't be a problem. They could use nylocks nuts on everything...much bigger bolts etc. But then you'd cry like a little bitch that your bike was too heavy for you. Maybe you should stick to cars/tractors?

We used to get it with farm atv's all the time. ''My car needs less servicing and costs a lot less to do so" .... '' Yeah but do you drive it over the farm all day, cross rivers and tow stuff around the farm with it? "

[Robert Taylor]

You may find they simply don't want to do business with a p fried hothead.

+ 1 to that.

[Scouse]

So some owners expect motorcycle shops & their mechanics to "guess" (or mind read) "exactly" what work is required when servicing an unseen bike?(regardless of k's!)

Come on!

Every bike shop "tries" to give a service figure, but with out actually checking the bike over, how the hell are they supposed to know exactly what needs doing and the associated costs involved.

And forgive me for pointing this out, but.....what about the riders obligation to ensure they "know" their ride and that it is kept safe & well maintained?
...its called pre-checks & home maintenance!.

If you have a bike and don't regularly check it over for possible faults, required maintenance, tyre pressure, leaks etc etc...then YOUR the one not doing your job properly! (And you WILL be surprised at service time when the bill reflects your inability to do basic maintenance & checks)

To "ride it" is only PART of the program, to know your bike, its mechanical state and what work may be required in the near future is a BIG part of owning a motorcycle, and one that will keep you riding safer and with more cash in the back pocket

Don't give a bike shop the opportunity to tell you that bolts are loose and the tires actually require air in them to function properly etc, check your Bike before every ride & start doing regular maintenance checks at home to address these basic issues BEFORE going to a shop and paying someone to do YOUR maintenance.

As for 1000k first service...its just that...FIRST SERVICE!, its the best possible time to check the whole bike over for any possible Manufacturing faults, defect parts, settling in movement etc etc, or to just bring to the new owners attention that lack of regular servicing has resulted in, or may result in damage if not regulary done.

...in short it comes down to "an inquiry into values" ...don't ya think?

Good reply Willy but your attachment refering to Zen and the art of motorcycle maintainence is totaly irelevent I should know I struggled through that book and its reference to Motorcycles is at best very sparse this rambling diatribe took me more than a year to complete and thatis not because I cant read its just that it is a total mind fuck of a book

[Genie]

You'd get a cock for free!

With sauce?

[Berries]

Spokes are the worst things generally. So if you don't have 'em...things are pretty straight forward.

Yeah, cos the wheels won't go round so there will be no vibration to loosen any bolts.

[ynot slow]

When buying a new bike surely you would factor in the required servicing costs before buying.When I was looking at a new bike in 08 Suzukifest promo I enquired to approx costs for 1,6,12,18000km services to factor in my purchase,and required servicing over 2 yrs or so.

[ukusa]

There's some fucking dumb arguments & examples given in this thread, along with a whole lot of BS.
What is so difficult about providing a fixed quote (std price) for the first service.
My local does.
Simple formula,
1 x oil filter
X litres of oil ( X being based on your bikes capacity)
1 hour labour (or thereabouts, the mechanic must know how long a check + oil/filter change takes)
Anything else must surely be a warranty issue at 1000 kms!
If you broke anything, that can be added on, but the formula for the std service seems so fucking easy to acheive.

[willytheekid]

Good reply Willy but your attachment refering to Zen and the art of motorcycle maintainence is totaly irelevent I should know I struggled through that book and its reference to Motorcycles is at best very sparse this rambling diatribe took me more than a year to complete and thatis not because I cant read its just that it is a total mind fuck of a book

yeah its a mother of a book ay!
I read it years ago (In my hippie biker yrs) and found it was quite a good read (I really enjoyed it actually)....bloody hard to get your head around tho, a mate of mine read it and thought it was absolute S@#@T!!...but then everyones got different tastes

I added it my post due to the abstract thought process shown in the book towards bike maintenance and the differing views towards it...thought the OP could do with a change of mind set towards his "problem" (but judging by his replys...I don't see anything helping IMHO)

Fav Quote:
“The test of the machine is the satisfaction it gives you. There isn't any other test. If the machine produces tranquility it's right. If it disturbs you it's wrong until either the machine or your mind is changed.”

-thats some deepshit right there man!
.....Now I come to think of it.....Im so glad I gave up smoking weed!

Take care Scouse, always good to hear from you

[nodrog:Me]

There's some fucking dumb arguments & examples given in this thread, along with a whole lot of BS.
What is so difficult about providing a fixed quote (std price) for the first service.
My local does.
Simple formula,
1 x oil filter
X litres of oil ( X being based on your bikes capacity)
1 hour labour (or thereabouts, the mechanic must know how long a check + oil/filter change takes)
Anything else must surely be a warranty issue at 1000 kms!
If you broke anything, that can be added on, but the formula for the std service seems so fucking easy to acheive.

For fucksake

The $150 is the fixed price (the total of which will be payed by customer), the margin between $150 - $200 is allowing for anything else that is not covered by warranty to be done (which, part of, all of, or none of will be required to be payed by customer).

if you want a fixed price, then sure, its $200 thanks.

If you cunts cant understand that, god knows how you managed to log onto a fucken computer.

[Mad-V2]

200 DOLLARS!!!! I can get a service for at least $150!!!!

Just fuckin with ya

[Usarka]

Is there a happy finish?

[bluninja]

I added it my post due to the abstract thought process shown in the book towards bike maintenance and the differing views towards it...thought the OP could do with a change of mind set towards his "problem" (but judging by his replys...I don't see anything helping IMHO)

I'm happy with my paradigm, there is no 'problem'. Seems rather than answering the question, most posters are creating their own mental picture and adding things that don't exist (the 'problem') based on their own predilictions. It's almost like a form of transferrance.

Still it wouldn't be as entertaining and informative if you did.

[ukusa]

For fucksake

The $150 is the fixed price (the total of which will be payed by customer), the margin between $150 - $200 is allowing for anything else that is not covered by warranty to be done (which, part of, all of, or none of will be required to be payed by customer).

if you want a fixed price, then sure, its $200 thanks.

If you cunts cant understand that, god knows how you managed to log onto a fucken computer.

Ah, so it's now a maximum of $200, and because that was the quote, no matter what else needs to be done it will never go over that, clever