So how good is the WOF on your bike?

[Flyingpony]

I avoid bike shops for my WOF, they're ridiculously priced at $35.
I also avoid VTNZ, they too charge a ridiculous amount. VTNZ are also really picky and therefore fail you on stuff which isn't a problem.

I therefore go to this dedicated WOF shop and they charge $20 (car = $25, trailer/bike = $20).

Last time there, the bike's head light was checked using a clip board, not that fancy light meter thing. Time before they lined it up against a those lines painted on the wall, but forgot to this time. They also missed checking a couple other minor things which I knew were okay and they must've assumed given it's tidy appearance. Would I go back there: Yes.

[scumdog]

Well, I certainly do.

I know my bikes. I know the regulations, as per the VIR manual.

And over 40 years I've learned what's safe and what's not. For me. Most of my bikes are old. Some things are not bright and shiney anymore. You learn what you can ride around and what needs to be up to scratch.

So when I take a bike for a WoF it's not to find out whether it's safe or not. I already know that. And I don't want to spend half an hour arguing with an 18 year old who thinks that the headlamp is dim, and flickers . It was like that the day after it left the factory. It's 40 years old, they had a different standard for such things then. I just want them to apply the rubber stamp and let me be on my way.

Cages, is a bit different, because I can't be shagged to grovel underenath to check things out.

So do you provide the tester with a pre-written list of what is up to WOF standard??
Otherwise how does the poor clod know your bike is o.k.??
And how does he know you've checked your bike but NOT your cage?
It may come across as a bit sarcastic but I'm sure you can see where I'm coming from.

(See Mr Motus post re this)

[j_redley]

I avoid bike shops for my WOF, they're ridiculously priced at $35.
I also avoid VTNZ, they too charge a ridiculous amount. VTNZ are also really picky and therefore fail you on stuff which isn't a problem.

I therefore go to this dedicated WOF shop and they charge $20 (car = $25, trailer/bike = $20).

Last time there, the bike's head light was checked using a clip board, not that fancy light meter thing. Time before they lined it up against a those lines painted on the wall, but forgot to this time. They also missed checking a couple other minor things which I knew were okay and they must've assumed given it's tidy appearance. Would I go back there: Yes.

Where is this secret place? I just payed $42 for the car at VTNZ.

[Ixion]

So do you provide the tester with a pre-written list of what is up to WOF standard??
Otherwise how does the poor clod know your bike is o.k.??
And how does he know you've checked your bike but NOT your cage?
It may come across as a bit sarcastic but I'm sure you can see where I'm coming from.

(See Mr Motus post re this)

The original post was deprecating cursory WoF checks because the vehicle owner does not then know his vehicle is safe. My point was (in response to your post) that I am not concerned about the tester telling me my bike is safe, because I know it is. So cursory is fine with me on the bike. Whereas the cage, I do want them to check a bit more carefully, because I don't (on account of it's hard to get under a car nowdays) , and therefore with the cage I do rely on the tester to tell me stuff .

[scumdog]

The original post was deprecating cursory WoF checks because the vehicle owner does not then know his vehicle is safe. My point was (in response to your post) that I am not concerned about the tester telling me my bike is safe, because I know it is. So cursory is fine with me on the bike. Whereas the cage, I do want them to check a bit more carefully, because I don't (on account of it's hard to get under a car nowdays) , and therefore with the cage I do rely on the tester to tell me stuff .

The point I was trying to make was: how does the tester differentiate between the two - i.e. how does he know you've pre-checked you bike but NOT your car??

[Ixion]

They don't. You miss the point. The tester in the original post did not perform his cursory examination because he was advised that everything had been checked. He was just slack .The OP point was that he was unhappy with such a check and would prefer to go the a more thorough place. My point is that I would be happy to go to a place that is quick and slack on the bike. Slack is good, I just want the rubber stamp. But not for the cage. So I take them to different places.

[Dave C]

They don't. You miss the point. The tester in the original post did not perform his cursory examination because he was advised that everything had been checked. He was just slack .The OP point was that he was unhappy with such a check and would prefer to go the a more thorough place. My point is that I would be happy to go to a place that is quick and slack on the bike. Slack is good, I just want the rubber stamp. But not for the cage. So I take them to different places.

Not quite - personally I too would be very happy to ride in, pay the $30 bucks, and just get the sticker to make me legal, 'cos I know the bike is 'safe'. But the reason I posted this thread on the 'newbie' domain is because in the same way you want a real check on your cage because you don't want to be involved with all the rolling around on the ground to make sure it's good, a newbie might not have the know-how or experience to know if her / his bike is safe or not. And if they ride away thinking they are on a safe machine 'cos they have been issued a warrant, it could all end badly...

[Roj]

It really does depend on the tester, I had been taking my trailer to a VTNZ site, but then took it to my local garage as he is clsoer, he failed it on something very basic that should have been failed every single time, I now know he is thorough so i take my bike there as well.

I check my bike myself and do as much as I can but I still want a warrant check that is up to standard, I believe what I do is up to standard but paying for a more quailified opinion I expect to be able to rely on it.

[Indiana_Jones]

I check my bike myself and do as much as I can...

I try to do that, I'm not that mechanically minded, so I went to see Frosty to take a look, but I forgot he is racing atm.

-Indy

[Skunk Control]

[QUOTE=Steam;936139]I went to a VTNZ last time, and as soon as they saw my bike they had THREE guys swarming all over it. Perhaps they were taking the time to do some teaching of the new guys, but I was very impressed.

Depends on the person but I know that there is a motorcyclists who works for VTNZ in Wellington

[more_fasterer]

Not quite - personally I too would be very happy to ride in, pay the $30 bucks, and just get the sticker to make me legal, 'cos I know the bike is 'safe'. But the reason I posted this thread on the 'newbie' domain is because in the same way you want a real check on your cage because you don't want to be involved with all the rolling around on the ground to make sure it's good, a newbie might not have the know-how or experience to know if her / his bike is safe or not. And if they ride away thinking they are on a safe machine 'cos they have been issued a warrant, it could all end badly...

I think that you've done the right thing by posting this in the newbie section, it all comes down to safety really.

Even though I'm confident in my abilities to identify and fix problems with both my car and my bike, I still prefer to take them somewhere strict so that there is a strong chance that the tester will pick up something that I've missed.

[Busy]

Last year a friend of mine took his old commodore to the testing station, he knew it would fail but he wanted to know all the faults to make it safe for his daughter ...

They didn't fail:
The two broken outside door handles (both passenger side)
Wipers not working
Rusty headlight (is dimmer than a candle)
Weak handbrake (wouldn't hold on a slight incline)
mismatched tyres (sizes and types)
broken side mirror
ball joint (looser than a loose thing)
garden hose as section of fuel line

What they did fail it on:
Cracked power steering belt
Fuel cap

[SPman]

WOF? What WOF?

Don't have those things over here....

[bistard]

[QUOTE=Skunk Control;943067]

I went to a VTNZ last time, and as soon as they saw my bike they had THREE guys swarming all over it. Perhaps they were taking the time to do some teaching of the new guys, but I was very impressed.

Depends on the person but I know that there is a motorcyclists who works for VTNZ in Wellington

You arnt refering to the one & only Billy Bunter are we???