Help! Am I being ripped off?!

[mal3volent]

A mechanic will ride the bike a lot harder than you...he has to to find faults,so probably notice the clutch slip where you wouldn't...new oil can also promote clutch slip because it acts as a cleaner....not wrong oil like everyone thinks.It'll also be hotter when he rides and fiddles with it....so he has probably leaned it out a bit.He wasn't able to do a cold start because it was hot after he worked on it.But he should be able to put it back to approximatly your settings,there shouldn't be any major rejetting going on.Haul him up on that one and ask why.

Thanks Motu. That is good to know about the clutch slip becoming noticable via an oil change. If it was on its way out then it is at my expense and that is fine. As for the rest of the work (which is my major concern) I will have to update you on what I'm told today.

[mal3volent]

Hey guys, Spoke to the guy today and he was really nice and showed me exactly what was going on. He said there are some pins which regulate the fuel and they were stuck and just letting the fuel flow in. He has fixed (changed?) them and the jets and had her on the dyno. He didn't have a final price but gave me some very positive indications. I pick her up tomorrow and will update again then. Much relieved. Thanks guys.

[smokeyging]

Good to know things worked out ok.

[rok-the-boat]

Sounds suspicious to me. Maybe he fu**ed it up on purpose knowing you'd be back with it.

[xxblackbirdxx]

If your bike was running fine when you took it in for a service and the mechanic in question has basically buggered it then it is his responsibility to fix it. Don t part with the money till they fix it. And then you only need to pay them for the service and not for experimenting with your bike.
If you hit trouble with the mechanic in question.
Get all the details of him , consult some one else and try to see how honest your mechanic has been with you. Take the swine to court if you find that he has pulled a fast one on you.
Some idiots give the rest a bad name . its important not let them get away with it.
If its proven that he was trying to put one on you then let the rest of us know so that we can avoid his services.

good luck with the bike.
Did you damage the casings in the fall, If so , did you damage the side with the coil, if so did the fall damage any of the electrical components inside the casing. For all you know it could be an electrical thing. It happened to me once when my then girlfriend dropped my fireblade.
Distant possibility but i thought i'd mention it.

[Macktheknife]

So what happened today then?
Did you get your bike back in good condition, running well etc?

[Edbear]

This is my story to date: My bike is running sweet. Real sweet. I love it. A mate takes it for a ride last Sunday and has a wee drop and cracks the fairings on one side, nothing too major. I have it booked in for a service the next day and take it in (quite quickly (i.e. 17000 rpm -ish, everything is great).

Here's your first clue! The bike was running fine before it was serviced!

If something is worse after I've fixed it, (and my wife will confirm it happens... ), then go over step by step what was done! The bike has been stuffed up! He's replaced parts that were obviously working fine before the mechanic touched it. Shouldn't have been neccessary.

[Max Preload]

sounds like he's adjusted the float level and cocked it up the first time. Everyone makes mistakes - don't be too hard on them. At the end of the day what is important is that at the very minimum they fix it at their expense and apologise for the inconvenience.

I'm glad I don't have to take anything, to anyone, for repair.

[cowboyz]

exactly my point. Dont be too hard on them. They are only charging $70 per hour and for $70 per hour you can hardly expect them to be experienced, qualified AND pay attention to detail.

[Motu]

Any motor vehicle made after the early '80's will be set up for ''lean burn''.....they try to make them run as lean as possible to lower emissions.Just the simple act of cleaning the carbs will upset the mixture - as parts wear they develope air leaks,but also deposits build up in these areas disgusing the true extent of the wear....by cleaning these deposits off the motor will suddenly run much leaner,in the act of improving things now it runs worse! There are limited adjustments,because also since the early '80's carbs have been made tamper proof so they can pass emission tests for a set period of time.I work on cars and won't go near carbs these days - they are much more complicated than bike carbs and almost impossible to set up correctly....they get sent to a carb shop.

[Max Preload]

exactly my point. Dont be too hard on them. They are only charging $70 per hour and for $70 per hour you can hardly expect them to be experienced, qualified AND pay attention to detail.

They have overheads to cover too you know. I charge $50/hr in my profession which is medium/high and I don't even have work premises or much in the way of trade 'tools'. But I guess you're perfect at your job of driving a forklift...

[cowboyz]

They have overheads to cover too you know. I charge $50/hr in my profession which is medium/high and I don't even have work premises or much in the way of trade 'tools'. But I guess you're perfect at your job of driving a forklift...

Interesting assumptions you have made there.

I don't drive a forklift for a living but when I did (for the limited time I did it) I didn't make mistakes. Attention to details is something I devote alot of attention too in my professional life.

Interesting also to note that Motu has explained what could have caused the symptoms of the problem and he hasn't even seen the bike. Is he a miracle mechanic or just someone who is experienced in mechanics and can forsee possible problems when working on machines that this particular mechanic is unaware of? Should this conclude that Motu is justified in charging $70 per hour for his professional services and this other mechanic is not worth the money? Or should it be concluded that any mechanic is justified in charging $70 per hour (they are all about the same) and it is simply pot luck if you happen to get a good mechanic and bad luck if you get one that is either inexperienced or does not consider the ramifications of their actions?

I will save your post so anytime I am dealing with a company and feel I am not getting value for money I can refer back to it and remember that they have overheads.

I wait in anticipation for my next lesson in business 101.

[Motu]

Perhaps you are just a lawyer - I couldn't make any sense of that....could you run it past us again slowly with attention to detail and make it comprehensable this time?

[cowboyz]

Perhaps you are just a lawyer -

That is just nasty.

I couldn't make any sense of that....

Thats alright. I will send you the DVD - without subtitles - might help with your comprehension and all.

[Dodgyiti]

Changing jets?
Only if they had been changed from standard and either or all the air filter or end can or emissions gear has been changed.

Bit weird that part.
The rest sounds right.