Bike out of commission

[fireliv]

If its the bike shop that tris told me you went to then I would like your chances. They were right assholes when they attempted to fix my bike and made it worse. GOt the "all clear" then when we called about it not runnign propery got " yeah we know that, thats what you get for buying a cheap import..."

Hope you have more luck than I did!

[offrd]

Possible the apprentice or some other dimwit put hydraulic (or sim) oil in the hydraulic brakes rather than brake fluid in the "hydraulic" brakes.... or at least topped it up with hyd oil.
Thats my pick, been a mechanic for 15 years and i have seen apprentice do it once. While toping up the fluids during a service on a car... Lucky the young guy had second thoughts about what he had done and problem was quickly sorted!

Oil is not compatable with the rubber used in brake components, causes softening and swelling and FAILURE.

If it was some nasty person that did it trying to kill you, Make sure you kill them first!

[gav]

Its unlikely a m/c shop is going to have hydraulic oil just lying around, how often would you use hydraulic oil on m/cs?
The only oil I'd think you could possibly mix up with it would be fork oil. Its often in a similiar bottle.
You've already named one bike shop in the thread, and obviously a shop isnt going to admit that they could possibly get it wrong.
So have you taken it back to the original shop then or is it at Sportzone?

[karla]

yeah, i have the same opionon as you guys. but the bike shop mwont play ball, so will probably have a talk to IMDYING tonight and see what we can do

Couple of suggestions - from now on always have someone with you when you talk to anyone at the bike shop (witness), and write down everything you tell them, and everything they say. Sounds to me like there's a very good chance you will need this later, as there could be a small claims around this if you feel annoyed enough about it and are prepared to put in a little time.

I'd do it on principle; even if you can afford to get the bike fixed there are heaps of people (mostly young'uns) who get taken advantage of because they just accept that they are in the wrong, when they aren't. It pisses me off, as in a perfect world no one should be allowed to get away with abuse of other people's trust.

grrrrr....

[Mikkel]

Just get a dictaphone - insist on taping every conversation made about servicing and repair jobs. Either that or make sure all communication happens in writing - in triplicate!

Or, go easy and accept that you run the risk of getting fucked over. Honesty and integrity are not something that can be taken for granted.

[karla]

Just get a dictaphone - insist on taping every conversation made about servicing and repair jobs. Either that or make sure all communication happens in writing - in triplicate!

Or, go easy and accept that you run the risk of getting fucked over. Honesty and integrity are not something that can be taken for granted.

I'm not sure if taped conversations are able to be used as evidence.

When I was a youth my car was fixed incorrectly and it caught fire after I picked it up. The garage didn't want to know, but I got a father's friend to talk to them, and he told them I would take it to court. They paid out because it was cheaper for them to do that then it was to pay for lawyers/take time off to fight it etc.

Mind you, my Peugot was only worth $900

You do need to be sure that they aren't going to accept any responsibility or meet you half way, before you file a small claims against them. I imagine it will be hard for them to prove that they didn't make a mistake.

[JWALKER]

Its unlikely a m/c shop is going to have hydraulic oil just lying around, how often would you use hydraulic oil on m/cs?
The only oil I'd think you could possibly mix up with it would be fork oil. Its often in a similiar bottle.
You've already named one bike shop in the thread, and obviously a shop isnt going to admit that they could possibly get it wrong.
So have you taken it back to the original shop then or is it at Sportzone?

its still at sportzone at the moment, until i decide what to do with it.

i would rather not name the bikeshop that is at the fault in the thread, i believe they are at fault, butt, im not into slacking their name off. just more wanted to see if i was the only one that thought it was possible for the mechanic to make a simple mistake.


i have a lawyer who does not charge me, seen he is a family friend and he is very ready to get stuck into them.

i talked to the manager of the place today and he wont accept their is any way they could have mde a mistake

[JWALKER]

It pisses me off, as in a perfect world no one should be allowed to get away with abuse of other people's trust.

grrrrr....

i totally agree. i thought i might have talked to them and meet halfway, bout the costs, but, they said that its not their fault one bit and i have to pay for the whole lot

[MaxB]

To go after the bike shop legally you have to be able to prove that they did it.

Even as a minimum you will need evidence that the bike was fine before they worked on it and not fine afterwards. Also you could get an ex employee to spill the beans.

That is a lot of work just to get the dealer to settle out of court. Even if it ends up in court you may not win.

FWIW from what you have said I think they probably did it. A crim scumbag would have to have had undisturbed access to your bike for maybe 15 mins and leave the scene without spilling a drop or being seen. Tui ad.

[karla]

To go after the bike shop legally you have to be able to prove that they did it.

I'd turn that around actually. As a consumer you don't have to take the world on your shoulders, it's actually the business that needs to (as they will carry on in business, so they need to show integrity etc for future customers). They have to prove that they did not do it - saying that they didn't do it isn't enough. The bike was fine before you took it there, they did work in that area, and it now has a problem. Most reasonable businesses today would promptly admit a mistake, as mistakes aren't a black mark against them, they are just human errors.

The workshop must prove beyond reasonable doubt there were no mistakes made.

Seems to me that just about everyone reading this thread, who knows about motorbikes, has suggested that it is likely that someone at the bike shop made a mistake. I'd trust a judge to make the same decision, given the evidence in front of him.

Unless, of course, there is any more information that hasn't been revealed ... stay honest, and trust the process. That's what it is there for.

[karla]

Actually, reading about this does make me a bit fearful. If the shop doesn't come to the party on this one I'd like to know who it was, because a mistake like this is pretty dangerous, and I don't want to take my bike there if something like this could happen.

If the workshop admitted a mistake, and then put into place a plan to prevent it happening again, ie) learned from the mistake, then I'd feel better.

It makes me even more aware that I know so very little - I would have no idea what to look for, and have to go on a bit of blind faith and help from others who do know. It's great that you found it before something serious happened, and thanks for posting about it here where others can learn from your experience.

[JWALKER]

thank you karla, i feel exactly the same. i will pm you the bike shop name.
once again they will NOT accept any responsbility, even after talking to the manager

[SVboy]

Boy, you are having a bad run mate. Hang in there, it will come right! I agree with some of the comments so far. If this bike shop changed your rear pads, it is more than likely they inspected your rear resovour[sp] and thats where the stuff-up occured. If you have an invoice for this, I suspect a small claims case would be open and shut, in your favour. Please PM the bike shop name, so I can avoid them with my work!!

[JWALKER]

lol, i know. seems to be off the road, more than on lol

was more gutted i missed taking the bike to the drags, oh well, there is always next month

[JMemonic]

Ok something seems a bit off here, as has been commented on before it seems odd that someone would go to the trouble of tampering with the bike like this, its a hell of lot of effort.

If you have documentation to show that the bike shop worked on the brakes and if that document includes a charge for brake fluid the you have prove that they have worked in the area in question and from what I am reading it was recently, if they had messed up it would take time for the oil to make its way through the system, the burden of prove is not on you to prove that they work in that area but that you have an enemy who would tamper with you vehicle in such a way.