Would you trust a dealership?

[Shaun]

I'm not a very trusting soul. I do all my own work. I trust me alot more than minimum wage apprentice at dealership. And I can take as long as I like to do the job properly without grumpy workshop manager or shop owner giving me the hurry up and causing corners to be cut. Most don't care about your bike as much as they care about relieving you of the contents of your wallet.

Read my post mate

[lozz900]

No the shop brought it broken and did the repairs themselfs

[lozz900]

I agree about the road test comment although, its pretty hard to iron out suspension setup on a test ride..

[lozz900]

I don't trust any one really

Pays to check things out - but there's always going to be the risk of someone not doing there job properly

I use Boyds here in Hamilton, they seem reliable and honest, their mechanics have a very good rep; but I think they see my old bandit as a pile of shit, compared to what they normally work on, and therefore I get the feeling they do a bit of a quick job on it at times.

So for anything major - I think I'd try and find someone who cares about bikes, no matter how old or shitty it is

Yes Ive been involved with Boyds for over 20 years and not once have i heard a bad word about them

[lozz900]

I'm not a very trusting soul. I do all my own work. I trust me alot more than minimum wage apprentice at dealership. And I can take as long as I like to do the job properly without grumpy workshop manager or shop owner giving me the hurry up and causing corners to be cut. Most don't care about your bike as much as they care about relieving you of the contents of your wallet.

Ditto. To me its a waste of time even taking it back to them because I simply dont trust what will done to save a buck, Hence pulling it down myself..

[Robert Taylor]

A Tauranga motorcycle dealership repaired my bike after the previous owner pranged it.. 2000 km old it was.
Since ive owned it the front end has been shite since day one and its all got the better of me so I striped er down for a close inspection, hence my questions about straightening triple clamps the other day..
Turns out the worst was yet to come,I was pumping the forks indivdually and noticed a huge difference in performance.. I pulled them down to find one if the fork tubes is out of a different model bike, The part does not fit but because it bolted in and looked the part the dealership obviously decided to go with it.
The scary thing is I can see that Ive been lucky not to hit a really big bump and that fork fail.... Its that bad !!
I guess the lesson is unless you brought your bike brand new and you trust your spanner man with your life you never really do know how safe your bike is..

You are talking here about a set of Suzuki GSX1400 forks? Are you able to post some images of the stripped down components showing the differences?

[Taz]

Read my post mate

I did. Still not paying someone to do what I can do myself....

[Shaun]

I did. Still not paying someone to do what I can do myself....

Have a nice day,

[CookMySock]

[...] how a competent mechanic could allow the bike out of his shop a couple of months earlier in this condition shows a complete lack of proffessionalism. I would suggest the mechanic should have a least given him a list of faults, and refuse to work on it unless the safety critical ones would be fixed.

It's not really feasible to run a down-town motorbike fixit shop and take the moral high-road on that. The customer DOES get the final say, unless the shop wants to never see them again, and turning it around to say its all the shops' fault and the customer is innocent, is just plain wrong.

Sure, there are some shops who take the moral high-road and offer a niche-market high-brow service, but with customers with modern bikes, deep pockets, similar morals, well they can charge whatever they like and get it. But the little 'onda and 'zuki shop on the corner, I don't think so.

Steve

[Robert Taylor]

It's not really feasible to run a down-town motorbike fixit shop and take the moral high-road on that. The customer DOES get the final say, unless the shop wants to never see them again, and turning it around to say its all the shops' fault and the customer is innocent, is just plain wrong.

Sure, there are some shops who take the moral high-road and offer a niche-market high-brow service, but with customers with modern bikes, deep pockets, similar morals, well they can charge whatever they like and get it. But the little 'onda and 'zuki shop on the corner, I don't think so.

Steve

if the job is going to be substandard and most importantly unsafe then a shop should refuse to do the job, fullstop.

The problem also is that the training at the national instution for motorcycle mechanics ( Petone ) is very very basic regards suspension. Assuming also that the mechanic(s) have attended. There are many journeymen in this game with no formal training and a number that have crossed over from related trades.

As suspension has become more sophisticated ( thats also arguable! ) its become a specialised stand alone trade in itself.

[Katman]

I had a customer bring his bike in to sort out a mid range flat spot. When I took it for a ride the first thing I noticed was the front brakes were fucked. I said "Mate, your front brakes are fucked". He said "Yeah, I was playing round with them on the weekend and they've been like that ever since". I said "Well, they'll need to be fixed". He said "Nah, I'm just worried about the flat spot".

I told him to take it away.

[CookMySock]

I told him to take it away.

Good. But you can do that in Taupo where you can choose your customers, and pick the cream off the top. Do that in Waikikamukau and you go out of business.

Steve

[Sparky Bills]

Good. But you can do that in Taupo where you can choose your customers, and pick the cream off the top. Do that in Waikikamukau and you go out of business.

Steve

Maybe the case, but if he fixed the flatspot then the dude rode home, crashed and died whos at fault??

As Robert has said...
Can you post some pics showing the difference in the forks?
I wouldnt mind seeing them.

[Jantar]

...Sure, there are some shops who take the moral high-road and offer a niche-market high-brow service, but with customers with modern bikes, deep pockets, similar morals, well they can charge whatever they like and get it. But the little 'onda and 'zuki shop on the corner, I don't think so.

Steve

Its just the opposite. Its because I don't have deep pockets that when I take my bike in for repair I want the best job possible. The top quality job is the cheapest in the long run. Carry out a minimum repair on a worn or damaged part and you'll be repeating the same job (and more) in a very short time. Replace a worn or damaged part with a new OEM or better quality aftermarket one and you've got a reliable bike for a long time.

[Katman]

Good. But you can do that in Taupo where you can choose your customers, and pick the cream off the top. Do that in Waikikamukau and you go out of business.

I don't "choose" my customers. I occasionally "choose" what job I am prepared to get involved in.

"Pick the cream off the top"?????? You have no idea.

Go sell some ice cream.