Mt Eden Motorcycles: Workshop warning

[-df-]

Having read the attachment and having been a fully qualified motorcycle mechanic for 30 years I can read between the lines, on the basis of what you have put forward. Overadjustment on the cable will fry the clutch, your responsibility, your cost. No argument.
If indeed the clutch perch was incorrect it may well have not been achieving full disengagement for sometime. In a relatively new clutch ( a clutch being the basket, inner drum, pressure plate, thrust bearings etc, not just the plates ) this problem might not have been so obvious and only surfaced with a steady pattern of wear occuring and other factors such as a shift in ambient temperature, colder oil temps on startup and therefore a lot more noticable drag. Also cable stretch and actuator wear. Wear in the pivoting components on the incorrect clutch perch etc, everything that will eventually tip the balance.
The clutch perch may not have been so ''blatantly incorrect'' that it was immediately obvious to the dealership mechanic ( or any mechanic ) and such an irregular fault is not always so easy to pick up. If it was an aftermarket perch then its a sad indictment that many cheaper aftermarket parts just dont cut the mustard and can end up creating problems that some other poor bastard gets the blame for. But Im speculating on that point because we only have what you presented to go on.
What really riles me about New Zealand in 2010 is that the culture of blame is rampant. If I was the proprietor of the said dealership and the facts were as I speculated Id be taking you to court for defamation, no hesitation whatsoever.
So Id be very careful that what you are saying can be solidly backed up as dealer incompetence. On the basis of what you have said and in light that it is only one side of the story I have trouble having total belief in what you have said.
If indeed you have wronged the dealer with your accusations then you owe it to them to make a public apology on this forum.

My god do you guys blatently blame customers for everything don't you?? Mt Eden Motorcycles are WELCOME to come put there story up here. I have stated FACTS, with a couple of assumptions...which are clearly stated, so how on earth is that defamation? Get a life will you.

Regarding frying the clutch, it had a total of about 2-3 mins of riding like that (with it adjusted out) pretty quick to know the clutch is slipping...eh...Mt Eden Motorcycles is then about 1-2 mins ride depending on lights for me.

They didn't even put the adjustment back on the clutch, how do I know that? I asked them what the story was, guy basically said "Well, I took it for a spin and it was slipping, so it got replaced" said about the fact I had told them I had that adjusted out, he just said "well, it was on my worksheet that clutch needed sorting, it was slipping so I replaced it" and that was that.

[-df-]

Seems like there is a communication breakdown here.

OP could have said 'Take a look at my bike, when you find out whats wrong tell me and I'll tell whether to proceed'

Bike shop could have said 'We will charge you X bucks to take a look and then Y bucks if you give us the go ahead to fix it.'

My only gripe with Mt Eden was a few years ago when I paid for a big job on a bike I used to own and got a service thrown in. I was charged for an oil change that never happened but it got stuck on the bill. I went back and complained and got a refund. I have since taken other bikes in there for work.

I have found that you give a business a chance to put things right you generally get what you want out of it. Only then if they tell you to get fucked (and you are in the right) should you set the lawyers on them.

ummmm...I did take it in to them, asked them to find the problem...stated what I knew already, asked them to ring me with a price to fix, they rang (EDIT: sorry that is incorrect, I rang them actually as I had not heard from them), I said ok go for it...

Also, I then left the bike with them after I discovered the problem after paying (didn't even get the bike out of the shop as it would just stall), thats when I got told the problem was the perch...so yes, I did give them a chance to sort it...but was not willing to spend another $200 for the chance he got it right this time!

But yes, 100% agree there was some kind of communication breakdown...and now I'm stuck with the bill. I inform the person I drop bike off to what the story is...I'd expect that to get communicated to the person working on the bike.

[-df-]

Another tread dedicated to trashing a business.
Quick, jump on this bandwagon and form your judgements, destory any chance of decency and show just how perfect you are.

Instead of sitting at your computer how about you go back to Mt Eden and see the manager, talk to him, dont' know him but i'm sure he doesn't want to see you this annoyed.

Am in agreement with Mr Robert Taylor in that you should be very careful with just what you write as it can be used against you should the other party wish to take it further. I have read your other thread and obvisiously there is a problem yet you have given up on resolving it and instead come here to whinge. I can understand the whinge but the whinge shoud be directed to Mt Eden not to the world. Go back to them and make them fix it, you have paid good money and as another person pointed out, they have advertised for a mechanic so obviously something hasn't been right....

Umm, lets see...I left the bike with them for another week after I had paid and discovered the bike was still faulty...I then talked to them, I was basically told "not my problem, it'll cost another $200 to sort now."

So yes, I did talk to them before "bitching" on the internet...hell, if other people had warned me about them I might not have taken it to them and not be in this situation.

What they came back with was nothing, so I am now warning others...so get off your high horse.

This show more about you than Mt Eden.

Shows you what? lets work this out...if that doesn't show you why I can't be bothered then nothing will.

Cost of repair ~$625 (clutch and gasket).
remove cost of gasket and time say $100 or arguments sake.
Cost of taking 1 day off work $600
taking Mt Eden Motorcycles to court over this: total loss of around $100.

I have already talked to them and got nothing, maybe the person I talked to was the wrong guy...if he was, why on earth was he put on the phone with me to help sort it out.

So that is why I "Can't be bothered"

Sometimes the best thing to do is just walk away and never go back...its cheaper in the long run (time/money/stress), but if you can't see that...oh well, your loss in life I guess.

[-df-]

EDIT: Sorry, didn't mean to quote you guys there.

I 100% hope Mt Eden come on here and tell their story, I have no problem with that...perhaps if I was some dodgy scumbag, I wouldn't...but all I have done is state what happened.

[-df-]

To everyone saying I haven't talked to them...I did talk to them (well over the phone about it) when I went to get my bike I had already said everything I could, they had stated their position...so I picked up the bike and left.

No point beating a dead horse.

[Headbanger]

Personally I would not have taken the bike anywhere if it wasn't fixed, and would have insisted on an immediate refund for the unnecessary work.

[Robert Taylor]

Frankly, I stand beside what I have said. There are gaps in your argument and some reading between the lines that lead to further questions and whys and wherefores. And I would seriously challenge that the dealer is 100% at fault as you have asserted. Before naming and shaming it is well to have all your ducks in a row. It also helps to be open minded enough to fully understand the mechanics of operation. Maybe that could have been explained to you better, providing also if you were prepared to listen. But mechanics are usually mechanics, not flipping psychologists as well.
A clutch perch can be a critical item with respect to how much cable travel and therefore clutch actuator displacement there is. There are circumstances where this doesnt always show up readily, mechanics who are reading this will well understand what I am saying. Much blame miust be apportioned to whoever fitted this in the first place.

[Headbanger]

My god do you guys blatently blame customers for everything don't you??

Oh you noticed.

Lmao.

Once started, He just doesn't stop.

[Headbanger]

It also helps to be open minded

You should try that, get back to us with your results.

What we have here is a customer who is very unhappy with the results and your immediate reaction is to "read between the lines" in order to attack him.

Personally I think you should leave it up to the shop in question to respond.

[sidecar bob]

I usually take the following approach. This is an example with my car, so please bear with me

Me: Dear Sir, my vehicle is making this funny sound.
Them: Yes that is a funny sound and it comes from such and such. Would you like us to repair this for you for $$$$$.
Me: Yes please, but please be aware that I will check my vehicle prior to payment and I will not pay you if the problem is not fixed. Should this unthinkable case happen we will renegotiate the deal.
Them: No problem, we are sure this is the solution, we have done that a hundred times before.

Them: Dear Sir, your vehicle is repaired, please pick it up.
Me: Thank you, would you mind showing me your excellent work.
Me: Sorry Sir, I might not be a mechanic, but the funny noise is still there, how is this possible?
Them: Oh, it wasn't there when we tested it this morning, we have to check it again.
Them: We are sorry, but such and such needs to be repaired.
Me: That is okay, how much are you going to charge me for that?
Them: That would be another $$$$$.
Me: Sorry, but that would only be the last sum as to our agreement.
Them: But we did the work and you have now a shiny new such and such.
Me: That is nice of you, but the two parts are not related and I did ask for your expertise in fixing my vehicle and not for changing random parts. I however do not mind if you replace the new one with my old part.

At this stage it got a little nasty but the service manager quickly resolved the problem and I only had to pay for the real part that I needed plus labor.

To sum it up: Always stay friendly and stick to the issue. If you declare that you trust them to be experts and you are only willing to pay the agreed amount if that has solved the problem, they will either say go home we are not interested in your work or they will accept it. A workshop is not the only party that can add clauses to a deal.

BTW: I am now 9 years with this repair company and had only one incident so far (the one described here). And the service is always friendly and fast.

Which supports my theory that people only expect airline pilot margin of error from their mechanic.
Of course the simple solution to this is to charge an airline pilot hourly rate.

[Headbanger]

Which supports my theory that people only expect airline pilot margin of error from their mechanic.
Of course the simple solution to this is to charge an airline pilot hourly rate.

People shouldn't be expected to pay for a tradesmens mistakes. It has more to do with setting it right rather then getting it right 100% of the time.

[sidecar bob]

People shouldn't be expected to pay for a tradesmens mistakes. It has more to do with setting it right rather then getting it right 100% of the time.

I dont begrudge that, but there are many threads in this forum bleating about how much things cost, as there are about fuck up's.
Im sure if the airline industry could only charge what a mechanic can, there would be a lot more aircraft falling out of the sky. If the repair industry could charge as much as the airline industry, there would be a lot more to spend on training & diagnostics & when it does turn to shit, there would be some in kitty to pay for the setting right.
As long as clients are price driven there will be a higher percentage of fuck up's.

[imdying]

Which supports my theory that people only expect airline pilot margin of error from their mechanic.
Of course the simple solution to this is to charge an airline pilot hourly rate.

Yup, pay peanuts, get monkeys. I always pay happily, never question the bill, and never second guess their diagnosis. I'm lucky to be a position where I can do that.

But I tell you what, if I ever get charged $600 for something that didn't need doing (through misdiagnosis) and no apparent desire to redressthe issue, then I'll be wanting my money back, and unlike the OP, I have the time, money, inclination, and easy access to the courts to try it on.

Now having said that, I would be willing to negotiate in some circumstances (say it was one of my older bikes) as, after all, I would still have my new clutch installed. I'm not a total cunt, but I would be expecting them to come to the party in a mutual way... heck they could even turn it to there favour if they were crafty enough about it... say they kept all the money for the original job but give me 50% off a top of the line Arai, that would go a long way.

[avgas]

Nope, didn't think about asking for parts back.

Don't be supprised if you didn't get a new clutch then.......

[-df-]

Frankly, I stand beside what I have said. There are gaps in your argument and some reading between the lines that lead to further questions and whys and wherefores. And I would seriously challenge that the dealer is 100% at fault as you have asserted. Before naming and shaming it is well to have all your ducks in a row. It also helps to be open minded enough to fully understand the mechanics of operation. Maybe that could have been explained to you better, providing also if you were prepared to listen. But mechanics are usually mechanics, not flipping psychologists as well.
A clutch perch can be a critical item with respect to how much cable travel and therefore clutch actuator displacement there is. There are circumstances where this doesnt always show up readily, mechanics who are reading this will well understand what I am saying. Much blame miust be apportioned to whoever fitted this in the first place.

If there are things I have missed stating, please ask...more then happy to state them...but I'm 99% sure you will not beleive what I have to say anyway so hopefully Mt Eden Motorcycles will be along shortly to fill in any gaps I can not (as I was not there when the bike was apart and being "fixed")

PS Clutch perch was on the bike when I purchased it, and had been working fine for about 1.5 years (think thats how long I've had that bike for...might be more now).