Servicing an "older" bike

[MikeL]

Just to add a slightly different perspective:

My car mechanic, who has a general workshop in Newmarket and does nothing different from any others, apart from being meticulous, reliable and honest (and no, I'm not going to tell you who is is in case he gets too busy to book me in, as he usually does, at a moment's notice) has been quite happy to work on my 1960 Ford 107E within the limitations of parts availability (and I'm quite happy to accept that, as I can source many of the parts myself). I know that with old vehicles the cost of labour can be frightening, but if I'm silly enough to be sentimentally attached to a particular bike or car and want to hang onto it, and am prepared to pay the cost, why would the garage refuse to handle it? Isn't my money just as good as anyone else's? The excuse that they don't have workshop manuals for older vehicles won't wash - I've got all the manuals and specs. What's the answer? All I can think of is laziness and/or unskilled staff.

[Motu]

For sure - you can rebuild a small block Chev using all the good stuff cheaper than you can rebuild a Japanese single cyl motorcycle engine.

[Motu]

What's the answer?

It's not you Mike,it's all the others who have soured the deal before you.You pay the price for some arsehole who screwed them over a job gone wrong for no reason of theirs,but the unreasonablness of the customer.

[mstriumph]

i used to get the '72 bonnie serviced at a classic bike place in perth but nobody wanted to touch the '73 honda cb350 ........

luckily i've always had friends

[vifferman]

Yeah, Motohaus.
Five years? Pfffft.... That's nothing.
Can't remember all my bikes, but my VF500 was 9 years old when I bought it, my VFR750 was 9, my VTR1000 was 6ish, and the VFR was 3 (now 5).

They may be missing out on some hassles, but also some big money. I know cars are a bit different, but we've spent a fortune on ours, especially one of the Peugeots which is now 16 and has cost in the vicinity of probably $7k in the last couple of years. Imagine if they'd said, "Nah - it's too old. No way will we fix it!"

Give Motohaus a ring: 815 8384.

[frogfeaturesFZR]

Who has been longest in the motorcycle industry in Auckland city and still runs a sucessful opperation? Back in the '70's he started a ''I don't work on old shit'' policy....so where did that get him?
__________________
So is this not a new policy ?
I thought people had been getting older bikes serviced there ?

[kiwifruit]

glad we don't have that problem in Taupo!

[jrandom]

My car mechanic, who has a general workshop in Newmarket...

Teehee. Bet I know who that is. A friend of mine worked for him quite a few years back; he's been in business for ever. You're quite right, too. Best place for miles. Expect to be kicked straight out the door if you ask for a half-arsed job because you don't want to pay for the workshop time.

You're doing bloody well if he lets you in at a moment's notice. I usually have to wait a week, although I'm sure that if I didn't keep skiving off to another mate's shop to get the job done cheaper I'd get slightly more preferential treatment.

Any idea who the Buell that I keep tripping over belongs to? I always forget to ask.

[JimO]

i recently heard of a bike shop not wanting to trade a early 90s bike because of the liabilaty of the consumer gurantees act if ther were problems with it down the track after it was onsold

[The_Dover]

glad we don't have that problem in Taupo!

cos you've got the only bike in Taupo less than 5 years old.

peasants...

[kiwifruit]

cos you've got the only bike in Taupo less than 5 years old.

peasants...

lmao

[Gremlin]

mmm not having any trouble getting my 1996 7 serviced... going in on Thursday for another...

maybe a way to try and limit their backlog? I booked my service over 2 weeks ago

[Paul in NZ]

WHAT? You mean to tell me you can pay other people to service your bike?? Shit - why didn't you tell me earlier - all the wasted hours in the garage drinking beer and listening to shitty old music.....

Oh wait... I like drinking beer and shitty old music....

[Ixion]

Renfield is looking better and better

What's the deal with Harleys. They seem to have been sort of the same since about for ever. Would AMPS service, say, a 1970 Harley if someone turned up with one ?

[Ixion]

WHAT? You mean to tell me you can pay other people to service your bike?? Shit - why didn't you tell me earlier - all the wasted hours in the garage drinking beer and listening to shitty old music.....

Oh wait... I like drinking beer and shitty old music....

I remember as a lad, being quite genuinely astonished when I found out that some people took their bikes to dealers to be serviced. It had never occured to me, I sort of assumed that everyone did their own.