WOF drama

[peasea]

Man. I'm sick of inconsistent WOF testers! I've been going to the same WOF station for four years, no changes to the bike then all of a sudden my stainless steel brake line doesn't cut it. Then, to rub salt into the wound, I'm told the exhaust noise is "excessive". Hello? I've had eight WOF's here with no changes, what's up with the mufflers? I read up on the law and the rules on hoses have changed. Okay, no fuss, just get a new one. Mufflers? Nothing's changed (yet) but the law states that the inspector can call the shots just by using his ears. No decibel test, nothing. I got a dork and failed the test. Be warned HD and other thumping V-twin riders, the North Shore Vehicle Testing Station has, after all these years, suddenly grown sensitive ears. I used to respect those guys for an impartial test, not any more. My bike isn't THAT loud and let's not forget the rule about loud bikes anyway, whatever you ride. He missed the aftermarket six-pot brake caliper so I think I'm justified in calling him a dork, plus he didn't re-test my brakes after I fitted the new line. Bloody dangerous if you ask me.

[Ixion]

Hm. I wonder if some word has gone out to them. Petal's last WoF , a couple of days ago, they quibbled over the noise, never done that before. Though it might have been sour grapes cos the tester made a fool of himself, trying to kickstart her.Still, interesting. I pointed out that the mufflers were standard Suzuki GT750 (which they are, stamped on them), and claimed it was no louder than when new (prolly true). And his boss chipped in on my side, I think he was rather impressed.

Wonder if anyone else has been having the same problem?

Wotchz gonna do about the noise thing? (Assuming you don't have a spare set of quiet muflers to fit)

[peasea]

That was easy, fitted original mufflers, got WOF, re-fitted good ones. I don't care about the spanner work all I'm bitchin' about is the inconsistencies. Further to thet, my missus has a Sporty with the same line I had and she got a WOF there in November. There's more! My WOF expired on Dec 20, I got the new one on Dec 29. Why is the new expiry date July 13 07? They're dorks I tell you, from start to finish.

[cynna]

i used to go to the same wof site for the last 5 or so years with my van and bike. the old guy was too easy and eventually got sacked so the first time i went back for the van it failed on tyres, bumber, seatbelts, ball joints, rust, # plate light and quite a few other things. was quite an expensive wof - i was never failed on anything for the last few years

[cynna]

are they supposed to take the bike for a ride to test the brakes??? even the place i go to now doesnt ride the bike - i guess they just assume they work

a couple of wofs ago my pipes failed so i had to buy some screw in baffles. forgot to put them back in last time but it passed ok. it must come down to how the testers day has been

[kro]

WOF testing is astronomically inconsistent. Back in the days of my Mk 5 Cortina, I could usually get a wof on my 3rd attempt at different garages each time, nowadays, you can't do that shit.

I then discovered testing stations, who apparently had no other agenda, other than give your car a once over, and you wouldn't feel like any failed points were just them trying to get repair business, because they don't do repairs, and are "impartial". This changed when I visited a VTNZ in Nelson, where the tester failed my Galant for ( reading directly off last years wof sheet)

Windscreen Wiper bottle not filled. (Omg call the national guard)
Spare tyre bolt needs a couple of turns to tighten properly- spare tyre loose. (omg call the president, or better still, turn the fucking bolt two times, and this crisis will be overted)

You guessed it, now I'm back at a garage, but a good one. Thanks Heslops, I love you long time.

[What?]

VTNZ = Retirement Home for Failed Mechanics.
Go somewhere that has competent mechanics to get your WOF.

[peasea]

It looks like I'm not alone. I used to do the WOF thing in a previous life and any time we did any brake repairs the vehicle was re-tested on the whole brake system. The guy at the North Shore rode my bike for the first test but after I put the new line on he simply checked the numbers. It was that lack of a re-check that got my goat. He also didn't re-start the engine after I switched mufflers, he just looked at them! Anyway, I ain't going back and I'd suggest that anyone who lives on or near the North Shore stays well away from the tossers. Has anyone got a good WOF shop on the Shore? I'm not looking for a slacker, I like riding a safe bike.

[Motu]

As the law has stood for some time,if your bike was passed on the exhaust and then later pulled up by a Cop who considered the exhaust too noisy....then they could go back to the inspector and say ''what's the story you incomitant git?'' and remove his WoF licence.Now we have independent exhaust testing facilities with an approved consistant method of testing the noise levels - the onus is off the tester.You will find that now any borderline exhausts will be failed and you'll need to get you exhausts tested at a designated testing facility.

Don't blame the poor guy doing his job,he's not a policeman.

But you can blame the dorks at the testing stations - I have no idea how they get to be AVI's,but the guys up the road from me have no mechanical knowledge at all....but they can tick boxes to perfection.That is what the industry now requires,those who can follow the requirements layed down by LTNZ.I failed miserably at my last audit - ''Doesn't show commitment to the PRS sytstem''...Too fucking right I don't!!

[Dooly]

LTNZ.I failed miserably at my last audit - ''Doesn't show commitment to the PRS sytstem''...Too fucking right I don't!!

We had our one a month ago.
As usual, the brake meter came out the day before to check it still went, and we all had a go on it.
The beam setter was dusted off.
I only spent the day before updated paperwork and thought, 'fuckit, I can't be bothered with this shit, let him do what he will'.......result......best ever, and no audit for 21 months........guess inconsistancies are there with AVI auditors too.......I'm not complaining.
Get the bastard talking about fishing, and he loses interest int he audit.

But from experience......a WOF inspection is all dependant on the inspector, his mood, his attitude, customer's attitude.........I know that sounds bad, but I've seen it time and time again, especially at testing stationswhen we have to take small trucks for checks for customers since we can only do cars.

[Flyingpony]

I too no longer take any car/bike/trailer to VTNZ. They are just pedantic people without any consistency.

Also be aware about where you get your WOF done. On my previous cage all the WOFs were done at VTNZ in Nelson (near warehouse), but one year I had two done in Auckland. Heaven help me during that next WOF in Nelson, she failed on a multiple points, BUT some of those points were always there since I bought that cage i.e. no stop light in rear window! For fark sake!

Guess that once in a while the WOF people read the WOF requirements book and then select something they've not checked for a while and hammer it.

That's why I now go to smaller WOF shops (those without a garage attached) to get my WOF. They seem not to check everything in finite deal and take into consideration the machine appearance and owner personality (applicable for bikes since you go out back). They also are cheaper than VTNZ too, by nearly half!

[Aitch]

That once very feww months a directive is issued from VTNZHQ that the inspectors are to crack down on a particular item, like the time my trailer was failed cos the rear lihts were not visible from an angle of 30deg to the side. No measurement, just an eyeball job....
As an aside last time I took my bike for a warrant at VTNZ they couldn't test the brakes cos no-one at the station had a licence!!!!!
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm just occurred to me, if they drop my bike and damage it, who is responsible.....

[bobsmith]

Yeah. They failed my car yesterday for .... get this: dirty headlights.

apprently they have "no focus" is what they called it, and I'll have to go buy some polish and polish it up with some elbow grease.... damn.... can anyone recommend good products for polishing up headlight lens?

[Grumpy]

When we moved to the bay I did some research before taking one of our bikes to get a WOF. I went into a few of the local bike shops and other outfits that do them down here. I pointed out that I had after market exhausts and have removed the poxy mudguard and would that be a problem. The rest of the bikes are good so the guys that said no worries are the guys we use and haven't had any problems.

[Motu]

I only spent the day before updated paperwork and thought, 'fuckit, I can't be bothered with this shit, let him do what he will'........

That was my attitude - you see me as you see me,no reading the book,no last minute tidy in the PRS.But he was a guy I've never had before and hauled me up on some bullshit - no smoke test on a vehicle that has done 12,000km...duh,but I see his point,he wants to see me do it,not use my brain and say it doesn't need it.I didn't remove the spare to check the warning label - hey,if I can't remove a wheel to check brakes I can't remove a spare to check the label.But I got slamed on the beamsetter and that really pissed me off.My beamsetter is calibrated in degrees not %,and he said I was setting them incorrectly.He backed off when he realised his mistake,but still scored me a 1,which is really bad....in my improvement report I mentioned to make sure inspector knows how my machine is calibrated.I haven't heard back yet....but I am expecting him to appear any day for a spot audit to catch me out on more crap.