I don't take my stuff but number one I hear of all the time is techs not knowing how to trouble shoot anything, the bike comes in doing something funny that a normal rider doesn't know how to fix, but the dealer doesn't either, so they throw parts at it and run up a big bill and end up keeping the bike for days or weeks and not fix shit. or it was something simple that ended up costing 1000$ to fix on a 3k$ bike.


I say pay techs more so you can hire some of the few good ones that care about bikes.

 

I think Cecil pretty much summed up my personal reasons for choosing a shop to do the work on my stuff, but like others, i too try to do my own work because i like to know what makes the thing tick, i think the more you know about your machine the more you can obviously improve both your riding and knowledge.

How about holding a DIY workshop day where you guys teach people how to do simple maintenance on their own bike The thing is, it would probably GENERATE MORE income for you guys because people would buy their material their, and you guys would still have 90% of those people;s business, they may want to learn to do it, but it doesnt really mean they are going to WANT to every time my 2 cents anywho

 

after i got my bike i realized how expensive the shop is for something as simple as an oil change, or changing your tires and magically your rims have gouges in it.. or just the fact that your bike will come out dirty as fuck and they just hand you your keys smiling while youre running your card paying 200$ extra for shit...

honestly, if i were to go to a shop again which i dont plan on doing if i can help it.. is being with a mechanic thats working on my bike that not only has the knowledge of the bike hes working on, but also the social skills to be able to talk to me about whats going on with the bike, being able to hold a convo with me and explain shit rather than just saying i need this part for this amount of money.. oh well.

 

I try to do as much as I can... simply because I'm trying to save a buck.

What I hate the most is the high charges associated with the tasks that take a really small amount of time...

Examples...

Tires... it takes less than 15 minutes to install & balance tires when a customer brings you the wheels. Why the hell do they want to charge $20+ per tire? If I buy tires from a dealer I expect FREE mounting & balancing, specially if I bring you the wheels. Sorry, but I think shops could increase tire sales if they provided a service that is hard to beat. Be an example for others to follow... it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that @ $40+ dollars per 15 minutes that your hourly charge to install tires is $160+... outragous!

I asked a local shop not long ago how much they would charge me to pop a new master link on a new chain... they quoted me $20. I don't get it. If the hourly charge is $80hr, then a 5 minute job doesn't equate to $20.

I don't know... maybe I'm just a cheap bastid. But one thing is for sure... most local shops are not willing to give back a little to get repeat business.

 

powersports of Tampa when it used to be Honda West was the shit. I had an engine getting rebuilt by the mechanic in there on my CR500, he was sooo helpful, explained everything that needed to be done and went further into the project than he needed to. When something wasnt right he'd tell us and he tried his best to hook us up with spare parts he had laying around or getting us at cost some of the parts due to what started out as a $400 deal turned out to be over $800 so he did everthing in his power to keep the cost reasonable. He saved us over $300 or $400 dollars cause he didnt charge for some of his labor or anything like that...THAT is service, and you know what, PowerSports of Tampa still has HIM to thank for me even walking in to that place, although im done with them now because he is not there anymore and their prices can suck the chain lube off my chain...

People that go out of the way to make sure the customer is happy and presented with the TRUTH and FACTS are people that will continually have that persons business...THERE IS NO BETTER FORM OF ADVERTISEMENT THAN WORD OF MOUTH, get a bad rep and u got a lot of slack to make up.

 

Respect your customers. My biggest problem with service centers is when the people behind the counter treat me like I am an idiot. Granted, they may know more about a specific part or how to perform a specific service, but I ride the bike every day and know how it runs.

Here is an example. I go to a service center for my 14,500 mile maintenance. They charge me $500, which is steep but I don't mind paying if everything is going to be done well. I get my bike back a week later and it over heats for the first time. It continues to over heat the next two times I take it out for test rides so I bring it back and tell them they did something to make it over heat and they tell me it has nothing to do with the service they performed and I need to pay them more money to diagnose and fix the issue. WTF!?! The bike never over heated once in 14,500 miles. I take it in for service and when I get it back it over heats every time I ride it. It does not take a mechanic to figure out it is over heating because of something they did during the service. To tell me it is unrelated and I need to pay extra to fix what they fucked up is a great way to lose my business. It is not the money, but the lack of respect that is the big issue with me.

 

instead of running to the dealer, check your water and top it off. THEN call the bastards and tell them they suck ballz for not refilling your radiator.

 

i do the same thing.. i did take my bike back to where i got it once, for a tire to be replaced under the service plan. the counter guys were assholes, blah blah about why this isn't covered or that isn't covered and how it will cost me 300$ and i left, went to someplace else where they took the bike, did the work and called me when it was done. no hassles, no money out of pocket.


i've been back 2 twice for tires, but screw me around once and i'm gone from them too. wayyy to many shops to get screwed around by the same one twice.


if bike shops treat people like bmw's dealer service dept treated them, we'd all enjoy our time spent at the shop and prob spend more money there.

 

can you guess what kinda hell would break loose is someone took their car in for service and got treated like that? they would be all over action news for being a rip off shop.



you shouldn't have to re check shit after a shop works on your bike. but you do, which why i never go.

 

yeah i know you shouldnt HAVE to, but riding it 3 times while it overheats is NOT helping your head gasket one bit Id rather fix the damn thing now before im fighting with them in court to cover the service required for a new head gasket and resurfacing of the cylinder head.