poor service from main dealers?

[kristan]

I am disgusted with the quality of workmanship from a local main dealer (suzuki).
I had a shock made for my cr450 by yss. The shock was great but the remote resevoir line was not as flexible in stainless braid as the original rubber. so i had to modify it fit. I went to one of my local bike shops to get it re oiled and re gased. Prety straight forward i thought! I specificly asked if they had the eqipment to do the job as the resevoir is like the ktm's (no shrader valve). the response was yeah no problem!. i got a call the next day to say that they did not have the right gear but they could put a valve in it for me. No probs i thought, this would make it easyer in the future to service.
Anyway after using the bike once it went in the shed for 6 months or so as other prioretys had taken over. I was giving the bike the once over the other day and realised the back end was no good. I depresed the shrader valve that the shop installed and .....nothing, no gas or anything.
After some scrounging about at work i found out that we had all the gear to recharge the gas!!! Awsome. so i whip the shock out and drag it to work, after a good clean i noticed the valve that was in the resevoir. Surely not i thought, they possibly wold not do something as bodgy as that? I poped the cap off the resevoir to find out and shure enough! The bloody cowboys HAD CUT THE VALVE OUT OF AN INERTUBE and put a washer and some rubber either side to sandwich it! For god sake the damn thing has a flat on either side, how did they think it was going to seal? These bloody things have 150 psi in them and god knows what pesure they are on compression?
any way i scourced a schrader valve with the correct bsp fitment on the other end, drilled and taped the cap. after reasembling the shock and regasing all seems good.

My question is. How can a main dealer be compatent to service and maintain a motorcycle when this is the standard of their work?

[brent j]

They get away with this type of thing because most of their customers don't know any better. Especially the young guys of today.

If I'd listened every time someone told me "you can't do that" or "take it to a dealer" none of my bikes would get anywhere.

Brent

[oldyzman]

Here here kristan,
There are one or two places where i would trust, that includes MMT at granville for advanced mech work like rebuilding cranks etc or terry hayes for suspension. A few personal passionate friends also help imencely. Much of the rest are not worth feeding

I would also say that it is the same applies with car servicing, I have had so many experiences where the most basic job or service becomes a stuffup when these establishments service my company car. The other side of the coin is my wifes car which i service myself - no worries and it only takes the same amount of time to do the service myself as it takes to drive the car to the dealer and pick it up. Most of these pricks have no passion.
Brett

[LWC82PE]

That method they used for the valve was the old school way to make home made air caps for forks. Theres an article on Super hunkys website that shows how to do it. it might be ok for 15psi in forks but for a shock with 150psi no way. At least you have it sorted with a proper schrader tank valve now.

[oldfart]

Clearly they had NO IDEA and proceeded with a quick fix at your expense.
Have you since spoken with your Suzuki Dealer and explained where they have gone wrong.

[Hoony]

you need to out them to as many people as you can, dodgy work deserves to be known about by all who may possibly go to that place.

[mainline]

it's amazing how many dealer service centres are shite. The guy I work with took his newish KTM 530 back to the dealer he bought it from to have a few things looked at.

When he got it back, they'd stripped at least two bolts (oil drain among them) and after putting a new spring on the shock adjusted the preload with a hammer and screwdriver.

[Rossvickicampbell]

Hi Kristan - maybe its Suzuki dealers???  I took the CR250M to the one up here after a rebuild and it wouldn't go.  They had it for a week - said it had an electrical problem and sent me off to their recommended auto sparky.  Was a bit dubious so took it to Ray Easson Engineering instead - all it was was that the timing was not mounted properly and out by 120 degrees or something similar - the Suzuki dealer hadn't even taken the side cover off to check the timing in the week he had it!!  Of course I go back to Ray all the time now!

cheers

Rossco

[crash n bern]

Probably has a lot to do with most workshops being full of 17 year old mechanics.

[Nathan S]

Its not whether you're 17 or 70, its whether you give a shit or not.

I've seen some really good work done by 'youngsters' and some shocking work done by supposed 'old hands' - experience helps, but the care-factor makes the difference.

Tradespeople in the automotive trades are paid poorly. Plumbers, tilers, painters, etc all make vastly more than a mechanic, I guess because house stuff is valued as an investment whereas cars are ultimately disposable.

To be good mechanic requires at least as much skill and uncommon understanding as any good tradesman.
But for as long as we keep paying them crap money, the best and brightest minds aren't going to want to become mechanics.

[maicomc490t]

I'm with Nathan - those guys get paid shit so quite often their work and their attitude to the job is commensurate with the pay!

The more work you can do yourself the better and if in doubt go to someone you know will do the job right the first time. Ask around, ask lots of questions ie do your homework.

We have had excellent suspension work through Terry Hay's race Tech and by the sound of Walter - he knows his products too.

I'm always keen to out shonks who make out they are great mechanics or whatever trade they claim to be good at but it has to be done objectively.

Dave Mac  - still

[VMX247]

Agree with Nathan CARE FACTOR
Munted up fork screw/plug at the bottom of the fork     
Now lost ordered and paid replacement bit     
oops that was the bling Honda shop by the way.
cheers

[TT]

Tradespeople in the automotive trades are paid poorly.

In general, I think you are right Nathan. But I spent 20 years as an auto tech and I have to say that from 1994 until I got out of the industry in 2004, I was earning exceptional money.
And there's no reason any decent tech out there can't do the same. Really good techs aren't that easy to find (and keep), so good business' should be willing to pay well.
Now whether they are smart enough to, is another question entirely................. 
If you're a good mechanic and getting paid poorly, shop around and I'm sure it won't take you long to do better.
So the moral of the story is that the problem may well stem from the top. If a dealer pays shit, he gets the same workmanship back. 

[DJRacing]

I think one of the first things you have to do is find a workshop that is VMX "friendly" and by that I mean a mechanic that races or at least likes the older bikes. We are very fortunate here in Wangavagas NZ that all the local bike shops are very VMX friendly. The Yammie shop has 2 parts guys that own bikes and the head mechanic has a wealth of knowledge, and the young "not long out of his time" apprentice likes old things and is doing up a Valiant Charger.
The workshop manager at Honda races VMX and most of the staff do as well.
The Suzuki head mechanic is a perfectionist when it comes to VMX bikes and owns plenty and races as does the parts/shop girl.
These people know the ins and outs of VMX racing and what it takes to keep bikes up and running so you know you will get a good job.
Nathans right about the "care factor" and when you find the shop that has it its always a good idea to call in on a friday with a slab of beer for the mechanics..... its amazing how a slab(of good will) well see the little extras on your bike get tweaked and the extra mile your mechanic will go.

[YZ250H]

Spot on DJ - it's the care factor.  I have struck gold in little old Innisfail.  The mechanic here raced both 125H and 250H.
On top of that his attitude is "work is work", so he doen't mind doing the crappy stuff that is too hard for me.