George White servicing, never again!

[Adam80UK]

Well last year I had my '59 plate zx10r serviced by George White in Slough. Aside from always annoyingly using blue grease (I assume to highlight what they have done to the customer) they left a bolt completely undone. It was the one on the fairing near the sidestand and was held in by a mm or two of thread.

I just used them again figuring little mistakes can happen, I will give them the benefit of the doubt. Well this service was £285, and I have noticed they have not adjusted the chain tension at all, and it does need doing. I'm now in the mindset to go over the bike, checking they did replace the plugs and fluids.

I called them and they tried to claim I perhaps wasn't measuring it correctly or it had stretched if it's been riden since the service! He said yes they do it in the service but wouldn't admit to failing to do so, and kindly offered to adjust it "AGAIN" free of charge.

Well I will just do it myself rather than riding there and waiting about, and they should of just admitted their error and ideally refunded me some of the labour charge. It's certainly convinced a couple of us never to go back.
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Current: '07 Suzuki SV1000 & '07 Honda SH300i (again).
Previously owned: '08 Yamaha R1, '10 Kawasaki Z1000, '07 Honda SH300i, '04 Suzuki SV1000S, '11 Honda CB1000R, '09 Kawasaki ZX-10R, '08 Aprilia Tuono 1000R, '07 Triumph Daytona 675, '95 Honda CBR600F.

[Livefast123]

I wouldn't trust a dealer as far as I could throw them........slightly different for those of us with a warranty though.

I just learnt to do it myself and know that the job has been done properly Yes it may take me twice as long the first time but I get a warm feeling inside when i've finished the job.

A good tip is to mark parts with a permanent marker or tip ex then see if they have been replaced.
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Current ride - Yamaha MT-07

[MinhDinh]

Not good from them, but are you over reacting?
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Hit the G spot.

[Livefast123]

It's a basic basic thing to do and he's paid £££ for the privilage........at least they could have admitted their balls up and taken it like a bloke.

If they haven't done that what else haven't they done.
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Current ride - Yamaha MT-07

[27cows]

Dealers are crooked scum. Why are people surprised when they do things like this? Always do your own servicing.

If you do get stung, make sure to come on here and tell everyone so that thousands of riders will know to avoid the offending dealer and spread the word to others to do the same.
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The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[bacon]

Suppose thats a big downside of owning a expensive and fairly new bike...service stamps

If I ever buy a new bike, and i intended to keep it a while, I would be inclined to do as much of it myself, just as i do now on my old bike. Least then the jobs I do I know will be done correctly, and any fault is my own.

[Rogerborg]

[Hetzer]

[dragstaar]

I think it comes down to which dealer you use.

Every Biker i know has their favourite dealer. They're expensive, yes, but i'd say some can be trustworthy.

I do my own servicing, but I take anything i don't have the tools for to Hartgate Motorcycles in mitcham. They're really good down there. They'll charge you the labour yeah, but they do a good job. Half the time they send me packing after they tell me how to do something. And they've even knocked a hefty percentage off my larger bills.

Then again though, there are some scummy ones out there just looking to butt-secks you

[HD]

Dunno who if anyone reading this thread is from Plymouth but I highly recommend NOT going to Two Wheel Technics on Marsh Mills Industrial Estate.

They have just charged me £400 and the problem came back again about 3 hours later!
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Rusty '02 Vito Camper + CBR600F3

[Moo.]

Blimey! That service cost more then my bike! I tend to do all my own stuff, love tinkering. Today just changed the front tyre for a new bt45, was tubeless and was having trouble seating it. Took it upto my local motorbike shop and they set it all up for me free
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A2 Passed 18/6/10

[Livefast123]

Bloody Nora HD, what did you have done?
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Current ride - Yamaha MT-07

[HD]

New loom. Limited edition bike so it was £150 but still £250 labour, what the actual fuck?!?!

So I think he is doing the magneto now cos apparently it is reading low resistance? Me and my dad replaced the coil and reg/rec and ignition control timer...
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Rusty '02 Vito Camper + CBR600F3

[Livefast123]

get me a bucket

You should just have gone for it yourself, matched the loom up and fitted it.

You could have bought a Senda off ebay for that or even my NSR
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Current ride - Yamaha MT-07

[HD]

[rac3r]

Not all dealers are rubbish! I would say that independent specialists are the best, both who serviced my Ducati were awesome and one even collected and delivered for free!!
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Bikes : 2006 CBR125R - 2004 Monster 620ie - 2004 ZX-6R B1H - 2005 Monster S2R 800 - 2011 Street Triple - 2009 Streetfighter 1098 - 2014 ZX-6R 636

[27cows]

[HD]

[Adam80UK]

[evoboy]

[Seb]

[hmmmnz]

the problem with dealers is
they have huge overheads, rent, power, and keeping all the monkeys paid,
the monkeys want a good wage, but being monkeys thy get paid peanuts, so a monkey that gets peanuts instead of bananas doesn't really want to work too hard, and besides he's a monkey so would rather be monkeying about,

on the other hand a small back yard mech, probably doesnt have any or very little over heads, he just has to pay for his time, and wants customers to come back, so will generally do a decent job


so support the little guy if you can, normally he's a little guy not a monkey
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the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[CaNsA]

There is only 1 garage that i will take my bike to.

I trust the guy, he has a great reputation too. All his business is word of mouth.

I can see where you are coming from though dude.
Once = honest oversight/mistake
Twice = Incompetent.

Learn from it and find an independent mechanic that other people use and trust.

[WishayKillie]

I only use 2 garages for my bike. Hamilton Motorcycle Services for mundane stuff like tyre, brakes etc. And Ducati Glasgow for the Yearly services for the bike.
Never had any problems with them whatsoever and would happily recomend them to anyone.

Only bad experience I had was with MCS Triumph in Renfrew. Might be better now I dont know.

I also hate Lomond Audi for a verity of reasons
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Current; 10' Aprilia Dorsoduro 750.
Previous; 05 Triumph Daytona 600, 08' Ducati 1098s.
"Needs a check-up, fae the neck up!"

[Shreddie]

I've had some good and some bad experience from places. Some work where they've made a mess of things (cracked sump plug, forgetting to put the seals back in the carbs), some overcharging (£25 for a 2 min job that I didn't have the tools for) and some cracking work to a high standard and a decent price. That was only when I didn't have time or the tools to do the work myself.

But the inconsistant service I've had is why I do all my own work these days, I have the tools, I may be a little slower than a mechanic but I know what I'm doing and it saves me a small fortune. Also, I've only ever made one slight mistake which was easily and quickly rectified at no further cost... Unlike the bust sump plug which cost me 5 hours and just over £180... As well as 4 days worth of taxis getting to and from work.

Sure, I scuff my knuckles and I don't know all the tricks of the trade but I always get the job done.