The joys of motorcycle mechanicing (Not!)

[jjdugen]

I've been retired for the last two years and thats allowed me to indulge myself in doing what I've always enjoyed....motorcycles.
Rebuilt quite a few old snotters, made a pittance of a profit, quite happy with that. As the word got around I've taken on some servicing and repairs, a little more lucrative.
But..... I'm asked to do an oil change, oh and can you look at the plugs etc. I explain that doing the plugs involves removing the tank and probably some fairings, airbox off before I can start on that 'easy' job. With decent oil at circa £30 and plugs on a four running to about the same and a moderate charge for my time, its a bill of £90. I see them start to look at me as some kind of Fagin. Then I tell them that the chain is pretty much on its last legs, thats another £100 fitted, and they start to turn a funny grey colour.
With a great deal of reluctance they say go ahead.
During the course of the operation, I find crossthreaded bolts, wheel bearing that are starting to disintigrate, pads getting thin, carbs a million miles out of balance. Not to mention soggy forks and rear shocks.
I know that if I say all these things need attention, that the guy will just treat me as a rip-off merchant, trying to get as much out of him as I can. Half the time, the repairs would work out to be as much as the bike is worth. But, if I dont make him aware of these faults, it will be the ' it was fine when I gave it to you' routine.
I've learnt my lesson, the general public, especially motorcyclists, seem to think that anyone repairing their 'precious' is trying to con them. They like nice and shiny, but begrudge every penny spent on repairs. They, generally have little actual mechanical knowlege of what they are sitting on, especially when that machine can happliy take them way above 100mph. I am told that they 'have no time or facilities', but expect me to have invested in tools and equipment. All branches of the game are as bad as each other, commuters by far the worst. Except for the classic bike owner, at least they expect to pay for a properly executed job, most of them are at least expert enough to keep an old bit of tech running.
So, apart from friends, I have thrown the towel in, enough of working my magic on strangers nails, take it to a dealer and get a proper costing, have St Johns ambulance standing by to revive you when you get the estimate.
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

[T0MMY]

Sadly it only takes a few rip off merchants to make people a bit nervous and paranoid about mechanics in general and there are more than a few.

It must be incredibly expensive to run any sort of vehicle if you can't even change the oil or brake pads yourself Bloke I work with paid £300 for new discs and pads on his car...that's a half hour job with £80 worth of parts (as I tried to tell him)...even offered him tools and help.
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[TUG]

Haha, I wanted to be a motorcycle mechanic but after how shit the treatment was to me by both employer and bikers, the love for it soon died. It killed it for me after seeing how poorly they treated the bloke who was teaching me, they walked all over him and his pay was so shit I just began to regret even trying to deal with the shit given to me by the salesmen.

When I started giving back as good as I was given the salesmen then went to the boss and told them I had an attitude problem and was overly aggressive after once being collared by one of them when I was walking away from him confronting me.

Never a-fucking-gain.
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Haz ER-5, innit!

[Pete.]

Well, now you know why some places won't work on bikes more than a few years old.
Damned if you do and damned if you don't I'm afraid. If you work on a bike, spot a problem, point it out but get talked into either ignoring it or bodging it you better have some pretty good insurance and legal cover because if it fails after you touched it you're very likely to be getting sued or worse.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[MarJay]

Thats why I only work on my own bikes and not other peoples...
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Fizzer Thou]

I had a friend that coughed when I said that will be £20 for changing the gear selector shaft seal on his RD350LC a few years ago.When I said that it would have cost him £60+ at a bike shop he paid up.

Another friend asked if I could do the shims on his R1.No problem says I.Then I was asked if I could also fit new clutch plates.No problem says I.I said how much and he said forget it.So he took it to a bike shop and was charged an arm and a leg - plus vat.The next time he asked me to do something to his bike I said no thanks.

Another friend asked me to look at his neglected dirtbike.I found that the engine needs to come apart for a top-end rebuild.So far I have yet to discuss costs as the bike is not worth as much as the rebuild will cost.I doubt that I will ever see the inside of the bike as it may as well be scrapped for parts.
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[bridlad]

I stopped years ago apart from close freinds and my bains bikes,you summed it all up in your first post ,Ive built specials/fighters ,fabricating,restorations and loads more over the years and for every 5 good jobs you get its the one bad customer who knocks your end in it always makes me laugh how folks will think nothing of spending £300 on a bloody loud exhaust but tell them the reason why they cant stop is they need new pads and they look at you like you just shoved your finger up their arse....I had one guy with a hyper wotsits rgsxrcbrzx wotsit bring me a can and some fancy rearsets to fit for him that he had jus stuck on his card for £450 the knob had canvas hanging out of his rear tyre and he said oh ill sort it next payday in 3 weeks ,I told him I was to busy and couldnt fit him in
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Wheels polished and painted £90 a pair all in ..........bargain!

[Ingah]

I suppose if you develop a thick skin you can do OK:

Just pre-prepare a list of how a list of much common jobs would cost at a franchised dealer. Don't be afraid to compare and contrast with your own quotes.
And don't be afraid to politely tell the fuckwits to fuck off back to their overpriced dealers so they can pay more for the same work.
And if someone wants you to ignore a potentially dangerous fault, get them to sign a disclaimer, and refuse to bodge anything - either done by the book or out the door.
Explain why something's worn out/bad, ideally showing an example or even a picture of a good one so the customer can see what you mean.
Be prepared to itemise costs for someone giving you the funny looks.

**NB: I've never tried to offer my services as a motorcycle repairer so please don't take any of that as tried and tested advice - they are merely ideas**
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-- Ingah

[Teflon-Mike]

I realised the futility when advising some-one with a seriouse electrical problem to buy a haynes manual.... £15?

<Nah! just tell me what to do....

>BUY A HAYNES MANUAL!

<Why?

>It will TELL YOU WHAT TO DO!

<Why cant YOU just tell me?

>OK... get a multimeter...

<Whats one of them?

>Tells you in the manual....

<What Manual?

>The Haynes Manual...

<Oh, right.... So I should get a manual then?

>YES!

<OK... well I have got awiring diagram off the net... its not for my bike, but it should do, shouldn't it? What do I do?

>Have you got a multi-meter?

<No.

>OK, well GET A MULTIMETER....

<How much are they?

>About a tenner....

<Ah! Cant I just use a bulb and a couple of bits of wire?

>I dont know. Can you?

<Well some-one said I could... but I dont know how?

>So NO, then you cant, can you?

<So what CAN I do?

>BUY A FUCKING MULTI-METER!

<No need to get shirty!

A week-later.....

<Still having electrical issues. Do you think that it might be the 'stator'?

>I dont know, why do you think it might be the stator?

<Well I'm still getting no spark. Sparks is made in the generator, right? And the stator's in the generator, right? So I thought there might be something wrong with the Stator?

>Why?

< I just SAID?

> Yes, but WHY? What have you done?

Go to top!
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[SirToU]

Have you bought Hayne's Manual?

Anything more than undo this bolt, and it say's seek advice from dealer/manufacturer.....

So therefore - just send them to the dealer... . Job done.

Neil (fully dealer serviced) WT.
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Ride it like it was stolen.
2011 Motogymkhana UK Competition Winner
2012 Motogymkhana UK Series Champion

[Teflon-Mike]

[Rogerborg]

There's another variant, clots who will happily spend in order to avoid thinking.

Two weekend ago I had to explain to my brother that the fuel pump that he'd bought for his "classic"[1] Porsche wasn't going to make it run, because there was no effing spark. No, it didn't matter how adamant That Bloke On the Forum Was, his fuel pump was running fine, as he'd have known if he'd taken 30 seconds to short two contacts and listen.

This Saturday it was another Jesus Wept day as he handed me a coil, distributor cap and rotor arm and said "Make it work!". What part of "There was no spark past the coil, but the resistances on it were OK so the problem is in the low tension circuit before the coil" was he unclear on, I asked.

"Let's just swap them over anyway so I won't have wasted my money."



Anyway, the common theme is that everybody with an Opportunity Vehicle expects that your time is free, and that if you turn up with a spanner then everything that follows is your responsibility.

[1] Shed. And I doubt that the Haynes Book of Lies authors for it had even seen one, let alone worked on it.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[robbieguy2003]

From the flipside of this, I've got a very good friend who has been doing this for years. He has a couple of income streams and this is one of them.

I always got him to do major work - i.e. services/chain changes/anything decent. If I needed a new tyre in a rush or wanted an oil change I'd just pop to a shop.

It didn't take me long to learn the difference in workmanship between him and shops though. His attention to detail is second to none, he spots things and had let me know about them.

Anyway, I moved house about 18 months ago and found myself, for the first time ever with a garage at home with proper power and lighting in, so I've steadily built up my own toolkit and knowledge. I can now do a lot of basic jobs on my own - looking after the braking system, oil changes, air filter changes, stripped the fairing off, lever swaps, grip swaps - simple jobs basically, if I wanted valve clearances done (again) they'd be off to my mate.

If I'm asked by people 'do you know anyone that can do x' I'll automatically vet them and if they're the type that will winge if/when he finds something, I'll just say no, but this dealer isn't too bad, as on the flip side, I wouldn't want to recommend a pain in the arse to a friend.

I suffer in a similar way, my profession is 'computers', so by rights that must mean I want to spend two hours going through a badly maintained machine for 'two pints down the pub' because surely any 14 year old can do that.

The fact that the systems I design and build are only for businesses and generally cost several million a shot makes not one jot of difference to sorting out a porn & virus riddled PC, it's not what I do professionally and I have very little interest in it.

I've been asked to build quite a few by mates, I've automated windows builds, so I don't have to sit there clicking next, and I can get a tower together in a tidy fashion with windows, office and the usual apps within the hour. I don't mind building them, but I do only build them for people I'd be happy to sell them to. The amount of people I've sent to Dell/PCWorld with a 'guide' of how much they should spend, because I simply don't have the time to support them through every step.

I see your pain, and I think some of these people are the same 'types'. They believe because you fixed their bike once it's now your responsibility and you should honour your work, even though a totally different part has gone wrong, or they've since dropped it.

Damn that's a depressing post for a monday morning!
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Current Bikes: Honda CBR 600RR - '07, Suzuki GSX1250 FA ST '11
Old Bikes: Suzuki Intruder 125 LC - '2001, Honda CBR 600F - '92, Honda CBR 600RR - '03

[garth]

I've given up fixing peoples bikes for them - You just get used because you're useful. It's an easy trap to fall into, but I don't have the time or inclination any more, I have too much of my own stuff to sort.

Fuck 'em all.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[Walloper]

Mechanicing IS the art of getting paid loads for nowt.
Well I have made it my business.

I have done budget and I have done dealer but who gives the best is 'normally' dealer. (So long as they follow OEM guides.) Recent experience with budget backs this up.
If you are talented, like me, you can do it yourself, follow OEM guides and cut out both 'Professionals'.

You save money at the railway arches but sometimes not as comforting when things go wrong.

I think it is down to the individual and what they are happy/able/prepared to pay.
For those who grudge the inevitable cost of maintaining any piece of equipment then let them moan. They will not sway those who know why maintenance is important.

And if you are doing 'stuff' it's up to you whether it is done for love or money. I think to be in business one must grow a thicker skin and show compassion to those deserving. Sometimes you may have to give some twat the benefit just to shut the winjin' fooker up.
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W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair

[Itxi]

This thread is making me feel guilty for haggling my mechanic down. Still say that £60 is a hell of a lot for replacing the rear inner tube on a cg though.

[.....]

[Itxi]

No, haggled him down to £40 but still think that was too much. I just wanted the bike back.

Should have done it myself but I have nothing to stand the bike on and hate taking tires off.

[Walloper]

[G]

And this is why a good highstreet dealer charging £40+ an hour for work on bikes isn't actually extortion, when you consider all the other costs they have to cover.
Of course, the problem is the bad ones also often charge just as much and more.

[pendulum]

Moaners! If your doing work on others bikes for cash and not paying any tax on the earnings etc, then you deserve a little bit of grief now and then, otherwise its too easy for you

If on the other hand, you're only working on friends bikes for a favour, then tell them you'll help but you won't do it for them... make them don some old clothes and get dirty too, involve them in the work, and they will see you're not conning them and might learn something.

[the_quick]

Cowboys mechanics are the problem.

Same in any other business, I'm as well in IT and when I tell some one it would be 40 quid to reinstall windows and put all apps and restore their files - they think this expensive - so I send them to pc world where they will charge them 100 or more.

From the owner point of view, they don't know how long it takes to do the job and how much the parts cost.

I tried someone "friend" once did the service on my car and said it would be 175 - no parts have to replaced, just usual oil, filter etc - 2 month later needed to do cam belt - asked dealer for service cost - 180 as they now have to compete with other garages.

So two sides off the coin

If people get bad service they will vent about it, when good not so much
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Bandit GSF600 '00

[goto10]

[Rogerborg]

[Walloper]