Have I been ripped off?

[JackDanger]

Hey guys, I'm still really new to bikes and when the chain came off my 125 Lexmoto and locked my back wheel on my way to work I called the garage that changed my tire a few weeks ago.

The mechanic told me that I needed a new chain, sprocket and (I can't remember what they're called but also) these rubber triangles which I believe hold the sprocket in place. All in all it cost me £150 including labour and a call out fee to pick up the bike. I went to a garage because I figured having a mechanic that I could befriend would be a good long term investment but my mate came around tonight and told me I've been mugged. What do you guys think? I'd rather not get ripped again if you reckon I have been this time!

[G]

£60 chain and sprockets, £25 cush drive, £50 labour say; then collection on top.
Doesn't sound too bad to me at that.

[c_dug]

Sounds reasonable to me

Also tyre.
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[Ste]

Your mate thinks you were ripped off cos of the price or because the work was unnecessary?

[wr6133]

CMPO chain retail is around £15
Sprocket set retail is around £20
Cush Drive rubbers around £20

So that's £55 in parts (retail if he does Chinese bikes he would pay a lot less with CMPO as a trade account)

£95 to come out and recover the bike and then maybe half hour (ish) labour.

As it included recovery I don't think you have been mugged, maybe a bit on the pricey side but far from bent over and done dry.

[Nash GT]

pretty much summarised above, maybe a touch pricey but by no means bum rape
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Suzuki GSF600N

[Dave M]

[kramdra]

If its a decent, O ring/X ring chain and JT sprockets, consider it needed investment. Remember to lube it each day /50 miles (or less in winter).

If its a shit, bog standard, did/rk/swift/iz 428 chain, be aware it wont last 5 minutes and will need constant adjustment/will happen again. Problem repeats. Mechanics can not be friended/trusted, so my bet is on cheap shit

Cush drives almost never need replacing - 12 year old Cbr600 with 54k miles, 24 year old cbr250 with 18k miles, 22 year old cg125 with 50k miles. All were like new when inspected.

[G]

Lube a chain more often than every day/ever 50 miles .
Sure, with a chain oiler that makes sense, but a bit excessive, I'd suggest.

I've never had problems with decent brand cush drives, but have seen people have issues with Chinese ones.

[Dave M]

[G]

A lot of places don't like you to buy your own parts - partly of course because they don't make as much money, but it's understandable when people buy the wrong parts, then try and blame the garage who have to charge time for not fitting them, or worse for actually fitting them and then them not working.

[evoboy]

[Dave M]

[Rogerborg]

Which Lexmoto and what was the mileage on it?

Presumably it came off because it was slacker than a politician's morals, so at least learn to check and adjust the chain tension. It's a very simple process and there are hundreds of videos showing how.

And yes, if that was £150 all in, including recovery, that's fine. Garage time doesn't get cheaper just because you're riding a budget bike.
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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

[Taught2BCauti...]

[doggone]

If doing it yourself you might have got away with chain only, especially if not keeping it long.
Otherwise running a bike and maintaining it properly costs you, learn to live with it.

[_Iain_]

[wr6133]

[monkeybiker]

Sounds reasonable to me to be honest.

[JackDanger]

Thanks for all the replies, I had a look and I feel pretty OK now. I did kind of assume that your first 125 was a bit of a learning experience. I'm picking up gear as I go though, so far I have a wrench and some allen keys =)! Do I need a support for taking off the back wheel or something? The main reason I didn't try to DIY it was because it had to be picked up and so it was already in the garage.

I bought a cheaper bike (Lexmoto street) because I figured if I fall off/drop it/something awful it it wouldn't be the end of the world. I just want it to last me until I can get through my tests.

[Wull]

Sounds reasonable to me,and labour time would be 1hr minimum.
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"Scooters are for men who want to ride motorcycles but prefer to feel the wind on their vaginas"

[N cee thirty]

is that including vat? if so, might even have been robbing them ;o
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[prawny1]

you got ripped off when you bought a lexmoto
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[JackDanger]

[talkToTheHat]

I killed cush rubbers in 8 months and 4k on a 125, so don't dismiss them as items that don't wear. Supposed to have had Suzuki OEM parts the first time, but bike shop shafted me.

Agree prices beforehand.

The 'cheap' shop where I am won't, and prices spiral, pattern parts get substituted for OEM and parts of a work order go undone but get charged for.

The more expensive shop always has prices for parts beforehand or will call to confirm, has fixed labour charge, is usually pretty spot on with time estimates, and the mechanics work fast so the labour charge goes quite a way. If something isn't perfect they want to know, and they don't get offended when a bike comes in with a long checklist and a stack of technical data, preferred parts and a handful of parts I've sourced myself.

One of these places I don't use anymore.

If that's dealership prices it's cheap. I got stranded once and Colin Appleyard's came to the rescue, I don't have the prices to hand but I think labour was about £70/hour and the collection was quoted at £30 but somewhere down the line it got forgotten about and the overall bill got discounted and rounded down. They did a good job though.

Padgett's claimed collection would be £100 one way...
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