You're all correct, local shops/waste of money.

[oldpara]

I have yet to find a bike shop in my area that will not rip you off in some way. I've tried three different shops, each one in their own unique way had sex with me.
I'm really ticked, and even as cynical as I am I'm dissapointed.
I should know better.
I took my 81 1100 to a guy I know, he and his young wife are friends with my duaghter in law and her husband.
I tell him the bike is stumbling a little off idle and anywhere up to 3K, and would he check it out, boots, etc, clean the carbs. I also ask him to loosen the exhaust header nuts for me. I told him I was in no hurry got other bikes to ride and know he's busy this time of year.
Three weeks later he calls, says all is good, I'll like the way it handles......
I pay my $130.00 and ride it home noticing that there is still some stumbling, not as bad but there.
I get it home and start looking at the carbs, the carb bodies are still dirty in those little nooks hard to clean by hand and I start getting pi**ed.
I call him and ask him if he loosened the nuts on the headers.
Well he says, I'm not sure, it was a long time ago, maybe I did.
So I then ask him about carb cleaning and explain my definition of the term (dissasembly, orings, soak, etc)
When I ask him what his definition of "carb cleaning" is he explains that taking the bank of carbs off the bike is too hard and time consuming.
That in HD school they worked on a few inline fours but not alot.
He says I can usually tune a HD carb(s) fine but four are too difficult, don't really have the equipment and it would cost you too much ($400-500).
Well... because of the family thing I just say ya, ok.
I'll be in Friday to get my "nuts loosened" again.

Never again ! I'll do everything myself even if I f**k it up.

 

[tkent02]

I took my 81 1100 to a guy I know, he and his young wife are friends with my duaghter in law and her husband.

Is it just me or does this sentence read funny?

I'll be in Friday to get my "nuts loosened" again.

I know this sentence reads funny.

Sorry to jack your rant, it just seemed funny.

 

[earlfor]

At least you were lucky this time. They didn't break anything and your bike doesn't run worse, or not at all now. Doing the work yourself is the only way to go if you want the work done right and piece of mind. ehe

Earl

 

[oldpara]

Is there a redundancy in the sentance?
I wrote it so I don't see it, now it will bug me till I know.

 

[earlfor]

Is there a redundancy in the sentance?
I wrote it so I don't see it, now it will bug me till I know.

"duaghter ", was what you spelled instead of daughter. LOL I guess some of us have
"doo- agh- ters though. eheh

Earl

 

[hampshirehog]

You expected too much for your money I'm afraid. You would be looking at double that to pull the carbs and clean them properly as the proper job takes that long.

Plus for loosening your nuts he's just going to do the same as you - penetrating oil plus a spanner. It's his loss if they mess up though (which is why shops don't like working on these old bikes and if they do they won't give you a fixed rate).

 

[1948man]

Maybe he was referring to the fact that your daughter-in-law's husband would most often be termed your son. As in "friends with my son and daughter-in-law". Just guessing. Maybe she was an ex daughter in law with a new hubby.

 

[tas850g]

If you need a carb tuner I have one. We can sync the carbs to see if that may be part of your problem.

 

[TPL]

I got a sentence that reads funny as well:.

"No one gets paid to work on my bikes but me"

 

[Guest]

If you can do the work yourself, you'll probably be much better off, for one thing, you care about your bike, you'll take the time to try to do it right the first time, and you'll correct other stuff that you see needing done in the process. Shops can't do this and make money, too time consuming, for them to do so, it would cost you alot of dough to pull the carbs, disassemble and clean them, check for air leaks, sync them, etc. etc.
And then when you get your bike back, you start noticing stuff like missing hardware, loose screws, etc.
I'm sure there's exceptions to this, but finding that good mechanic that works on the cheap, that has the right tools and the know how is not always easy.

 

[Guest]

I have yet to find a bike shop in my area that will not rip you off in some way. I've tried three different shops, each one in their own unique way had sex with me.
I'm really ticked, and even as cynical as I am I'm dissapointed.
I should know better.
I took my 81 1100 to a guy I know, he and his young wife are friends with my duaghter in law and her husband.
I tell him the bike is stumbling a little off idle and anywhere up to 3K, and would he check it out, boots, etc, clean the carbs. I also ask him to loosen the exhaust header nuts for me. I told him I was in no hurry got other bikes to ride and know he's busy this time of year.
Three weeks later he calls, says all is good, I'll like the way it handles......
I pay my $130.00 and ride it home noticing that there is still some stumbling, not as bad but there.
I get it home and start looking at the carbs, the carb bodies are still dirty in those little nooks hard to clean by hand and I start getting pi**ed.
I call him and ask him if he loosened the nuts on the headers.
Well he says, I'm not sure, it was a long time ago, maybe I did.
So I then ask him about carb cleaning and explain my definition of the term (dissasembly, orings, soak, etc)
When I ask him what his definition of "carb cleaning" is he explains that taking the bank of carbs off the bike is too hard and time consuming.
That in HD school they worked on a few inline fours but not alot.
He says I can usually tune a HD carb(s) fine but four are too difficult, don't really have the equipment and it would cost you too much ($400-500).
Well... because of the family thing I just say ya, ok.
I'll be in Friday to get my "nuts loosened" again.

Never again ! I'll do everything myself even if I f**k it up.

I'm in Hinsdale NH if you need help, I can give you a hand. I can do the carbs for you also. strip, dip and new o-rings just let me know in advance so I can get the o-rings coming. Have carb sticks . Don't you know you don't bring our high quality Japanese motorcycles to a tractor mechnic . Drop me a PM if you want help

 

[spyug]

When I ask him what his definition of "carb cleaning" is he explains that taking the bank of carbs off the bike is too hard and time consuming.

That tell's me right away he is no bike mechanic and shouldn't be let loose near any old Zuk. My mechanic, who has become a good friend, works on all types and I've seen him peel off a rack of carbs in less than 5 minutes.There are precious few jobs he won't tackle but like many of us he maintains you should look after your own ride....unless its something beyond your abilities or desire to learn. The guy is a gem and the word is out as he's too busy for his own good.

Like most folks here I strongly believe that we need to work on our own rides and keep them up mechanically. For me, working on the ride puts me in touch with it and I know right away when something is wonky. This, I feel, is really important as it could be something that saves your life.

Sorry you got messed over but maybe now you will pick up the wrench and sort things yourself. Then you'll know they are done right.

Ride safely my friends.
Spyug

 

[jwhelan65]

is it just me or does this sentence read funny?




I know this sentence reads funny.

Sorry to jack your rant, it just seemed funny.

lololol!!! :d

 

[oldpara]

I don't want to be too hard on the guy, he loves what he does and he really does a nice job on the vtwins, that's what he was trained to work on.
When I brought my first GS to him, he was making a funny about the fact that he was all of a sudden getting all these old jap bikes in for service and he had no real experiance with them but was confident he'd learn as he went along.
I guess I can say he was honest with me, even when I nailed him about cleaning the carbs but noticing dirt on the outside of the carb bodies.
He told me he just took the bowls off and sprayed the jets.
Not trying to BS me is worth more than the $130.
Maybe if I'd been more specific about exactly what I wanted him to do.....
Oh well.

 

[Guest]

I'm 100% wrench at home, tire changes included. If a mistake is going to be made on the bike, I want to be the one to make it.

A nearby outboard shop was more up front on servicing old iron: they just refuse to touch it if it is more than 10 years old. I am sure it simplifies their life. They are cheerful about ordering parts for me, so I still go in...

 

[lurch12_2000]

There ya go oldpara....you just got 2 offers of help from forum members(tas850g and hjfisk) just around the corner from you. Both good guys and you should have them show you what to do, so you're not at the mercy of those shops!

 

[oldpara]

You're all a really great bunch of guys and I appriciate all your help and offers.
I have much to learn and am looking forward to absorbing as much of your knowlege as possible.
These bikes are incredible machines and I want to take care of mine and keep it happy.
Thanks

 

[mighty13d]

most people on this forum tend to take payment for an afternoon helping you wrench (generally not doing everything for you, but working with you so you learn and can do it next time) in the form of food and beverages. They generally request you to take the bike out and ride with them at some future point so they can appreciate the work and so they can see you appreciating it too! That's a pretty good deal if you ask me. You generally make good friends out of this and riding buddies too.

 

[Jethro]

It's lunacy to own these old bikes unless you are working on them yourself. I'd suggest getting a newer bike if you either don't want to wrench or plan on having a shop do your routine maintainence. Like you said, even if you screw it up, your better off. You know why? Becasue 1- you didn't pay for it and 2- you won't make that mistake again.

Most of us became mechainics by trial and error. Gotta start somewhere! Ask us questions anytime and I am not far from you if you have something serious.

 

[Guest]

I feel for you,i'm no mechanic by any means and probably the hardest work i ever did on anything automotive was oil change.So i used to take my bike to Marina Suzuki in Marina Del Rey and they always did a great job on it,albeit expensive with those labor hour rates.But now i moved away and i don't have anybody around me to go to.
So i started to work on my own bike thanks for Basscliff's and others excellent writeups.I changed my fork seals and stator recently,but for harder jobs that requires special tools and knowledge,i'll probably ask Cliff's help.It will cost me a lunch or a six pack probably,but thats is great with me,as i will know that it is done the way it was supposed to be.Plus we gonna have fun doing it.And the worst part is that after it's done,he will ask me to go to ride with him to those awful mountain roads!
So the moral of the story is that you should take up on those offers these guys give you close to you,you'll never regret it.(except if the guy's name is NOS of course).Cheers..Gabor