Goodwill???

[Ant]

Well I removed the damaged cowling, which was a simple job, and found the fractured bolt hole was brittle and crumbled when flexed - could this have been caused by the heated grips controller? - anyway I followed the 'advice' of the dealer not to overtighten the bolts on the new item - unfortunately I found the edge of the glovebox had been broken and managed to superglue it together - at £200 I don't think the dealer had any more goodwill left in the shop.  In response to the queries on service charges I did say that I spannered my Gixxer and therefore appreciate that service charges in the South come at a premium. The 15,000 service was 6 hours at £53 per hour + vat comes to £381. Oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, brake fluid, radiator coolant and engine oil + vat comes to £192. Add in the mot and thats £603.  I cannot alter the fact that is the cost of a Kawasaki dealer stamp which should have a value to a prospective purchaser. The previous 7,500 service was 5 hours but included £200 for brake pads and front wheel bearings within the £653. I did challenge the dealer on the need to change iridium plugs at every service, if they are reputed to be good for maybe 30k, and his reply was did I want a Kawasaki service as recommended or not. There have been a number of replies on this thread about service charges - can anyone quote the hourly rate and if they get a stamped Kawasaki K-Care checklist with their invoice.

What people have to appreciate is not everyone is capable of picking up a spanner and using it.....fact !    So dealers must exist, and will charge the allocated time allowed for the job regardless of the actual time taken....because they can, as its not deemed unreasonable.
Its a responsible job and they take they chances by cutting any corners, if they do. But a good mechanic will do it well within that time. And as Debs will tell you, she has a good relationship with her dealer, trust and confidence between the customer and dealer means a lot.

I'm amazed that you had front wheel bearings at 7500 and would have challenged that decision to change them without seeing them first and asking ' WTF......at 7500 ? ' but if they were caput i would have said ' warranty ? '.

One thing that i can't find on the service schedule is linkage check. Very important area and exposed to the elements, so I will be checking this next and report my findings........as the FJR is done yearly but Kwa may have this sorted......

[flatfour]

I have the service book stamped and the signed service checklist for all of my service work. The labour rate at Seastar is, I understand £60.00 per hour, discounted to £50.00 per hour if the bike was purchased from them. When I sold my BMW (some 18 months ago) the labour rate at the local dealers was an eye - watering £95.00 per hour! What it is now I cannot guess.

With the classics I do almost all of my own work, as I have carburettor balancers, strobe light, wheel balancer etc. However with the "new" bikes that I have owned, I generally prefer dealer servicing, as I believe that it keeps them "onside" if you do have a problem and that the stamps in the book have value in themselves. In addition, as I travel frequently in Europe, I believe that my recovery policy states that proof of scheduled maintenance may be required (not unreasonable in my view) and there can be no arguments with a dealer stamp in the book and supporting invoice.

[Kwikasfuki]

What people have to appreciate is not everyone is capable of picking up a spanner and using it.....fact !    So dealers must exist, and will charge the allocated time allowed for the job regardless of the actual time taken....because they can, as its not deemed unreasonable.
Its a responsible job and they take they chances by cutting any corners, if they do. But a good mechanic will do it well within that time. And as Debs will tell you, she has a good relationship with her dealer, trust and confidence between the customer and dealer means a lot.

From my personal view, I would say its not hard to pick up a spanner and start tinkering. In the old days there used be the Haynes manual to follow, so I can understand why people were reluctant to do their own maintainance. In this day and age, there's so much multimedia available on how to do tasks step by step, its quite easy to pick up DIY. The normal stuff is well in reach for most of us, and the complicated stuff can be left to the dealer.

However, I appreciate it not all can do this and sometimes its best to find a good dealer and stick with them or a mechanic. Building up that relationship is the critical piece and its probably best to go with recommendations. Everyone slips up now and then but its the dealers that go out of their way to remedy the situation without any fuss being created are the ones that get my repeat business.

[Redrat]

I must say thank you to all the replies and varied comments which have made this thread quite interesting - I am fortunate to be able to afford 2 bikes, spanner the old Gixxer and dealer service the GTR. My criticism was not so much the service expense but the loss of faithand confidence in that particular dealership, be it the mechanic or the principal. I still 'list check' the GTR for the intermediate service and will now probably do the major service and have a dealer sort out technical issues. My local family independent do not have the technical equipment and probably do not want to have to read all the specification details from a manual. The wheel bearings went early because the bike was jet washed prior to collection - I know this because a pannier was half full of water and the radiator fins were totally bent and had to be replaced by the dealer at a later date. On a lighter note my brother-in-law had his pride and joy, a Ducati 749, mot'd recently and specifically said not to road test it in the wet but they did and it took him five hours to clean it - well, that's another valued customer lost.

[SirToU]

I didn't think a road test was a definitive part of an MOT..... too subjective....

I think they just wanted to ride a 748!

:-)

[Burchy]

Road test is at the tester's discretion

[SirToU]

So I wonder how many bike mechanics have insurance to test ride a Desmodici....  ;-)

[coman37]

Any reputable business will have insurance in place for suitably licensed and authorised employees to ride/drive any vehicle in connection with their business

Coman