7.5K service price £350+VAT+parts!!!!

[Kevin]

I wrote to Consumer Direct last week to try to get the 'official' word on this but I didn't get a conclusive reply unfortunately.

With reference to your enquiry, we assume the note you refer to would be at this link: OFT Note

Whilst the term 'motorcycle' is not used it is likely that given the similarities between cars and motorcycles, the guidance will apply to motor cycles. I must point out though I cannot confirm this 100% because it is not specifically written in legislation and if the manufacturer disagreed you would need to consider court action where a judge would decide.

Please note:  Whilst Consumer Direct endeavour to give our best legal and practical advice, in the end it is only the courts that can decide what your rights are and if the company/trader won?t give you what you feel you are entitled to, the only way to enforce your rights would be through the courts (although this is rarely necessary).

Until there has been such a court case or there is written guidance from Kawasaki UK I think I'll stick to authorised dealers for my servicing. I might get around to writing to Kawasaki myself but I'm too busy at the moment.

Kevin

[fred24]

Just to flog a dead horse a little more to make sure it is dead.

The maintenance section of the owners handbooks lists all the checks that are to be carried out on the bike and at what mileage.

None of the checks that are to be done at 3750mls have a "K" against them so that's an official document from Kawasaki that is supplied with the bike that clearly states that the checks carried out at the 3750 service do not have to carried out by an approved Kawaski dealer.

Every check to be done at 3750mls has the word "Inspect" in the description which implies that the 3750mls service is actually an inspection.

So if you have the bike serviced every 7500mls by the dealer and inspect the bike at 3750mls using an independant dealer or by doing it yourself you are not violating the terms of the warranty as laid out in the documentation that is supplied with the bike.

You could easily take a few hi-res pics of the clocks and various parts of the bike to have proof that you inspected the bike at 3750mls to protect yourself.

I'm not looking to run the bike on the cheap but to use 3/4 days leave to have a bike like the GTR serviced in the first year of ownership is to much. Can understand a highly tuned bike like the ZX10 needing to be serviced more frequently but not the GTR.

[100milesaway]

Just to flog a dead horse a little more to make sure it is dead.

The maintenance section of the owners handbooks lists all the checks that are to be carried out on the bike and at what mileage.

None of the checks that are to be done at 3750mls have a "K" against them so that's an official document from Kawasaki that is supplied with the bike that clearly states that the checks carried out at the 3750 service do not have to carried out by an approved Kawaski dealer.

Every check to be done at 3750mls has the word "Inspect" in the description which implies that the 3750mls service is actually an inspection.

So if you have the bike serviced every 7500mls by the dealer and inspect the bike at 3750mls using an independant dealer or by doing it yourself you are not violating the terms of the warranty as laid out in the documentation that is supplied with the bike.

You could easily take a few hi-res pics of the clocks and various parts of the bike to have proof that you inspected the bike at 3750mls to protect yourself.

I'm not looking to run the bike on the cheap but to use 3/4 days leave to have a bike like the GTR serviced in the first year of ownership is to much. Can understand a highly tuned bike like the ZX10 needing to be serviced more frequently but not the GTR.

Well said Fred!!!!!!! but I fear the horse is still twitching. ;)

[ChrisB]

You pays your money and takes your choice. It's alright arguing about what might and might not happen in the event of a warranty claim, but you will never find out the real outcome until something goes wrong. Each event will be judged on the individual circumstance causing the problem concerned.
However the following points are true.
Loyalty breeds loyalty, and if you take your bike to the Kawasaki dealership for servicing and repairs, he will almost definately "look after you" when things go wrong, but won't fight too hard in your case if he only sees you for warranty work and try to screw him for big discounts at every visit...human nature.....
Doing the work yourself, whether competent or not transfers much of any risk to yourself.

I had a customer who bought a brand new SAAB 9000 Turbo in the late eighties. Never had it serviced except for the first free service at 600 miles. Only spent money on it when he had to, ie pads wearing out or screenwash bottle empty. After almost 1,000,000 miles later the engine self destructed and he paid for a new one without a single moan, reckoning that he had saved more by not having the car serviced at the 6,000 recommended intervals than the cost of a new engine plus fitting even with depreciation of the car. Obviously there was no pride of ownership, the car was a tool to him for doing a job.

[ChrisB]

To continue the plug debate.. I went to the NEC and asked the NGK guy about our question. He said the official line would be to follow the bike manufacturer's service guide or instructions. However he would not expect to change the plugs before 50,000 at least on a road bike. He would challenge anyone to notice any deterioration of performance on the road, but it will definately take place in the form of performance, fuel consumption as the electrode will wear, but hardly noticeable.
Amazing the number of people on the NGK stand standing at a display of spark plugs on the wall.....fascinating but sad.

[Kwikasfuki]

Loyalty breeds loyalty, and if you take your bike to the Kawasaki dealership for servicing and repairs, he will almost definately "look after you" when things go wrong, but won't fight too hard in your case if he only sees you for warranty work and try to screw him for big discounts at every visit...human nature.....

Agree totally. My dealer has pushed through two warranty claims with Kawasaki. Having a rapport with your dealer always helps

[Kevin]

Agree totally. My dealer has pushed through two warranty claims with Kawasaki. Having a rapport with your dealer always helps

Not if the dealer in question is Laguna Motorcycles. When I had some corrosion issues on our first GTR they couldn't have been less helpful. Their response was pretty much along the lines of "Oh they all do that and Kawasaki aren't interested". Other things coupled with that meant I lost interest in them as a dealer and now go somewhere else for my servicing.

Kevin

[fred24]

Agree totally. My dealer has pushed through two warranty claims with Kawasaki. Having a rapport with your dealer always helps

Did Kawasaki initially refuse to do the repairs under warranty until the dealer fought your corner.

[Kwikasfuki]

Did Kawasaki initially refuse to do the repairs under warranty until the dealer fought your corner.

Yes, on the windscreen bracket (said it was down to wear and tear due to the mileage on bike) and the warped brake discs (again, same reason).

The brake disc I may have accepted but not the windscreen bracket. I recall the mechanic telling Kawasaki over the phone that it was a shit design. The dealer was fantastic about it all. Basically said, leave it with me, it'd be sorted. And it was.

[Mogster]

I think i'll give this a prob back into life  ;D ;D ;D
I have just rang Kawasaki and they say as long as the independent  dealer is using genuine parts then there is NO PROBLEMS with the standard kawasaki warranty or the extended warrany. and they were happy to confirm this in an email, which i will send later.

and so this means that i can get a 7,500 mile service and of course on the invoice it will clearly show that a set of plugs were ahem 'fitted'  ::)

[Barry7]

Not if the dealer in question is Laguna Motorcycles. When I had some corrosion issues on our first GTR they couldn't have been less helpful. Their response was pretty much along the lines of "Oh they all do that and Kawasaki aren't interested". Other things coupled with that meant I lost interest in them as a dealer and now go somewhere else for my servicing.

Kevin



Laguna Motorcycles, say no more! They tried to charge me £196 for the 3500 service, I asked Bournemouth Kawasaki how much and they said under £100. I could ride down and back and even with the cost of fuel and some grub still be better off!That is LAGUNA MOTORCYCLES Maidstone Kent. AVOID!

[mecki]

I paid only about 60 quid because according to the guys at M&S Motorcycles in Newcastle it's only an inspection and not necessary to change the oil if the bike is less than a year old.

[Kevin]

<Snip> Laguna Motorcycles, say no more! They tried to charge me £196 for the 3500 service, I asked Bournemouth Kawasaki how much and they said under £100. I could ride down and back and even with the cost of fuel and some grub still be better off!

As I'm sure I've whinged about here before, that was pretty much my experience with Laguna in Ashford as well unfortunately. High hourly rate coupled with more hours per equivalent service that other people were paying for made for a very expensive service schedule. The final straw for me was the £200 they quoted for the 3750 mile service for our second GTR against <£100 by the other local dealer (Dave Fox in Ramsgate) who now does all of our GTR servicing. Strangely, Laguna's clothing department offers quite keen prices, presumably because they have more competition with HG just round the corner in Maidstone.

Laguna is our local Triumph dealer which is one of the reasons I'm not seriously looking at the Explorer (the other is tank size).

Kevin

[seniorminnion]

mecki   - strange that  - I asked Mand S newcastle how much for the 600 mile check and bloke in the showroom reckoned about £160 !!!    - ( that was the showroom mind you - not the workshop up the road !)

[howard]

Hi Guys
I do my own servicing and yes I do change the diff oil evry servic (it only takes 5 mins and costs pennys).I will not be changing the plugs till the 24 k service as all this talk of replacment at 7.5k is a money making proccess for Kawasaki.A GTR has no more or less technology than say a new petrol Range Rover and guess what they have iridium plugs fitted and the service interval is 80k.And yes the kawsaki revs higher but a Range Rover has a supercharged engine(some).
Just out of interest has any body ever had a plug problem?.