typical...so typical

[Wisenheimer]

Another case of a baboon working on our bikes. I went in for the brake recall. After as I pull into my driveway I hear a weird ka-ching noise. The next day I pop in at the dealer to ask about going to the dark side. They discourage me. Whatever. Anyway, the tech who did my recall walks out and tells me he thinks he left his bleeder wrench on my rear caliper. (That was the ka-ching) I told him I heard a ka-ching when I got home and would look for the wrench. ( I never found it) The next day after that I see a drip drip under the bike. I find the brake fluid reservoir cap loose and it is dripping brake fluid. Why is it that so many of us have stories like this? Bike techs generally suck. It makes no sense to me.

[seadog]

I had my own horror story with my original dealer that I will never go back to see ever again. I had to talk to a bunch of people before getting the info on a dealer that cares about his customers and take good care of their motorcycles. So that my advice, talk to people in your area until you stumble across the one that knows a good dealer.!

[opas ride]

Most Honda and multi-line dealers "just plain suck"...Service is marginal, techs are not trained properly, prices are ridiculous and etc. etc. For those of use that have to use dealers to do some work it is hit and miss...I have, so far, found a dealer that works for me, a long distance away, but worth it to me...Honda needs to "get off their ass" and take the time to hire, train, and PAY decent techs that care...What a shame as this has been the norm for over 50 years with bike dealers....JMHO

[willtill]

Just how in the hell does an idiot Honda motorcycle technician "leave" his brake bleeding wrench on a caliper? And then suddenly remember and report it?

Really?

Really?

God save us from all from the idiots that permeat this earth. :icon_doh:

[ths61]

Just how in the hell does an idiot Honda motorcycle technician "leave" his brake bleeding wrench on a caliper? And then suddenly remember and report it?

Really?

Really?

God save us from all from the idiots that permeat this earth. :icon_doh:

It happens more than you think.

2029720300

[willtill]

It happens more than you think.

2029720300

Maybe the surgical team was "texting"?

I can not think of any other reason for that. Well... Maybe except drinking while in the O.R. :shhh:

[53driver]

"ATAF" - All Tools Accounted For.
Or no one goes home.....

[shooter]

"ATAF" - All Tools Accounted For.
Or no one goes home.....

Might be a long day at some shops 53. I've had several dozen body men and mechanics work for me over the years. Some didn't last the day. Others stayed around for years. I've noticed that the more competent the tech the better they are with their tools. Will , I can answer the question about hiring good techs. There isn't enough to go around. You can't hire someone good if there isn't one available. Big shortage of competent technicians. I got lucky last year and hired a 25 year old that is top notch. He is still learning some of the finer points but he is one of the better techs around. Today's youth aren't interested in mechanics. You can't always fix it with a computer. You still have to get your hands greasy sometimes.

[wjduke]

Our techs leave sockets on lug nuts, leave center covers right on the ground where they were working, forget to give customers the key for the lug nut lock back to them....Willtill....the list is endless. Like above, it happens more than you think, and I'll go further and say more than ever before. They don't care, and they text while working....this working generation SUCKS.

[lgjhn]

I have a small shop and do all my own work and, of course, that of my customers'....except for something like this last brake recall.
I just cringed at having to take my bike to any dealer. I went to 5 different dealerships and talked to every service manager and wanted to know who specifically was going to do the work on my bike, that I owned a shop myself and would be inspecting the work when completed. I finally settled on the one that actually let me talk to the tech that was going to do the work on my bike, and had him explain/show me exactly what they were going to do and why (I already knew). They took their time and as far as I can tell, they did me right. I got her back to my shop and went over it with a fine tooth comb...LOL...and couldn't find anything wrong. I felt pretty lucky with that one.
I pretty much just work on Gold Wings.
When a bike goes up on my table lift, I make sure it's totally safe/secure before raising it. I'm not just blindly focused on the particular job that my customer wants done (ie: such as an oil change), but I'm also giving the bike a good thorough going over...looking for things that could affect my customer's safety or ride....such as tire condition, missing fasteners, worn brake pads, etc.
I keep my tools in order, keep em clean, orderly and every last one of em accounted for...as I use them!! Yep. That's right...as I use them. I don't leave a bunch of tools laying scattered around as I work. I keep the work area picked up and cleaned as I go. It's like doing surgery...LOL. I'm no spring chicken and doing service work this way is quite slower....well, slower than the tech at the Honda shop, but I'm also very thorough and I'm not under any pressure from some service manager to "hurry up". Work is done and bolts are torqued per the service manual If I'm not comfortable with doing a specific job, I'm not gonna undertake it. I treat every single bike as if were my own. I keep cleaner and micro fiber cloth handy and as I finish in that area of the bike, I clean that area....no greasy fingerprints and smudges on my customers' bikes if I have anything to do with it. I don't rip off my customers. I'm honest with them and they're honest with me...and they keep coming back. I don't have many of em, but the ones I do have are the kind I want; and we appreciate/respect each other. I'm definitely not out to grow any larger than I am and very content with what I have going. I like it like that way because I like to ride too. IF too big, I'd be married to doing nothing but service work rather than riding myself....LOL.
Oh, I'm also looking to maybe do a couple of trike conversions if I can find the right deal on the bikes.

[53driver]

Might be a long day at some shops 53. I've had several dozen body men and mechanics work for me over the years. Some didn't last the day. Others stayed around for years. I've noticed that the more competent the tech the better they are with their tools. Will , I can answer the question about hiring good techs. There isn't enough to go around. You can't hire someone good if there isn't one available. Big shortage of competent technicians. I got lucky last year and hired a 25 year old that is top notch. He is still learning some of the finer points but he is one of the better techs around. Today's youth aren't interested in mechanics. You can't always fix it with a computer. You still have to get your hands greasy sometimes.

This is not a desired state - this was reality. OPNAV 4790 is pretty damn clear.
ATAF not achieved - no one goes home until the tools are accounted for.
As The Aircraft Maintenance Officer (AMO), I am responsible to the Commanding Officer and every pilot and crew member who flies, that appropriate maintenance has been accomplished and there is nothing that can jam the controls of an aircraft.

There were more than a few nights we were there well past established drinking, strip club, and hooker working hours until we found that damn socket.....and rest assured my hands were covered in grease and hydraulic fluid.

[3Chief]

It used to be FMAL's (Foreign Material Accountability Logs) and due to some expensive mistakes it has become PAL's (Plug Accountability Logs) and AL's (Accountability Log) when working on critical components or systems.

They're only effective if used properly, somebody should have second checked his job to make sure that bleeder wrench wasn't left and the bleeder was tight...

[blueverclear]

So in my case, I have been dealing with THE WORST SERVICE DEPARTEMENT AND SERVICE MANAGER IN THE USA............ HALL'S MOTORSPORTS HONDA OF NEW ORLEANS..........

So I brought my bike in to the dealer a couple months ago to check for the recall. I also was seeing a very very small "sheen" of oil on my left boot after long rides. Never a drop on the ground where I park and oil level never changed at all but I did notice after a couple hundred miles in the saddle my left boot had like a tiny mist of oil on it. Since the bike is under warranty, I decided to bring it to the closest dealer and let the warranty cover the work. A little history, I've had about 14 bikes in the last 12 years and do ALL my own wrenching, COMPLETELY rebuilt several bikes over the years, and not used to dealing with a dealer at all.

So a week goes by and I hear nothing about the bike so I pop up at the dealer. Apparently there were just getting the bike on the lift after it sat there for a whole week because they were "busy" :banghead: and that they would be getting to work on the bike within 24 hours. Another week goes by and I hear nothing....... I call the dealer and they say that the recall had already been done the year before that and they thought the leak was coming from the valve cover gasket. So I finally got my bike after them having it for 2.5 weeks and doing nothing but changing the valve cover gasket.

So I ride the bike for a week and naturally....... the leak is not fixed....... :icon_doh: :bs: So I call the dealer back to complain and the service guy says, "oh yea, Honda called me and said that the recall was never done and you need to bring it back to me anyway so that we can get it done" So I drop off the bike again and a week goes buy, no call no nothing. So I pop up at the dealer about a week and a half after I dropped it off and the service guy says, "oh yea we did the recall and found the leak. It was an o-ring or something we ordered the part and should have the bike back to you in a few days" This was on a Saturday, so by next Thursday I had enough and stormed into the dealer trying to figure out why its taking so long. The service manager wasn't thee and the tech admitted to me that after all this time they couldn't even find the problem and that the regional service guy from Honda Corporate was called and he should be at the dealer in a couple days to help them find the issue.

So the next morning (a Friday and 2.5 weeks since I dropped the bike off the 2nd time) I call American Honda and file an official complaint against the dealer. They give me a claim # and say that a representative will call me by Tuesday or Wednesday. When I finally talked to the Honda corporate representative she told me that the district service guy was contacted on that Tuesday and will be out the next Wednesday to look at my bike. At this point I have had enough of the lying from the dealer, who never even called the regional guy, so I call the dealer Friday morning early and tell them to put my bike back together, I'm coming to get it that evening and bringing it to another dealer. If things couldn't get any worse......

I get the bike back on Friday and immediately realize things are missing like the rubber pieces that go in the corner of the dash and when I putt the speaker grills to install them (after they found them) There are a couple screws from the left speaker missing and my temperature is about rocky road at this point. So I haul ass onto the main road to get gas and bring the bike home. I noticed the bike running kinda funny and the check engine light was blinking, I just about lost all of my bearings........ :cus::cus::cus::soapbox::soapbox:

I get the bike home and immediately call corporate Honda again to let them know the condition of the bike when I picked it up and the lady puts me on hold to talk to the regional service manager. He says he will meet me on this coming Wednesday and the other dealer (35 miles away) and they promise to get the problem straight. I also talk to the other dealer who the bike will go to Wednesday and they assure me that they have the most qualified Goldwing tech in the state and they will definitely get on it and get it fixed right in a timely manner.

So I couldn't even sleep Friday night wondering what this stupid as dealer did to my great running bike and the next morning I take the front "tank panels" and inner side panels off so that I can see what they did. To my amazement, what I find is 2 sensors weren't even plugged in.... omfg..... the sensor that goes to the top of the airbox and another sensor that plugs in underneath the center cubby hole (maybe somebody can tell me what that's for). So I take the top of the airbox off to inspect the filter and begin to take the bottom of the airbox off to inspect the throttle bodies. The bottom of the airbox just comes right off. There are actually 4 hoses that plug into the bottom of the airbox that WEREN'T EVEN CONNECTED ALONG WITH THE 2 SENSORS WHICH WAS MAKING MY BIKE RUN LIKE SHIT WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FLASHING. They had my bike for almost 6 weeks only to return it to me in way worse shape then when I originally brought it to them the first time :soapbox::soapbox::soapbox:

So I connect everything back like it's supposed to be and put the bike back together the right way and my babie runs perfect again like the way it did when I first dropped it off. I should be getting to the bottom of this leak next week with the new tech and the regional service manager. I will NEVER buy anything or step foot in Hall's Motorsports Honda of New Orleans again, this has been a horrendous experience (not over yet) and to top it all off the whole time I've been without a bike which is the worst part of all.

Grant

[wjduke]

I have a small shop and do all my own work and, of course, that of my customers'....except for something like this last brake recall.
I just cringed at having to take my bike to any dealer. I went to 5 different dealerships and talked to every service manager and wanted to know who specifically was going to do the work on my bike, that I owned a shop myself and would be inspecting the work when completed. I finally settled on the one that actually let me talk to the tech that was going to do the work on my bike, and had him explain/show me exactly what they were going to do and why (I already knew). They took their time and as far as I can tell, they did me right. I got her back to my shop and went over it with a fine tooth comb...LOL...and couldn't find anything wrong. I felt pretty lucky with that one.
I pretty much just work on Gold Wings.
When a bike goes up on my table lift, I make sure it's totally safe/secure before raising it. I'm not just blindly focused on the particular job that my customer wants done (ie: such as an oil change), but I'm also giving the bike a good thorough going over...looking for things that could affect my customer's safety or ride....such as tire condition, missing fasteners, worn brake pads, etc.
I keep my tools in order, keep em clean, orderly and every last one of em accounted for...as I use them!! Yep. That's right...as I use them. I don't leave a bunch of tools laying scattered around as I work. I keep the work area picked up and cleaned as I go. It's like doing surgery...LOL. I'm no spring chicken and doing service work this way is quite slower....well, slower than the tech at the Honda shop, but I'm also very thorough and I'm not under any pressure from some service manager to "hurry up". Work is done and bolts are torqued per the service manual If I'm not comfortable with doing a specific job, I'm not gonna undertake it. I treat every single bike as if were my own. I keep cleaner and micro fiber cloth handy and as I finish in that area of the bike, I clean that area....no greasy fingerprints and smudges on my customers' bikes if I have anything to do with it. I don't rip off my customers. I'm honest with them and they're honest with me...and they keep coming back. I don't have many of em, but the ones I do have are the kind I want; and we appreciate/respect each other. I'm definitely not out to grow any larger than I am and very content with what I have going. I like it like that way because I like to ride too. IF too big, I'd be married to doing nothing but service work rather than riding myself....LOL.
Oh, I'm also looking to maybe do a couple of trike conversions if I can find the right deal on the bikes.

You are truly old school. If you worked along side todays kids, they would just think you're crazy, and to be honest, they wouldn't even be impressed by what they see.


So in my case, I have been dealing with THE WORST SERVICE DEPARTEMENT AND SERVICE MANAGER IN THE USA............ HALL'S MOTORSPORTS HONDA OF NEW ORLEANS..........

So I brought my bike in to the dealer a couple months ago to check for the recall. I also was seeing a very very small "sheen" of oil on my left boot after long rides. Never a drop on the ground where I park and oil level never changed at all but I did notice after a couple hundred miles in the saddle my left boot had like a tiny mist of oil on it. Since the bike is under warranty, I decided to bring it to the closest dealer and let the warranty cover the work. A little history, I've had about 14 bikes in the last 12 years and do ALL my own wrenching, COMPLETELY rebuilt several bikes over the years, and not used to dealing with a dealer at all.

So a week goes by and I hear nothing about the bike so I pop up at the dealer. Apparently there were just getting the bike on the lift after it sat there for a whole week because they were "busy" :banghead: and that they would be getting to work on the bike within 24 hours. Another week goes by and I hear nothing....... I call the dealer and they say that the recall had already been done the year before that and they thought the leak was coming from the valve cover gasket. So I finally got my bike after them having it for 2.5 weeks and doing nothing but changing the valve cover gasket.

So I ride the bike for a week and naturally....... the leak is not fixed....... :icon_doh: :bs: So I call the dealer back to complain and the service guy says, "oh yea, Honda called me and said that the recall was never done and you need to bring it back to me anyway so that we can get it done" So I drop off the bike again and a week goes buy, no call no nothing. So I pop up at the dealer about a week and a half after I dropped it off and the service guy says, "oh yea we did the recall and found the leak. It was an o-ring or something we ordered the part and should have the bike back to you in a few days" This was on a Saturday, so by next Thursday I had enough and stormed into the dealer trying to figure out why its taking so long. The service manager wasn't thee and the tech admitted to me that after all this time they couldn't even find the problem and that the regional service guy from Honda Corporate was called and he should be at the dealer in a couple days to help them find the issue.

So the next morning (a Friday and 2.5 weeks since I dropped the bike off the 2nd time) I call American Honda and file an official complaint against the dealer. They give me a claim # and say that a representative will call me by Tuesday or Wednesday. When I finally talked to the Honda corporate representative she told me that the district service guy was contacted on that Tuesday and will be out the next Wednesday to look at my bike. At this point I have had enough of the lying from the dealer, who never even called the regional guy, so I call the dealer Friday morning early and tell them to put my bike back together, I'm coming to get it that evening and bringing it to another dealer. If things couldn't get any worse......

I get the bike back on Friday and immediately realize things are missing like the rubber pieces that go in the corner of the dash and when I putt the speaker grills to install them (after they found them) There are a couple screws from the left speaker missing and my temperature is about rocky road at this point. So I haul ass onto the main road to get gas and bring the bike home. I noticed the bike running kinda funny and the check engine light was blinking, I just about lost all of my bearings........ :cus::cus::cus::soapbox::soapbox:

I get the bike home and immediately call corporate Honda again to let them know the condition of the bike when I picked it up and the lady puts me on hold to talk to the regional service manager. He says he will meet me on this coming Wednesday and the other dealer (35 miles away) and they promise to get the problem straight. I also talk to the other dealer who the bike will go to Wednesday and they assure me that they have the most qualified Goldwing tech in the state and they will definitely get on it and get it fixed right in a timely manner.

So I couldn't even sleep Friday night wondering what this stupid as dealer did to my great running bike and the next morning I take the front "tank panels" and inner side panels off so that I can see what they did. To my amazement, what I find is 2 sensors weren't even plugged in.... omfg..... the sensor that goes to the top of the airbox and another sensor that plugs in underneath the center cubby hole (maybe somebody can tell me what that's for). So I take the top of the airbox off to inspect the filter and begin to take the bottom of the airbox off to inspect the throttle bodies. The bottom of the airbox just comes right off. There are actually 4 hoses that plug into the bottom of the airbox that WEREN'T EVEN CONNECTED ALONG WITH THE 2 SENSORS WHICH WAS MAKING MY BIKE RUN LIKE SHIT WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FLASHING. They had my bike for almost 6 weeks only to return it to me in way worse shape then when I originally brought it to them the first time :soapbox::soapbox::soapbox:

So I connect everything back like it's supposed to be and put the bike back together the right way and my babie runs perfect again like the way it did when I first dropped it off. I should be getting to the bottom of this leak next week with the new tech and the regional service manager. I will NEVER buy anything or step foot in Hall's Motorsports Honda of New Orleans again, this has been a horrendous experience (not over yet) and to top it all off the whole time I've been without a bike which is the worst part of all.

Grant

What can anyone say except, wow. So far, I haven't had to bring mine back for anything, but I'm scared...very scared.

[Cobraguy]

See what happens when you take wood shop, metal shop, and auto shop out of public high schools. :icon_doh:

[Penguin]

As a former Harley tech for 21 years all over the country I have witnessed this poor work ethic first hand. The problem lies in the fact that a lot of young techs at dealerships DONT have any experience on the bench. This means that young people take their passion for motorcycles and want to make it a career. That's great and I applaud them for wanting to work in a great field. They enroll in some kind of motorcycle mechanics training school and in 1 and a half years they graduate as certified technicians. Sadly this does not make them great technicians, it only states that they passed an accredited course. I worked with many young guys just out of MMI and didn't know which way and oil seal was to be installed. It takes years in the field and on the bench to really be a competent tech. Also in defense of the new tech. They pay crazy money to go to these schools and when they graduate and get hired into a dealership the start out making a low wage. Most HD dealerships start these guys at $10 an hour. That's no excuse for poor workmanship but I've seen it translate into bad work performance. I guess my advice would be to be diligent in finding a dealer with technicians that have a number of years of actual dealership experience. There you will get the most professional experience. There are good techs out there sometimes their just few and far between.

[valkmc]

I got a good or shall I say bad one for you!! Not Honda though. About five years ago I rode my almost new C-14 to Alaska and back to Ocala Fl. Great experience except one thing. Just before I got to Alaska. (in the Yukon) I noticed oil, small amount, dripping from the bottom of my final drive. It was full and I stopped at a Kawasaki Dealer who had a showroom full of 4 wheelers and one motorcycle. The mechanic looked at it and said if it was him he would keep track of it and just make sure it was full. They sold me the gear oil for twice the price and off I went. It held together until I was 50 miles out side of Las Vegas. Stopped to have lunch and noticed a large puddle under it. Limped into Vegas and got a cheap off strip hotel. Contacted a dealer who said 2 days to get the seal and they would have me on the road. Called the wife she flew out and was going to ride with me to Phoenix Az. Was having such a good time I waited for three days and called the dealer. TECH GETS ON THE PHONE AND TELLS ME AFTER PULLING THE SEAL THEY FOUND BEARING DAMAGE. I'm thinking you didn't check until the seal came in????. Ok 2 days to get the bearing, we are having a good time so I say OK. Two days later tech calls, um...we have a problem. It takes a special tool to pull the bearing we don't have one and none of the other dealers in Vegas have one. I'm a little pissed until he tells me it will take 7 days to get one. I cant remember what I said. I do remember the wife telling me to calm down, I called Kawasaki and they were helpful they overnighted the tool (still took 2 days) and I got back on the road. Total lack of common sense. If I did my job that way I wouldn't have one. I told the manager and tech that when I got the bike.

[imported_scottydi]

After many years riding several different brands of bikes, the best thing about a honda mechanic is they are alot like the Maytag repairman, you just dont need them very often. Some of the previous bikes I have had were no where near as reliable, and it would seem like the techs would have enough experience to be competent, since the shop was always full of bikes, but they never seemed to be able to fix anything in one visit.

[Rob41]

Techs generally don't make much at all. The dealers/owners charge big hourly rates but the mechanics only get a small part of that. Most people with real skill sets are going to work elsewhere, where they can make more money.

Fortunately, I am one of those people who can work on anything (correctly) on my bikes.

[lgjhn]

You are truly old school. If you worked along side todays kids, they would just think you're crazy, and to be honest, they wouldn't even be impressed by what they see.

I am old at 65 going on 66....LOL I'm still in good health and love to ride. The Lord has blessed me. My work technique primarily comes out of wrenching in my old NHRA Top Fueler days. Yeah, I am crazy so those little sissies would be correct with that assessment.
As far as being "impressed" is concerned, it would certainly be mutual thing because I'm NOT impressed at all with what I see and hear coming out of the current generation of snot-noses trying to convince folks that they're actually a "mechanic" or "tech" or whatever they call themselves these days....LOL. They would never work, or see, the inside of my shop. They couldn't stand it...I'd drive em crazy as I am. Nope..not for a minute. Too much at stake.

[lgjhn]

somebody should have second checked his job to make sure that bleeder wrench wasn't left and the bleeder was tight...
And that is why I account for every single one of my tools as I work a specific part of the job. Leaving tools scattered all over the place leads to that kind of a mistake. It's sloppy and unprofessional IMHO. These are mistakes that could be potentially dangerous, especially on two wheels. Don't get me wrong; I'm not perfect by any means and have made more than my share of errors over the years. However, my old-fashion, old-school slow method of working leaves no wrenches, sockets, tools, etc. unaccounted for. Heck, I've even found tools wedged up in bikes from previous service visits to other shops!
Before my customer's bike is wheeled out of my shop, ALL my tools are accounted for, cleaned and put back in their proper trays. Everything is double-checked and I go over my findings on the bike with my customer before he leaves. I let him know what I found and the seriousness of it. It's his choice when/whether to have it repaired of live with it, but my job is done and my conscience is clear.

[Penguin]

Techs generally don't make much at all. The dealers/owners charge big hourly rates but the mechanics only get a small part of that. Most people with real skill sets are going to work elsewhere, where they can make more money.

Fortunately, I am one of those people who can work on anything (correctly) on my bikes.

That's absolutely true hence another reason why the lack of skilled techs. As I stated in an earlier post, I retired as a tech with 21 yrs experience in 2011. At that time my the local dealer I worked at was charging $85 an hour and was paying me $18. That turns out to be around $34k a year gross. Terrible money for a experienced tech but that was just how it is, but it's still no reason for substandard work ethic.

[Penguin]

And that is why I account for every single one of my tools as I work a specific part of the job. Leaving tools scattered all over the place leads to that kind of a mistake. It's sloppy and unprofessional IMHO. These are mistakes that could be potentially dangerous, especially on two wheels. Don't get me wrong; I'm not perfect by any means and have made more than my share of errors over the years. However, my old-fashion, old-school slow method of working leaves no wrenches, sockets, tools, etc. unaccounted for. Heck, I've even found tools wedged up in bikes from previous service visits to other shops!
Before my customer's bike is wheeled out of my shop, ALL my tools are accounted for, cleaned and put back in their proper trays. Everything is double-checked and I go over my findings on the bike with my customer before he leaves. I let him know what I found and the seriousness of it. It's his choice when/whether to have it repaired of live with it, but my job is done and my conscience is clear.

You can work on my bike anytime:cheers:

[53driver]

And that is why I account for every single one of my tools as I work a specific part of the job. Leaving tools scattered all over the place leads to that kind of a mistake. It's sloppy and unprofessional IMHO. These are mistakes that could be potentially dangerous, especially on two wheels. Don't get me wrong; I'm not perfect by any means and have made more than my share of errors over the years. However, my old-fashion, old-school slow method of working leaves no wrenches, sockets, tools, etc. unaccounted for. Heck, I've even found tools wedged up in bikes from previous service visits to other shops!
Before my customer's bike is wheeled out of my shop, ALL my tools are accounted for, cleaned and put back in their proper trays. Everything is double-checked and I go over my findings on the bike with my customer before he leaves. I let him know what I found and the seriousness of it. It's his choice when/whether to have it repaired of live with it, but my job is done and my conscience is clear.


You can work on my bike anytime:cheers:

Hmmm...Kinder, LA is only 390 miles from me....:biggthumpup:

[wjduke]

Hmmm...Kinder, LA is only 390 miles from me....:biggthumpup:

I was going to tell this fellow, I bet there's a ton of guys here who would love him as a mechanic.

[Penguin]

I was going to tell this fellow, I bet there's a ton of guys here who would love him as a mechanic.

That's why I loved about what I did and tried to be the best at it. Just like lgjhn that has a great attitude and work ethic, his professionalism will reward him in many ways and will be able to build a great customer base.

[zeus661]

I had a wreck on the bike (another story), anyway had the bike taken to the Honda dealer in Toledo, Ohio for repairs. They replaced the front wheel. After repairs they trailered it back to me. While I was healing I decided to purchase a Superbrace and install it. The direction require you to loosen the pinch bolts on the front wheel. I get out a socket and start on the first one. It was so loose no tool was required. Then I checked the rest and actually removed all of them with my fingers. Fricken a$$holes.

[Lonewolf]

Another case of a baboon working on our bikes. I went in for the brake recall. After as I pull into my driveway I hear a weird ka-ching noise. The next day I pop in at the dealer to ask about going to the dark side. They discourage me. Whatever. Anyway, the tech who did my recall walks out and tells me he thinks he left his bleeder wrench on my rear caliper. (That was the ka-ching) I told him I heard a ka-ching when I got home and would look for the wrench. ( I never found it) The next day after that I see a drip drip under the bike. I find the brake fluid reservoir cap loose and it is dripping brake fluid. Why is it that so many of us have stories like this? Bike techs generally suck. It makes no sense to me.

They are not Bike Techs, they are parts replacer's. If you go to a dealership that is what you get. Find a good independent mechanic, ask around they are out there that is what I did and he keeps me happy and I'm return customer.

[MisterB]

I had a wreck on the bike (another story), anyway had the bike taken to the Honda dealer in Toledo, Ohio for repairs. They replaced the front wheel. After repairs they trailered it back to me. While I was healing I decided to purchase a Superbrace and install it. The direction require you to loosen the pinch bolts on the front wheel. I get out a socket and start on the first one. It was so loose no tool was required. Then I checked the rest and actually removed all of them with my fingers. Fricken a$$holes.
Very nearly negligent homicide! So glad you checked them, this oversight is beyond outrageous.

[VaBob]

I see these kinds of things all over the place in my place of employment also. I work in a factory making books so that just goes to show its not just the auto industry. It seems that you get what you pay for, and if you dont day for much you wont get great help. But I also agree with opinions on the work ethic and mindset of many new and young employees. The look at what they do as a just a job that they clock in and out and do what they have to do to get by. Where as many of us look at our job as a career and try to learn as much as we can and better ourselves so that we can advance through the levels/ranks/positions so that one day we can have something to show for our time at the job. Seems like everyone wants something for nothing, including a paycheck.