Not Pleased With Cycle Shop Situation

[Lurch]

I rode my pampered cycle to a bike shop that's 7 miles away Wednesday, after they told me last Friday that they will check the valves and adjust them if necessary on 2/23 and the bike would be ready on 2/24. So, I arranged rides from and to this place on these days. I stopped in there a couple hours later to find he had already started work on it, and they were calling around to try to find a gasket for it because it does indeed need valve adjustment. They asked if I was willing to drive to get a gasket, but they could find nothing local. My feeling was "why didn't they have this part here by now if they knew I was bringing the bike there today?"

Then for the next 2 days they did not answer my email and I could not reach them by phone, and they had my email address and phone number. So, I paid a neighbor $5 to drive me there this afternoon to see if the bike was ready and pick it up. It's not ready yet, so I made the trip for nothing. They said the gasket will be delivered there some day next week.

Now I'm afraid my near mint condition bike will be damaged or get dirt in the engine because it's in a big and very busy shop with bikes in and out of there all day. I emailed them and told them this and they say the bike will be covered well and apologized for the inconvenience (they finally returned a couple emails after I made the trip there for nothing). As soon as I get it back I plan to change the oil & filter in it (it's almost time anyway).

It was a surprise that they didn't have that part but I guess they don't order those things unless they're 100% sure they really need them, otherwise they may get stuck with them if the customers decide to change their mind and not show up. I was just a little put off that she never warned me it may take a week to get the bike back if in fact it needs valve adjustment and they don't have the part in stock. I feel I should have been told this beforehand.

 

[mechanicx]

Just don't go in there do what this woman did lol, http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cb4_1298391446.

 

[nfs480]

In their defense, they may not have expected it to take a week either. For instance, back when I worked in a shop, we'd usually be able to get pretty much anything same day, but on one particular car it took a week to get an air filter (think it was some type of Nissan). If the owner had asked me beforehand I would've had no idea it would take so long.

 

[mrsilv04]

If you're not happy with this shop, you have two options.

1) Find a better shop.
2) Learn to do it yourself.

I prefer #2. I did the valves myself on my '02 GL1800. I'll never let anyone else ever do that again.

 

[Lurch]

I'm not going back to that shop any more - at least not for work on my bike.
I truly made a poor decision to take my bike out to this rural shop.

They're nice people but that's not the way I like to do business.

At times this shop can get very busy and at times they seem like they have more on their plates than they can effectively deal with. They have a SLEW of customers but I tend to think the quality of their work takes a back seat to quantity and I'm hoping my machine will survive this incident. As a rule they probably do quite good work.

There's a cycle shop in town that's only 1.5 miles away that I'll go to from now on (and I should've gone to this time).

I spoke to him yesterday and he told me it usually takes about 4 days for these type of jobs. At least he didn't promise it to me in one day like the other shop and then find out it's going to be sitting there half torn down for a week. He seems more organized and is a real good guy to talk to. They're a licensed Kawasaki / Yamaha dealer and would be more likely to have that part in stock.

 

[bigbird_1]

Generally, rural shops are run more honestly than big city urban shops. Why? In a rural community word of mouth, good or bad, goes a long way. There is a reason that this shop is very busy. Did you ever wonder why?
As far as stocking parts, no dealer stocks anything but common maintenance parts, such as filters, spark plugs, and oil. Valve cover and internal gaskets are not common parts.
Feel lucky that your engine was even disassembled to actually check the valves. There have been many horror stories of so called reputable shops not even removing the cam covers to check the valves, and then billing the customer for a full fledged valve inspection and adjustment with phoney clearances and shims listed in the shop order.
If your guy has the cam covers off already, then he really will be doing the work.
You didn't state the make or model of your bike. Is it shim valve adjustment or threaded screw and jam nut? If it's screw and nut, they are very simple and inexpensive to do. If it's shims, be prepared for a hefty bill, as usually the cams have to come out for shim replacement.

 

[dwendt44]

My local shop (Honda) gets most parts next day (business day). Some rare or real old parts may take longer but they know that when they order them and they inform the buyer.

Small town dealer.

 

[Lurch]

Quote:
If your guy has the cam covers off already, then he really will be doing the work.


Yes, I saw the dual cams on the work table.

Quote:
You didn't state the make or model of your bike.


It's the Kawasaki in my signature. 2003 ZR 7S 750cc inline four.

Quote:

Is it shim valve adjustment or threaded screw and jam nut?


Got me there.

Quote:
If it's screw and nut, they are very simple and inexpensive to do. If it's shims, be prepared for a hefty bill, as usually the cams have to come out for shim replacement.


They said it'd cost me about $100 to check the valves, and if they needed adjusting it would be about $200, and $250 if it needs some new parts, which I presume are called shims.

They probably deal this way often. I kind of doubt it will get dirt into the motor. If it does, that's what oil filters are for.

I'd like to do the job myself but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. I don't have electricity in my garage and has a dirt floor and not too many tool,s either.

I have a feeling that either of these shops would do a real valve adjustment and not try to trick anyone. It never hurts to look these guys in the eye beforehand and ask them these questions just to see how they react. If they're crooked, it should be easy to sense. I heard of someone that put something on a valve cover before the work was supposed to be done, and when he got the bike back that something was still there, which proved the valve cover was never taken off and the proper adjustment was never performed.

 

[bigbird_1]

If you saw the cams lying on the table, then they will definitely be doing a shim swap-out. They had to also order the shims, unless they stock a full Kawi shim kit.

Make sure to ask him how many valves needed adjusting and how much they were out of tolerance. He had to record this data to calculate what thickness replacement shim was needed.

I see that your bike is a 2 valve DOHC design. $250 for a shim valve adjustment is very reasonable. Don't complain about this shop anymore. Now I know why he's so busy.

 

[GMBoy]

That's why I love owning Harley's....no shortage of parts for any model from the 1900's to present.

 

[bigbird_1]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
That's why I love owning Harley's....no shortage of parts for any model from the 1900's to present.


And no valve adjustments, unless you're driving a V-Rod.

 

[JetStar]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
That's why I love owning Harley's....no shortage of parts for any model from the 1900's to present.


There is a reason the parts supply line is well stocked

 

[MrCritical]

Personally, I wouldn't schedule a valve adjustment without having the gaskets in stock or someone on the line with their hand on them, but that's just me.

 

[Errtt]

I have heard some problems friends had getting their bikes serviced. With more shops closing the last few years, what's left can get a bit backlogged. Come spring its a big crunch.

I have heard from a few that they paid for services to include valve check/adjustment, and some swear the valves were not touched.
I have done the wife's Shadow 3 times, so far. Found the 1st time (585 miles) it needed it, and the next 2 were checks. Kind of a pain having to remove the tank, and fish out the valve covers, getting the adjustment just right after locking, recheck, readjust, get all back together. Then I have done bikes that belong to friends. I can see why many don't like doing them. Its not hard, just almost doesn't seem worthwhile unless an adjustment is really needed to bring back performance.
Not worrying about the valves on my Harley's is a plus.

I would have thought a service shop would always keep service maintenance gaskets on hand.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: JetStar
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
That's why I love owning Harley's....no shortage of parts for any model from the 1900's to present.


There is a reason the parts supply line is well stocked

Yep - more of them on the road

 

[GMBoy]

But seriously, back on topic (sorry I hijacked it earlier)...I feel your pain. Whenever you drop off a beloved vehicle to a shop you worry about the care given it. I would be upset that the shop was not complete with the work sooner, but parts do sometimes cause a delay that is not the shop's fault.

My recommendation is either learn to do it yourself, or if the shop does finally finish the job to your liking - figure that now you know the next time you get a valve job to not drop off the bike until they have the parts.

 

[Panzerman]

+I dont think it was done on purpose and you are being a little hard on the shop, my bet is they are waiting on shims too, not a gasket. they could make a gasket. It took Bike Bandit two and half weeks to get me bushings, so if you were doimg the job, yourself, you would be waiting on parts too.

 

[Lurch]

Originally Posted By: bigbird_1

Make sure to ask him how many valves needed adjusting and how much they were out of tolerance. He had to record this data to calculate what thickness replacement shim was needed.


He said they were too tight. I will ask him these things.

Originally Posted By: bigbird_1

I see that your bike is a 2 valve DOHC design. $250 for a shim valve adjustment is very reasonable. Don't complain about this shop anymore. Now I know why he's so busy.


OK then. They do a lot of business up there. They seem to have about 100 bikes waiting to be worked on as of right now. We've had milder, better riding weather in Tennessee for the last week or two.

 

[Lurch]

Originally Posted By: Panzerman
+I dont think it was done on purpose and you are being a little hard on the shop, my bet is they are waiting on shims too, not a gasket. they could make a gasket. It took Bike Bandit two and half weeks to get me bushings, so if you were doimg the job, yourself, you would be waiting on parts too.


Yeah but you missed my point. She told me the bike would be finished and ready to pick up 24 hours after I left it off. All I complained about was the fact that they told me it would be done in one day, and the next thing I knew they are calling all around to try to hunt up a gasket for it, and I said what?!?!?!? If it was going to possibly take a week, I should have been told that it might take a week. Telling me it would be done in 24 hours was hogwash or a false promise to get my business or something, or possibly just an honest mistake. I have a feeling it's the latter.

You can take or leave them. Next time I do think I'll go to a different shop. I want no baloney when I ask them a question. They must have had a *good idea* the bike would take more than 24 hours to work on. Their first mistake was not having that gasket in stock, and 2nd not telling me they didn't have all the necessary parts. I'm not asking too much - just no baloney. If the stinkin' bike would take a week to finish, I wanted to know it. I didn't need to be told something that would sound good to my ears but would tick me off later on when I found out the bike will be ready next week after a part gets here. Do I make myself understood yet? If not, I rest my case with you.

 

[Lurch]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
But seriously, back on topic (sorry I hijacked it earlier)...I feel your pain. Whenever you drop off a beloved vehicle to a shop you worry about the care given it. I would be upset that the shop was not complete with the work sooner, but parts do sometimes cause a delay that is not the shop's fault.

My recommendation is either learn to do it yourself, or if the shop does finally finish the job to your liking - figure that now you know the next time you get a valve job to not drop off the bike until they have the parts.



Yeah, maybe she didn't realize they'd have trouble getting the part, I don't know, but I thought a very busy shop like theirs would have experience and be able to be more accurate with estimated time it takes to finish a job. Next time I'll deal locally even if it costs me more. I'm really not wanting to go through with something like this every time I need service on the bike.