how mad would you be if a mechanic broke your bike?

[Finesse]

if you took your bike to a shop and they accidentally broke something... dropped your bike... scratched your fairings... how angry would you be?

this customer came to the shop I work at saying that another shop broke his rear caliper and warped his rotor while changing the rear tire, somehow. and they didn't admit to messing up the rotor, only the caliper. except you could clearly see that the rotor was so bent it was pushing the caliper in and out with each revolution of the wheel. he was angry, not because they broke stuff, but because they didn't admit to all of the damage, and he had no rear brakes when he rode his bike out of the parking lot (but didn't realize that til he got home).

if I took my bike to a shop and they broke something I'd probably not go there again and I would want them to replace the thing they broke on their dime, and maybe take some off my bill. but I wouldn't really be angry... stuff like that happens and something that is 'professionally' done at a shop is still done by humans. I'm curious about this because ever since I started working in a shop I've been paranoid I'm going to break something and be 'that girl' ...

so what would you do if this happened? has it happened to anyone?

[ninjakuma]

I usually watch people do work on my bike if I take it to a shop. If I can't watch I don't take it there.

[capt_bugaloo]

I'd probably call a lawyer. That sort of incompetence screams lawsuit.

[flitecontrol]

I'd want them to fix what they broke at no charge to me. If they told me up front what had happened, and they had either begun or finished repairing what they broke, I'd probably be a customer for life. If I only discovered it after-the-fact, I'd still expect them to fix it, but that would be the last time they'd see me.

It's about integrity and accepting responsibility for your actions or inactions.

[alex.s]

hire a lawyer and take them to court.

there are certain types of people that you simple don't want to deal with. this is why we have lawyers

[crimsondragon]

The shop partially admitted to breaking one thing but not the other. As a whole, the bottom line is he rode out of there with no rear brake. As far as I'm concerned, that's a safety issue. There's only so far your pride can take you before it starts digging your own hole. Like the customer said, it's about the integrity and honesty, not the actual breaking of the part. I've jumped around on different jobs and I've seen all types of accidents happen, including a few of my own. It's how you rectify it that counts.

[accumack]

If they are not competent enough to not let someone ride their bike from their shop with damage they need to be closed down!

[Alchemist]

Originally Posted by flitecontrol

I'd want them to fix what they broke at no charge to me. If they told me up front what had happened, and they had either begun or finished repairing what they broke, I'd probably be a customer for life. If I only discovered it after-the-fact, I'd still expect them to fix it, but that would be the last time they'd see me.

It's about integrity and accepting responsibility for your actions or inactions.

Exactly. People are human, mistakes happen. It's the manner in which the error is handled that matters.

[Ninjinsky]

Originally Posted by Alchemist

Exactly. People are human, mistakes happen. It's the manner in which the error is handled that matters.

Agree entirely.
Once on a course I did the trainer said "Similar things go wrong for both good and bad managers alike, the difference is in how they handle it"

[Hero Danny]

Thw exact reason I don't want anyone touching my valves... Stinks cause they are 3,000 miles over due..

[Ninjinsky]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Thw exact reason I don't want anyone touching my valves... Stinks cause they are 3,000 miles over due..

As a relatively easy task whisk the cover off try measuring them, maybe they are still in tolerance and you can sleep easy

[Baron]

Originally Posted by capt_bugaloo

I'd probably call a lawyer. That sort of incompetence screams lawsuit.

Originally Posted by flitecontrol

I'd want them to fix what they broke at no charge to me. If they told me up front what had happened, and they had either begun or finished repairing what they broke, I'd probably be a customer for life. If I only discovered it after-the-fact, I'd still expect them to fix it, but that would be the last time they'd see me.

It's about integrity and accepting responsibility for your actions or inactions.

I second that. I posted a thread about the rear tyre being put on the wrong way. I was told about the problem by another rider I met at a meet 'n greet. I called up the mechanic and even though it had been a month and a half or maybe more since my tyre change, he acknowledged his mistake and flipped it for free. The thing I don't like it them having a strict no customer in the work area policy[though I did keep an eye from just outside the area xD]


Like everyone over here I don't mind them messing something up as long as they own up to it and fix it right away.

[Finesse]

^We also don't allow customers in the service area, I think it's for insurance purposes but also it's hard to work on a bike with the customer staring over your shoulder and possibly getting in the way and trying to chat with you. If we let anyone into the area where we work on bikes, there would always be people in the way and we would have a much harder time getting stuff done.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by Ninjinsky

As a relatively easy task whisk the cover off try measuring them, maybe they are still in tolerance and you can sleep easy

I don't know man, My dad usually gives me a hand but he, for whatever reason, starts getting pissed and yelling at me whenever I bring it up, he'll say "wait for winter, it's a winter project, leave me alone" He acts like a friggin little kid about it.

I'm obviously incredibly nervous messing with my bike, knowing if I damaged her I would be out 3 grand and probably would have to quit riding for a while.. (years)

I did buy some metric feeler gauges and printed out all the picture DIY guides for checking and adjusting valves, etc. Looked up some videos of people doing it on their pregens (none on new gens.... ugh..) And after I look over everything I just think to myself... How the hell am I gonna pull this off. Too nervous I'll break something.

I know my valves are tight because my bike can act funny when starting up cold (I guess you could argue carbs there) but also I noticed that I don't have a lot of power in the low RPMS and then once I get like 6-8k my bike will just get a kick of power out of no where. That never happened with my Pregen.

I know riding on tight valves will eventually destroy the engine... Well my valve check is 3k miles over due. So I'm not sure how long it takes for real damage to occur. But I feel like i'm playing with fire.

[Baron]

Originally Posted by Finesse

^We also don't allow customers in the service area, I think it's for insurance purposes but also it's hard to work on a bike with the customer staring over your shoulder and possibly getting in the way and trying to chat with you. If we let anyone into the area where we work on bikes, there would always be people in the way and we would have a much harder time getting stuff done.

That makes sense.

[flitecontrol]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

I don't know man, My dad usually gives me a hand but he, for whatever reason, starts getting pissed and yelling at me whenever I bring it up, he'll say "wait for winter, it's a winter project, leave me alone" He acts like a friggin little kid about it.

I'm obviously incredibly nervous messing with my bike, knowing if I damaged her I would be out 3 grand and probably would have to quit riding for a while.. (years)

I did buy some metric feeler gauges and printed out all the picture DIY guides for checking and adjusting valves, etc. Looked up some videos of people doing it on their pregens (none on new gens.... ugh..) And after I look over everything I just think to myself... How the hell am I gonna pull this off. Too nervous I'll break something.

I know my valves are tight because my bike can act funny when starting up cold (I guess you could argue carbs there) but also I noticed that I don't have a lot of power in the low RPMS and then once I get like 6-8k my bike will just get a kick of power out of no where. That never happened with my Pregen.

I know riding on tight valves will eventually destroy the engine... Well my valve check is 3k miles over due. So I'm not sure how long it takes for real damage to occur. But I feel like i'm playing with fire.

Do you have a service manual? If not, it will pay for itself the first time you use it. It has step-by-step instructions and pictures to guide you. If you follow it, it's hard to mess anything up, and the folks here can help if you run into a problem. Buying a service manual is the first thing I do after acquiring a new bike.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by flitecontrol

Do you have a service manual? If not, it will pay for itself the first time you use it. It has step-by-step instructions and pictures to guide you. If you follow it, it's hard to mess anything up, and the folks here can help if you run into a problem. Buying a service manual is the first thing I do after acquiring a new bike.

I bought the owner's manual instead of the service manual by mistake... I'll definitely search around for one, I do believe there is a PDF version of the service manual floating around here somewhere that I could print out.

[flitecontrol]

There is. I went ahead and ordered a paper copy as it seemed the pictures on the PDF weren't printing well for me.

[ninjakuma]

Originally Posted by Finesse

^We also don't allow customers in the service area, I think it's for insurance purposes but also it's hard to work on a bike with the customer staring over your shoulder and possibly getting in the way and trying to chat with you. If we let anyone into the area where we work on bikes, there would always be people in the way and we would have a much harder time getting stuff done.

Hmm, the shop I go to is owned by a single older guy who just loves working on bikes. There are usually about 5 or 6 motorcycles in various stages of restoration or repair around the garage. The last time I took my bike there we had a blast just talking about bikes while he worked on mine and pointed out tips for when I do what he was doing myself. Was almost like a class.

I guess it depends on the customer and mechanic relationship. If they get along it would work, but I stay away from shops that stick to strict "policies". If I can't be in the service area then I would have to have a window or monitor to watch everything from.

There have been several occasions where myself being present has sped up a job by giving a helping hand, holding something in place, running to grab something etc. I'm not just another customer looking for some automated mechanic corporation, it's a relationship and it has to work or I look for another place.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

I bought the owner's manual instead of the service manual by mistake... I'll definitely search around for one, I do believe there is a PDF version of the service manual floating around here somewhere that I could print out.

I have both, a PDF and hard copy. I like my hardcopy as I don't have to worry about getting the screen of my tablet smudged with oil and grease. I like the tablet as i can find things super quick.

I'd say hunt around for a hardcopy. Any of the ones from '08 on will get you what you need.

[JohnnyBravo]

They would be less happy about it than I was

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

I have both, a PDF and hard copy. I like my hardcopy as I don't have to worry about getting the screen of my tablet smudged with oil and grease. I like the tablet as i can find things super quick.

I'd say hunt around for a hardcopy. Any of the ones from '08 on will get you what you need.

I found an 08, I'll pull the trigger on it.. How different will it be from my '12 ninja?

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

I found an 08, I'll pull the trigger on it.. How different will it be from my '12 ninja?

The only difference I've noticed was due to mine being a CA model and the manual for the '08 I picked up was for the rest of the country. AFAIK there were no changes during the new gens life but someone else may know more than me.

If you do come across a minor difference, there's enough info on the net to supplement what the book says with what you have that it'll be easy to figure out. (And just as a pointer, my Kawi shop dug out their actual used manual when I questioned what he was suggesting - they use the '08 book as well.)

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

The only difference I've noticed was due to mine being a CA model and the manual for the '08 I picked up was for the rest of the country. AFAIK there were no changes during the new gens life but someone else may know more than me.

If you do come across a minor difference, there's enough info on the net to supplement what the book says with what you have that it'll be easy to figure out. (And just as a pointer, my Kawi shop dug out their actual used manual when I questioned what he was suggesting - they use the '08 book as well.)

Yeah, from the info I picked up there is only an 08 book, huh, interesting..
Thanks for the suggestion Teri
Sorry about being OT!

[M42]

A mechanic didn't exactly break my bike, but when I first got it, I went to get the tires changed (stock 10 year old tires, hugely dryrotted, enormous crack by the DOT date on the sidewall ).

It was only a month after I picked it up that I noticed they didn't use any rim protectors while changing the tires, and they had tire iron scratches on all the edges. Not very noticeable, but I was pretty steamed. That's just ridiculously disrespectful... I mean, it ain't a panigale, but it's still somebody's bike. Why would you do that? The protectors take like a half second to slip in.

I couldn't exactly bring it back and rip them a new one since it took a month to notice... but now anytime I bring the bike to a shop, I'm gonna give it a serious once-over before I leave.