Doing it Yourself

[fly4hire]

Going over the V11 I recently purchased, even though the last service (6K) was done (by a MG dealer) less than 1500 miles ago, I thought I would double check a few things.

 

Checking the valves, the right side was a little tight, nothing over torqued as far as loosening things, and I set to world spec. The left side was way tight, and as I'm loosening the adjuster lock nut I notice it not much more than finger tight I set the gap, and as I'm tightening the lock not it does not seem to tighten. Checking for play, the entire top of the adjuster nut comes off in my hand. Grrrrr. Checking the intake side, the locking nut is torqued to excess. 4 new adjusters ordered today. This work was from a reputable dealer. I guess I'll be doing a lot more going over things......

[Guest ratchethack]

[abject butchery]. . . This work was from a reputable dealer. I guess I'll be doing a lot more going over things......

Good call, F4H.

 

This is one more example to throw on the mountain of compelling reasons that every rider should (IMHO) become as much of a self-sufficient DIY'er as he's capable of becoming. Of all the possiblities that routinely can go wrong in terra incognito behind the closed doors of an unknown shop at rider expense (and apparently in your case, even a known shop) -- depending on the shop of course! -- only a very small percentage of all those possibilities ALWAYS result in positive outcomes. . .

 

The dealer-perpetrated stripped oil drain plug that came out with a gob of sealant within an hour of when I took delivery of my Guzzi put me on an even more dedicated continuation of my own 100% DIY plan that has served me well over 12 bikes and four decades. Other than recall work inside the gearbox (I did everything outside the box myself), there hasn't been a wrench on my Guzzi other than my own, and I intend to keep it that way. Never dropped a bike off for service, never waited for parts that were "discovered" to be previously broken or lost, nor suffered "camouflaged carnage" at the hands of a new-hire chimpanzee wrench maven on my watch, either.

[Dan M]

There is a certain percentage of butchers in any line of work. The larger the dealer, the better chance of getting one of these hacks working on your stuff. There are only so many conscientious ones out there and they don't all work in the same place. Sometimes it is the fault of management, over scheduling can result in an under qualified person doing the job.

If you do whatever you can yourself, at least there is peace of mind that it was done with care. Something may arise that you are not equipped to do and you'll have to roll the dice on who fixes it. Some face time with the service manager may give some insight into who the good techs are and allow you to see that only they get their hands on your machine. The other plus of doing at least some of your own stuff is if you bring a more complex problem in, the "ace" will likely be assigned the job, likewise, the oil change or other easy maintenance goes to the "kid".

[Guest ratchethack]

If you do whatever you can yourself, at least there is peace of mind that it was done with care.

Aye.

 

I have only the highest, most sincere respect for skilled Pro's who've earned their highly-qualified expertise the hard way. I reckon the experience of many is rightfully worth considerably more than the going rate. IMHO they oughta get it, and many do. More power to 'em, and ain't this the kind of win-win, wot free enterprise is all about?

 

But for the rank Newb attempting his first DIY service, if something takes lots longer than it should, and even if there's some risk the job hasn't been done 100% optimally -- at least the DIY'er knows exactly wot he's done -- and if necessary, he can always go back in for a re-do with the confidence that he'll get it right this time, and probably never get it wrong again. Learn to fish in deference to buying a fish kinda thing. . .

 

When someone else does the work, even if you know who did it, you still never really know exactly wot was done, and always have to wonder. . . This kinda nagging doubt I can do without, but that's just me.

[gstallons]

Go back to the dealer and have a conversation with him. Let him know you are concerned as a customer and a friend about what you found. Tell him you want him to know that you would not like to turn work out like this and he shouldn't either. Hopefully he will bring this to the mechanic's attention to turn out GREAT work.

 

I treat everything I work on as it were my kid's personal aircraft. There is no room for error here.

[Greg Field]

I'm with the DIYers. Nobody touches a wrench to my bike but me.

[ronaldo]

Hello friends.I'm cristiano from spain.Nice to meet you all.I have only the highest, most sincere respect for skilled Pro's who've earned their highly-qualified expertise the hard way. I reckon the experience of many is rightfully worth considerably more than the going rate. IMHO they oughta get it, and many do. More power to 'em, and ain't this the kind of win-win, wot free enterprise is all about?Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!

Edited June 2, 2009 by jimbemotumbo
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[cycles4fun]

I'm with the DIYers. Nobody touches a wrench to my bike but me.

 

I'm a shop Foreman in a very busy highly respected and reputable new car dealership. In these times you have to run very lean to stay competitive and profitable. Our QC program has suffered as we simply have little available time to do it anymore. As a Foreman I'm very busy driving with customers listening to their concerns, dealing with problem cars, interfacing with factory support, keeping our equipment functional, providing Technical reports to the factory, all while still trying to be somewhat productive and banking some hours. Recently we tried another approach. It seems Technicians really never have to face our real boss's, our customers. They dont get to feel the heat and do the dance with our customers when things go wrong. Technicians by nature do not want to appear as hacks to their peers however. During the week I keep a log of all comebacks or workmanship issues that myself or the Service Advisor encounter. We have a spread sheet that I email to all the Techs as well as the Service Advisors at the end of each week. When a mistake is made their Tech number, which is normally green, turns either yellow (single X) or or Red (double X) and when clicked on a comment box pops up where I give all the details for everyone to view. Single X is used for minor infractions and double X for unacceptable workmanship or oversights. Sometimes this results in Write-ups and counceling as well. I have had Techs go well above and beyond to avoid a "double X" as they call it. And when one Tech ends up on the sheet the heckling he gets from the other Techs is far more painful then what the customer could ever deliver. This policy has been in effect for approx 4 months and seems to have helped our workmanship issues greatly and proven very effective. And when things do go wrong you step up to the plate and do the right thing for the customer. I guess thats why we continue to be very busy in a troubled economy. Food for thought for you shop owners out there.

Mike

[gavo]

No one gives as much care or has as much time for your bike as you do, plus the satisfaction from a job well done . Besides why pay someone to stuff it up when you can do it for free

[Guest ratchethack]

I'm a shop Foreman in a very busy highly respected and reputable new car dealership. In these times you have to run very lean to stay competitive and profitable. Our QC program has suffered as we simply have little available time to do it anymore. As a Foreman I'm very busy driving with customers listening to their concerns, dealing with problem cars, interfacing with factory support, keeping our equipment functional, providing Technical reports to the factory, all while still trying to be somewhat productive and banking some hours. Recently we tried another approach. It seems Technicians really never have to face our real boss's, our customers. They dont get to feel the heat and do the dance with our customers when things go wrong. Technicians by nature do not want to appear as hacks to their peers however. During the week I keep a log of all comebacks or workmanship issues that myself or the Service Advisor encounter. We have a spread sheet that I email to all the Techs as well as the Service Advisors at the end of each week. When a mistake is made their Tech number, which is normally green, turns either yellow (single X) or or Red (double X) and when clicked on a comment box pops up where I give all the details for everyone to view. Single X is used for minor infractions and double X for unacceptable workmanship or oversights. Sometimes this results in Write-ups and counceling as well. I have had Techs go well above and beyond to avoid a "double X" as they call it. And when one Tech ends up on the sheet the heckling he gets from the other Techs is far more painful then what the customer could ever deliver. This policy has been in effect for approx 4 months and seems to have helped our workmanship issues greatly and proven very effective. And when things do go wrong you step up to the plate and do the right thing for the customer. I guess thats why we continue to be very busy in a troubled economy. Food for thought for you shop owners out there.

Mike

Kudo's, Mike. I like the accountability factor of your "peer pressure" QC strategy.

 

My bet is that over the next few years, older cars will gradually begin to increase in value, just before the public wakes up en masse, at which point older cars take a more serious spike up in value over the following decade, as choices for relatively "reasonable" new cars go away, supplanted by wave after wave of new taxpayer subsidized cars, aka "Eco-appliances", mandated by the government as the consumer's only alternative to driving what they're already driving, or another used car. I figure this means your job suddenly becomes lots more important, and guys with a resume like yours will be in higher demand, and people will go to greater and greater lengths to keep the old sleds running longer (and Eco-regulation compliant) rather than purchasing a brand spankin' new government-spec, government-built and government-supported (in the case of Chrysler and GM) POS they wouldn't drive around the block, let alone purchase -- at ANY price.