Triumphrat

FelixLeiter · 10-09-2005

At the end of July I took my new 04 in to the dealer for its 800km service. They charged me $230 for oil/filter change and whatever various bolt tightening that gets performed at the 1st service (2 hrs worth of labour). When examining the bill it stated 'Premium 10W40' oil and 'Triumph spin on oilfilter', so I asked about the use of synthetic and why they didn't. The service manager told me that they use dino-oil as break in and first service, then if I wanted they would switch to semi or full synthetic. I asked if the dino-oil would last till the next service (10 000 km) and he stated yes, but if I wanted I could get another oil change at 5000km and switch to semi or full synthetic.

Now, at 4500km I decided to perform my own oil change and bought the triumph filter from the dealer and was sold some Motul 5100 as they said that it was the only full synthetic they carried (they don't carry the Triumph branded Mobil 1 as it is too expensive, fyi the Motul 5100 was $9.95 per liter). When I got home I read the bottle and realized that Motul 5100 is semi synthetic... back to the dealer to return it. I bought Mobil 1 10W40 motorcycle specific at Canadian Tire and proceeded with my oil change.

I was having trouble getting the filter wrench to grip the existing filter on the bike, however when I tried it on the new Triumph branded filter it fit perfect. A little persuasion with a rubber mallet got the filter wrench to grip the filter, and it came off... low and behold it wasn't a Triumph filter... it was black and said 'HIFLOFILTERO' on it along with some japanese lettering (or chinese, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference).

Should I be upset over this? Wrong oil, wrong filter, $230 oil change/first service, parts guy who doesn't know the difference between semi and full synthetic oil. The next nearest dealer is 300km away but I think I'll take an early Saturday trip and drop it off for the day when my 10 000km service is due!

crashmasterd · 10-09-2005

It's not worth your time to argue it. You got ripped, and the only response is to never go to that dealer again. Hopefully there's a more reputable one reasonably close.

You don't need to go there for oil filters. Use Purolator #L14476 (available anywhere in North America and beyond.)

And don't bother with motorcycle specific Mobile 1 synthetic. Mobile 1 High Performance 15/50 Red Cap is effectively identical and available anywhere auto parts are sold.

roadkill · 10-09-2005

Thats an expensive oil change!!!

Ive been there. Motorcycle dealers tend to be thieves. That is my experience. If you find a good one, stick with them.

In a car, the oil changing is much harder. Usually the oil filter is in a very hard to reach place, you have to lie down to drain the oil, its a mess. Im sure you know of some service stations doing car oil changes for 20$. Now why in the hell would anyone pay 200$ for an oil change on a motorcycle, when its much easier!!!!

Learn about your bike, do your own maintenance. The only thing I do not do is valve adjustments. And I am a newbie.

ELP_JC · 10-09-2005

Yeah, do your own maintenance man; it's part of the ownership experience. Besides saving big bucks, you'd feel a sense of accomplishment, and knowing that NOBODY cares about you more than you do. It might take you longer than the pros, but you'll do it right. And will take the time to clean things around, drain the oil long enough (I do it overnight), and more importantly, KNOW YOUR MACHINE in case something happens to it. Even the valves are easy enough; just buy the service manual, and read about the procedure. WebBikeWorld is a good source.
I always stick to OEM on oil filters in all my cars and bikes, due to the sometimes unknown issue of pressure relief valve values. Big dealers sell them online in lots at almost autoparts prices. Everything else I buy at the autoparts store, including redcap Mobil1 15/50. Good luck.

FelixLeiter · 10-10-2005

Thanks guys, I don't mind spending a reasonable amount of $ on service, especially at the maintenance intervals, and I am concerned about keeping my warrantee valid-- therefore I will likely have the 10 000km and 20 000km service done at "a" dealer (just not the local one...). In terms of oil filters I don't mind spending the extra $10 on an OEM one, same goes for the oil-- the extra $20 for Mobil 1 motorcycle specific doesn't bother me. I am mostly ticked off about the use of non OEM filter and non-triumph approved oil. The oil change only took me 1/2 hour (most of which was old oil drain time) and I can't see how tightening bolts could take more than another 1/2 hour... therefore the 2 hour labour charge is beyond me (in my opinion it shouldn't have taken a competent mechanic much longer than that to initially set the bike up out of the crate when it was new).

On a sidenote, the bike revs and shifts a lot smoother after switching to synthetic.

ken750f · 10-10-2005

^5 to doing the maintenance yourself..................I thought since my bike was new (last year) I would let the so-called "pros" do the first few services. After the first one (500 miles) forget it!!!!!!! What a bunch of rip off artists. Not only did they over charge they messed up on the service!!! So, just as with all of my past used bikes, I now do all the maintenance myself. Also, when it came to my 6K mile service I found a lot of other things the f'g dealer messed up!!! I purchase the oil/filter (including fuel and air filter) on line from an out-of-state dealer that I can at least trust for the right parts at the right price........(so far that is).

If you can - DO IT YOURSELF - and never trust anyone else except yourself.

roadkill · 10-10-2005

There have been many questions regarding making your warranty worthless if you do your own maintenance.

And it is total bull *****, bull ***** that manufactuerers put on booklets in order to avoid lawsuits. You see, if they put that on there, you cannot sue them if you screw up. Its really worthless, unless you are a moron. If you forget to tighten lets say, the nut the holds the wheel, then you should not be doing maintenance.

If you keep all receipts and make sure you have records that the maintenance was done, there is nothing they can do.

bike shops make tons on service, if you ask them if this is true. Guess what they will tell you.

BTW, i use regular oil on my bike. It works perfect, better than synthetic. I also change my oil every 2000 miles.