Triumphrat

Stealth · 07-01-2007

First let me tell you I will be doing all of this myself in the future. Take my T-100 to the dealer to change the oil and filter. Get it back it's 1/2 qt high. Went to a different dealer to have the oil change in my Yamaha Vino 1/2 qt to much.
Went to my South County Honda dealer to have the oil changed in my Honda Silver wing and they dropped it off the lift. Had the oil changed in my Toyota Yaris and they did it for free, and it was perfect along with free donuts and coffee. So my question is what gives with the motorcycle dealers? My life being very busy, I try to support my local dealers.

Amazing!

Stealth

TCL · 07-01-2007

I hear good things about Precision on 301. They don't sell bikes, just maintain them, so they have a vested interest in keeping you happy with their service. Nice guys too when I have gone in there. Not tool cool for school, like most of the dealers around town. What color bike do you have? I'll keep an eye out around town for you. My name's Todd.

[ This message was edited by: TCL on 2007-07-01 21:09 ]

markbvt · 07-02-2007

Unfortunately it seems that a lot of motorcycle dealerships staff their service departments with inexperienced kids who may or may not be under the supervision of one actual mechanic. Tasks like oil changes and factory-recommended maintenance get foisted off on the kids, and half the time they can't even do those simple jobs correctly.

Of course, the same thing is true of many car dealerships. I've read plenty of horror stories of people's cars being mistreated or damaged during routine service. There was one nauseating story of a tire shop that dropped a customer's Lotus Elise off a lift because they ignored the lift point instructions.

I've reached the point where I flatly refuse to bring any of my vehicles to any dealership for service, with the possible exception of warranty work on my car (haven't needed any so far, knock on wood). If I need motorcycle work done that I can't do myself (so far, that's been limited to a cylinder rehone on the old Honda I'm rebuilding), I have an excellent independent mechanic I can bring it to -- he also happens to be a friend of mine, so I know I can trust him. And if anything should go wrong with my car that's not covered under warranty, I have a fantastic independent car mechanic to bring it to.

Independent mechanics are the way to go, IMO. Their business relies on word of mouth and customer satisfaction, and usually those businesses are small enough that the owner/mechanics do all the work personally, or at the very least closely oversee their employees' work.

--mark

mecscc · 07-02-2007

I have had very poor luck using dealer service departments as well. If you want to be hired by a dealer it must be a universal necessityto not really know what you are doing. Fortunately, like the guys above, I have a very good indy mechanic for the things I don't want to tackle.

About the oil overfilling: I have found that if I put in the full 4 quarts called for by Triumph it will overfill the sight glass, by not quite a half quart. Several others have found the same thing. But a couple of others have said that they have no such problem. I really can't account for the discrepancy, but my 790cc Bonnie will NOT take four quarts of oil without overfilling. I put in 3 1/2 quarts, including pre-filling the filter, and run the bike, let it settle a few minutes and slowly top it off to the top line of the sight glass. (bike either on center stand or absolutely vertical on its wheels)

Monte

Stealth · 07-02-2007

I agree with you about Ron and his team. Ron's Team is absolutely stellar, they have done wonderful work for me in the past. That being said let me explain. To enforce your warranty you must have your work done by certified product mechanics. Triumph along with Honda and others will ask for the service history on such a warranty claim. Yes you could dump your warranty and start paying out of your pocket.

Experience tells me its best not to do this, had 4 claims on my 06 T-100 that where covered graciously.

Some would bring up the Magnuson-Moss Act good luck with this one you'll spend more on attorney fees then your bikes worth.

Thank you both for your valuable input.

badrufus · 07-02-2007

It seems to me that finding a good dealer is much harder than finding a good motorcycle. After two years of "trying to support my local dealer" I've just switched to one that is much farther away, but seemingly more competent. I've also learned how to do a great deal on my own.

HiVel · 07-02-2007

This requires a book length answer and I don't have time. Do it yourself if you can or go to the independent guy if you need expetise and can find one who knows what he is doing. Warranty work is pot luck anyhow. Don't ask me how I know.
Good luck everyone.

HiVel · 07-02-2007

This requires a book length answer and I don't have time. Do it yourself if you can or go to the independent guy if you need expetise and can find one who knows what he is doing. Warranty work is pot luck anyhow. Don't ask me how I know.
Good luck everyone.
Count your blessings if you have agood dealer-they are rare jewels!

UraniumC · 07-02-2007

Well I seem to be one of the lucky ones. I say seem to be because I've only had the 500 mile service done at Second Wind BMW Triumph.

But for this one service I was well pleased. They were easy to deal with, friendly and seemed to be competent. At $209 the price seemed fair enough.

Joe, the resident Triumph parts guy, is a particular pleasure to deal with. Very nice, knowledgeable and has a real passion for the Bonnevilles.

Cheers,

JC

lindsayt · 07-03-2007

Quote:

On 2007-07-02 09:50, mecscc wrote:

About the oil overfilling: I have found that if I put in the full 4 quarts called for by Triumph it will overfill the sight glass, by not quite a half quart. Several others have found the same thing. But a couple of others have said that they have no such problem. I really can't account for the discrepancy, but my 790cc Bonnie will NOT take four quarts of oil without overfilling. I put in 3 1/2 quarts, including pre-filling the filter, and run the bike, let it settle a few minutes and slowly top it off to the top line of the sight glass. (bike either on center stand or absolutely vertical on its wheels)

Monte

It's because Triumph's 4 quarts is the total system capacity, starting with a totally dry, empty system. In reality, you can't ever get all the old oil out, and so you NEVER (on any vehicle) use the full amount listed in the manual unless you're starting dry and/or you've used a vaccuum system to drain it. I found that if I left my Triumph to drain for an hour, it takes about 3 3/4 quarts, which is well as I've ever done with anything - I think the system is pretty open and gravity helps to drain it pretty well. But I've never changed a 4-quart oil system in a car that could take more than 3 1/2 quarts before it was completely filled. There's a lot of old oil that sticks around, which is the real reason that they recommend changing the oil filter *EVERY* time - if the whole system were empty every time, your oil filter could last through several changes, but without removing the oil filter it's impossible to get much of the dirtiest oil, and also an old oil filter will do far less to catch the grime left in the remaining old oil than a new filter.

Any dealer that overfills the oil is doing so because some dumbass who's never done an oil change read the manual and sees "4 quarts - well, I don't want to rip off the customer, so I'll put 4 whole quarts in".