What other things do you question? Quite honestly, if I test rode the bike, which I would hope the mechanic would do, I probably would adjust the controls to suit me. It's not much of a surprise to have the seat and or mirrors readjusted on my car when I get it back from being serviced.
If they checklisted service items and didn't perform the service, that's pretty much fraud and you should have recourse.

 

I really don't trust mechanics. I've seen so much shoddy work that I've learned to do much of the routine maintenance myself.


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It will never stop happening. Good shops are hard to find, people just don't care many times because it isn't their property. Hopefully you get everything fixed up in short order and maybe the dealer will work with you. Even though I am lucky enough to have a good dealer near me, I still do as much of my own maintenance as possible (pretty much anything except tire changes).

 

That's what is so funny, people write in asking what they should be looking for when purchasing a used bike. Almost always the first response is "Good dealer service record." I never take my bike to the dealer for service, ever. If someone wanted to buy my bikes, all they would get would be the receipts for parts, oil and filters etc. No dealer has ever put his hand on my bikes since the PDI.

 

>You< may be an awesome garage mechanic, diligently going by the book, carefully torquing every fastener to it's correct spec and making careful notes of all of your mods. For every one of you, there are 5 guys trying to use water pump pliers or a pipe wrench on the axle bolt because they don't have one that size, and have replaced half the fasteners with stuff from 'the Home Depot', some of it even metric.

Take a look at Craigslist, and you will see that many people should not be left in the same room with tools and their motorcycle.

 

I know your pain. I picked my bike up after having it's 24k mile service only to have my intake camshaft break in half 3 miles from home. Sat on the side of the road waiting for the dealer to come pick me and my bike up. They did right by me, but it was still a pain in the a$$ and now I'm left wondering if something else is about to happen in the top end as a result of their muck up.

 

The intake cam broke in half?!! What the hell could the dealer have done to cause that? Seriously, in 66 yrs of life and fixing stuff for at least 50 yrs, sometimes as a professional and always on my own things I have never heard of a broken in two camshaft. I'd really like to know how that was accomplished. I don't think trained gorilla mechanics playing stick ball with your camshaft on their time off could accomplish that. :wrenchin2

 

^ Yes, I have a mechanic backround, and yes, what you say is true. One can only hope when they go to check a bike out that the service history is somewhat evident by the condition of the bike. Not always the case though I know.

 

I'd also add: Every time you buy tires from Motorcycle Superstore or order oil filters from Amazon, ask yourself why the local dealership can't afford to pay a decent A tech or enough techs to have good turn-a-round times. It is very difficult (in my area, at least) to make a living as a full time mechanic.

 

I hear you, but it's the chicken and the egg thing. Prices have gotten so ridiculous that it has become necessary for people to do their own work when they can. Example; I took my wheels off my bike last week, had a pair of take off tires from my other bike with 75% tread left. Took them to the dealer to install. So - just the rims with the old tires on, and a set of tires to install. The bill was over $100.00 What??? I have worked in lots of shops, and I know how long it takes to spin off two tires and spin two on. They couldn't balance the rear. $100.00 is ridiculous. They charge me less than that to do all four from my F350 and I just drop off the truck!!

I would venture to say, that if a dealer gave good service at a reasonable price, they would be as busy as they could handle in very short order. The mentality in many shops is; because we aren't getting very many jobs, we need to charge as much as possible for the ones we get. It's backwards.

I have actually debated buying a quality motorcycle tire machine and balancer, with the proper adapters to actually do the job as required. Post an add to mount and balance for $25.00 a wheel if you bring the wheels and tires. I would be hiring help and buying more machines within the first few months.

Most dealerships i have been to are so apathetic it's unbelievable. The ones that aren't are busy.

 

three weird breakages- w/hardened parts:
1-as a 17 yr old, over revving moms 67 ford 289 v-8 to burn out I popped the clutch, heard a huge clunk like a 200 lb sledge hittin the chassis and stalled the car. no rubber no nothing!. cranked 'er over and she spun the engine like crazy w/no compression!!! well, the manual transmissions primary shaft (3/4inch dia. hardened trans shaft) snapped in two! my over revving/ clutch popping also popped the timing chain off the sprocket as the shaft sheared. I found all this out after my uncle - a mechanic, told me I better take it easy next time.. funny thing was- after I did it I looked under the car after that huge CLUNK/BANG and saw every piece of dried mud the car had ever collected on its frame laying on the ground in the perfect shape of the cars twin I-beam chassis..lol

-2 couple years ltr w/no abuse this time.. had small m/c repair shop. rebuilt a customers 1970 cb350 top end. it had over 30k miles. I called the owner to come p/up his bike. hung up, and I started the bike. put her in gear and let out the clutch and hear the worst gut wrenching sound as the clutch was let out. broken first gear.!! didn't even get 6
feet.!! a hardened part. good customer- he believed me!

-3 my first nyc messenger bike back in the "day" . put 27k miles in 5 mos. then i broke a dog off 2nd gear causing two 1/2 teeth to break off. it was 1970 650 bonnie...

 

I fired my dealership. I just got tired of the culture of apathy and indifference that permeates the place, from sales to service.

I found two guys - Yaman and Alberto - who run a little repair shop with an excellent reputation. I now use the Triumph dealership solely for parts supply.

 

Dealers need to make a profit to stay open. That's a fact of life. How they go about doing that is their prerogative. I, as a consumer, am under no obligation to contribute to their well-being. If they have goods/services I am interested, great! Otherwise, I have no qualms about going elsewhere... or doing it myself.

Dealer service is a crap shoot. Other than warranty work, I try to stay away if at all possible. Of the 10 bikes that went through my garage lately, I've only had to take one to the dealer service... and that ended up being a mess. All I needed was a spare key fob programmed for my '09 C14. I ordered the new fob at the same dealer... brought my bike in when it came in... how hard could it be? WRONG!!! I stood there for 3hrs watching the service manager himself fumbling with 3 different computers. He finally gave up and professed that he does not know why he couldn't program it. I had to wait another 1hr before I could leave, because he had done drained the battery and had to pull the battery to fast-charge it. Then one of his underlings broke the wire that I hooked up for my HID conversion system, so I ended up riding home without headlights. Got home, and spent another 1hr pulling the batt and fixed the connector. BIG F**king waste of time.

It isn't just Triumph. It's the industry in general.

When I do the work myself, I live by my own work... good, bad, or otherwise. I'll keep doing that for as long as I can lift a wrench. I dread the day I can no longer.

 

"It isn't just Triumph. It's the industry in general.

When I do the work myself, I live by my own work... good, bad, or otherwise."

Well put. I agree completely.

 

I also agree.

BTW

Where did you find your sig pic? That is hilarious!

If I can find it I'm definitely going to have some t shirts made up.

Thanks.

 

I was talking with my riding buddy the other night, he's a top salesman for an agriculture company. He had his ZRX1200R in for a tire change and to replace the chain and sprockets. When he picked it up the bill was over $1200.00. This did include the parts, but something like $420.00 for the tires, $240.00 for chain and sprockets and $540.00 for labor. If it wasn't an absolute travesty, it would be hilarious. He asked when they had to remove the wheels for the tire change anyway, why he was still charged it again for the chain and sprocket swap. They said (in their sorry ass I don't give a flying f*ck about you or anyone else attitude) it was just the flat rate so that was that. What?? So if you go in to have a valve adjustment, the spark plugs changed and the air filter replaced, do you get charged 3 times to remove the gas tank? That's the pathetic apathetic attitude of some service outlets, and not necessarily just dealerships. It does seem to be in overabundance at the dealer though.

 

I worked in manufacturing most of my life (I`m almost 60). I wouldn`t have recommended buying a product from most of the places I worked. Except I knew that every other place had the same procedures.

Then I started to apprentice at a heavy truck repair shop. I figured that things would be different. People`s safety & all that. Yeh, right !. In the end I didn`t want to be a licensed mechanic. That way I couldn`t lose my license or be prosecuted for doing the things my employer expected me to do. Let alone being responsible for someone's death or injury. Speaking with other apprentices at trade school I knew my experience`s were not the exception.

If you take your bike in for service & it`s not acting up, who`s to say what was done to it. Are you going to take the forks apart & see if there`s fresh fork oil?. Check the valve clearances, etc.?. Even if you did, how do you prove your findings ?. You`re not a licensed mechanic!.

I worked installing drywall for a few months many years ago. The code called for two layers of fire resistant drywall in this building`s hallways. I was instructed to only use two layers around light fixtures & smoke detectors, where the inspector could check it. Otherwise the underlying layer was cheaper regular drywall.

I don`t trust anybody.:Cigar

 

Shoddy workmanship isn't unique to mechanics for sure. I work in the insurance field and see bad advice and incompetent work.

Like anything, you've got to find the people who take their work seriously, work hard and want repeat business.



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^ THIS .

As a professional Journeyman Tech for FoMoCo I can tell you that finding a guy who cares is key .
Generally you can get a feel for the technician by talking to him / her . But remember everyone has bad days .

You need to find the person who takes pride and like their job , not the one who is there just for the paycheque . Asking other techs is not as good as asking a boss/employee in another department such as parts or sales ( if possible ) . Other techs are usually petty and or jealous of the better techs and will badmouth them . Ask the sales or parts people who they would trust with their car/ bike then you know the one to trust .

 

I do believe the Great Recession drove a lot of good experienced motorcycle techs out of the business and to change career into other fields. A whole lot of dealers went belly up, and even those that survived probably had to cut back on staff. Now... when I take my bikes in for state inspection - about the only time I visit dealer service dept - I see only mostly kids barely out of high school.

I have a lot of respect for those who pride themselves in their chosen profession and enjoy going to work everyday - regardless of the field of endeavor. Unfortunately, the hard times have changed the motorcycle retail service industry for the worse.

 

Ha Ha, yeah. When I saw that E-card I laughed my head off. I scooped it off the web and added the "Let's Ride" using Microsoft Paint. PM me with an email and I can send you my copy.

 

PM sent.


Thanks,


Mike

 

What would it feel like if the front brakes were not bled correctly?
My rear brake responds quick nice and solid, front feels soft very gradual braking

Thoughts ?
Should they be bled again?

 

Generally (usually) one of the easiest ways to tell is to pump the brake lever. If there is air in the system it will compress with repeated pumping and the lever will get firmer. If you leave the lever be for a few moments, it will go soft again as the air re-expands. If pumping the lever doesn't create a short term firmer feel, it is likely something else.

What is the history of the problem, have you done some brake work recently?

 

My 12k service is what I am bugged about.
They replaced the brake fluids.
Never lubed steering or rear wheel bearings, gave an excuse

 

I had nothing but issue out of our local dealership. Dumb things like overfilling oil by more than quart, or shorting the oil. Just ignorant things.

The dealer is new so you could blame some stuff on experience.

Triumph is a great brand. Amazing brand. They have good customer service, and awesome bikes. However they are pushing the dealerships to open and rush.

I live 20 minutes from a triumph dealer; and I travel over 2 hours to go to one that is good.

DO NOT GO TO TRIUMPH OF CINCINNATI. Go north to Dayton or into Kentucky. Both of those dealerships are great.

 

Ahh, ok. I would check the master cylinder if they changed the fluid. The master tends to have more nooks and crannies to trap air. If while changing the fluid the tech (kid) let the master run dry, there could be air trapped. Try opening the reservoir and flicking the brake lever repeatedly. Just put your hands on the grips and pull the lever in and then let it snap back out quickly and repeatedly, watch for bubbles. If yours is anti-lock, I am not certain of the rest of the bleed procedure.

 

Thanks for the info.
I will try the two things mentioned here,
At least the bike is running very good , nice and strong.

Another.. They call me and ask if I wanted a K&n air filter, give me the price and I say ok.
Look at my bill they charged me for triumph one, so it never got installed. Oh well

 

Rushing the dealers - no kidding. My local dealer closed and another received the dealer license. I went in to check it out a few weeks ago. They have Triumph and a slug of dirt and trial bikes. No Triumph accessories or sales merchandise of any kind. I asked about getting some tires mounted, but they too could not balance a single swingarm wheel. So what happens if you buy a new bike there, but would like to have different tires installed for whatever reason? Outta luck. I don't think I would be stretching it to say that most people on this site know more about Triumphs than their dealer techs would. That is scary. The service manager asked what kind of bike I needed the tires installed on, when I told him he didn't bat an eye. Then I said, "It's a single sided swingarm, you know that right?" and it was a whole new ball game. So the service manager at a Triumph dealer doesn't know a Speed Triple has a single sided swingarm. That's awesome. "I mo takes mah bike dare fo shore!"

 

That's for the best, the K&N provides no gain in performance for your bike. The only thing it does is let in dirt. And because you can keep cleaning it and re-using it, it will give you many years of dirt sucking, engine wearing miles of ill service. You should call and thank them.

 

Is that true, K&Ns are no good?
then I guess I am glad they didn't put it in.

 

For sheer filtering area not too many aftermarket filters will outperform and out seal a stock filter.
You should see the horror show of K&Ns and AFE filters I see in my shop . It is crazy .

I had no choice with the SC to use a K&N , but I am using a pre filter and I have a spare filter to use while the other is being cleaned . Nothing destroys a K&N filter faster than drying it with pressurized air . A bad bad thing that a lot of people do to speed the process of drying the filter media before re-oiling

 

I had no choice with the SC to use a K&N , but I am using a pre filter and I have a spare filter to use while the other is being cleaned

I too have a spare set of K&N pod filters cleaned and oiled, reading to go on when it's time to clean the filters that are on the bike now. And when I put the clean ones on, I'll then clean and prep the dirty set so they're ready for the next servicing. The time saved is worth the coin spent to have the extra set on hand.