So you think you trust a performance shop?

[ekap1200]

Imagine this. you got a vintage GL1000 goldwing. You think its time for a set of float valves and you take the bike in. WRONG MOVE, Bike shop gets hold of me and says there is something wrong could you take a look at these carbs. Sure I say, the bike was running right , oh yea. So I pull it apart and WOW. I call the shop owner and tell him he better check the fuel tank, seems to be loaded with water. Oh no he says WE FLOW TESTED IT WITH WATER !. .. .. After we put them on the intake filled up with gas, so we took them off and put water to them to see where the fuel was coming from. Well seems like they didn't replace the fuel manifold molded sealing ring, or forgot to put the old one back on, but thats as far as I would go without some cash up front. The only new parts I seen were needle and seat and new bowl gaskets. Well I feel bad about how stupid that is and give him a low price of 400.00 to repair what they screwed up...What can I say, I really felt sorry for the poor guy that owns such a nice vintage bike and I had some spare time. Shop owner says no way and I explain to him what has to be done to these poor carbs and it would take at least a day and 133.90 in parts. Still he says no way. Well I didn't feel that sorry for this guy that owns it, so back to the shop these pups go. So I guess the moral to this story is beware of where you take your bike to be worked on. Just cause they are in business don't mean they know what they are doing.

[biggersm]

I went through a similiar situation recently which is documented in the General XII forum. I'm smart enough to know what I should do on my own versus what I should let someone else do. Having said that, shouldn't the only liquid that ever comes in contact with a carb be gasoline (or maybe some other solvent)?

My sympathy to the former owner of the Goldwing. Does the Vintage Wing World have a parts guy like Carl Leo? Of course you seem pretty confident with repairs and were trying to find someone down here like you too.

[SgtSlag]

Shopping for a mechanic you can trust, is a scary prospect. I've been through this with my cars, as well as my bikes. Reader's Digest did a story on the quality of auto mechanic shops, across the country, around 15+ years ago. They bought a used car, took it to a dealership, and asked the dealer's mechanics to go through the car, and make it like new: engine, transmission, suspension, exhaust, etc.

Once the car was gone through, and certified to be running like new, they went across country, stopping to pull off a spark plug wire, then limping the car into a shop for diagnostics, and repairs. They knew what was wrong, but they wanted to see how honest the mechanics would be. They took names, and they published them. It was very informative, to say the least! The most common dishonest tactic was for the mechanics to find the pulled off wire, tear the head off of the wire, and then tell them they needed new wires! Other shenanigans went on, as well, but that was the most common tactic employed by the dishonest shops. They paid the shops to conduct the "repairs needed", then they moved onto the next town, and the next shop.

You really need to know some basic mechanics, these days: shop rates are typically $90-$100+ per hour, in my locale. If you have an honest mechanic, hang on to them! If in doubt, check them out... I've found several decent mechanics to employ on my cars, and a few who were blatantly dishonest.

For my bikes, I have found some great mechanics. I work with them, and I work on developing my rapport with them. I let them know I appreciate their work, their honesty, and their opinions. I also recommend them whenever I can, to fellow motorcyclists. They are not perfect, but they try their best, and they try to be as decent as they can, when something goes awry. When you find a good one, do all that you can to help them stay in business -- your bike's, your's, and your pillion's safety depend on it! Cheers!

[jcsshane]

Hoping this reply will prompt a few suggestions altho this thread is a couple of years old! NW Suburbs of Chicago ~ As a "Back" to a Voyager rider now, I am finding it hard to find a good Kawasaki mechanic in my area. Any suggestions from the gang here in the Chicagoland area?

Much appreciated

jc

[kjsett]

In Phoenix, I have been to two shops: North Valley Honda (and Kawasaki); and Steve's Cycle.

North Valley is less then ten minutes away, and Steve's Cycle is over 30. North Valley ripped the bottom out of my right saddlebag on my V-XII and then denied they had anything to do with it (or any knowledge that there was a problem), yet were very willing to sell me a replacement for over $800 (check out my threads for the whole story).

I took my wife's 97 Vulcan VN800A into Steve's (rode in 42F weather about 40min each way then waited for it) Cycle on Main in Mesa, AZ. I checked ahead of time and they let me sit in a chair and watch what the mechanic was doing. They found other things wrong with it, but that was why I took it in. They didn't show me anything that I didn't suspect there was already a problem with (tire, pads, and front end) and their prices were mostly expected and were reasonable (I thought). The front end wasn't the forks head like I suspected, but was the bearings (now I know how to check that). I had thought about doing the forks myself, but since I had never done it before, or even seen it done, I decided to take it in. Glad I did. The only thing left is changing out the back brake shoes before the summer, but plenty of life left in them till this spring. I will probably order the National Cycle Plexistar 2 today for it.

Just my opinion and thoughts,
ken

[Mr Jensee]

One of the greatest things about owning a bike these days is Youtube. You can find a video on there for almost any type of repair or rebuild. There is no reason to be intimidated about doing simple mechanical work, it mostly takes patience and time. Besides, if you don't at least try it you will never really understand your bike.

[jcsshane]

LOL - I agree, and at 60 years old and 45 years of riding, done most of it myself. But just never got the knack of cleaning ~ rebuilding and sync'n 4 carbs. And add to the mix that most shops in the midwest will store the bike for the next 3 months......I like that deal.

So, it appears there are no suggestions for Chicagoland mechanics......

jc

[David (N. Alabama)]

We had a guy show up on our mean streak forum who admitted he was a mechanic getting paid to work on a guys bike and he was coming to us enthusiasts for advice on repairing the bike because he admittedly had no clue about the bike. That is crazy! If I couldn't maintain my own bikes I would only own one and trade it in when it was about to need a major service done.

[jcsshane]

Thanks. It appears I am the only one needing to bring my bike to a mechanic. No wonder I can't fine one!

jc

[Bruce in OK]

Thanks. It appears I am the only one needing to bring my bike to a mechanic. No wonder I can't fine one!

jc

What are you needing worked on? There are some guys around here that might look at your bike for you. Kevin Braddy (Kevin B in Illinois) might be a contact person to steer you in the right direction. He is in the Salem area, but is hooked in pretty strongly with the IPV. You may try their website's message board and make the same querry.

http://ipvmc.net/forum/

[jcsshane]

Thanks - That's a great idea!

I think they even have a gathering coming up my way soon

jc