16k service

Discussion in 'Maintenance' started by bonjo, Oct 24, 2019.

  1. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    Cheers B & W. I hadn't even considered the prospect of being shafted, but how right you are! Whilst we might trust a dealer, we will never know what actually happens behind closed doors. :(

    £675 for the Blades, BUT with a 27 month cap. https://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/my-bike/maintenance/warranty/service-plans.html
    In my case (with the limited miles I do on some bikes) that would equate to a first service, a second year oil change and interim service, which this year cost £182.40 and then I'd still be under 8,000 miles at the 27 month mark. On that basis it would be inequitable.

    As I've noted before, I use dealer services for my 'newer' bikes, simply for the sake of the dealer stamp. We've had the discussions before about the value of service books and stamps at times of sale; perhaps it's a thing of the past and only of importance to a few over-the-top enthusiasts like myself. I do shudder when I think of paying a dude £40-plus per hour to change oil and filter when I do it myself on the other bikes.:rolleyes:
     
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  2. R.M

    R.M Member

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    Truthfully lads, does anyone know what goes on beyond closed doors? You could have a 16 year old on work experience working on your pride & joy. You just have to accept reviews from other customers or know the outfit yourself. Forget bout online reviews. God knows who's posting what there!!
     
  3. Jez

    Jez Senior Member

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    That's why I would rather do it myself. Most garages know even if they don't touch the bike/car it will not show any issues. A bloke I worked with bought a car never changed the oil or serviced it in 7 years and it ran ok, I would not recommend this but it does show we may be over servicing at 2-4k
     
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  4. bonjo

    bonjo Active Member

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    I actually spend good money on vehicle maintenance but got fed up paying through the nose for poor or non existent service.
    Having said that I have come across only a few good dealer service managers who understood me & took extra time and care doing the work.
    Unfortunately the remaining majority have been crap!
    At the end of the day the fate of your P&J depends on how good, conscientious and honest the mechanic is
     
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  5. bonjo

    bonjo Active Member

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    Well guys, the deed is done. MAnaged to have the bike serviced + to & from the mechanic without getting covered in salt & gritt!
    In the end 12 of the valves were re-shimmed (includes 8 that were on or almost on the lower tolerance limit).
    I could have been tight pursed and save some moeny but the mechanic's recommendation was to change the additional 8. It did not affect the labour charge just parts.
    Frankly with a tolerance of +/- 0.03mm:eek: I wonder how many garages have the right feeler guage and motivation to accurately check them.
    My mechanic mentioned he also checks the new shim values mith a micrometer to make sure the parts is correctly made.
    Also sourced petronas 10w50 FS oil. Now looking forward to some dry weather & salt free days to use the machine:rolleyes:
     
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  6. Blade runner 1

    Blade runner 1 Elite Member

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    My local dealer hasn’t even got an air filter in stock, ordered one a week ago still not arrived. Hope they don’t have any bikes in for a service at the moment.:eek:
     
  7. CharlieR85

    CharlieR85 Elite Member

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    You've found a good guy there then if he's willing to take cam shafts out to adjust clearances that are still within spec but just shy of ideal. Don't think you'll find many that would do that. Checking the valves is easy, removing camchain/shafts/shims is fraut with danger and adds a lot of time/complexity to the job. The crude method would be to make sure the lower tolerance feeler gauge passes but the upper tolerance gauge does not then send you on your merry way £400 lighter. Might be worth giving the garage a name drop for other members, he/she sounds like a keeper.

    I've just finished doing the job on my VFR (winter/work bike) at home. It wasn't too bad really, gave me the confidence to tackle it on the blade when required. I can see why it costs so much at the dealers though, the time alone for stripping and rebuilding the bike to get access is huge. Haynes/workshop manual is your friend.
     
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  8. Boothman

    Boothman Elite Member

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    Who is this rare and mythical beast of the diligent mechanic
     
  9. Lozzy

    Lozzy God Like

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    What year/mileage is your bike bonjo out of curiosity regarding the shims
     
  10. bonjo

    bonjo Active Member

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    blade runner
    I assume you are aware the air filter change is at 12k
    charlie
    my mechanic also said that a lot of garages only check the regular valves and not the VTEC valves. It adds a lot of extra labour.
    I would like to use the bike before making a recommendation
    lozzy
    mine is a 2008 & 15.5k
     
  11. CharlieR85

    CharlieR85 Elite Member

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    VTEC valves? If you're referring to my VFR, its an old one pre-VTEC :D
     
  12. Blade runner 1

    Blade runner 1 Elite Member

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    Yes it’s just over 11k at the moment, to be honest it could have done with a new filter when I last had it apart about 1000 miles ago.
     
  13. bonjo

    bonjo Active Member

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    Ahah. Yes it was very vetch (which I had one previously) so ignore my comment:cool:
     
  14. Cream_Revenge

    Cream_Revenge Active Member

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    99% sure I paid for a valve service I never got. Had an argument but eventually just had to suck it up and never went back.
     
  15. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    Been suggested before on here. Unless we secretly mark cam covers etc, I guess we can never be sure. I like to have confidence in my mechanics, but trust is another matter.:mad:
     
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  16. Cream_Revenge

    Cream_Revenge Active Member

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    Angers the shit out of me.
     
  17. Grooveski

    Grooveski Active Member

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    Presumably the other four were out of tolerance so the shafts had to come out anyway. Might as well do the ones that are getting close at the same time, then it should be a good while before the shafts need to come out again.
    Done the same thing myself for my rr5's 32k. Only 3 were out but adjusted another 5 while I was in there.
     
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  18. bonjo

    bonjo Active Member

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    We had agreed, there would be no half measure work and I was happy to pay the extra.
    He also changed the the Cam Cover Bolt Seals (again on his recommendation & I agreed to). He said they are not normally changed but would do it if it were his own motor.

    It was an expensive service, all in all about £450 but still much cheaper if my local non flexible dealer had done it
     
  19. Maad

    Maad Active Member

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    I know the deed is done already but while I'm here I thought I'd recommend the garage I go to - Burwin's Motorcycles in Angel, London.

    Can be pretty far for some on here but the team there are brilliant, very flexible, honest opinions, always given me a no-nonsense answers to any questions.
    Highly recommended for anyone to try them out.
    Side note; they can usually do some small jobs (inc tyre and pad changes) without bookings if you're short on time. ;)
     
  20. Ice Doc

    Ice Doc Active Member

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    Well I know my local dealer has at least two top guys in their service team, so I'm confident they'll do a good job when my 16k service arrives (probably in April). However, when they did my 8,000 mile service, they did overfill the oil which they then pointed out when I first took it in concerning a hot-start issue I'm having. I then pointed out that it was them that did the service, so a few embarrassed looks and I asked whether it could have damaged the bike (oil going where it shouldn't).. they assured me that was ok.
    I have the 2 year extended warranty for what that's worth - I think that's probably more "dodgy" than the service plan. I think the money for the service plan goes direct to Honda rather than the garage itself. Particularly as I paid for the service plan when I bought the bike, but I get it serviced at a different garage - I think the garage charges Honda, in the same way they do for warranty work.

    @nigelrb - I agree, a service plan for your* low mileage (* your bike's, not you personally of course - that's something I couldn't possibly comment on :) ) probably makes no financial sense. For me however, I think the 27 months will include the 16k service as well as the initial service and the 8k service.

    With respect to the service being done according to the "book", I guess as long as the oil is changed and the basics are done I won't really worry too much. I do wonder sometimes if taking things apart when they're not broken is such a good idea.. I imagine people will tell me about a whole range of preventative measures etc. that the 16k service aims to address - so I stand corrected in anticipation of these :)
     
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