Let's see who messed the OP's bike up then shall we? And no, it's not way off the mark....Read the post properly. AL.
So what part of 'there are no longer any 'proper mechanics' in the main delaerships, but basically nothing more than fitters' did I get wrong? Everyone makes mistakes and hopefully it will be sorted and if not then anyone can make their mind up if to go there or not. Thats the power of the forums; opinion spreads. The downside is that opinions often differ.
I think the dealer should have the right to correct things. But if they dont then its their own damn stupidity and deserve all they get. Rash actions on forums such as this could cost people their livelihood when a genuine mistake has happened or someone's had a "bad day". I thought the days when the proles took to the streets with pitchforks had long gone :-/
Well you have Alan Knight at Snells, and I've seen him strip and rebuild a 1098 engine with a pipe cleaner and a crosshead screwdriver, so he's DEFINITELY a proper mechanic, and look at Zane at Moto Rapido...to watch him strip and rebuild a Panigale engine is a joy......so I cant agree with you one little bit Al, sorry......
Is the Alan Knight at Snells the same Alan Knight that used to work for Brooke Motorcycles way back in the twentieth century?
No idea Loz, but he has run Knight Racing for much of DD and nowadays in Thundersport GB, so he knows what he's about for sure.....
You might not like what I write, but it's my opinion based on over 40 years experience...... Everyone makes mistakes, eh?......So the customer that get's killed when a 'mistake' caused it, can get the problem sorted?? Can it b*llox. I have had enough 'mistakes' made by main dealers over the last 30 years or so; not only blatant rip-offs and potential safety issues, but also one incident just less than a year ago in which my wife had to deal with a major failure because of a main dealer, which nearly cost her life......The failure was through lack of basic knowledge or incompetence. I no longer trust a main dealer to service or supply a vehicle and would much rather have people like some of the indies (including Nog) do the work that I can't do for whatever reason.....but I would much rather do the work myself, given space and tools etc. And maybe there are a few people within the main dealers that can do the main work properly, but having seen some of the posts on various threads on this and the Ducatisti forum, there are plenty of people that have experienced what you might think are simple issues which actually have a huge safety implication.....so either the well experienced guy is doing the job in a hurry because he is under time constraints; or it is getting passed to a nit to finish the job off. As I said earlier, I would trust MotoRapido to work on my bike based upon service already received; but if evidence came to light that was to the contrary, I would obviously think hard about it....the same applies to Snells, of whom I have no experience. Unfortunately there are dealers out there that are obviously giving other dealers a bad name. I do not expect to do an oil and filter change, marking the filter and the casting quite clearly, to be told that there was a helluva job to get the filter off and the casting was cracked, which costs a small fortune and to be shown a chewed up filter and casting; only to find the same marks are there when I reinvestigate............That one cost the 'mechanic' his job, but I suggest it was a direction from the top. AL.
As a mechanical engineer, I take offence at the drogatory use of somebody's occupation, being nothing more than a fitter. This is a time served occupation and usually has more of a techinal and hands-on role, rather than pushing some new pads into a caliper. You might be getting confused with the Swedish noun, fitta. Which the said mechanic definately is.
I'll name and shame Fraikin lease company! My company caddy van was dropped off for a full service............................................... I phoned the office to tell them when i collected it nothing was done (i'm also a service engineer) Fraikin said it was done but they didn't realise the van is tracked and it never moved a wheel all day!!! Classic! We now lease from another company!
Not at all Al, opinions are great and because I dont agree I'd argue with anyone you're entitled to it But stating as fact like that isnt any opinion; its fact. And simply as a fact its wrong Agree OP should name the dealer (although I know both well) as I would hope anyone would, certainly I would
Mmm this is starting to turn into a real bun fight. I think the issue is not whether to name and shame, but when to do it. After the guilty part has had a chance to resolve it may be better, as it could prejudice the final outcome. If you have received bad service, by all means have a dig. Word of mouth can really motivate dealers, especially in these challenging times when spending on luxuries, such as expensive motorcycles, are being cut back on. Duke
I don't need language lessons with spelling like that.... :wink: Which 'mechanic' are you referring to? I haven't referred to any particular 'mechanic', so don't imply that I have.
Where did I say the two dealers I mentioned were responsible for the cock-up of the OP's bike? This is one reason why the dealer that did cock it up should be named, so as to avoid supposition. Plus, there is no point in giving a dealer a chance to put something right before naming them, if they did do something which was dangerous. In that situation, there is only a short step between cocking up and death, therefore they should be named so they learn a lesson and take more care over the work they are entrusted to do. Take Humbug's bike for example....The wrong speedo drive was fitted, by the look of it through ignorance. Just suppose it had seized the front wheel while the rider was blissfully unaware other than the speedo was reading incorrectly? In fairness, the dealer put it right before anything happened (after a denial by the dealer they had got it wrong, I gather); however, it wouldn't be much help to Humbug if something major had happened, would it?
For me there are a couple of considerations to have: 1. What outcome does the OP want? Having the faults put right at no (further) expense, or exacting retribution on the dealer for failure to come up to snuff in the first place? 2. Secondly, does the OP think they owe it to members of the forum to inform them of a dealer who may possibly (or probably) provide shoddy service? (I'm not convinced he does). As regards whether competent mechanics can be found at major dealers, obviously they can. The question is more like, what are your chances in % terms of one of these competent people working on your bike as opposed to having an incompetent (also employed) work on it? Surely Arquebus has sinned through making a "sweeping generalisation". What is probably closer to his thought (maybe not, I'm not him) is that "the chances of someone competent working on your bike at most major dealerships these days are slim". Which seems like a perfectly reasonable point of view, if not easily verifiable fact.
You are probably right..... ...but to date, I have encountered some terrible work in virtually every main dealer I have had the misfortune to use (cars and bikes)...from scratched paintwork and broken items due to lack of care, through to incompetent and dangerous workmanship, plus downright fraud. So in my experience which is quite lengthy; with a few exceptions, my gut feeling is that they are all tarred with the same brush. Don't forget that main dealers (cars or bikes) do not make much profit on selling the vehicles these days, whether new or secondhand; yet the manufacturer expects them to maintain expensive showroom and workshop premises / facilities, plus the personnel of course. So they have to make money somehow, and where does it come from? Yep, high servicing costs and high parts prices......and the quicker the job is done the more money they make. Don't think that by getting the job done quickly, you will pay less. It is a known fact from years ago, at least two car manufacturers in the UK had their own manuals which dictated how long a job should take. They also had a manual which explained the shortcuts for those jobs, sometimes knocking hours off a job. Guess which version the customer paid for. In my opinion, it is still common practice to rush through a job and move onto the next, but the customer gets charged well over the hours taken. AL.
When I was hand-weeding my garden a few days ago, I thought, "what if I had to pay someone to do this?" And I realised that you couldn't possibly afford to. No one would ever take the time I take to do it. No company could afford to bill a customer for the time it really takes. There would be some quick fix, or RoundUp or something. Bike maintenance is probably similar in some instances. Hourly labour charges are now so high, that for the job to be done really impeccably means that it is going to be highly expensive, just for simple things. Hell, on some Ducati's, you've already paid a small fortune just to get the fairing off and put back.
On the classic Multistrada it takes my girlfriend and I 45 minutes to get the tank off usually (I think our record's around 30 minutes though). You have to do this to change or take out and wash the air filter. So that's 1.5 hours labour just to change the air filter. On the old forum we had a list of dealer's hourly rates. Assuming £60 an hour - that's £90 to change the air filter. No wonder I do most of my own servicing.
I have to say i have been watching this thread with interest as I thought it was just me that had bad experiences with main dealers and big companies. When I was looking to get a new bike(my first Ducati) I went to all my local dealers an no one was all that interested let alone any offers of discount on accessories so I bought it from Ducati Wolverhampton because they could not have been more helpfull. It is such a shame they are not nearer. A friend of mine had his Duke seviced locally and they managed to damage his bike and although the damage was repaired it was a painfull process so neither of us will be going there again. It does not end with the bikes though I took my VW T5 to the local dealers and it came back with the steering wheel a 1/4 of a turn out and I was told this is the best they could do.......really I took it to an independent and they managed to get it straight!!!!!!. Another VW dealer on the next service £400 later and only 2 days later I get a puncture and cannot get the wheel off. The recovery guy and myself struggled to get it off and he could not believe it had only just been serviced. A call to them and the reply of 'we don't take the wheels off for a service'....what they do for the money then is a mystery to me. So what with this tyre companies damaging wheels and a local bike shop damaging very expensive mountain bike I have almost given up on trusting anyone with anything. Sorry for the rant.....
I have put the MONSANTO faring decals in today's post for you.............Let's have a pic when you have put them on......:wink:
