Unhappy with servicing.

[Milky Bar Kid]

So, as some of you will be aware, I took my bike into our nearest suzuki dealer for servicing on Tuesday. I arrived just before 1pm as agreed and was told that unless there was some MAJOR problem then the bike would be ready by the end of the day.

I got a phonecall about twenty to four telling me the front brakes needed stripping and that it should be finished about 5pm. Fine says I. Ten minutes later, I get a call saying, actually, no. They are quite badly corroded and bike won't be ready til 10am the following morning. So bearing in mind I am about 55 miles away from home, I popped down and asked to have a look. The manager wasn't overly chuffed but agreed to take me into the workshop. The sight which met me was the mechanic working on a Yamaha R6....with no one even near my bike and the calipers were still on it.

I asked them if there were any other issues with the bike and was told no, absolutely everything else was fine. I left it like that and jumped on the back of my pals GSXR750 to get home.

Next morning, a pal gave me a lift back through. Arrived about 11.25am. Bike not touched all morning. Was then told the rear caliper was stuff and that a pin had apparently seized in it and they were apparently not allowed to touch the bike til I had given permission. I queried why I wasn't 'phoned and the guy started getting all defensive and saying stuff like" Are you complaining about the service? What exactly is your complaint??"

I politely explained that I didn't understand why I couldn't have been informed about the problems earlier on, saving me the 110 mile round trip. He got really snotted and decided I was trying to accuse him of diddling me out of money. I informed him that I was suggesting no such thing and that tbh, the money wasn't what concerned me. He got very rude and said the following:

"If you are not happy with our service then I suggest you go elsewhere in future."

I completely agreed with this point!!!:smt091

Anyway, he then informed me bike would be ready after lunch. I met up with a lass that used to work on my shift, had lunch and natter for an hour and a half. Went back down with her, nope. Not ready. Be ready in an hour.

Got a phone call, not be ready til later, need to drill a pin out....ok says I, how long, about another hour or so. An hour and a half later I went down....no joy. And they had stopped working on my bike.

I lost the rag a little bit and told them I didn't mind them doing the work that needed done on my bike but that I was raging that they had me running about after them for two whole days!! He then told me he would deliver my bike tomorrow, no extra charge.


I then had to sit for 3 hours and wait on the next bus - in full gear. Got on the bus, like a twonk wearing leathers and looking like a total Tard...

So we worked it out and apparently with all the work this mechanic had done, it was at least 6hrs of labour (if all that I was being told was true).

Tonight, 2 hours after bike was due, he arrives. Apparently had to replace caliper with a second hand one. Fair dues.

My invoice looks as follows:

7500 miles service: 3.5 hrs @ £40 per hour + VAT = £140
Silkolene Oil: £14.25
Sump washers: £0.50
Oil filter: £9.57
Spark Plug: £12.72
Health and safety: £3.38
2nd hand caliper: £34.04

Grand total: £252!!!!:smt091 :smt091 :smt091

Never again.

[carternd]

Why can't people say "I'm not sure" rather than stringing people along? I'd have been tempted to say, give me the bike back. Name and shame them all over the web.

[mjc]

its a pain right.

how about...

workshop manual- £20

sorted :thumleft:

[Wideboy]

you didn't give the go ahead for a second calliper?

he's right about not touching them without your permission but replacing it without your permission?? I'd be concerned he didn't replace it at all especially using second hand parts :confused:

[lee67]

same old story im afraid,..are u sure he changed the caliper???...this was the very reason i went to night college after work to learn bike mehcanics..must have saved me £1000;s over the years''

[Milky Bar Kid]

Why can't people say "I'm not sure" rather than stringing people along? I'd have been tempted to say, give me the bike back. Name and shame them all over the web.

Exactly! If he had told me that the brakes looked a bit of a state and were gonna take a bit of work I wouldn't have minded. He saw a young, naive looking lassie and thought he could exploit me...then thought he could bully me when I questioned him!!!!!!!!!!!!! A letter will be going to Suzuki.

its a pain right.

how about...

workshop manual- £20

sorted :thumleft:

I know absolutely nothing about mechanics so would be a bit scared of doing anything to the bike without someone guiding me first.

you didn't give the go ahead for a second calliper?

he's right about not touching them without your permission but replacing it without your permission?? I'd be concerned he didn't replace it at all especially using second hand parts :confused:

No, he didn't ask me about replacing the caliper. I think, from the look of it he has changed it.

same old story im afraid,..are u sure he changed the caliper???...this was the very reason i went to night college after work to learn bike mehcanics..must have saved me £1000;s over the years''

Yep, I am gonna start asking people to show me things, try and learn the basics. I certainly will not be going to Scotspeed in Dumfries again!

[andrewsmith]

where did you take the bike?
That service is shocking.

[Milky Bar Kid]

Scotspeed Suzuki in Dumfries.

My gripe is not with the work they have done. It needed done so fair dues but my gripe is the fact that they thought they could give me the run around for nearly 3 days!!

[squirrel_hunter]

Yep, I am gonna start asking people to show me things, try and learn the basics. I certainly will not be going to Scotspeed in Dumfries again!

I know where a couple of spanner monkeys are that are willing to break you in. And I'm sure they are willing to help you with the bike as well. Bit of a drive though...


However I would be concerned if any of the work they have claimed to have carried out has been done judging by what you said.

He saw a young, naive looking lassie and thought he could exploit me...then thought he could bully me when I questioned him!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately it looks like this is what happened. Take it up with the shop management and with Suzuki if its a franchised dealership. Customer service and quality of workmanship is the key to a successful dealer that you trust. It sounds like both of these qualities are missing here.

[-Ralph-]

Scotspeed Suzuki in Dumfries.

My gripe is not with the work they have done. It needed done so fair dues but my gripe is the fact that they thought they could give me the run around for nearly 3 days!!

It depends where "Nr Stranraer" you are, but North Harbour Motorcycles in Ayr is about the same distance, or go for a nice run at the weekend up past St Mary's loch and take it to Saltire in Edinburgh if you want to guarantee good service. Don't touch Mickey Oates in Glasgow with a barge pole BTW!

[Milky Bar Kid]

That was the shop management!!!

Next time I am down, you and the Stretchmeister can show me some stuff...maybe!

[husky03]

ffs mrs you could have had a run through to hamilton and i'd have serviced your bike,stripped and rebuilt your calipers and done whatever else was needed and shown you how to do it yourself in future-would have cost you feck all-next time give me a shout and save your hard earned.

[Milky Bar Kid]

I'm actually in Newton Stewart. Which is why I chose to go to Dumfries instead.

And who changed my title?!?!

[husky03]

hope you got the old caliper back otherwise they'll end up selling it and make more money the bams

[Milky Bar Kid]

Where did Ralphs post go???

[fizzwheel]

Well the work you had done with regard to the caliper rebuild and the stuck pin in the rear caliper is very similar to what I had to have done to my SV. I would say that they have actually saved you money by fitting a 2nd hand caliper if thats what they have done as that would have been much less in terms of labour than sorting out your existing one. Of course whether they have done it is another thing...

Shoddy way to treat somebody with regard to not telling you what is going on, keeping you waiting and not appearing to be working on your bike.

All signs of to me a workshop with to much work on and not enough staff to do said work.

I wouldnt be going back there either...

[Richie]

MBK... turn up to pick up your bike in uniform with loads of other cops and squad cars... Surround the place and ask to see all the receipts ...and re ask are you sure these's are the correct prices...?

[Wizzbangwill]

FFS they did the work. Ok they shouldn't have strung you along but is your bike better or not? I guess everyone on here is perfect technicians themselves. Tell me why you don't do it for a living?

I wouldn't public and cr@p wage no ta!

Seriously..you reckon they didn't change the caliper..I'd hate you lot on jury service lol

[Milky Bar Kid]

FFS they did the work. Ok they shouldn't have strung you along but is your bike better or not? I guess everyone on here is perfect technicians themselves. Tell me why you don't do it for a living?

I wouldn't public and cr@p wage no ta!

Seriously..you reckon they didn't change the caliper..I'd hate you lot on jury service lol

Completely and utterly missed the point.

And I'm not entirely sure that the owner, who was downright rude to me, will be on a crap wage and I am well versed in working with the public/

[ThEGr33k]

hope you got the old caliper back otherwise they'll end up selling it and make more money the bams

Indeed, I would ask for it back. Id bet it was fixable. Hammer and nail will get that pin out. I know, as ive done that myself :)

FFS they did the work. Ok they shouldn't have strung you along but is your bike better or not? I guess everyone on here is perfect technicians themselves. Tell me why you don't do it for a living?

I wouldn't public and cr@p wage no ta!

Seriously..you reckon they didn't change the caliper..I'd hate you lot on jury service lol

I work as a technition and I wont give false impressions of how long would take!

I personally think Milky has a lot to complain about. Shocking way to be treat.

[husky03]

[QUOTE=Wizzbangwill;2243746]FFS they did the work. Ok they shouldn't have strung you along but is your bike better or not? I guess everyone on here is perfect technicians themselves. Tell me why you don't do it for a living?

Aye - good enough to do all the service stuff ourselves or atleast get someone else from the org to show how to-that way you know whats been done.And whats all this technician pi$h?thats the second time today i've heard a spanner monkey referred to as that?

[barwel1992]

similar thing with a Yamaha dealer, they didn't do half the work the air filter was filthy and oil was low both were checked off on service sheet (check them when i got home) and when asked about it they sead they had and must of happened on the ride home ... from now on i do my own work

dont trust money grabbing stealer's ohh and Daventry suzuki tried to sell me a whole new speedo drive without even looking at the speedo drive (£120) in the front wheel, they just sead its defiantly not just the rotor (£20), with a £100 price diff i was willing to buy the tools and look at it my self, low and behold it was just the rotor £100 saved

[Milky Bar Kid]

I didn't get the caliper back tonight. He had just dropped bike off and then drove away, I had to sprint after him as he didn't even leave my key!! I will phone tomorrow and ask for the caliper to be sent through, or arrange for someone to pick it up for me!!

[-Ralph-]

Nowt to do with the spanner monkey anyway, he's exactly that, a spanner monkey. He gets told which bike to work on and when by the workshop manager. Not his fault if a bike is not worked on when the service reception said it would be.

[squirrel_hunter]

FFS they did the work. Ok they shouldn't have strung you along but is your bike better or not? I guess everyone on here is perfect technicians themselves. Tell me why you don't do it for a living?

I wouldn't public and cr@p wage no ta!

Seriously..you reckon they didn't change the caliper..I'd hate you lot on jury service lol

I'm far from perfect as a spanner monkey. But then I have never claimed I am. Plus I don't charge for my services, they do.

I wouldn't do it for a living either. I've done the working with the public for a cr@p wage thanks, don't want to do it any more.

From what MBK has said I would be concerned if they have done the work they claimed. That includes but is not limited to the replacement of the caliper. However concern is not an accusation of failure to do the work. I would want to examine the bike myself to be sure.

At risk of repeating myself customer service and quality of workmanship is the key to a successful dealership. Based on MBK's experience as reported here both appear to be lacking. And as someone who has a great deal of experience of both, impressions, correctly gained or not are what count in the service industry.

[Bri w]

Irrespective of did the work need doing or not, or is the bike in a better state than when handed to the dealer this is a fine example of customer service at its very best.

Franchised dealers have captive markets - let Suzuki know how you feel, cc the letter to the dealer.

For small jobs, ask for help. For big jobs, take it elsewhere.

[STRAMASHER]

I then had to sit for 3 hours and wait on the next bus - in full gear. Got on the bus, like a twonk wearing leathers and looking like a total Tard...


Never again.

I'm not laughing at your misfortune (I have been burnt in some way or another by nearly every bike shop on the west coast over the years, I am now fussy beyond belief) but that bit had me ****ing myself.

Had to do that recently. Never again.

"Fell aff yer bike sonny?":smt081 (I'm 39)

[JamesMio]

I'm not so confident yet on brakes, but if you've just had the big service, the next one is only the easy stuff (oil, plugs & filters) which I can easily come and show you how to do in under an hour for the lot.

My rates are a cuppa and biscuits of your choice!

For the bigger stuff, in Dumfries there's Abbey Motorcycles (Irongray Ind Est) and Robert Dunns (who I'd forgotten about when I spoke to you on Facebook). Both of which are well regarded over here and I've not had any problems with either. I use Cris @ Abbey a) because he's literally down the road from me, and b) because I know him from the local IAM group. My dad's been using Rab Dunn's for 20 years he's always been happy with him too.

[hindle8907]

Customer service , pahh what a bunch of Tits ....
Just find your self a good local mechanic in future or get help off the org ....
I would never take my bike to a dealers its asking for trouble,
All they like is nice shiny new bikes which they rub over with a cloth and throw a bit of grease on .

[Captain Nemo]

£3.38 for health and safety???, WTF is that for?

[Stig]

Oh had I read this before your FB status I would not have written what I did. Was right though. :(

Another good example of why I learnt to do stuff on my own bike and why I do not trust garages.

[Philbo]

I didn't get the caliper back tonight. He had just dropped bike off and then drove away, I had to sprint after him as he didn't even leave my key!! I will phone tomorrow and ask for the caliper to be sent through, or arrange for someone to pick it up for me!!

Can't be 100% sure, but going by the cost of a set of caliper seals for my old RGV250, that will probably be an exchange and return price for the second hand caliper. i.e. they keep your old one as part of the deal. Pretty normal practice in all sorts of industries.

Sounds like a wee letter to Mr Suzuki is order regarding the managers attitide and general poor customer service.

[Dicky Ticker]

Should be in uniform and I bet he has a different approach especially if you take a couple of big mates with you
I am NOT suggesting you should exercise any powers over him but I think that
they have given you the run around and a reduction in the bill for your time and travelling expenses is in order,especially as you were travelling on the information
supplied by them

[Sosha]

Well the attitude sucked but the bill was OK - now - How's the Bike?

[ethariel]

Just as an aside - next time you get the 'oh it needs ABC done' followed by an 'oh xyz needs doing too!!', just tell them you want all the old parts kept for inspection when you pick the bike up.

[thefallenangel]

If you haven't paid the bill, ask for the old caliper and reufse to pay the bill until it arrives as it's classed as your materials as it's not been declared as waste, otherwise the dealer will "overhaul" it and use it on the next mugs bike.

[Spanner Man]

Good morning all.


Sorry to hear of your problems. Don't go there again, & tell everyone you meet what a bunch of Shysters they are is my recommendation.

How about this for main dealer 'service'. We had a chap bring in a Yamaha 125 scooter yeaterday for new brakes & an MOT prep.

We noticed that the lower caliper retaining bolt was missing. Apparently West London Yamaha in Hanworth (Name & Shame):D Had told him that was ok after he queried whether there should be a bolt in the vacant hole! Not only that, the other bolt had been done up by King Kongs bigger brother!


Cheers.

[Lozzo]

you didn't give the go ahead for a second calliper?

he's right about not touching them without your permission but replacing it without your permission?? I'd be concerned he didn't replace it at all especially using second hand parts :confused:

What's the big deal with people buying used brake parts because they are potentially damgerous?

Just bear in mind that every time you buy a used bike you buy used brake parts. In fact every time you buy a used bike, all you're buying is a bolted together collection of used parts.

It's probably cheaper, in both parts terms and labour to replace a rear caliper with a new one than it is to renovate an old seized one. If they had a good caliper to hand then I wouldn't be complaining.

FWIW, a 1996 to '98 CBR600F rear caliper is the same as a pointy's one, so they aren't hard to find if anyone ever needs one.

[Neeja]

That was the shop management!!!

Next time I am down, you and the Stretchmeister can show me some stuff...maybe!

Or stop off for a cuppa in Warrington on the way, take the mick out of Saxo and get shown stuff here ;)

[Glencoe]

So, as some of you will be aware, I took my bike into our nearest suzuki dealer for servicing on Tuesday. I arrived just before 1pm as agreed and was told that unless there was some MAJOR problem then the bike would be ready by the end of the day.

I got a phonecall about twenty to four telling me the front brakes needed stripping and that it should be finished about 5pm. Fine says I. Ten minutes later, I get a call saying, actually, no. They are quite badly corroded and bike won't be ready til 10am the following morning. So bearing in mind I am about 55 miles away from home, I popped down and asked to have a look. The manager wasn't overly chuffed but agreed to take me into the workshop. The sight which met me was the mechanic working on a Yamaha R6....with no one even near my bike and the calipers were still on it.

I asked them if there were any other issues with the bike and was told no, absolutely everything else was fine. I left it like that and jumped on the back of my pals GSXR750 to get home.

Next morning, a pal gave me a lift back through. Arrived about 11.25am. Bike not touched all morning. Was then told the rear caliper was stuff and that a pin had apparently seized in it and they were apparently not allowed to touch the bike til I had given permission. I queried why I wasn't 'phoned and the guy started getting all defensive and saying stuff like" Are you complaining about the service? What exactly is your complaint??"

I politely explained that I didn't understand why I couldn't have been informed about the problems earlier on, saving me the 110 mile round trip. He got really snotted and decided I was trying to accuse him of diddling me out of money. I informed him that I was suggesting no such thing and that tbh, the money wasn't what concerned me. He got very rude and said the following:

"If you are not happy with our service then I suggest you go elsewhere in future."

I completely agreed with this point!!!:smt091

Anyway, he then informed me bike would be ready after lunch. I met up with a lass that used to work on my shift, had lunch and natter for an hour and a half. Went back down with her, nope. Not ready. Be ready in an hour.

Got a phone call, not be ready til later, need to drill a pin out....ok says I, how long, about another hour or so. An hour and a half later I went down....no joy. And they had stopped working on my bike.

I lost the rag a little bit and told them I didn't mind them doing the work that needed done on my bike but that I was raging that they had me running about after them for two whole days!! He then told me he would deliver my bike tomorrow, no extra charge.


I then had to sit for 3 hours and wait on the next bus - in full gear. Got on the bus, like a twonk wearing leathers and looking like a total Tard...

So we worked it out and apparently with all the work this mechanic had done, it was at least 6hrs of labour (if all that I was being told was true).

Tonight, 2 hours after bike was due, he arrives. Apparently had to replace caliper with a second hand one. Fair dues.

My invoice looks as follows:

7500 miles service: 3.5 hrs @ £40 per hour + VAT = £140
Silkolene Oil: £14.25
Sump washers: £0.50
Oil filter: £9.57
Spark Plug: £12.72
Health and safety: £3.38
2nd hand caliper: £34.04

Grand total: £252!!!!:smt091 :smt091 :smt091

Never again.
Hmmm yeah thats not good atall is it, with that kind of service I think you would be better off learning a bit of bike mechanics, get a genuine workshop manual, that would be a good place to start.

[Kilted Ginger]

MBK, if you feel you have a real complaint then contact suzuki. I did re an issue i was having with the local service place after arguing with them for ages. 47 minutes after i got off the phone with suzuki i got a call from the dealer, very apologetic, refund and transport costs.

[Milky Bar Kid]

Yeh, I have every intention of putting it in writing to suzuki!

[andrewsmith]

We noticed that the lower caliper retaining bolt was missing. Apparently West London Yamaha in Hanworth (Name & Shame):D Had told him that was ok after he queried whether there should be a bolt in the vacant hole! Not only that, the other bolt had been done up by King Kongs bigger brother!



I've had that problem with a YBR with the airbox. bolts had been off and inspected the filter and done up so tight :rambo: the bolts were partially rounded by the end.
That is bad for an approved main dealer for the cost of a caliper bolt aswell

[Biker Biggles]

Well the attitude sucked but the bill was OK - now - How's the Bike?

Got to agree with that.Apart from all the messing about that seems a good price for the work done.

[Alpinestarhero]

Its experiances like this that prompt me to tell people local to the london area to take their bikes to spannerman.

I only wish you could do the same :(

In future, just take your bike away from them and find someone else. In any case, it would be good to get a freind to inspect the work has been done properly and rectify any outstanding issues.

[Dave20046]

So, as some of you will be aware, I took my bike into our nearest suzuki dealer for servicing on Tuesday. I arrived just before 1pm as agreed and was told that unless there was some MAJOR problem then the bike would be ready by the end of the day.

I got a phonecall about twenty to four telling me the front brakes needed stripping and that it should be finished about 5pm. Fine says I. Ten minutes later, I get a call saying, actually, no. They are quite badly corroded and bike won't be ready til 10am the following morning. So bearing in mind I am about 55 miles away from home, I popped down and asked to have a look. The manager wasn't overly chuffed but agreed to take me into the workshop. The sight which met me was the mechanic working on a Yamaha R6....with no one even near my bike and the calipers were still on it.

I asked them if there were any other issues with the bike and was told no, absolutely everything else was fine. I left it like that and jumped on the back of my pals GSXR750 to get home.

Next morning, a pal gave me a lift back through. Arrived about 11.25am. Bike not touched all morning. Was then told the rear caliper was stuff and that a pin had apparently seized in it and they were apparently not allowed to touch the bike til I had given permission. I queried why I wasn't 'phoned and the guy started getting all defensive and saying stuff like" Are you complaining about the service? What exactly is your complaint??"

I politely explained that I didn't understand why I couldn't have been informed about the problems earlier on, saving me the 110 mile round trip. He got really snotted and decided I was trying to accuse him of diddling me out of money. I informed him that I was suggesting no such thing and that tbh, the money wasn't what concerned me. He got very rude and said the following:

"If you are not happy with our service then I suggest you go elsewhere in future."

I completely agreed with this point!!!:smt091

Anyway, he then informed me bike would be ready after lunch. I met up with a lass that used to work on my shift, had lunch and natter for an hour and a half. Went back down with her, nope. Not ready. Be ready in an hour.

Got a phone call, not be ready til later, need to drill a pin out....ok says I, how long, about another hour or so. An hour and a half later I went down....no joy. And they had stopped working on my bike.

I lost the rag a little bit and told them I didn't mind them doing the work that needed done on my bike but that I was raging that they had me running about after them for two whole days!! He then told me he would deliver my bike tomorrow, no extra charge.


I then had to sit for 3 hours and wait on the next bus - in full gear. Got on the bus, like a twonk wearing leathers and looking like a total Tard...

So we worked it out and apparently with all the work this mechanic had done, it was at least 6hrs of labour (if all that I was being told was true).

Tonight, 2 hours after bike was due, he arrives. Apparently had to replace caliper with a second hand one. Fair dues.

My invoice looks as follows:

7500 miles service: 3.5 hrs @ £40 per hour + VAT = £140
Silkolene Oil: £14.25
Sump washers: £0.50
Oil filter: £9.57
Spark Plug: £12.72
Health and safety: £3.38
2nd hand caliper: £34.04

Grand total: £252!!!!:smt091 :smt091 :smt091

Never again.
That is a ****ing disgrace.
The price damns them even further! It looks like they've spent 3.5h servicing your bike, was the mechanic blind or something? £40 an hour too?!
Alright, maybe they've accounted for the time the spent getting that pin out but that shouldn't be in the same item imo.
Did they give you your old caliper back? Garage I use always give your bits back (including old spark plugs to keep as spares) whatever state they're in.
The funniest one is 'health and safety' they may aswell have put 'blonde woman tax'. I'm assuming it was for a pair of latex gloves or disposing of the oil or something. Ridiculous in any case!

[dill89]

That's harsh on you MBK.
I'm leaving my Fazer 600 up to a place on monday and i hope they don't do anything like that with me, thought my bike is ill so the bill could be big, just hoping it's not too bad. But also any time me and my friends are up at this place we would have a chat with the employees, so hopefully no stringin me along, fingers crossed!

[Philbo]

How did you get on with this MBK? Did you write that letter, or just chalk it up against experience?

[yorkie_chris]

Only person I trust to work on my bike is ME

rub over with a cloth and throw a bit of grease on .

Grease? Where?


Another good example of why I learnt to do stuff on my own bike and why I do not trust garages.

Exactly.

Can't be 100% sure, but going by the cost of a set of caliper seals for my old RGV250, that will probably be an exchange and return price for the second hand caliper. i.e. they keep your old one as part of the deal.


I've never heard of service exchange type thing with calipers, and I'd avoid secondhand calipers of unknown origin as chances are with 10+ year old parts you're buying one already half knackered.
Husky on here does secondhand ones that are serviced... that is what you want.

Just as an aside - next time you get the 'oh it needs ABC done' followed by an 'oh xyz needs doing too!!', just tell them you want all the old parts kept for inspection when you pick the bike up.

Lots of places do that, it's comforting to know what was knackered and why it needed replacing.


Some dealerships need bleedin shooting. I have no idea why they put themselves in a financial position where they accrue such huge overheads that they need to rip every bugger off!

[andrewsmith]

YC ,the caliper exchange thing has been mentioned to me with the early sv's, bandits, busa and the late SRADS all using the same rear caliper. Which pretty much is asking for something to go wrong!

the exchange sounds to me like a mechanic that cannot be arsed to split the caliper and clean it (no offence YC and all the reputable mechanics)

[Swin]

I had a similar problem with the rear caliper on my old Bandit, but the shop managed to split it and effect a permanent repair to it in a couple of hours, although I would have accepted an exchange/recon type situation if it was quicker tbh.

Customer service? doesn't sound like there was any at all!

My garage bills for "environmental" something of other to charge for disposing of old oil, but maybe they call it H&S up your way.

[andrewsmith]

I had a similar problem with the rear caliper on my old Bandit, but the shop managed to split it and effect a permanent repair to it in a couple of hours, although I would have accepted an exchange/recon type situation if it was quicker tbh.

The rear caliper are a bugger to fix as me mates done his recently and took him about a day to the seals, lines and pads for the rear. He puts i down to the location of the caliper and it getting covered in road crap.

The recon method would be okay with me if i could inspect the part prior to it being installed and see it condition. A good mechanic should be able to split any condition caliper in about the same time as the recon'ed part will have had to be split to install the pads

[yorkie_chris]

Nah when you get the hang of them it's an hour or so.

[Swin]

I was told that it's quite common on Bandits as they have a steel pin going into an alloy body, and it seems that they use the same bits on SVs too - but the shop I go to is just a small private mechanic and as I say, they were able to get it sorted for me pretty quick

Maybe I shall visit them again soon if I can't get the bloody bike to start properly :D

[andrewsmith]

the SV's also suffer the parts bins treatment like the bandits, with the 600 SRAD parts being a main source

[yorkie_chris]

What do you mean "suffer" it, means there are lots of cheap spares. Designing equally cheap parts that are different would just make life harder and the bike more expensive.

[andrewsmith]

YC suffer is wrong word to use. Given is a better word.
I personally think there is nothing wrong with it on motorcycles as it works and the basic bike eventually get the GP/ wsb quality anchors.
Yamaha are a good example of constantly using the same front calipers and getting it right.

[yorkie_chris]

SV has worse calipers than GSXR of 20 years ago, they should dig deeper in parts bin :-P

[andrewsmith]

YC quick q.

Do Bandit calipers in fit an a stock sv front end?

[yorkie_chris]

I think they are same

also kawa zr7 fit

[andrewsmith]

Their the SRAD 600 calipers on the bandit.

cheers YC one of the things on the bottom of the list

[yorkie_chris]

Their the SRAD 600 calipers on the bandit.

Where you read that?

[andrewsmith]

that is what me and my mate thought
hes got a bandit and thought the sv calipers were same until he bled mine for me

that is the style of his (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Suzuki-GSF400-BANDIT-FRONT-LEFT-BRAKE-CALIPER_W0QQitemZ190341676563QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK _Motorcycle_Parts?hash=item2c513f7e13)

[yorkie_chris]

Oh right figured you were on about bandit 6 since that's the one you normally see... those are not SRAD, those look like slingshot

[andrewsmith]

his is a 6 and sent you the wrong link.
The calipers on the bandits were nissins

[yorkie_chris]

SRAD uses tokico

[andrewsmith]

god knows what the previous owner done to his.

[Scotspeed]

Like every story there are two sides. I am very fortunate I don’t have to respond to many complaints, but I feel I need to respond to these accusations.

Firstly when you returned to the Scotspeed after being told by phone that there was problem with your brakes, you got very defensive and stated that your brother had serviced the bike so everything should be fine. Please be under no elusion we were quite concerned at the state of your brakes and then I became worried that you did not believe what we telling you. So I asked you to accompany me into the workshop to speak to the Suzuki trained technician and to show you the heavy corrosion on your front brakes , you were told at that time we had not yet looked at the rear calliper. Our concern was that you a young lady rider was going to try and ride what was in our professional opinion a dangerous bike. The reason why your service was taking so long was that your bike was not in a good state of repair.

When you returned one hour later and were told that your rear calliper was also seized you became very rude and aggressive, it was at this point I became miffed that you thought I was trying too take advantage. I am an ex police officer with 12.5 year exemplary service and motorcycle instructor for over 20 years and I have trained thousand of you lady riders, and so took offence at your accusations. Yes you were offered to remove your bike and try elsewhere that’s because what ever we suggested did not seem to be good enough for you. I know it can be hard when you are told your pride and joy is in need of some maintenance but you need to trust people more than you were prepared to trust us.

You are correct in saying when I took you into the workshop your bike was not being worked on, that is because we were waiting for you to see the problems with your bike. The next day several attempts were made to free off your brakes but to no avail. So your calliper was taken to McKean Engineering for them to try and remove the corroded pin. They also failed to do this, so I sourced a second hand calliper, had it serviced and fit it to your bike . I still have the old calliper if you want to come and collect it.

You also failed to mention that I delivered your bike to your home 55 miles away after work free of charge. We actually spent 7 hours on your bike but charged you for much much less 3.5 hours. If you want your money back please call into the shop and see me.

I am not a unreasonable person, all I am trying to do is offer the bikers of Dumfriesshire a good service, but from time to time you get a rider who knows better. Who am I to dispute your knowledge?

Ian metcalfe
Director
Scotspeed

[DarrenSV650S]

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k164/DarrenStewartTait/Smilies/1bea61f8.gif

[Milky Bar Kid]

Firstly Mr Metcalfe, at no point was I rude or aggressive towards you. If you read the thread properly I have stated that you delivered my bike home to me, free of charge.

My issue with your service provided was not the fact that you stated there was an issue with the bike, nor the price which I was charged. My issue was the fact I felt like basically, you had too many bikes booked in at one time and were leading me on. You repeatedly told me my bike would be ready in an hour, ready tomorrow, ready after lunch, then ready in an hour then not, then ready tomorrow and so on and so forth. I would have been more than happy if you had been straight with me and said, look, your brakes are in a pretty bad state, it's going to take a lot of work instead of fobbing me off and repeatedly sending me away and back and away and back.

I am not willing to get into an argument on the internet with you Mr Metcalfe but I do feel the service provided by your garage was less than satisfactory. As I explained to you instore that day, I didn't have an issue with the fact that you were doing the work on the bike, nor the price I was expecting to pay for the service, and I hve never actually stated on here that I was particularly unhappy at the cost. However, I was most annoyed that you didn't just tell me when my bike would be ready with a realistic target.

I am not after a refund or any discount, as I am very much of the opinion that if the works done, its done and if I had been wanting a refund or discount on the price I would have told you that at the time.

Rest assured, an email is being composed and sent to Suzuki. Purely for their information and attention and they can do with it what they wish.

[Scotspeed]

Like every story there are two sides. I am very fortunate I don’t have to respond to many complaints, but I feel I need to respond to these accusations.

Firstly when you returned to the Scotspeed after being told by phone that there was problem with your brakes, you got very defensive and stated that your brother had serviced the bike so everything should be fine. Please be under no elusion we were quite concerned at the state of your brakes and then I became worried that you did not believe what we telling you. So I asked you to accompany me into the workshop to speak to the Suzuki trained technician and to show you the heavy corrosion on your front brakes , you were told at that time we had not yet looked at the rear calliper. Our concern was that you a young lady rider was going to try and ride what was in our professional opinion a dangerous bike. The reason why your service was taking so long was that your bike was not in a good state of repair.

When you returned one hour later and were told that your rear calliper was also seized you became very rude and aggressive, it was at this point I became miffed that you thought I was trying too take advantage. I am an ex police officer with 12.5 year exemplary service and motorcycle instructor for over 20 years and I have trained thousand of you lady riders, and so took offence at your accusations. Yes you were offered to remove your bike and try elsewhere that’s because what ever we suggested did not seem to be good enough for you. I know it can be hard when you are told your pride and joy is in need of some maintenance but you need to trust people more than you were prepared to trust us.

You are correct in saying when I took you into the workshop your bike was not being worked on, that is because we were waiting for you to see the problems with your bike. The next day several attempts were made to free off your brakes but to no avail. So your calliper was taken to McKean Engineering for them to try and remove the corroded pin. They also failed to do this, so I sourced a second hand calliper, had it serviced and fit it to your bike . I still have the old calliper if you want to come and collect it.

You also failed to mention that I delivered your bike to your home 55 miles away after work free of charge. We actually spent 7 hours on your bike but charged you for much much less 3.5 hours. If you want your money back please call into the shop and see me.

I am not a unreasonable person, all I am trying to do is offer the bikers of Dumfriesshire a good service, but from time to time you get a rider who knows better. Who am I to dispute your knowledge?
Ian Metcalfe
Director
SCotspeed

[Scotspeed]

As i said there are two sides to every story. Your were not being fobbed off i told you i could only estimate how long it would take to free severley corroded brakes. Please enjoy your biking.

[yorkie_chris]

Take it you have not worked on many suzukis then ;)

[fizzwheel]

OK guys, I think thats enough. I think it would be best if any further conversations between the two of you were done in private.

Thread locked

Fizz