A bad service?

OK, not sure if this is worth me taking further or just to put it down to a bad experience and move on. I took my bike to a local dealer for it's 16000 mile service having used them for the last service and with them being a main dealer I thought I could trust them to do a good job. Anyway, I picked the bike up Friday and after riding to work I pull over and there is a lot of smoke and oil leaking out of the engine as per the pics below. Anyway, they pick the bike up next morning and Within an hour of getting the bike back to the garage they'd diagnosed it as a 'nick' on one of the plastic/rubber seals from the rocker cover and replace it at no cost and no cost for picking the bike up. It wasn't quite as straight forward as this to get them to fix it but without rambling on too much and listing all the grief I had this is the gist of it. On asking the owner of the dealership if the leak was as a result of the service he gets very defensice and says no, there is no connection and the part could have failed at any time. On pressing him further he just completely loses it. He started shouting, got aggresive and just said he'd had enough and asked me to just go and not come back! The guy had no reason to lose it like that and I'm wondering whether people here think it is unreasonable for me to assume that the oil leak was a direct result of the serivce? Like I say, I'm pleased that the bike is now fixed but seriously unhappy with how the owner lost his temper when it was me who had been at risk riding a bike that wasn't safe. I'm wondering whether it's worth taking the complaint further or do people think I'm being unreasonable and should just move on and take the bike elswhere for the next service?

Just put it down to experience mate. Some people are dicks. Find a decent independent bike mechanic near you and go there. They take more care and do a better job normally. As they rely on the repeat custom. I only ever go to the stealer for a first service then go to my local bike mechanic. I know from past experience that his services are better than theirs as I had one service from each on the sv and when I got it back off him he had totally transformed the bike and, done things the dealers don't bother with. It ran better had no flatspots, pulled harder and returned better economy.

[Spanner Man]

Good morning.

If they had checked the valve clearances during the service then the leak would be a direct result of the service, as they would have to remove the covers.
Such things can happen after a service, but the guys attitude positively stinks. I doubt that there's much you can do now that the problem has been fixed, apart from taking your bike elsewhere next time it needs some work.


Cheers.

Thanks for the responses. There is no doubt in my mind that the leak was a direct result of the service whilst checking the valve clearances. I had a more reasonable conversation with the mechanic who whilst not admitting it was his mistake apologised for the inconvenience caused and his boss's reaction. He said that maybe he could have picked it up whilst servicing if he'd run the bike for longer or examined the part more carefully or maybe it happened whilst removing/installing but there is no way to be sure. I wasn't looking to make an issue of it so long as it was resolved and hoped maybe for some discount on the service for the inconvenience. But right from the start when reporting the problem they were on the defensive and the owner just wouldn't even admit the slightest hint of a link between the service and the leak and then just blew his top. He even complained on picking the bike up that it probably would have been okay to ride back to them on Friday - even with oil splattered on a NEW back tyre! Anyway, I may still report it to Suzuki in case this branch has a track record of treating customers like this but like you've both advised I will be placing my business elsewhere and have already had a couple of recommendations for an independent mechanic so will try him next time.

[Bibio]

if he is a suzuki main dealer, phone suzuki uk and tell them of your experience.

Originally Posted by Bibio

if he is a suzuki main dealer, phone suzuki uk and tell them of your experience.

+1 and also the evidence of pics as they should have checked this before it was given to you, very dangerous with oil on tire etc

[Red Herring]

I'd be surprised if that much oil came out of a "nick" in a rocker cover gasket. Normally you just get a weep down the side of the cylinder head. I'm not that familiar with the plumbing on the curvy but is it possible they left a breather pipe off or something like that? They might be less inclined to admit to something like that and instead blame the "faulty" gasket.

Originally Posted by Red Herring

I'd be surprised if that much oil came out of a "nick" in a rocker cover gasket..

But it doesn't take much oil in this weather to come off. Clean road + quick flash storm = greasy road = uh oh moment.


This is also bad practise because you should check for a leak anyway before you return a bike to a customer.

My advice is learn how to oil + filter change yourself, lube every joint up and keep an eye on everything and find a decent guy to do anything difficult like valve clearances and DONT buy the service packs. As for a bad service just remember they're £200 a week mechanics who most of them don't do electrical work so don't do anything complex or take measurements etc .