Garages. One Reccomendation and one warning.

Firstly, the reccomendation.
Fast Lane Motorcycles in Tonbridge. Really friendly bunch of blokes, really know what they're doing and are very enthusiastic about making a bike ride like it should. Not the cheapest, but I've come to realise that cheap=crap when it comes to mechanics.

Now, the bad bit.
The reason I had to take it to Fast Lane was because I had taken it to Marc's Motorcycle repairs in Sidcup (next to Sidcup Motorcycle Tyres) for a service.
I asked him to do a full brake service as they were binding. He didn't even touch the back, which FL spotted when changing the.......
Chain and sprockets. I SPECIFICALLY asked Marc to check the chain on several occasions, and he told me it was fine. When I got it home, I found that it was MASSIVELY over tight. Like no slack at all when I wasn't even sitting on the bike. As it turns out I was right about the chain needing attention and the extra tightness pushed it over the edge in one spot so I ended up going to France on a bike that felt like a bucking bronco. FL showed me the front sprocket and it was hooked really badly as well.

Finally, the throttle started to stick really badly. Although not Marc's fault, it must have been pretty bad when he had the bike and I know he rode it, so why did he not mention it? I hadn't noticed because it got progressively worse over a period of time. FL spotted it straight away and called to ask if I wanted it sorting, which they did for £30.

So there it is.
Both of these places were reccomendations and I feel bad about warning off Marc's, but the thing with the chain really highlights how bad it was.

Choose wisely !

[BillyC]

Glad Fast Lane was a good experience for you Charley.

Cracking mate! Thanks for the tip!

Been going to Fast Lane for 5 years since I started riding

Excellent - great when you start and need help. I wouldn't go anywhere else!

I'll consider this thread a recomendation then. Cheers