My first Service moan

[Guest aldmannie]

BMW, Ural, Enfield...

You're a man who likes a challenge....

[Andy m 23,508]

Some would call it character building, others plain stupidity. With hindsight I would tend towards the latter!

 

Andy

[kharli 100]

I did all my servicing from 16000 miles and had all warranty honored, being told as long as nothing I did caused the failure. Nothing about having to use Honda parts at all.

luckily the nc has to be one of the easiest bikes to service out there by a mile.

[gobetween55 42]

I bought the oil and Honda Filter and rang the guy in sales just to check this was ok and he said go ahead but in 2 weeks time when you bring it in we will still change the oil and put on a new filter anyway as its the only way we'll stamp your book. I guess because I'm buying on pcp the rules are different, I dunno.

 

My mate got the new Honda Rebel from Honda Crewe on PcP and they told him to ring anytime and they'd book it in next day and he also got a free Honda roadside recovery package for a year! Maybe he's just lucky....

[Guest aldmannie]

I think Honda and Suzuki both do a year's free breakdown on all new bikes.

 

[gobetween55 42]

7 minutes ago, aldmannie said:

I think Honda and Suzuki both do a year's free breakdown on all new bikes.

 

You are right! Just rang Honda UK to check. Wish the dealer had told me this although to be fair it's probably in all the paperwork somewhere. Just downloaded the app onto my phone, very handy and good for the peace of mind I guess.

[Rocker66 34,433]

Honda's web site says all U.K. Road bikes have 2 years roadside assistance with the exception of the VFR1200 models which have 3.

[elbee 753]

I bought my NC750X on the phone and had it delivered to my house.

 

In the documentation pack there was no mention of any roadside recovery, not even a card with conatct details, but I'd already looked at the Honda website and added the emergency number to my phone book and read the pdf on line.

 

However, the web site refers to "booklets" (plural) but when I phoned Honda they were clueless

 

http://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/my-bike/insurance/hondacare-assistance.html

 

[commuter 262]

I am frankly shocked at some of these stories. TBH I haven't entrusted a dealer to service any bike of mine since 2011. This was because I had been reading that the first service of my particular model back then included checking the valve clearances and doubted that the dealership would bother with it so I applied a small and discreet blob of black paint over the mating joints and sure enough they were undisturbed on completion of the first service. They even insisted I arrive early and not return till mid to late afternoon because the tappets had to be measured cold. I think this was just a ploy to ensure that i would be out of the way.

 That was the all important first service... the one which flushes out pieces of machine tool unintentionally left in the engine by the factory. I thought that the bike industry must be in a state to sink to these levels and so I just dont bother with FSH or warranty work because I simply don't trust the dealers.

Full service history , to me means mauled around semi-enthusiastically by people trying to earn a crust and nothing more. Full service by me means that I have checked everything the book says personally and more. I have separated all electrical connectors and applied silicon grease to keep away moisture and corrosion, I have inspected every fastener and clip, I have checked for chafing and other possible vibration damage and applied remedial measures which prevent further damage, I touch up paint chips and look for any fasteners which may be prone to corrosion in order to ensure they are treated with copper slip both to reduce corrosion and to ensure that should the time ever arrive to remove the fastener, it does move easily. In short , I take many more hours to complete a service than a professional does and I encounter fewer issues or failures.

 Let the pro's play their own games but only if you must. I am one of those people who always wanted to be a motorcycle engineer but found that only a favoured few ever got on the inside of the Triumph factory gates to a level which could be described as interesting and the vast majority of opportunities outside the Triumph factory were lowly paid and bleak. I think there are quite a lot of would be top class mechanics out there but just not enough funding to pay for them.... Sad isnt it?

[DaveM59 1,605]

Well said Geof, I totally agree. The first thing I do is pull it apart, grease, clip, coppaslip etc everything that could ever be a problem if left as it is. 
The only 2 bikes I have ever bought new were both a rip off regarding service costs. Unnecessary replacing of spark plugs, supposedly greasing pivots which was actually a squirt of spray white grease that looked like they had done something but it was ineffectual, and changing of perfectly good brake pads. I wouldn't care if either of them had an issue which the warranty was needed for, but in the whole time I owned them, any parts failure costs were far outstripped by the labour costs, so warranty wasn't cost effective.

[gobetween55 42]

Geof can you service my bike?!!!!

[TheEnglishman 401]

1 hour ago, gobetween55 said:

Geof can you service my bike?!!!!

 

Do it yourself.  You can easily buy all the tools you need and the service items (oil filters etc) for less than a dealer would charge for a service.  Then just watch the multitude of Youtube videos, some of which are excellent - really really good.  

 

Then you'll have a tool chest full of quality tools.  And the confidence to do most, if not all of the jobs you need to do.   

 

It's really not rocket science.

Edited August 24, 2017 by TheEnglishman

[elbee 753]

On 8/23/2017 at 20:27, commuter said:

I am frankly shocked at some of these stories

 

PDI on my NC750X? - I found the front brake light not connected (terminals hanging loose - could have been the transporter I suppose) and front tyre pressure 4psi down. It seems I got off lightly.

 

Anyway, just over 600 miles now so I'll be doing the filters/o-ring/crush washer/oil change once the Honda parts have arrived. I've already made sure the oil filter wasn't on too tight - it came loose with the "end of can" type, didn't need the chain-type removal tool I have for stuck filters.

Edited August 29, 2017 by elbee

[commuter 262]

On 8/24/2017 at 20:56, gobetween55 said:

Geof can you service my bike?!!!!

I could and would..... if I owned it

 Some years ago , I sold my 1960 TR6 replica  to a rich guy who had just paid for a  much respected professional restoration of his 1960 Bonneville. He phoned me when he got home to say that  his new TR6 ran so much better than his Bonneville and I told him that of course , it would since I could afford the 24 months of fiddling and fettling to get it"just so" right and not just as the book says.

 There's another chap who now knows the difference between full service history by authorised dealer and enthusiast maintained.

[baben 11,703]

On 23/08/2017 at 20:27, commuter said:

I am frankly shocked at some of these stories. TBH I haven't entrusted a dealer to service any bike of mine since 2011. This was because I had been reading that the first service of my particular model back then included checking the valve clearances and doubted that the dealership would bother with it so I applied a small and discreet blob of black paint over the mating joints and sure enough they were undisturbed on completion of the first service. They even insisted I arrive early and not return till mid to late afternoon because the tappets had to be measured cold. I think this was just a ploy to ensure that i would be out of the way.

 That was the all important first service... the one which flushes out pieces of machine tool unintentionally left in the engine by the factory. I thought that the bike industry must be in a state to sink to these levels and so I just dont bother with FSH or warranty work because I simply don't trust the dealers.

Full service history , to me means mauled around semi-enthusiastically by people trying to earn a crust and nothing more. Full service by me means that I have checked everything the book says personally and more. I have separated all electrical connectors and applied silicon grease to keep away moisture and corrosion, I have inspected every fastener and clip, I have checked for chafing and other possible vibration damage and applied remedial measures which prevent further damage, I touch up paint chips and look for any fasteners which may be prone to corrosion in order to ensure they are treated with copper slip both to reduce corrosion and to ensure that should the time ever arrive to remove the fastener, it does move easily. In short , I take many more hours to complete a service than a professional does and I encounter fewer issues or failures.

 Let the pro's play their own games but only if you must. I am one of those people who always wanted to be a motorcycle engineer but found that only a favoured few ever got on the inside of the Triumph factory gates to a level which could be described as interesting and the vast majority of opportunities outside the Triumph factory were lowly paid and bleak. I think there are quite a lot of would be top class mechanics out there but just not enough funding to pay for them.... Sad isnt it?

Cor! A second hand bike from you would be a bargain!

[commuter 262]

2 hours ago, baben said:

Cor! A second hand bike from you would be a bargain!

Isn't that  a pity though? My point is that people of true ability aren't paid enough financially or in  respect to be able to make a proper job of servicing because they don't have the time irrespective of their ability.

 On the other face of the same coin it could be said that anyone who is ignorant of the engineering behind their own safety get what they deserve; rather like saying that paying inept merchant bankers bonuses for landing the world in a complete financial sub prime mess is what they deserve.

[Rocker66 34,433]

That's fine for those that have the inclination to work on their bikes but I had years of having to work on my bikes and now that I have a dealer I trust I would rather leave everything apart from the routine checks to them. The choice is purely down to the individual.

[Guest bonekicker]

Geof, you have summed up absolutely perfect the pros and cons of servicing--no garage would ever go near as far as you do--we are all learning slowly--not to trust certain garages with our bikes--we must all learn to service and maintain our bikes to the highest degree possible--this keeps the bike in tip top condition as well saving lots of money--wasted time --frustration.

The first service is to check with you--what was not working after we charged you for the PDI--so we are now going to charge again. 

[Guest Tiny Tim]

On ‎13‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 09:55, gonzo said:

How the hell do you book a service when you picked up the bike, !! How do you know what riding you will be doing in the next few weeks what about the weather and if you feel like riding today , etc  . Cant get my head around that one. !!

 

Given that I picked up the bike in July and the first available Saturday slot for a service was August - it wa a no brainer. The hardest thing was making sure that the 600m target wasn't wildly exceeded. I asked about this when booking and was told that anything less than 800m would be fine.

 

As said above, 600m is no more than a good weekends riding, if you had to. Christ, I've done 500 in a day before now.

 

With regards to not knowing what the weather was going to be like - "There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes" - Billy Connolly

Edited August 30, 2017 by Tiny Tim