600 mile service

[DaveM59 1,605]

Very true, the trend these days to always look to blame someone else and seek revenge for what is often either your own fault or a simple error, has made anyone providing a service very wary of being scammed.

What tends to annoy me about dealerships more than 'back street' garages is the way they twist everything as if they are the ones doing you a great big favour, where really you are the one doing them the favour by giving them your custom. This is the modern marketing ploy used throughout advertising and sales and has to be resisted or you can find yourself being separated from more of your wonga then you intended or can afford.

 

If you are capable of DIY maintenance then you can also save a lot of time, as a simple service can actually take a couple of hours, but taking it to a dealer may require two visits that in reality use up most of the day and can also involve needing a lift from someone else as well. I spread my maintenance so I don't necessarily do everything at once. Oil gets changed by the book mileage as it needs to be, but things like brake pads, chains, belts, tyres and consumables are done only when they need to be on an individual basis, so it seems I'm always fiddling with something, but nothing ever takes very long and this way the cost of parts is minimised as they are only changed when worn out, not at the nearest service before as they may not last until the next one, so you are not throwing away a chunk of usable lifespan. I keep a written record of every job by date and mileage which goes with the bike when sold.

There are still a few items even the most clued up DIY'er can't easily deal with such as ECU errors, sensor faults etc but they are very rare and will often not occur until at the earliest a few days after the end of the warranty. That's sod's law, but general electrics, like mechanical things all follow the same laws of physics so the knowledge is universally applicable to a large degree.

I always strip down any bike I buy and learn as much as I can about how it's built, where things are and apply a few methods to try to reduce the likelihood of any problems developing and also to satisfy myself that no one before me has fudged any repairs or electrics (and I have found main dealer fudges when it comes to electrics!). This way you know what's under you, how it comes apart and then if issues develop you know how to go about tackling them, and always as well.

 

If you aren't capable or inclined to DIY it's probably better you don't try as with the best will in the world, doing a job incorrectly can be both costly and dangerous, and experience of providing technical help on other forums has often shown that owners attempting something they don't understand can be a nightmare for them. In this case they do have to maintain a good relationship with a garage or mechanic they trust but it's still a good idea to go armed with at least a bit of information about the job in hand so you can point the 'technician' as they now are called in the right direction, which can also help save you some labour cost.

Edited May 6, 2016 by DaveM59

[Rocker66 34,466]

That may apply to some dealerships but certainly not all.

As to doing my own maintenance I had enough of that back on the 60s working on Brit bikes. Now other than the day to day stuff. i prefer to let someone else do the work whilst I either go for a ride on a loan bike or enjoy a meal in the dealers cafe 

[Steven Smith 0]

Hi. I've done 35 miles over 600. Is that a problem? I'm unable to book service in. Am I still able to ride the scooter or do I wait till I can get it in for service cause of the warranty side of things? 

[Exceledsteve 2,191]

See your own thread for answers to this.