Denied service

[Kybronco]

So today I was told by the Yamaha dealer that did didn’t work on older bikes. About a month ago the same dealership said bring it in but  the only free day I had were Saturdays. Finally it was nice today and I called ahead just in case but this time I was told they only had one tech and had to take care of newer bikes and customers that had just purchased bikes. Luckily they did have a number for a guy that does work on older stuff from his home . I went out there this afternoon and was very pleased with what he had to say and I left my bike with him. I was wondering how you guys have dealt with dealerships that will no longer service your bike ?

[BlueSky]

Perhaps you could get the mechanic to work on it on his own time if you could get to talk to him.  

[bpate4home]

This is a consistent problem with a lot of dealerships in this area. It took me a long time to find someone to work reliably on my 06. 

[Pasta Burner]

I’d rather mess it up myself or take my bike to another member across the country than have some 18yo no nothing at a stealership touch anything.  There are some custom shop exceptions.

[uncledj]

  I do what I can myself, and if it's more than I care to tackle, I "Got a guy"....

  Actually it's a small shop that works on all bikes and they've treated me pretty well over the years.    I think there's a lot of shops like it around, you just have to look for them.

[Marcarl]

Right now I have an 02 wing in my shop for that reason. There's good reason for a business to refuse older bikes, I might get into that later sometime.

[videoarizona]

Funny. When I first got my 05 RSV.... It took 2 calls to find a dealer to handle an oil change and check out. The 2nd Yamaha dealer had a mechanic that knew the Ventures. I took it in. All the shop guys stood around ooohing and awwing the bike. The older mechanic smiled and took it in shop. I came back after lunch in time to see my bike go screaming past me. Check out ride after service!

The mechanic gave my bike an A and said he enjoyed seeing a Venture again. 

He's retired now, but just before he retired I managed to have him rebuild my front shocks. 

So look around. A small shop will be your best bet. Bring a manual with you just in case. Always be willing to talk to the guy about and discrepancies in manual.... Get to know him. It's a partnership!

[BlueSky]

If a shop works on a bike that isn't worth much and the repair bill is high, the owner might walk away and leave the bike at the shop without a way to get all the money for their time and effort.  Same with working on old cars that are in bad shape.  And there are always lost of stuff that need to be repaired on old cycles and cars.  I understand why they don't do it.  I would want to paid as I went when repairing an old clunker.  

[saddlebum]

13 hours ago, BlueSky said:

If a shop works on a bike that isn't worth much and the repair bill is high, the owner might walk away and leave the bike at the shop without a way to get all the money for their time and effort.  Same with working on old cars that are in bad shape.  And there are always lost of stuff that need to be repaired on old cycles and cars.  I understand why they don't do it.  I would want to paid as I went when repairing an old clunker.  

This is true for any repair shop. If the repair bill is going to exceed the resale value of the machine the shop is taking a chance on getting reimbursed for parts and labor. At the truck shop I work at we do not refuse any vehicle but we do inform the customer of the costs they could be running into and if those costs exceed the value of the vehicle the customer  is given the option to refuse any further expense or to pay all or a percentage of the possible cost involved in advance, with the understanding that because it is an older machine that once we get into it other issues could crop up and we will do our best to keep them informed as we proceed should they wish to pull the plug at any given time.

Edited May 17, 2021 by saddlebum

[Flyinfool]

Around here the stealers will not touch anything that is more than 10 years old, period. even some car dealers play this game, they just say time for a new car. There are a number of small shops that will work on anything.

[larrydr]

I have had plenty of calls from guys asking to do the repair the large dealers are turning away

I like going to the dealers to buy what they call a non repairable bike ...I bought , repaired and sold 2 in 2020

[Kybronco]

I have been thinking about this and listening to others opinions. My career has been a trucker for over 30 years. In that time I’ve owned my own trucks and put a million miles on them. Service was only a issue because of the time it took just to get it in the garage to be diagnosed. With my trucks parts were plentiful . It seems to me a dealership could make more money off repairs and services than whatever they could make off the sale of a bike. I know with Covid 19 sales of anything with a motor in it have gone through the roof. Seems to me dealers should invest in hiring and even maybe training techs themselves. That would of been my dream job to work in a bike shop when I raced motocross. Isn’t there money in repairing bikes , atv ,utv ? Just seems short sided of them to turn business away. Sooner or later all the bikes they sold during the Covid boom are gonna need working on and they are not going to be ready . There are vocational schools and trade schools that teach this so dealers you need to buck up and start hiring cause the wave is coming soon.

[BlueSky]

It's a seasonal business.  When it's cold there is low demand for service/repairs.  I'm sure it's hard to keep good mechanics employed year round.  

[djh3]

I am actually working as an assistant instructor in auto tech. You would think with things being what they are our class size would be strong. Actually the China virus messed things terribly with the whole no face to face thing and distancing. And this past semester it didnt pick up which was surprising. But we have one local dealership we partner with that will pay a starting guy over $10 an hour. Which is pretty sad. But the kids of today dont have the values we experienced folks do. If they can do it on a damn phone its to much work and effort.

[luvmy40]

My son attended the MMI in Phoenix and took the Yamaha Factory Certification course. He finished either first or second in his class, not sure which.

He was hired by a motor sports shop in Texas(multiple mfg.) through the placement program before graduating. They had him doing prep on bikes from all mfg. Then they had him servicing generators from the oil fields. All stuff he had never seen before. much less been trained on. That lasted a couple weeks before they told him he wasn't hitting the book time and they had to let him go. He went from there to another Texas shop a couple hundred miles away and it was the same story. He then found out the owners were brothers.

 

When He came back to Ohio he could not find any work at any Yamaha dealerships or any of the multi company power sports shops. He's working on a tow boat on the Ohio river these days.

Edited May 19, 2021 by luvmy40
typos

[Kybronco]

These stories just boggle my mind! The fact that you could get a job at a White Castle here starting at 14 bucks an hour and go to school and become a highly trained technician and not get hired. Something is definitely wrong. I guess my vision of what a dealership is doesn’t come close to reality. However I you want to be a truck driver you can get your certificate in a few weeks and easily pull down 50 to 60 k your first year . Like I said it boggles my mind.

[Kybronco]

While I’m thinking about it I recently took the basic rider course sponsored by Harley Davidson and they took us on a tour of there dealership. Upstairs were sales and parts and clothing and accessories. Downstairs was service with 4 techs who had all 4 bays with bikes on lifts so what’s different about Harley than Yamaha ? They were working on old bikes and new. 

[bpate4home]

2 hours ago, Kybronco said:

While I’m thinking about it I recently took the basic rider course sponsored by Harley Davidson and they took us on a tour of there dealership. Upstairs were sales and parts and clothing and accessories. Downstairs was service with 4 techs who had all 4 bays with bikes on lifts so what’s different about Harley than Yamaha ? They were working on old bikes and new. 

Depends on the skills of the mechanics.  Newer bikes don't have carbs let alone dual carbs. costs to much to train them on how to sync dual carbs or work on items that are basically non existent today. 

[BlueSky]

4 hours ago, Kybronco said:

These stories just boggle my mind! The fact that you could get a job at a White Castle here starting at 14 bucks an hour and go to school and become a highly trained technician and not get hired. Something is definitely wrong. I guess my vision of what a dealership is doesn’t come close to reality. However I you want to be a truck driver you can get your certificate in a few weeks and easily pull down 50 to 60 k your first year . Like I said it boggles my mind.

There has to be a demand for the skills you learn.  And a year round demand at that.  I don't see how a motorcycle dealership stays in business up north where the riding season is so short unless they sell snowmobiles or other winter sports equipment.  When I got my chemical engineering degree in 1973, a couple of classmates didn't have jobs when they graduated.  The choices I had were several opportunities in the textile industry or one offer at a nuclear power plant under construction.  I'm so glad I didn't choose the textile industry because it no longer exists.  Now the nuclear power industry is dying.