Topic: The "Trust Your Mechanic" Thread?

[Brantley]

No, this is not really about the Dead Kennedys song, but may belong in Open Forum. Not everyone here has: the time/ experience/ tools to undertake a major repair. The first fork seal change, carb disassembly, etc. can be daunting for the cat with his first old bike. I, personally, HATE changing tires,for example. See what I'm gettin at? Folks wind up at a motorcycle shop for a variety of reasons.

What steps do you take to insure you can trust your mechanic before the work is done?

[fmctm1sw]

What steps do you take to insure you can trust your mechanic before the work is done?

I look up everyone I hire to do anything in the BBB.  Not perfect but it's something...

[flybox1]

by referral only

[singedebile]

and if you can watch the way they work on a bike you can tell allot about their competence.

[lucky]

If young men only knew how many older guys need help, they could vastly increase their income. If they could just be friendlier.

I actually had a young guy last week say that when he saw my motorcycle he told his friends it was "sick" !  That made my day.

[Duke McDukiedook]

I leave my motorcycle tire changing to my local tire guy to mount and balance new tires.
The last tire I had to take off was when I had to change out a leaky valve stem on my VFR.
It took a while just like anything else I have done by myself.

Word of mouth on the mechanic and tire people. All the motorcycle dealers/repair shops I frequented would not work on my bike so in my case I had to learn. The dealer/repair shop will usually recommend someone if they won't work on it.

The things you describe except for mounting new tires are relatively easy to do and you can do it if you set aside a few hours on the weekend.

[Retro Rocket]

Been lucky enough to have had the same mechanic for roughly 30 years, also have a mate that owns a tire business....

[curemode2002]

And if you don't know ask someone I am not a mechanical genius if I don't know I ask. I do ask some dumb questions but the way I look at it is there is never a dumb question. I love talking to the guys at repair shops too they always know someone that does it even if they don't and some of my best refferals have come from a radom good natured guy at a shop. And finally when you find a good one go back for as long as you can the honest ones need all the help they can get.

[cgswss]

Wait!  Are you telling me there are people that get PAID to work on these things?  WOW!  If only I had known.

[lucky]

Wait!  Are you telling me there are people that get PAID to work on these things?  WOW!  If only I had known.

Yes.I was one of them.
But don't ask what the pay was. Especially in a right to work state.
I even had one Yamaha dealer tell me he could get guys to work for free just for the experience and a line of them were waiting. That is how arrogant they were.

Everyone i know quit and got a job at a Honda car dealer or other car repair business that paid 4 times as much and the cars were simplier.

[cgswss]

Even had one Yamaha dealer tell me he could get guys to work for free just for the experience and a line of them were waiting. .

Yeah- I was one of those...sorta.  Back in the day I had my race (drag) bikes build at a shop with with a very experienced owner and a couple of kids that thought they were mechanics.  Well I'm kinda picky, so I was always "around" when they were doing work on my bikes.  Except I did most of the work, in fact all the engine work.  Well of course when they had work laying around, I would pitch in.  And it only took a little while for them to figure out I had a Mill and Lathe at home and the stuff to weld alum, and a blasting cabinet and a bunch of other stuff.  I think it took about 2 weeks for a spot in the in the back to become "Craig's bench".  A place where young "mechanics" could leave their problems to be solved by "the good engine fairy".  As we got more and more street racers bringing in bike to be "build", The mechanics changed their job description so that they would simply take out the engine and put it on my bench with a note and a pile of parts.  Because they go paid by the work they did instead of hourly, I was like their very best buddy.   I had my own key and the alarm code but I was never "paid"  Of course the "shop" bought me lunch and often dinner.  And (after buying the bike) I never paid a penny for parts or service.  That was some of the best times I ever had!

[Magilla]

I have had terrible mechanics in the past. Two quick stories:

I dropped my bike off for a head job, new forks, new rims and a few extra goodies.  The job was supposed to take up to 2 weeks.  As March went by I knew it was going to take longer.  Then April went by as well as May.  I called a few times a week and drove to the shop from time to time but it was always in pieces.  Soon both June and July were behind me.  Finally at the end of August after quite litterally threatening to beat the sh!t out of the guy, the bike was done.  I had lost an entire riding season..


Years later (same bike) the bike was giving me problems.  Little things always causing it to break down.  I had recently had the top end done and still had issues.  So I went to a new mechanic that everyone was raving about.  I told him I wanted every nut and bolt pulled from the motor and wanted a total rebuild done.  Spare no expense and make sure everything is done perfectly.  We browsed through catalogs (does anyone remember actual paper catalogs?) and selected the parts that were to be used.  I paid cash up front for 100% of the parts.  When the bike was completed (several weeks late) it brokedown on my 5 mile ride home.  The points had not been tightened so they spun open.  The mechanic accused ME of doing it while I was riding it home!  During the break in it smoked quite a bit.  The mechanic said not to worry that it would clear up.  After a few weeks and about a thousand miles it did not clear up.  The mechanic said that the smoke was due to me using synthetic oil.  I have always used synthetic oil in my bikes and NEVER had a smoking issue.  I made him pull the top end and redo it.  after that the smoke was gone, the synthetic oil was still there and the bike ran decent but had very little power.  We had selected fairly radical components so it seemed odd that it was not faster than it was.  Some time later a buddy of mine that hung out at the shop told me that the owner had taken my money for the parts I wanted but had in fact ordered cheaper items and used them.  As the years went on I heard this same story about that bike shop.

[thrutheframe]

  I trust my mechanic.  I know that I never lie to myself about my bike, I know that when parts are back ordered I will always tell myself what's really going on.  I know that if I don't know how to do something I will always back burner that project until I get the right knowledge or tools.  If I need a tire changed I go to Cadre Cycle where men over 40 work on bikes from all over the world and all over the calendar.  They change my tires right in front of me, talk bikes while they do it and then I pay them CASH money at less than half the posted shop rate.

[bluezboy]

 I'm ( well all of my riding brothers here in the AtL area) lucky to have a mechanic that truly loves working on our bikes and gets a kick out of hearing the roar. He's easy on the wallet and knows our bikes inside and out If aint broke, he doesn't fix it either.

[veloracermike]

I spent most of my life in So Cal and finding a good wrench wasnt terribly hard if you did do diligence.  Here in Austin there is only one guy I trust and thats Chris at Limey bikes.  He's not the friendliest guy on the planet but he knows his #$%* and does great work. 

[CycleRanger]

I spent most of my life in So. Cal and finding a good wrench wasn't terribly hard if you did do diligence.  Here in Austin there is only one guy I trust and that's Chris at Limey bikes.  He's not the friendliest guy on the planet but he knows his #$%* and does great work.

Paul Zabor has done good work for me.
Also not the friendliest guy and I know some folks here in Austin don't like him, but I have always gotten good service from him.

[veloracermike]

Where is Paul out of?  I understand why Chris is a bit surly, and I don't take it personally. The guy just does some really good work.

[CycleRanger]

Where is Paul out of?  I understand why Chris is a bit surly, and I don't take it personally. The guy just does some really good work.

Zabor's up on Burnet.  Been there for years.

[jstfkndi]

I try to do anything I can. Tires are a big problem for me though. I feel it is easier to spend the money to have someone do it who has the correct equipment. I don't feel like busting my ass with a crowbar and 2X4 to save $35! Any questions I have for my old bike, I come here and ask away. I do have a Haynes manual, but it tends to leave out a few questions I have that can only be answered through experience. My fuel injected bike however is also a pain in the ass if I need any tuning done, but that is a hurdle I have been working on. Haven't ridden my old Honda yet, but she is not my daily, so slow going doesn't hurt my feelings OR wallet! Close though....veddy close....