Topic: Did the dealers upgrade bikes when in for service?

[750K4]

I have a '69 750 that is clearly from the "sandcast" run of early bikes, #3412. It has several of the early features. It does, however, lack some of the other features commonly found on these bikes. I asked the previous owner about this, and he had no recollection other than that the bike was a victim of a broken chain early in its life, and he thought he remembered that the dealer did some factory-recommended upgrades to the bike while it was in to have the damage repaired from the broken chain. In particular, it does not still have the smooth oil filter housing, nor does it still have the short chain guard. He explained that the dealer would provide upgraded parts when a bike was in for warranty repair.
Any truth to this?

[dusterdude]

the dealers wont spend their money on anything they dont have to,if it had broken a chain it probably broke the engine case,which more than likely was replaced with a newer unit.

[puppytrax]

...if it had broken a chain it probably broke the engine case,which more than likely was replaced with a newer unit.

I can see the chain breaking a case, and a chain guard...but the oil filter housing?? 

When my CB500 was new, I bought a finned oil filter housing - I thought it looked cool (IIRC, it was only ~$20)...

But I agree on the cheap dealers - mine wouldn't even replace warranty items...   

[Bob Wessner]

I have a '69 750 that is clearly from the "sandcast" run of early bikes, #3412

Is this the frame number or engine number? Are they close?

[Geeto67]

used to be a lot of drag racers coveted those smooth oil filter housings - not sure why but maybe less weight?. Also some show bikes would have them engraved with patterns. In the lot of drag parts I just bought there were a few of these housings. One chromed original and one with a swirl pattern engraved in it (possibly turned down from a regular one on a lathe). Could be one of the service guys wanted the smooth filter and changed it with one lying around.

I know when I worked for a shop we would do stuff like this all the time. MY favorite is when people would put in an H4 bulb and it would melt the scooter headlight housings, unless they asked for them back we kept them and put them in our own bikes. Same with gel batteries that had been run down but still held a charge when the owner bought another battery anyway. There are other things too, small stuff. It's pretty normal.

[ic455]

used to be a lot of drag racers coveted those smooth oil filter housings - not sure why but maybe less weight?. Also some show bikes would have them engraved with patterns. In the lot of drag parts I just bought there were a few of these housings. One chromed original and one with a swirl pattern engraved in it (possibly turned down from a regular one on a lathe). Could be one of the service guys wanted the smooth filter and changed it with one lying around.

I know when I worked for a shop we would do stuff like this all the time. MY favorite is when people would put in an H4 bulb and it would melt the scooter headlight housings, unless they asked for them back we kept them and put them in our own bikes. Same with gel batteries that had been run down but still held a charge when the owner bought another battery anyway. There are other things too, small stuff. It's pretty normal.

Now everybody's gonna be scared to go to a shop for anything.

[Geeto67]

used to be a lot of drag racers coveted those smooth oil filter housings - not sure why but maybe less weight?. Also some show bikes would have them engraved with patterns. In the lot of drag parts I just bought there were a few of these housings. One chromed original and one with a swirl pattern engraved in it (possibly turned down from a regular one on a lathe). Could be one of the service guys wanted the smooth filter and changed it with one lying around.

I know when I worked for a shop we would do stuff like this all the time. MY favorite is when people would put in an H4 bulb and it would melt the scooter headlight housings, unless they asked for them back we kept them and put them in our own bikes. Same with gel batteries that had been run down but still held a charge when the owner bought another battery anyway. There are other things too, small stuff. It's pretty normal.

Now everybody's gonna be scared to go to a shop for anything.

New bikes and cars are different than old stuff. Most old stuff I see getting worked on shops are very careful to keep everything around and almost nobody filches. New bikes are not treated the same way since the parts departments are virtually overflowing with replacement parts.

wanna be really scared - I saw a chevy dealer that was taking delivery of several cars that were damaged (heavily) on a car hauler. Brand new cars. none were totaled but you could tell something had happened. I made a mental note of some of the cars and colors (black blazer, yellow monte carlo, etc). A month later all those damaged cars were repaired and out on the lot as a new car. no mention of any damage. 

[ic455]

used to be a lot of drag racers coveted those smooth oil filter housings - not sure why but maybe less weight?. Also some show bikes would have them engraved with patterns. In the lot of drag parts I just bought there were a few of these housings. One chromed original and one with a swirl pattern engraved in it (possibly turned down from a regular one on a lathe). Could be one of the service guys wanted the smooth filter and changed it with one lying around.

I know when I worked for a shop we would do stuff like this all the time. MY favorite is when people would put in an H4 bulb and it would melt the scooter headlight housings, unless they asked for them back we kept them and put them in our own bikes. Same with gel batteries that had been run down but still held a charge when the owner bought another battery anyway. There are other things too, small stuff. It's pretty normal.

Now everybody's gonna be scared to go to a shop for anything.

New bikes and cars are different than old stuff. Most old stuff I see getting worked on shops are very careful to keep everything around and almost nobody filches. New bikes are not treated the same way since the parts departments are virtually overflowing with replacement parts.

wanna be really scared - I saw a chevy dealer that was taking delivery of several cars that were damaged (heavily) on a car hauler. Brand new cars. none were totaled but you could tell something had happened. I made a mental note of some of the cars and colors (black blazer, yellow monte carlo, etc). A month later all those damaged cars were repaired and out on the lot as a new car. no mention of any damage. 

Heh, you should see what some of the independent car-haulers do.....backyard bodyshop, anyone?

I spent about 8 years as a professional Auto-Technician, and I've seen some miserable stuff go on.  I've tossed many a spare part into my box along the way, but only if it were destined for the trash can.  That's always been my rule of thumb:  If it's going in the garbage, it might as well be in my toolbox instead.

[bryanj]

those smooth filter housings used to crack so its possible it was damaged and replaced at the same time, here in UK we only replaced damaged parts and did not do any other work unless Honda told us to, and warantee work was different from re-call work and ONLY done when the customer complained. As to removed parts we had to keep those for the Honda engineers inspection and he either destroyed them or took them for further inspection, due to they way the firm i worked for operated, in selling oil only in 500Ml bottles and not in bulk I used to "win" about 5Ltr of oil a month---kept my old Fords going!

[SD750F]

I found in the case of my bike, a 1978 CB750F Super Sport that the local northern plains dealers (ND, SD, MN, NE, and IA) did do a upgrade or mod to the standard factory bike. They had a tendacy to add a Vetter windscreen, ape bars, and a King/Queen seat with back rest... I have been told by a lot of Honda lovers that was considered a great value adding modification.

I am the third owner of my bike and talked to the origianl owner and he conformed what others told me. His/my bike was bought like that directky from the dealer, new in Omaha Nebraska.

Hated the additions and they are now long gone... I am spending the bucks and time to have it brought back to a semi-factory layout with my custom touches.

[750K4]

dusterdude
Technical service bulletins are common in the industry. When a vehicle is in for service, the tech routinely checks the outstanding bulletins and performs any needed replacements/repairs while the bike is in the shop. The manufacturer reimburses the dealer for his time parts and labor. The idea is to eliminate the vehicle coming back in at a later date for something that can be taken care of while it is in their shop. Customer service at its best, but not all dealers do this.
puppytrax
I agree. It makes sense that the chain guard may have been damaged when the chain let go. On the oil filter housing, at what point were they upgraded to the finned versions? And why?
Bob Wessner
Frame number. Cases replaced under warranty when the chain broke. Not a newer engine, as it still retains the early head, etc.
bryanj
You seem to understand my question. Were the chain guard and the oil filter housing recall items? Is there any surviving documentation to relate recall items to dates? The chain breakage occurred in the fall of 1970. Is it possible to determine if there were any outstanding recalls/TSBs at that time?

 

[crazypj]

If things get fixed at service time the customer/owner frequently doesn't know about updates so it maintains manufacturers reputation.
Its a pretty common practice, just some dealers are better than others
PJ

[bryanj]

Very little of Honda has ever been a recall item just fix it if the customer has a problem (exception was one of the cbx/750, i think, that had week handlebars that snapped). Cases would have been relaced due to snapped chain, (old number should have been stamped into cases by dealer!), chain guard if damaged would be replaced and oil filter housing was probably found cracked when engine out so also replaced. At that time Honda did not supply a complete engine you had to build from bits using as much of the original as possible E.G. in UK some K2 750's had bad oil lines that starved the pump and shot the ends--dealers had to fit new crank and whichever rods had knocked the ends plus gaskets and shells--NO OTHER PARTS