Dealer tire install

[cnc]

If you found the caliper hanging down by the hose, all I can say is wow you were also lucky it didn't get caught in the rear wheel and lock it up on the freeway before you tried to use the brakes. The rear caliper probably would not hold pressure because you popped the pucks out and damaged the seals when you applied the brakes with out pads and not being installed over the rotor. Was you bike under warranty?, Just wondering if Kawasaki picked up the tab for the mechanics incompetence.

[recumbentbob]

Originally Posted by cnc

If you found the caliper hanging down by the hose, all I can say is wow you were also lucky it didn't get caught in the rear wheel and lock it up on the freeway before you tried to use the brakes. The rear caliper probably would not hold pressure because you popped the pucks out and damaged the seals when you applied the brakes with out pads and not being installed over the rotor. Was you bike under warranty?, Just wondering if Kawasaki picked up the tab for the mechanics incompetence.

The dealer should pick up the tab not Kawasaki, it was their fault not Kaws.

[cnc]

Originally Posted by recumbentbob

The dealer should pick up the tab not Kawasaki, it was their fault not Kaws.

Yes I agree. But I bet if they claimed the caliper was faulty to sacarrider instead of saying we damaged it because of incompetence, then they probably passed it off as defective to Kawasaki.

[sacarriker]

Originally Posted by cnc

Yes I agree. But I bet if they claimed the caliper was faulty to sacarrider instead of saying we damaged it because of incompetence, then they probably passed it off as defective to Kawasaki.

Oh I'm sure they did that. The bike is under warranty . The dealer was "making it right" but I bet they claimed it as a defective caliper after I left. They took the caliper off of one of the new bikes because they didn't have one in stock. The more I think about this the worse it sounds. The caliper did lock the back tire when we were loading it in the trailer. It got hung in the wheel. I may need to work with a different dealer.

[petenomad]

I agree Scott, I'd go to a different dealer. I've had very good luck with independent shops installing tires on my Nomad. WAY cheaper and very trustworthy. The guy has a "helper", but I think the owner does almost all the work because he knows his personal reputation and livelihood is on the line.

I took my SV in for some new tires (different shop for sportbikes) and this guy said he looked over the brake pads, cleaned the rear pads, and cleaned and lubed the chain. I didn't ask him to do any of that but that is the kind of service you can find with some of the independents (of course like anything in life, there are undoubtedly bad ones too).

Oh and both of these shops have charged me right at $100 total to mount front and rear tires, even when I rode the bike in and bought the tires from other places. I've been quoted as much as two hours labor for just the rear tire from a dealer.

[nomadrider1600]

Some shops are more concerned with getting the bike out fast. A lot of customers are big on how fast can I get it back. It sounds like these guys had plenty of time to do it right though.

[billmac]

Glad you got stopped without the brakes, Scott. What a shock! Once the bike is fixed by the dealer, I would go over their work closely. Then I would say goodbye to them forever.

Look forward to seeing you and Jude again in Antlers.

[stoutman]

Originally Posted by sacarriker

... Hate to think it is up to me to check their work before I get on my bike after service.

I'm glad you were able to maneuver to safety. No excuse for their incompetence. I've had similar scares with cars. My first car I took to a friend's shop for a brake job and ended up driving through the garage door into my dad's new Chevy when I got home because the brakes didn't work.

Ever since then I always check my vehicle after I or anyone else works on a safety related component, because I'm the one that will get hurt if it is wrong.

I've found the oil overfilled
the oil empty
the lug nuts loose
twice I've had to go back and get the locking key to wheel locks,
the cap left off the master cylinder
the oil filter on but not tight, leaking really fast
the oil filter so tight the gasket was squeezed out the side.

I don't care who worked on my vehicle, I still check their work.

Best of luck.

[ChromeSofa]

I once had the hood of my jeep fly up at 50 mph because the mechanic forgot to latch it. Busted windshield, damaged roof and the hood was buckled backwards.

My dad used to work in a junkyard- they used to call the jiffy lube sticker the kiss of death. Lots cars came in with blown motors and drain plugs missing or no oil in engine sporting a recent jiffy lube sticker.

[bouson]

Originally Posted by sacarriker

I go to the dealer so that I know everything is done to factory spec. I told them not to let that mechanic work on my bike any more. He obviously is not thorough to say the least. Hate to think it is up to me to check their work before I get on my bike after service.

If you want it done right, always do it yourself. I will not let any of the dealers in this area touch my bike after the first service they are uneducated about what makes a bike work. But more important I have caught all 3 of the ones in my area in lies about service and warranty at least 3 times each. I do it all myself or take to a mechanic that is independent and knows what he is doing!

[Jared]

Originally Posted by sacarriker

I go to the dealer so that I know everything is done to factory spec.

You mean those monkeys with wrenches? I worked at the largest Honda dealership in Utah and only one, of the five mechanics was trained and certified. While I was there they hired a new service manager whose previous job was as a shift manager at Autozone who had never worked on a bike. I would NEVER let a dealer touch my bike without knowing the mechanic personally. JMO.

[bigmacbiker]

I bought a 1972 Crown Vic in 1972 and within two months there was fluid on the garage floor. A seal was leaking and the dealer had to pull the engine to replace it. When I got home after it was replaced I looked under the hood and checked things out as I always do after any maintenance and the engine was not bolted to the engine mounts. All the bolts were missing! To add insult to injury the windshield wipers were swapped and the one on the right side was sticking out a good four inches past the pillar. That sure gave me a lot of confidence in that dealership!

[KURT44]

Glad your okay. I usually take my wheels of myself and have a friend mount the tires for me (has a tire machine and balancer, just have to buy him a 12-pack).
I already had a rear tire and needed to take my Voyager to my dealer for something else. So I gave them the tire and said put this on while you have the bike, 150.00 for changing the rear tire that I supplied. I was quite shocked, they have usually treated me good on other things. Guess I will be changing next time. They said it takes 2 hours to do this on the Voyager. Anyone else pulled a rear tire off of their Voyager? Is it realy that bad? I have done several other bikes with no trouble.

[ringadingh]

Originally Posted by KURT44

Glad your okay. I usually take my wheels of myself and have a friend mount the tires for me (has a tire machine and balancer, just have to buy him a 12-pack).
I already had a rear tire and needed to take my Voyager to my dealer for something else. So I gave them the tire and said put this on while you have the bike, 150.00 for changing the rear tire that I supplied. I was quite shocked, they have usually treated me good on other things. Guess I will be changing next time. They said it takes 2 hours to do this on the Voyager. Anyone else pulled a rear tire off of their Voyager? Is it realy that bad? I have done several other bikes with no trouble.

I would estimate that two hours is fairly accurate, there is a lot of stuff that has to come off to get the wheel out.
Thats why I do my own tires as well. Plus I can spend some time cleaning the wheel, and all the other stuff in there while it is apart.

[smokey]

Originally Posted by ringadingh

I would estimate that two hours is fairly accurate, there is a lot of stuff that has to come off to get the wheel out.
Thats why I do my own tires as well. Plus I can spend some time cleaning the wheel, and all the other stuff in there while it is apart.

I will disagree in part, I can get the rear off in about 30 minutes, back on in the same time, add 20 minutes or so for putting the new tire on, 40 minutes for the coffee break, so yeah two hours. My time by the way is without the ramp you can drive on and just drop the back plate to remove the wheel, I bet they are going by the time using the method in the manual. The longest time is dropping the mufflers to remove the axle.