TahoeBound
Well-known member
It’s been 4 days so I'm calmer...
It is generally my practice to do all maintenance on the bike myself. With forum member’s help I've tackled everything from TBS, to forks springs, to electronic cruise control & everything in-between. However, I felt the valve adjustment on the 26K service was out of my league. The FJR would have to go to the "professionals."
Besides having tires changed out (I bring them in off the bike) I avoid the service department like the plague . It's not as much a money thing as it is I feel like they don't do the work they say they do (fraud?) and when they do they are negligent [more later]. Shopping around here in San Diego, I have a lot of choices with widely varying quotes even 2nd & 3rd calls to the same dealer! Jackbites – it’s an ominous beginning. In the end a complete service, including valve job, TBS, fluids change etc will run $350 + parts. Alright, fine. Do the whole thing. Good as new…yeah, right.
So the bike is returned as quoted - basically 1 day. I leave the dealership & the throttle immediately feels funny - too tight. Great. I decide to ride it the 10 miles home & see if it gets better. Not. It was actually like riding with a cruise control even though the cruise wasn't on!! That's pretty unsafe. Fine. Whatever. Stuff happens. Obviously a quick road test (like less than 1 block) would've told the mechanic something’s up. Back to the dealer I go.
Well now they start blaming it on my after market cruise control (3x in fact). Alright. I'm starting to lose my patience. I've had the cruise for 20K+ miles - not a single problem, no binding, no problems. Why after getting my FJR back from the dealer is there suddenly a problem? 2 hours later I get my bike back. They had to remove the tank & oh yeah, another bike was already on the lift, so that had to be finished first. Yeah, thanks for the priority. Everything seems fine now. And gee, "no extra charge."
Get home, I find my intercom no longer works & the FJR display is off. Now what? Ok. Battery thing. Hey, isn't this a maintenance free battery? Why are they f-ing with it? Or did they just pull the bolt to make it look like it was inspected so they can check it off their list? I fix them both. Hmmm...I notice what I'd describe as bleached spots on my black inner cover. What the? Battery acid, brake fluid? I don't know. It wasn't there before. Cosmetically the piece is ruined, but it’s not worth fighting the dealer on it. Their word against mine.
But it doesn’t end here. Minor scratches on both sides of my fairing. Yes, 26K on the bike so its not perfect, but more scratches, even minor, is very annoying. Also, rear brake fluid on lowest level – checklist says they “checked.” (I guess check that it is on the lowest level!). Engine oil has been overfilled (just as dangerous as under-filled I’m told). Geez.
Does it run any different? NO. It ran great before & still does. Did they replace the plugs? Supposedly. Did they adjust the valves – supposedly. If I remember correctly they list the measurements as .8 out & .7 in across the 4 cylinders. Did they change the oil filter - doesn't look as new as I'd expect. Did they change the shaft oil - don't know but 1/2 the bottle is gone. Did they just "top off" engine oil? Maybe, it sure looks as dark as when I brought it in. I guess time will tell as to what other issues arise. I’ve got a funny feeling it’s not over…
I felt raped leaving that place for a 2nd time… So. Bay Motorsports, San Diego service department will not EVER get another PENNY from me F-them. And I highly recommend no one else does either. Find a better service department.
Speaking of, can anyone recommend a service department that is a good one here in San Diego? I’ll probably end up just figuring out how to do the valves myself. Like too many things in life, you’ve got to do it yourself to know that it’ll be done right.
I will say that Ted and the sales department I’ve been happy with. I bought both my ’03 & ’04 from them @ MSRP OTD without the usual hassles.
It is generally my practice to do all maintenance on the bike myself. With forum member’s help I've tackled everything from TBS, to forks springs, to electronic cruise control & everything in-between. However, I felt the valve adjustment on the 26K service was out of my league. The FJR would have to go to the "professionals."
Besides having tires changed out (I bring them in off the bike) I avoid the service department like the plague . It's not as much a money thing as it is I feel like they don't do the work they say they do (fraud?) and when they do they are negligent [more later]. Shopping around here in San Diego, I have a lot of choices with widely varying quotes even 2nd & 3rd calls to the same dealer! Jackbites – it’s an ominous beginning. In the end a complete service, including valve job, TBS, fluids change etc will run $350 + parts. Alright, fine. Do the whole thing. Good as new…yeah, right.
So the bike is returned as quoted - basically 1 day. I leave the dealership & the throttle immediately feels funny - too tight. Great. I decide to ride it the 10 miles home & see if it gets better. Not. It was actually like riding with a cruise control even though the cruise wasn't on!! That's pretty unsafe. Fine. Whatever. Stuff happens. Obviously a quick road test (like less than 1 block) would've told the mechanic something’s up. Back to the dealer I go.
Well now they start blaming it on my after market cruise control (3x in fact). Alright. I'm starting to lose my patience. I've had the cruise for 20K+ miles - not a single problem, no binding, no problems. Why after getting my FJR back from the dealer is there suddenly a problem? 2 hours later I get my bike back. They had to remove the tank & oh yeah, another bike was already on the lift, so that had to be finished first. Yeah, thanks for the priority. Everything seems fine now. And gee, "no extra charge."
Get home, I find my intercom no longer works & the FJR display is off. Now what? Ok. Battery thing. Hey, isn't this a maintenance free battery? Why are they f-ing with it? Or did they just pull the bolt to make it look like it was inspected so they can check it off their list? I fix them both. Hmmm...I notice what I'd describe as bleached spots on my black inner cover. What the? Battery acid, brake fluid? I don't know. It wasn't there before. Cosmetically the piece is ruined, but it’s not worth fighting the dealer on it. Their word against mine.
But it doesn’t end here. Minor scratches on both sides of my fairing. Yes, 26K on the bike so its not perfect, but more scratches, even minor, is very annoying. Also, rear brake fluid on lowest level – checklist says they “checked.” (I guess check that it is on the lowest level!). Engine oil has been overfilled (just as dangerous as under-filled I’m told). Geez.
Does it run any different? NO. It ran great before & still does. Did they replace the plugs? Supposedly. Did they adjust the valves – supposedly. If I remember correctly they list the measurements as .8 out & .7 in across the 4 cylinders. Did they change the oil filter - doesn't look as new as I'd expect. Did they change the shaft oil - don't know but 1/2 the bottle is gone. Did they just "top off" engine oil? Maybe, it sure looks as dark as when I brought it in. I guess time will tell as to what other issues arise. I’ve got a funny feeling it’s not over…
I felt raped leaving that place for a 2nd time… So. Bay Motorsports, San Diego service department will not EVER get another PENNY from me F-them. And I highly recommend no one else does either. Find a better service department.
Speaking of, can anyone recommend a service department that is a good one here in San Diego? I’ll probably end up just figuring out how to do the valves myself. Like too many things in life, you’ve got to do it yourself to know that it’ll be done right.
I will say that Ted and the sales department I’ve been happy with. I bought both my ’03 & ’04 from them @ MSRP OTD without the usual hassles.