I have another “old school” bike I still ride regularly, an 89 Venture Royale. I have done some work on the Big Red Machine this winter but still have one thing left to do. I have a leaking fork seal. No biggie, right? I stopped by MotoReamo, er, uh, Motoprimo this past Saturday and talked with the tattooed, goateed service writer who was available.
I told him that I would like to bring in the forks, empty and have one of their ever so skilled technicians replace the seals and bushings, which I would supply from their wonderful parts department. Mind you, the forks will be off the bike, drained, springs removed. They just need to use their long wrench to remove the bolt at the bottom of the tube and then replace the bushings and drive in the new seals. A trained monkey or a rookie tech should be able to complete the task in about less than hour if they are REALLY SLOW.
The quote from the speed metal band lead singer wannabe…$270. Yes, like you I thought he misheard me. So I told him, A) I don’t want to buy brand new fork legs; B) the fork legs will be off the bike; C) no fluid to mess with, springs, etc. Just R&R bushings and seals.
Nope, he informed me he didn’t make a mistake. It will be $270…plus supplies. He also informed me that “they take the forks all the way apart to replace the seals. Other shops don’t.” Apparently other shops hire magicians.
I stopped by Midwest Cycle later in the day. They are a local independent shop. $90 for the pair. Drop them off anytime. Needless to say, MotoReamo will not be doing my work.
Moral of the story, I think I would shop around. There are competent techs at shops other than the stealer. And watch their book rates. Not all jobs are book jobs. I don’t begrudge them making a profit, but I will not be ripped off to make them feel good.
