Talked to the dealer last Friday. He said, "You mentioned something about these washers earlier. These seem to be distorted. They're cone shaped and almost sort of oblong..." I said, "I understand they are supposed to be flat. Order new ones and install them." I'm going to stop there this morning to see what he's looking at. My guess is those who replied above and warned about these washers getting distorted during disassembly, then reinstalled in that condition and leading to future failures, are right on the money. Damn dealer techs ought to be reading this forum.
Leaking forks
- Thread starter Big Sky
- Start date
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radman
R.I.P. Our Motorcycling Friend
After having been disassembled twice without the washers reflattened, they are now definitely cones and are no longer even round! Putting in all new parts which should be in Thursday and I should have my wheels back by Friday and these problems behind me. Seems to me Yamaha ought to inform techs of this potential problem or techs ought to inform Yamaha and a bulletin should go out. I wonder how many others have been through this scenario when all could be prevented through communication. Thanks to jestal and others for their insights and dealer training. I have said it before, but this site is worth its weight in gold.
Just figured out my right fork seal has expired and I do have a manual. Still plan to replace them or it (bravado level) but will reread this thread and the manual prior to disassembly. I do have a reliable dealer but I save him for the valve check as the $90/ hour adds up fast 
After I picked the bike up from the shop, my wife and I immediately headed out on a 280-mile day loop. The front end felt mushy and had excessive dive when applying a lot of front brake. I reasoned that with all the fork work I had done, everything was out of adjustment. So, as I was cleaning the bike last week prior to a five-day 1,500 mile northwest tour, I decided it was time to re-set the front suspension. To my complete and utter horror, the pre-load adjusters are destroyed and the fork caps are all torn up! Amazing! It looks like they used a goddamned pipe wrench on the fork caps. The big nuts are scarred up and the corners rounded off and chewed up. Worse, the nut at the top of the spring pre-load adjuster on the left side is almost round, whereas the nut on the right adjuster IS ROUND - completely chewed away! My God, how could they not only return a machine to a customer in this condition, but then not say anything about it?! Had they told me they had problems, and perhaps attempted to discuss a solution, my furry wouldn't have reached its present level.
I stopped at the dealer even before we came home yesterday. He made all kinds of lame excuses ("they were really tight"). I basically told him I couldn't possibly let them touch this machine again and that I would take it elsewhere for repair and bring him the bill, which of course he objected to. I'm so damned angry I may take him to small claims over this. But I must wonder, why did they destroy the nuts at the top of the adjusters? These ought to turn very easily (I have had the cheesy open-end wrench that comes with the factory tool kit on them and it takes virtually no force to turn them). If they had so much trouble turning them, does that imply that there is another assembly problem lurking down in the tubes?
I've got business up in Kalispell, MT next week so I have contacted that dealer (Penco). I got a sense of competance in talking to their service manager: five Yamaha-certified techs on staff, one of whom he referred to as their "suspension specialist"; 35 employees in all, brand new shop, which I have been in. I will turn the bike over to them for a few days next week.
The fork caps and adjusters are $92.50...each side! Shop suggests booking four hours at $80/hour! $185 for parts and potentially $320 for labor because of the local shop's ham-handed ways. And that is before any internals have been inspected. This will get interesting before its over.
The local dealer has made so many mistakes at so many levels. He will not survive for long (spun off as a stand-alone from a parent Toyota dealer a year ago). I predict he will shutter his place or sell it (the bank will make him) within one year. Customers like me who will be warning everyone away from him won't help.
To his credit, the local dealer called me about 11 a.m., about an hour after I'd made arrangements with the Kalispell dealer. He is hoping we can "work it out." I think it is too late for that. I told him I'd think about it and get back to him.
I stopped at the dealer even before we came home yesterday. He made all kinds of lame excuses ("they were really tight"). I basically told him I couldn't possibly let them touch this machine again and that I would take it elsewhere for repair and bring him the bill, which of course he objected to. I'm so damned angry I may take him to small claims over this. But I must wonder, why did they destroy the nuts at the top of the adjusters? These ought to turn very easily (I have had the cheesy open-end wrench that comes with the factory tool kit on them and it takes virtually no force to turn them). If they had so much trouble turning them, does that imply that there is another assembly problem lurking down in the tubes?
I've got business up in Kalispell, MT next week so I have contacted that dealer (Penco). I got a sense of competance in talking to their service manager: five Yamaha-certified techs on staff, one of whom he referred to as their "suspension specialist"; 35 employees in all, brand new shop, which I have been in. I will turn the bike over to them for a few days next week.
The fork caps and adjusters are $92.50...each side! Shop suggests booking four hours at $80/hour! $185 for parts and potentially $320 for labor because of the local shop's ham-handed ways. And that is before any internals have been inspected. This will get interesting before its over.
The local dealer has made so many mistakes at so many levels. He will not survive for long (spun off as a stand-alone from a parent Toyota dealer a year ago). I predict he will shutter his place or sell it (the bank will make him) within one year. Customers like me who will be warning everyone away from him won't help.
To his credit, the local dealer called me about 11 a.m., about an hour after I'd made arrangements with the Kalispell dealer. He is hoping we can "work it out." I think it is too late for that. I told him I'd think about it and get back to him.
S76
Well-known member
Is this a real story or a nightmare or both?
I hate bike shops and would never trust my bike to one, warranty or not. I just do everything myself. But understandably not everyone has that option. Get the bike fixed right and give him the bill, which he won't pay, and then take him to court. I don't know how your state works but in CT the Motor Vehicle Department has a way of filing a complaint against repair places that seems to be somewhat effective as the repair shops have to liscenced through the DMV. Might be an option.
Remember too, if everyone just took it on the chin in these instances, these sleazy dealerships would go on forever. You are not only getting what is due you, you are saving someone else from these problems by making them think twice before they pull this crap again. Only pain, (financial) will get their attention.
Wish you the best possible outcome.
I hate bike shops and would never trust my bike to one, warranty or not. I just do everything myself. But understandably not everyone has that option. Get the bike fixed right and give him the bill, which he won't pay, and then take him to court. I don't know how your state works but in CT the Motor Vehicle Department has a way of filing a complaint against repair places that seems to be somewhat effective as the repair shops have to liscenced through the DMV. Might be an option.
Remember too, if everyone just took it on the chin in these instances, these sleazy dealerships would go on forever. You are not only getting what is due you, you are saving someone else from these problems by making them think twice before they pull this crap again. Only pain, (financial) will get their attention.
Wish you the best possible outcome.
ELP_JC
Well-known member
Hope this story encourages people to work on their bikes. NONE of us was born knowing how to work on our bikes. And after cases like this, can you do any worse???? It's not rocket science. And the few tools you might need to buy (a jack, etc) can be used again, and on your cars too. I live in a small town too, and had to learn all by myself. With every project I've accumulated more tools, and now I can almost do anything. And more than the satisfaction and savings of doing the work yourself, nobody cares more about your life and your machine than YOU. If you're careful, and label things when taken apart, it's very hard to screw something up. And even if you do, it's usually seals and such, which are a lot cheaper than paying $80/hr for labor, plus you learned how to do something else. If you have the time and the desire, you can probably do anything on your bike cheaper than taking it to a dealer, and at your convenience. Enough. Later gang.
JC
JC
The folks at Penco (Yamaha) in Kalispell were a pleasure to work with. The scarred up, ruined bits are now shiny and new and look once again like the precision machined pieces they are ($92.50 ea.). And they will also again allow the adjustment they were created for. I had the Kalispell shop spoon on a new front and rear (the Avons were toast) so there's another $380 the local shop lost. I was so pissed when I made my Sept. 5 post about the damage the local dealer did that I didn't bother to complain about the filthy condition of the bike when I picked it up: greasy hand and finger prints all over, especially in the areas where the destruction occurred. The bottom fork cartridges were covered in greasy grime, spread by filthy hands when they changed the brake pads that got oiled by the leak. Anyway, the contrast between shops was amazing. I had ridden the bike about 270 miles to Kalispell so it was fairly slathered with miscellaneous bug goo and road grime; when I picked up the bike from Penco, the bike was clean!, all gunk gone, let alone no greasy handprints. They obviously paid some $8/hr shop boy to wipe it down, likely investing about $3 in cleaning the machine. What a difference that makes in a customer's attitude!
Incidentally, the Penco shop is a high-volume Dunlop dealer and I needed rubber badly and quickly so agreed to try a set. The profiles appear to be more triangular and turn-in is exceptionally light and fast... too much so for my taste. I found more focus was required even in straight-line running where you can sometimes relax for a fraction of a second (to watch the bear cross the road as I did at Swan Lake). With these Dunlops, pavement irregularities and tire grooves had the FJR wandering significantly and suddenly; it was almost hunting around on the surface continuously. Yikes! I don't much like the new feel, though I never got the chance to sample them in good twisties.
Looking back, this thread almost does sound like fiction but unfortunately it is true. I've encountered poor shops before in my 30+ years of owning and riding, but nothing ever before quite like this.
And I can't disagree with those who advise learning to do these things yourself. But if you haven't the knowledge, aptitude, tools or TIME, your option is to pay someone else to do it. For me, time to ride is scarce enough, let alone time to do maintenance and repairs. I'll pay an expert $80/hr (Penco's exorbitant shop rate) to do a job that would take me four times as long and would seriously encroach on riding time.
Now, I'm going to have a little "come to Jesus" with the local shop owner. I've probably worn this saga out, but I'll nevertheless post the outcome. Should be interesting.
Incidentally, the Penco shop is a high-volume Dunlop dealer and I needed rubber badly and quickly so agreed to try a set. The profiles appear to be more triangular and turn-in is exceptionally light and fast... too much so for my taste. I found more focus was required even in straight-line running where you can sometimes relax for a fraction of a second (to watch the bear cross the road as I did at Swan Lake). With these Dunlops, pavement irregularities and tire grooves had the FJR wandering significantly and suddenly; it was almost hunting around on the surface continuously. Yikes! I don't much like the new feel, though I never got the chance to sample them in good twisties.
Looking back, this thread almost does sound like fiction but unfortunately it is true. I've encountered poor shops before in my 30+ years of owning and riding, but nothing ever before quite like this.
And I can't disagree with those who advise learning to do these things yourself. But if you haven't the knowledge, aptitude, tools or TIME, your option is to pay someone else to do it. For me, time to ride is scarce enough, let alone time to do maintenance and repairs. I'll pay an expert $80/hr (Penco's exorbitant shop rate) to do a job that would take me four times as long and would seriously encroach on riding time.
Now, I'm going to have a little "come to Jesus" with the local shop owner. I've probably worn this saga out, but I'll nevertheless post the outcome. Should be interesting.
I own a small business myself so started our discussion on the difficulties of operating a small business, coupled with the fact that we have 2 percent unemployment in Montana and good help is almost impossible to find. But I reminded him that, as small business owners, we cannot afford to lose, let alone drive away, customers. I talked about the life-time value of a customer and loosely estimated mine at $3,000 a year including the occasional purchase of a new cycle. I took the ruined adjuster assemblies and set them on his desk between us to keep an appropriate focus on the issue. I handed him the copy of the invoice from the competing shop that straightened out his mess. The parts were $182, labor was another $45. I suggested, rather generously I think, that if he agreed to post a credit on my account for the (retail) cost of the parts, that I would consider continuing to do business with him, noting that supplies, parts, accessories I might purchase from him via the credit would be at retail, whereas he could write down the true cost at wholesale. He agreed and we shook hands on it. He will, for awhile anyway, supply me with oil and filters, maybe a few farkles. But he has a long, long way to go to convince me to ever let them work on my bike again. And realistically, the chances of them ever selling me one are extremely remote.
I believe this is the end of this "long and terrible saga."
I believe this is the end of this "long and terrible saga."
