Here is my first bill for repairs.

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Here is my first bill for repairs.

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I must have gotten ripped off, right? The bill was $1000 and the bike itself ran me $3000.

G702 160/80-15 VT750C REAR (Tire) $180
G515-G 110/80-19 VT750DC FRT (Tire) $130
Air Cush Metric W/Thr Boss Blk (Set of grips with throttle tube) $83

The next three parts had to do with the new chain.

SUN 41817 $38.99
SUNSTAR 2-448342 $56.99
DID 525VX G&B 120ZB $188.99

That all came to $729.63. Now lemme find the cost of labor for putting it on the bike. It was over $300 for that.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

OK, here is what I paid today.

Labor to install the grips: $27.

Tire Waste Removal: $9.00
170/80-15 PV78 TUBE BM $31.99
100-110/90-19 TR6 TUBE BIKMSTR $29.99

Labor to replace the tires: $71.28

Labor to replace the chain and sprockets: $$162.00

Total for all this with tax: $336.67

I feel that $70 to replace tires was a bit much. Anything else jump out?
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

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The Happiness Engine
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Post by The Happiness Engine »

This certainly isn't best buddy pricing but it doesn't strike me as unreasonable. What's the difference between getting an oil change vs buying 5 quarts on sale at Walmart? Now factor in that changing a tire without fucking up the brakes requires more knowledge than "Take out screw. Remember to PUT SCREW BACK IN."

Skilled labor is expensive. Learn to do the simple stuff and save BIG $$

2nd tip: bring your own parts. Total for the chain and sprockets from amazon is $193, free shipping, and that was just from copy/pasting into google to see what that was. Then again, the same method gives me $217 for the rear tire. Of course, the flipside is your mechanic will be sore about losing out on the margin on parts and probably make it up in labor.

For things like this you need a <i>guy</i>, a relationship. Find a friend of a friend, tip him a case of his favorite beer, supply your own parts.

So while this is a bit more than I'd want to pay, it isn't quite into "blinker fluid" levels of screwing. I'd say $600-700 would be a good deal?

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AArdvark
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Post by AArdvark »

In the few instances when I had to replace the tires I took the wheels off and brought them separately. It saved an hour of labor removing and re-installing them from the bike. Was this a dealership that you took the motorcycle?

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

The Happiness Engine wrote:This certainly isn't best buddy pricing but it doesn't strike me as unreasonable.
That's a relief. I was planning on driving by and if any of these Saxon dogs were in the street, running them over with the self-same bike they fixed. That's some O-ring Henry shit right there, brother (I assume motorcycles have o-rings.)
What's the difference between getting an oil change vs buying 5 quarts on sale at Walmart? Now factor in that changing a tire without fucking up the brakes requires more knowledge than "Take out screw. Remember to PUT SCREW BACK IN." Skilled labor is expensive. Learn to do the simple stuff and save BIG $$
Yes, buuuuuuuuuuuut, I mean, having the tire installed is sort of the point. Sometimes I think shops forget the point of us buying stuff. We want it installed. And the thought of places charging to put what you bought on sort of amazes me.
2nd tip: bring your own parts. Total for the chain and sprockets from amazon is $193, free shipping, and that was just from copy/pasting into google to see what that was. Then again, the same method gives me $217 for the rear tire. Of course, the flipside is your mechanic will be sore about losing out on the margin on parts and probably make it up in labor.
Yeah, I didn't want to piss anybody off the first time out. And really, what I got done should last me for years.

For things like this you need a <i>guy</i>, a relationship. Find a friend of a friend, tip him a case of his favorite beer, supply your own parts.
I would like to change the oil myself. It's just so much fun that I'd hate to screw it up. (I can change the oil in a car, so I am not totally hopeless.)

My ultimate goal is to come into the house having changed the oil on the motorcycle when my girlfriend is having her friends over for book club. At that point, the motorcycle's pan won't be the slickest thing on the property HEYYOO
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

AArdvark wrote:In the few instances when I had to replace the tires I took the wheels off and brought them separately. It saved an hour of labor removing and re-installing them from the bike. Was this a dealership that you took the motorcycle?
Not a dealership... actually, well. Hm. Kind of. They had dozens of bikes for sale. But I don't think they were necessarily of any one make.

Lemme check.

Checking.

The place is a "Aprilia, Bimota, Ducati, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio, Triumph, Vespa and Faggio" dealership. So I guess they are. I added the "Faggio" part because that was the best part of that one GTA game.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

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The Happiness Engine
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Post by The Happiness Engine »

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:That's a relief. I was planning on driving by and if any of these Saxon dogs were in the street, running them over with the self-same bike they fixed. That's some O-ring Henry shit right there, brother (I assume motorcycles have o-rings.)
They do! At least in the forks. Probably other places too.
Yes, buuuuuuuuuuuut, I mean, having the tire installed is sort of the point. Sometimes I think shops forget the point of us buying stuff. We want it installed. And the thought of places charging to put what you bought on sort of amazes me.
Guy probably made $10 on selling you the tire, let's be crazy and say he made $30. Now he has to install that tire, and since he's practiced at it it'll take him say half an hour. so, 50 cents a minute, which seems nice until it's tomorrow and he sells none of those minutes. Does that $30 cover his rent? His health insurance? His shop's rent? Electricity? That fucking huge tire-mangingling[sic] machine? Sure it sucks to pay and then pay again, but the alternative is $400 tires, free installation. You're paying it no matter what.
Yeah, I didn't want to piss anybody off the first time out. And really, what I got done should last me for years.
Yeah, maintenance like this gives you sticker shock, but break it down by how many years you expect those tires and chain to last and it's not so bad.
I would like to change the oil myself. It's just so much fun that I'd hate to screw it up. (I can change the oil in a car, so I am not totally hopeless.)
Changing the oil on a motorcycle is the EASIEST thing in the world my friend! It's like a car that you don't have to crawl under AND it drains in seconds! Look in the manual until you find the right screw. Place a pan under that spot. Then...<i>remove the screw</i>! You are now half done! re-assembly is the reverse of removal.

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Flack
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Post by Flack »

Here are the things I can do with a motorcycle: ride them, put gas in them, and change the oil. Oh, and sell them at a loss; I'm pretty good at that part too.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

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Tdarcos
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Post by Tdarcos »

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:
The Happiness Engine wrote:This certainly isn't best buddy pricing but it doesn't strike me as unreasonable.
That's a relief. I was planning on driving by and if any of these Saxon dogs were in the street, running them over with the self-same bike they fixed. That's some O-ring Henry shit right there, brother (I assume motorcycles have o-rings.)
It might depend on the size of the device. The Challenger space shuttle had o-rings, and when they failed, the engine blew up, incinerating the shuttle and the passengers.

Although it sounds like you paid "The Ransom of Red Chief," to get your bike fixed, although I don't know if you had an Indian motorcycle!
Sometimes I think shops forget the point of us buying stuff. We want it installed. And the thought of places charging to put what you bought on sort of amazes me.
I think the margins are thinner. Remember when all gasoline was sold full service? In 1967, a gallon of gas was about 27c a gallon, and they did the kind of things that amazed Marty McFly in Back to the Future to see them at a Texaco station in 1954 when the gas jockeys pumped gas, checked the air in your tires and checked the oil and washer fluid.

I think today the purchasing power of 27c in 1967 is about $6. So if you were paying $6 a gallon for gas now, you might very well get full service today.
Alan Francis wrote a book containing everything men understand about women. It consisted of 100 blank pages.

boring

Post by boring »

so, 50 cents a minute, which seems nice until it's tomorrow and he sells none of those minutes. Does that $30 cover his rent? His health insurance? His shop's rent? Electricity? That fucking huge tire-mangingling[sic] machine? Sure it sucks to pay and then pay again, but the alternative is $400 tires, free installation. You're paying it no matter what.

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pinback
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Post by pinback »

Preach on, brother!

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