Disappointments with parts and service

I have been trying to support local companies by buying parts and services locally when I can. This seems to often be an uphill battle and is often discouraging when it comes to motorcycles. I'm starting to think Internet shopping sites are not only generally much less expensive, but many cases they do a better job and provide a higher level of service.

A couple weeks ago I had the radiator off L's Shadow. There is a widely discussed shop on the net which is a highly regarded which specializes in aluminum motorcycle radiator repairs. The shop ussually charges $35 + shipping for most repairs. A friend had used and recommended a radiator shop in South Sioux City, NE last year after they pulled him out of bind and fixed his son's Honda radiator. So I took over to that shop and they said they would run pressure tests for me for no charge and if it needed repair they would try to fix it. I went back the next day and they told me it didn't leak, but they had gone ahead and cleaned it for me (not discussed or needed). With 2 clamps (the clamps did not fit btw) the total cost was about $20. The first problem I noticed was that they had scraped a lot of paint off and bent a lot of the fins on the back side of the radiator. I wasn't very happy about the damage, but since the same may have happened had I sent it in the mail, I decided to avoid conflict give them a pass on this. So a couple days later I put it back on the bike, replacing the thermostat, and finished flushing the entire cooling system on the bike. No sooner than I had everything back together, I noticed that radiator was leaking slowly, just as before. After pulling the plastic radiator guard off, I was quickly able to find the leak with a bright flash light. It was near a mounting stud at the bottom. I ended up taking it to a different radiator shop locally (in Sioux City proper) and they listened to me, did a great repair, and repainted the areas the other shop had beat the paint up. Their cost was $40 even. Total cost now $60 and a slightly beat up radiator. By the time I got the radiator back on, I had lost another week to work on the other bikes.

The next week, after some discussion, I ordered 2 wind screens (for VFR and GS) and a air filter for my V-Strom. The dealer convinced me to buy a paper filter, after telling me they were better and that the K&N was $83. I had been reading about this discussion on the web and there seemed to be a lot of different opinions on paper vs. reusable filters. After a few days both the big ticket items, the wind screens came in. After about 12 days I finally asked where the air filter was and the person working the parts counter could not find the order. So I asked them to cancel the order if they ever found it, and went bought a reusable K&N filter on the web (I ended up paying $48.30 with discounts and free shipping). The non-reusable paper filter was approx. $46 with tax locally. The correct K&N filter arrived 2 days later in the mail and I was happy. This process threw me back another week on getting the V-Strom ready.

Finally, last week after changing the rear tire on my V-Strom I found that the rear pads on it were nearly gone. The next day I dropped by yet another local dealer to buy some new pads. They looked up the part number and sold me what they said I needed for $43 + change. Over the weekend I tore the brake apart and noticed the old pads looked nothing like the new purchased replacement pads. So today over lunch I returned the pads and ordered a set from SW Moto Tires for $29.95 with free shipping. The Strom is still on the paddock stand and I have managed to drag it to the side of the garage so I could work on the GS.

The worse part of all these trials is all the wasted time working on the bikes and running around town. The whole process is taking too long and I don't seem to be making much progress on my spring repairs.

To top everything off, my K1200RS chewed up the engine output shaft about 10 days ago within 14K of my second clutch replacement (hadn't shifted right since the repairs). Part of that clutch repair service should have included inspection and lubrication of that output shaft. The service cost to get to the clutch plates is over $600. Frustration! Maybe I should sell the bikes and build radio controlled airplanes like Ryan.