[Kalboogie]

UPDATE! Please read! First service - 1.5 days and counting...

So my bike reached 1100 km and time for the big initial servicing. I called the dealer to set up the appt. The girl I spoke to on the phone was on the ball, said all the right things...knew her stuff Without me saying a word she gave me the low down. "you'll need to bring in the bike the night before..we need it to cool down to check the valve clearance...plus, we' r replacing oil filter/gasket, oil, checking chain, lubing it, lubing all moving parts, tightening all bolts etc etc" wow...this is a good sign.

I dropped off my bike Monday eve and while I was there they rode my bike into the shop for the next am service. Today I can't wait til day is over at work and even slipped out early to pick up bike..I call the shop and am told it is good to go in about half an hour...perfect ..about the time it will take me to get there. I get home, call the taxi and while waiting... Dealer calls...sorry the bike isn't ready... I am told the valves were off spec and needed to be shimmed..they did that and once they put bike together and started it...they didn't like the noise it was making...didn't sound right... aim thinking a smooth start is getting choppy really fast! So dealer tells they have to re-adjust the clearance..and it will be ready tomorrow. Oh, the mechanic also called to apologize for the time it was taking..he said he already spent 4hours
on bike... wow!

Is this suppose to be complicated or what?? I ll give them the benefit of doubt.. Will keep u posted.

 

[w0rM]

That sucks bro. I'm dreading doing mine.

 

[Kalboogie]

I squirmed at the thought of them removing, re- assembling and then again REMOVING the fairings/tank etc...and re-assembling...

This Motor is so new that every mechanic seems to be having their first kick at it...

 

[eil]

I wouldn't get too worried. If they weren't sure they did the maintenance right and want to keep the bike a little longer, then it's actually a very good sign that they want to do the job correctly. We've heard too many stories on this forum where the mechanics couldn't even be bothered to do the Honda-specified maintenance (checking and shimming the valves) yet are still perfectly fine with charging the full first-service price.

Of course, there is a downside if they charging by the hour... If so, you should be able to talk them down to how long it _should_ have taken, but wait until they give you the full story first so you can say, "hey, you guys can't charge me for your own mistakes" etc.

 

[spdklls]

Hope they arent like my dealer..they charge $70 an hour and if it takes them less time to do the job then the service manual calls for..they still charge full price.....also, if it takes them longer to do the job, they charge for all the time over they spent working on it too...fricken jerks...just hope ur dealers service dept is more trust worthy than all the snake oil salesman charlatans employed @ Greeneville Honda

 

[Kalboogie]

Update

Ok, got a phone call at 4pm today from dealer. (btw I ve been dealing with service manager) tells me my baby is ready. Wohoo! I take off from work at 5pm..2 hrs later (bloody traffic jam due to accident) I get to dealer at 7. Pay for the service and go out to my bike....do a once over , looking for any damage etc..looks fine. I start bike... Right away, the sound is off. It's funny how you become intune with the sound of ur bike. This sounded different. I ride off...and low and behold Fu*** son of @@!**#... I hear the dreaded rattle/clatter at about 5000rmp.. That so many people on this forum have reported! I did not have the rattle noise before the service! If fact, I counted myself lucky cause my bike purred like a cat..no rattle noise whatsoever... I can't believe the first service valve adjustment resulted in the rattle!

My invoice shows they adjusted valves and used 3 shims... Geez I was so deflated.. My bike was awesome before..now over 300$ later ..it sounds crappy AND it appears power lags in 2nd gear... NOT how it use to be!!!

Call to dealer in am! Wtf..

 

[xxxxxfoobar12]

That stinks Kalboogie. Keep us posted (vent if need be) . Want to know how it all turns out.

 

[Brian]

I am glad for this reminder. In their favor, it may be the pair valve CeeBeeArr has written about.
Of all of my bikes, I only took one in for a tune-up, just to see if it ran any better than when I tuned it. It was a 1980 suzuki 1100, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. It had four carbs, 16 screw adjust valves, so besides checking the valves and syncing the carbs i just changed the oil. So I pick my bike up at lunch time, and by the time I get back to work 4 miles away, the motor is setting up a mighty racket. Call them and take it back after work. The service manager comes in and tells me the crank is bent, because of the length and the HP. So I think about it a minute and I tell him I think your guy did not mesh the tach drive into the camshaft. So he says yeah youre right, we disconected the tach drive, the cam drive is worn out and we have to order it and put it in when it gets here. So I go look at the engine, and where the valve cover meets the head at the tach drive, where there is a paper gasket, it leaked oil beause of about a 3/32 gap. So this prick ( the pro mechanic) takes a punch and punches all along the head and valve cover trying to displace metal and stop the leak. Live and learn.

I am usually sorry the bike cannot bee purchased in the crate, that is a thing of the past.

I have a friend that used to work the deal on a new bike, and at the very end agreed to the purchase if he watched the uncrating and assembly. Then he would show up with his torque wrench and make them use it on everything.

Gene Berg the volkswagon guy swore you have to work on your own stuff because 'nobody cares about your engine or transmission or car like you do.'

Kalboogie, I hope you got an honest mistake that is easily retified. Best of luck on this.

 

[Kalboogie]

Hope they arent like my dealer..they charge $70 an hour and if it takes them less time to do the job then the service manual calls for..they still charge full price.....also, if it takes them longer to do the job, they charge for all the time over they spent working on it too...fricken jerks...just hope ur dealers service dept is more trust worthy than all the snake oil salesman charlatans employed @ Greeneville Honda

Nope, dealers here have a set price for type of service.. I paid what was quoted.

Tx foobar..... Will keep u guys posted.

 

[Kalboogie]

Thanks Brian for sharing your story -

I contacted dealer today. Very receptive and willing to remedy the "issue"... only thing is I am not able to get my bike to the shop until next week... stay tuned ..

 

[stumps]

I just had my first service (1000 km). My CBR has run pretty well perfectly since riding it out of the shop....and I am always a little bit apprehensive about shop based rough and ready handling, get the job done quick workmanship etc.

But before I took it in I clarified that the valve lash inspection would be done as per service manual recommendations and like many others here, was informed it was 'not necessary'. I was initially not happy and could have pushed the point for it to be done, but because of some experiences fellow CBR250Rers have where some shops seem to c*ck up the check, the fact mine was a free service, and my warranty remains covered, I just accepted it. I will now just do it myself over next week or so. I will let everyone know what I find.

 

[bungie4]

I did my first service myself as I've done with every bike I've ever owned. Found a couple of marginally tightened bolts (top fork tube clamps!). Anyway, I'm going to do a valve check sometime this weekend. Maybe I'll document it for everybody.

 

[Kalboogie]

I did my first service myself as I've done with every bike I've ever owned. Found a couple of marginally tightened bolts (top fork tube clamps!). Anyway, I'm going to do a valve check sometime this weekend. Maybe I'll document it for everybody.

That would be great if u note the procedure and post. I take it u don't have the rattle noise? I don't know what the tech at Honda did.... that caused rattle... I take bike in tuesday...

 

[w0rM]

I just scheduled my first service for next Thursday and I had to tell them what it included. You'd think Honda would tell these guys what's going on. It's not like they carry that many new bikes.

 

[Kalboogie]

I just scheduled my first service for next Thursday and I had to tell them what it included. You'd think Honda would tell these guys what's going on. It's not like they carry that many new bikes.

Hope all goes well. I can't believe how a single cylinder engine can be so complicated for them. I kinda wish now I didn't let them touch the valves. Before the service my bike was smooth and sounded great....now this clatter patter...sucks. Lost my confidence in Honda powersports...i take mine back next week...hoping they surprise me and restore the bike the way it was

 

[bungie4]

Sounds to me like they mixed up the mm/inches thing. If so, sounds like your valves are WAY loose. If I even suspected that, I wouldn't be running the bike at all.

Doesn't surprise me in the least. Over the years I've had 'Factory Certified Mechanics' royally feck up even the simplest things. Ever had a brake caliper fall off on the highway and had to lean the bike over to keep it away from the spinning wheel?! I have. Mechanics response "oops."

Time and time again I've heard nothing but horror stories from incompetent mechanics from all brands. Anybody who thinks the guy working on their bike is akin to surgeon is delusional. Their are good mechanics out their, but those guys don't normally do 'service' work. They're skilled and they save them for the 'real' work.

 

[stumps]

Yep, I agree with you all on this...as I said, was happy to have got through the first service with no apparent f' ups and not pushing them to do the valve lash check. (but hope they put the oil filter in the right way! ). So now the warranty card is covered, I'll do the rest myself.
When the next service comes around, mine will be edging towards being out of warranty, so hopefully no more visits. It's stupid that it should be this way, but as others also say...when you have to tell them what they need to be servicing....ugh!

All cynicism aside, this is a very low maintenance low cost Honda bike, so we all should get a good run out of our purchase.

 

[stumps]

Valve shim clearance check completed.

Did the check today that the dealer said did not need doing on the first service....Results:

both inlets within spec.
both outlets tight!!! (.180 mm and .200 mm) vs spec .270 +/-.030mm.

Bugger...so ordering correct fitting shims...no big deal...a few days without riding....and my exhaust valves will thank me for the next XX thousand miles or whenever I do the next check.

But what pi$$es me off is how many dealers are telling us all (no matter where we are on the planet it seems) that these new breed CBR engines don't need the first service shim check, flying in the face of what the manual says. Reckon there's enough experience and forum reports on these bikes now to reinforce what Honda had documented as a 'must be done'. The service interval to the next check is way too long if its not right to begin with.

 

[Brian]

Thanks for the report Stumps.

My 2 cents again;
The bottom line is money. Time is money. The less time a job takes, the more money per hour is made. So trust in Honda, hope the valves are ok, then charge for a job not done. Killer profit.
This is a simple motor, the valve procedure has been unchanged ever since valves were used in gasoline engines, exept screw adjust to shim and shim location. The engine valve cover and bodywork to get to the engine is the ony differences.

The other bottom line; 'good help is hard to find.'
I spoke to the mechanic that butchered my engine in my previous post, before I picked up the bike. He in a bragging manner told me he had been over the handlebars of everything made. Obviously his only qualification, with brain damage to prove it.

 

[spdklls]

"

Time and time again I've heard nothing but horror stories from incompetent mechanics from all brands. Anybody who thinks the guy working on their bike is akin to surgeon is delusional. Their are good mechanics out their, but those guys don't normally do 'service' work. They're skilled and they save them for the 'real' work.

The sales manager at my dealer stated to me that we have the best certified honda mechanic in town.....That didn't really impress me much considering they are the ONLY honda dealer there is in town..lol and they said I didn't need the valve check either...i had to insist that it in fact was, supposed to be done.