Be grateful

Spunger · Jan 17, 2005

That's sorta what you expect when you have a motor involved. Depending on what a "tune up" could be it can range from plugs/wire, oil, filter, plus fork seals, oil, plus the jet kit and to top it all off labor. So you might have a couple of hours at $80 an hour for labor + parts. Seems pretty normal to me for a mechanical deal to me.

Hell even when working on cars you always have parts + labor and the parts can be like $40 but the labor is like $400 dollars. If you blew a head gasket the gasket's like what, $60 for a head gasket kit at the most but there's so much more that goes with changing a head gasket then just removing a head and changing it's gasket. I know the same goes for motorcycles.

It's just like bikes. People will bring their bikes into your shop because they don't know what they're doing and don't want to mess it up. I'm assuming (by a guess) that you don't have much mechanical experience on motors etc.... or else you'd understand what you are paying for. I figured if I can work on a car, do brakes, trans work, engine rebuilding that I should have the right mindset to build a bicycle (plus you always get some help anyways) so find a buddy who knows a little about motorcycles and go for it. Fork seals can't be much different than a bikes, and the tune-up I'd guarntee you isn't that difficult if you take your time.

Ehhh I'm ranting

I just don't think it's all that much. A tune up on a automobile would be more if you said do the basic motor things (plugs, wires, cap, rotor, air cleaner, new oil + oil filter) and add labor to it. Hell that's probably $150 in just parts via a mechanic's charge right there. Just go get it done and get riding...

Tame Ape · Jan 17, 2005

James | Go-Ride said:
grouse grouse grouse.

Whats a Jet Kit? Sounds pretty badass in a Sylvester Stallone kind of way.

buildyourown · Jan 17, 2005

What I love is when the shop charges you an hour labor to do something that takes 5 min. Like change a light bulb.
Heck, my shop wanted $220 to swap out 4 glow plugs. Took me 45min, including cleanup

Spunger · Jan 17, 2005

Tame Ape said:
Whats a Jet Kit? Sounds pretty badass in a Sylvester Stallone kind of way.

You use little tiny restrictors? I believe is what they are called to jet the carb's. It basicly gives you better throttle response at certain throttle curves so you can control what you are doing a little better. If you were racing on a short track you wouldn't want the beefy 100% all open throttle with full fuel, you'd want the best power and fuel econ. to get through the track. It's definately a good thing :cool:

bibs · Jan 17, 2005

Jet kits take alot of time from what I remeber, i had it done to my CBR900RR when I got anew pipe, it changes the jets in the the throttle body or what ever fuel system you have.but it takes time to adjust. Unfortuatly, that sounds about right for all that.....

Acadian · Jan 17, 2005

bibs said:
Jet kits take alot of time from what I remeber, i had it done to my CBR900RR when I got anew pipe, it changes the jets in the the throttle body or what ever fuel system you have.but it takes time to adjust. Unfortuatly, that sounds about right for all that.....

hahah...we had the same bike!!! :thumb:

I also had a jet kit and Yoshimura pipe!! :drool:

Acadian · Jan 17, 2005

BTW...happy birthday James!!

OGRipper · Jan 17, 2005

James | Go-Ride said:
I think the most we have ever charged a single customer for a single bike for labor only was around a hundred bucks. /QUOTE]

If that's true, maybe you guys should charge more.

Labor takes time, and time is money, especially if it's the time of an experienced and confident mechanic who will do it right. How long will that job take? Divide by $350 and it's probably a reasonable hourly wage for a pro wrench...

UiUiUiUi · Jan 17, 2005

James | Go-Ride said:
Actually I'm not really complaining about the price, it's about what I figured it would be. But next time you're about to freak out because your LBS wants $45 to rebuild your 888 . . .

Thanks Luc!

damn i'd love to have a shop nearby which is even capable of doing such a job

partsbara · Jan 17, 2005

UiUiUiUi said:
damn i'd love to have a shop nearby which is even capable of doing such a job

you do... me

btw - happy b/day james... as i told you i m getting a crf250 in the coming months... i can only imagine the labor costs over here

UiUiUiUi · Jan 17, 2005

partsbara said:
you do... me

btw - happy b/day james... as i told you i m getting a crf250 in the coming months... i can only imagine the labor costs over here

*lol* ok but over 400km is not nearby by my standards
you are a great mechanic though!

use the CRF to learn and then charge others those outragous rates ;-)

partsbara · Jan 17, 2005

UiUiUiUi said:
*lol* ok but over 400km is not nearby by my standards
you are a great mechanic though!

use the CRF to learn and then charge others those outragous rates ;-)

that is the plan mate... if / when we gte back to the states

http://www.mmi-motorcycle-tech.com/motorcycle-tech.asp

thanks for the kind words...

GO BIG RED !!!!!!

UiUiUiUi · Jan 17, 2005

go with the flow, and have fun!

bibs · Jan 17, 2005

Acadian said:
hahah...we had the same bike!!! I also had a jet kit and Yoshimura pipe!!

I had the Vance and Hines full kit, and a ignition advancer and some other stuff fun bike :thumb:

:heart:

Acadian · Jan 17, 2005

bibs said:
I had the Vance and Hines full kit, and a ignition advancer and some other stuff fun bike :heart:

yup...I had jet kit, race cams, full pipe, blue print part of the engine, etc...

all done by Kyle Racing in Sand City :thumb:

www.kyleusa.com

blue · Jan 18, 2005

James | Go-Ride said:
So I think everybody has heard my argument about why DH bikes don't actually cost as much as a good moto, and I won't go into it again. However, just a few moments ago, I got off the phone with my moto dealer to ask how much my break-in tune would be, and also to get a price quote on new fork seals and to have them install my jet kit.

$350.

And so we all can see, DH bikes are astoundingly less money than MX bikes. I think the most we have ever charged a single customer for a single bike for labor only was around a hundred bucks. $350 for a tune, seal replacement, and jet kit install? Absurd.

Question, as I used to live in Salt Lake...what shop did you go to?

Incubus · Jan 18, 2005

James | Go-Ride said:
Actually I'm not really complaining about the price, it's about what I figured it would be. But next time you're about to freak out because your LBS wants $45 to rebuild your 888 . . .

Thanks Luc!

$45 to rebuild a 888? I have a shop near me that charges $35 to install a headset. They'd probably charge $45 just to ship a 888 to Marzocchi. And then charge you whatever marzocchi charges on top of that.

Incubus · Jan 18, 2005

buildyourown said:
What I love is when the shop charges you an hour labor to do something that takes 5 min. Like change a light bulb.
Heck, my shop wanted $220 to swap out 4 glow plugs. Took me 45min, including cleanup

This isn't at all uncommon. Most any auto mechanic will look up in a book the estimated time of any job. And charge you that much labor regardless of how long it actually took. I'm sure the estimates are padded somewhat.

I'm lucky enough to have one of the best marque-specific [auto] tuners in the country nearby. They happen to have better labor rates than any dealer and they don't charge by the book.

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