TOPIC:

So last year i brought my z1 forks to Sport Honda of Edison NJ to have my seals and new springs put in, also to change the fork oil. Cost me like $100 or so, dont have the tools for that job. No problem right.

Well i never got the bike together last year. So this year I buy a 76LTD 900 fork and brake setup for a dual disk setup. Well the other day i take the cap off one of the old z1 forks to see if the new spring will work on the LTD setup i bought (too long .. didn't work no biggy).

SO .. tonight i went out to replace the fork oil in the Z1 forks since I was doing the same in the LTD forks. I figure I know the z1 fork has new oil but i lost some taking out the spring and wanted it at the proper level so i can sell it. Well i dump the oil out into my cc cup. 75ccs of oil in it!!! It takes 169cc!! I was pissed to say the least. I may have lost tops 20ccs pulling that spring out as i let it dangle in the fork and drip for 10 minutes.

It gets worse. I figure let me open up the other old z1 fork and make sure .... those sons-of-b_tches never changed the oil!!!! It had that old foul smelling black oil in it! I mean can you even change a fork seal without dumping the oil??? SO did they screw me there as well? I Am fuming but calming down as i type this. Which is good for them cause I want to beat them with the fork!! Sport Honda of Edison NJ!! Remember the name. Im going down there tomorrow for a full refund.

man, thats a toughie. it was a year ago. perhaps you got a bad employee. but i also have a local shop who says theres nothing wrong with reusing o rings, either. o rings. something that usually gets damaged upon removal. hmm, interesting. i also let them clean some of my carbs. now im going to have to go through it and see what they really did. so, yes. there are shops out there that cut corners. youre not there standing over them to make sure they do things by the book. remember, the more people they get in and out, the more money to them. just another reason not to let anyone else tinker with your baby. man, i wish i had told myself that a while back before the carb thing. $160 for a supposed cleaning! shit!


good luck. i want to hear how you get revenge. we are an angry people, you and i. go get 'em!!

Hey , that's nothing new!!! I used to work at Lincoln dealership, and saw lots of stuff I wouln't let go out on my own stuff because every mechanic there is trying to race the books to make wages. Had one guy who had EVERY A/C job that year come back because he flused the system out with b-12 instead of triclorethylene. b-12 breaks down oil and it shelled every last compressor!! All to save 5 minutes to walk up to the parts counter:S

I know that's a little extreme, but I don't send anything of mine out except machine work and then I'm real picky. had a Ford 2.9L that one machine shop built to take care of lifter noise due to clogged oil passages to the hydraulic lifters. never did run right again and no refund either. After 4 times in and out, he finally just said he couldn't afford to work on it any more and shut the door on me. so I just drove it another month till it wouldn't open the valves any more.

Moral? It's cheaper to buy most any tool than risk your safety on a corner cutter. Not meaning to imply all are bad, but you have to really do your homework, and even then odds are against them caring as much as you do;)

damn straight!

I know i have no straight up way to prove this to them as it was a year ago and i already drained them both, but I am pure stubborn. Im getting it back.

Funny thing is i brought it there instead of a shop i know i trust cause it was closer and i figured .. how can you f up fork seals and springs? I could imagine how well my bike would have handled with half the required amount of fork fluid. Very unsafe i am sure. I'll have to remind them how they may have almost killed me. D@mn .. now i am mad again!!!

Funny thing is i brought it there instead of a shop i know i trust cause it was closer and i figured .. how can you f up fork seals and springs?

I feel your pain, brich, however, at the risk of stating the obvious:
1) stay with the folks you know and trust (although even they can have bad days) and
2) now you know EXACTLY how the other guys (or anyone you DON'T know and trust) can screw up
3) and as jjdwoodman posted the odds are against them caring as much as you do. Surely you know someone who can show you how to do fork overhauls. Those Z1 forks are REALLY simple to do compared to modern USD forks.

I got screwed over on some new parts by people I had dealt with for at least 15 years. I now drive all the way cross town to deal at two other places instead and have done so since 1988. All because the first guys ordered the wrong sprocket and wouldn't refund my money.
They've since lost at least $5K worth of parts sales and one new bike sale.
I always vote with my wallet.

know where your coming from rick:angry: don't go to the R and S on 1 and 9 in linden there thieves also

so i called them this morning .. i was VERY nice and explained my story. The shop manager was a total ass and said there is NO WAY one of his mechanics could have done that. Then another 10 minutes into it he said, well none of those guys even work here anymore form last year. I just laughed at him. I mean i kno wmy story is a bit odd, but who the hell would make all that up??!! He said he only gaurentees his stuff for 6 months. I told him OK, well i have 0 months riding on these. SO to make a long story short I just told him I will deal with his boss as I had no intentions of arguing with a brick wall.

So i went down and talked to the store owner. He was very nice and told me he will talk to the shop managers boss Monday and get back at me. He was cool at least. So round 1 is over with me taking the worst of it so far. Round 2 will continue on Monday.

Rick .. the funny thing is, I do know how to do seals in forks, i used to work in a shop a long long time ago, for a while. I just didn't have the tools to do it at the time. Now i got a garage and have been building up my tools as jobs require. Welp .. live and learn. Im their shop is proabably a decent place. I must have just gotten the 16 year old jackass mechanic who did my forks.

Quader98 .. you from Lindin huh? I'm right down Rt 1 in Somerset. Used to live on Rt 1 in Edsion. Nice to meet a semi-neighbor!

Post edited by: brich, at: 2007/07/28 13:45

If the owner gets back to you and you aren't happy yet. Before you go or hang up, give him a list of internet forums (KZRider, Cycle World, etc.) that you are going to let people know not only locally, but globally about their "service".

About 10 years ago I phoned in a pick up order to Pizza Hut. "It'll be 20 minutes" So by the time I got there it was 20 minutes & I checked in at the counter. "It's not ready yet, sir." So I wait. 10 minutes later I ask again, with the same response. Another 10 minutes and same response. I can be a patient person but after another 10 minutes and it still wasn't ready I protested loudly to a crowded restaurant. "I called a simple order of a large pepperoni 50 minutes ago and it's still not ready? Should I go next door to Subway to pick up sandwiches for the teenage boys to munch on while waiting for their pizza " So they looked again. The effing thing had been right there under the lights the whole time. They even charged me full price. I picked up a customer service form. I sent it to Pizza Hut headquarters and told them I would never eat in one of their restaurants again and in my experience when someone has a good experience they might tell one person but when someone has a bad one they tell a minimum of 7. Well 10 years later, I have yet to eat at Pizza Hut and I've told thousands of people!

Long story short, let him know you aren't afraid of telling people to avoid his dealership, but be nice about it.

Bill

hahaha ... im with you bro. I told that to the service manager already. When i spoke to the owner, I told him i had said that to the service manager, but i was willing to not go that route if he would help me out. So if he still doesn't appease me I will do just that. In a nice way though, like you said.
I notice if you remain completely calm and wear a smile while telling people things like that it kind of un-nevres them cause they are used to people yelling. My dad used to threaten me with a straight face and calm tone and it used to scare the cr@p out of me! LOL.

Hate to say it guys, but you/us, we are the real mechanics. It just doesnt pay that good to be a dealership mechanic. In most areas its seasonal too, so makes it even worse.
The ONLY guy i trust actually gets a $185 deposit before parts, etc, because of the age of the bike. (82) I cant afford that.. Thats why i turn to you guys.. Hello to you Jersey guys, Im exit 63 off the parkway, Long Beach Island.. Gimme a buzz if your ever this way!

It always helps me out to try to keep in mind the position of the other guy. Some people are always looking for an easy scam, and we all have to pay for that and deal with those jerks.

If the owner is being reasonable I would think it would appease him and soften his stance if he knows that you understand his position and you're not trying to prey on it, but also firmly to understand your position also and you do not intend to be taken advantage of.

This sounds like your stance already but if you take time to organize your thoughts logically before you present them, your emotions play less on the conversation and it's easier to keep that smile on your face, and I at least get farther that way, has served me well for over 10 years of self employment.


Smile! People will think you're crazy, which is a keen observation!