£150 for a "service"???

[Morganinaboat]

Took the 1999 in for a "service" at the local bike shop and also asked about checking the choke (had to run it with choke 1/2 on or it would cut off at stoplights).  Was told they would change oil & filter, lube, and adjust brake calibers, etc.  I came back to find a £150 bar tab waiting on me.  Seems like thats 3 x's higher than I anticipated.  Oil was routine shop grade and the filter was as well.  Claimed 90 minutes worth of work on the bike to do all that.  Nothing done to adjust choke issue that I can tell.  Was informed that I need new carb rubbers for an additional 225 installed.  I said no thanks and rolled on down the road.  Did I just totally get reamed or is that about right for a "service"?

[Fazerider]

It's pretty much what I'd expect to get charged if they've done what they claim.
The carb rubbers do get cracked with age and sunlight. They can look very bad before they crack all the way through as they're quite thick, but it's possible they have done that in your case. The result will be too lean a mixture at idle... which can be offset by the use of the choke.
Before spending lots of money on replacements, get some ordinary black silicone sealant and smear it into all the cracks. If that cures the problem it'll do as a temporary fix.
Otherwise, cleaning the carbs out is probably what's needed.

[darrsi]

Does sound a little steep if truth be told.


If you have an air leak in your carb rubbers that might be why you need to use the choke though to cut the air down.

[darrsi]

Realistically you gotta be looking at £30 tops for oil and filter.
The place I get my bike Dyno'd is £60 an hour, that's the most I've ever paid, but that would be for 2hrs, so still doesn't quite add up.


Did you not get an itemised bill?

[Punkstig]

Wow!
Mechanics in London is £40 for oil and filter, Ok you had some other things done but, wow

[Morganinaboat]

Thanks for the feedback.  Just hard for me to comprehend that changing 2.5L +/- of oil and filter with  a couple of other tweaks cost that much when I can get 5 quarts of oil and filter for my truck at home for less than $40.


I did get an itemized bill but its with the bike at the storage unit so I'll grab it next time I ride and see whats up.  Thanks again for the suggestions.  Will just have the bike for 4 more months while here in Scotland so it didn't make sense to spend any more money on it to remedy an annoyance.  Previous owner put an aftermarket can on there and the shop said that could also be throwing things off.  She runs great otherwise. 

[johnakay]

bike is out of warranty so why pay some one else just change oil and filter?
ok if bike needs other work that you can't do,then expect to pay over the top.
they say brake fluid needs to be changed after 2 years  bollocks.
if your brake fluid is black/dirty change it other wise good for at least 3 to 4 years.
I've never had problems with not changing b/fluids in 5 years  or more.
as the saying goes if its not broke why fix it.

[Deefer666]

Full service on a FZS at my place is £99 all in but thats oil, oil filter, air filter (if needed), plugs & a full check over and brake caliper "clean out"

[Morganinaboat]

@Deefer even with the travel distance I think yours is a better deal.  How much should an air filter set me back?  Just the filter?

[AMW]

Full service on a FZS at my place is £99

Just a shame you are not nearer 

Andrew

[Kepha]

[smg id=2560 type=preview align=center caption="IMG 20150510 233205"]

Here's my service from the other week for comparison

[Deefer666]

Considering they did your fork seals as well, thats not too shocking

[His Dudeness]

Took the 1999 in for a "service" at the local bike shop and also asked about checking the choke (had to run it with choke 1/2 on or it would cut off at stoplights).  Was told they would change oil & filter, lube, and adjust brake calibers, etc.  I came back to find a £150 bar tab waiting on me.  Seems like thats 3 x's higher than I anticipated.  Oil was routine shop grade and the filter was as well.  Claimed 90 minutes worth of work on the bike to do all that.  Nothing done to adjust choke issue that I can tell.  Was informed that I need new carb rubbers for an additional 225 installed.  I said no thanks and rolled on down the road.  Did I just totally get reamed or is that about right for a "service"?

I'd say they put a bit more time into it than you think but didn't explain to you properly what they did. If it had to run with half choke on all the time to keep it going it must have been running like a bag of shite and it's unlikely the choke cable was the problem. So it would have taken a bit of time to track that down and fix. Adjust brake calipers? That doesn't make any sense. Did they take the calipers off and clean them? Or bleed new fluid through? Oil and filter is fairly straight forward as long as all goes well. 150 is a bit steep but it's definitely not 3x higher than it should have been. You hardly expected them to do it all for £50 with parts included in that?

[Deefer666]

The thing is people get confused between the term "oil change" and "service". At £99 I know I am too cheap for a full service, but if I were to just change the oil and oil filter (which is whats some garages call a service) it would be £30 ish