The Mindset Of Some "Mechanics"

[Kf6vci]

A few weeks ago, I bought a 125 cc 2-stroke sports bike from a Thai owner.

Soon, I got to know 3 bike repair shops... One of them is run by a "mechanic"

who cannibalizes customers' bikes for parts and who will mess with a carb even though he was asked to leave it alone!

That particular issue was a leaking fuel hose.

The carb was fine, as was the oil pump.

But Somchai had to mess with the bike, install some homemade parts and probably turn down the oil pump etc.

^^^

With hindsight, I would

i) pay to get it sent to a trusted mechanic

ii) not let some unknown garage keep it over night

iii) buy new or rent!

What is going on in some Thai mechanics' minds? Don't they know what they are doing? Do they hate farangs? Are they destroying an engine "for a laugh"? Or to make an extra 30 Baht with some manufacturer's part which they sneakily replace?

Moreover, why are bikers' lives put at risk by car drivers who want to get somewhere 3 seconds quicker?

Just wondering.

Maybe asking him to leave the carb alone made him mess with it?

What is this routine, wanting to replace original parts with some modified junk?!? They talk about it before they even touched the bike! Maybe they have a sixth sense and know when they will have to modify a bike with their parts?

Bikers, beware!

[Spoonman]

How does one "turn down the oil pump" ?

[dave_boo]

How does one "turn down the oil pump" ?

He's talking about the oil injection pump for a 2T bike..

[poanoi]

In my last incident the mechanic cut off all wires to my alarm,

when i asked "why ?"

the response was "i thought you don't use it"

[KRS1]

I had a mechanic give up on getting the sparkplug out once, he just said it was too hard. Quite funny at the time.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

Most factory shops you don't have a problem.

Honda - Honda shop

Kawasaki - Kawasaki shop

Suzuki - suzuki shop

Yamaha - good luck

Even at the little shops most repairs take minutes, watch. I do

There are some good little shops. The FFactory shops are factory trained and work on you kind of bike all day

Most Thias wnat their bikes fixed as only what needs to be fixed and at the lowest cost, so sometimes that confuese them when we ask to have it do top quality and right

[Atmos]

I have only ever dealt with dealerships for current bike; 24,000km and all scheduled services at dealer, stamps in the book - a positive if I decided to sell

Never used a 'home mechanic' for anything more than fitting a new tube when punctured.

There may be some good ones out there, but how to tell unless you can get a personal recommendation; even then I'd prefer to use a dealer, the costs are so low for services compared to what I've paid in other countries.

At our previous location it was a 90km round-trip to the dealer, suppose I was fortunate to never have an unexpected breakdown or I'd have had to try my luck closer to home.

but . . . having said that, there is a workshop here that specialises in BMW K-series bikes, not a dealer just a little workshop with 2 mechanics, 10km from the nearest city (Chanthaburi), he must have a good reputation as often see bikes from other provinces there.

[sapi]

i know few bike mechanics near me. Yes, they assumed that we want what thai people want "cheap repair".

I recommend to fix it yourself if you know how or contact good mechanic. In my case, i contact one of honda mechanic to work part time in my home, i pay for his time and i can decide what i want. The best so far for me.

Leaking fuel line?? is it from the dump line or the inlet line? my 2stroke had this problem with the dump line, turn out the float neddle can't close properly resulting in overflowing.

Cheers.

[snowflake]

You can have problems with any mechanic... I know, they killed my CBR just before I sold it...

But the local somchais are bad, they do like to modify and combine that with low education, it is a sure fiasco... Find one guy, stick to him, pay him to much... He is happy and he will try to fix your bike, like you want to have it done...

[mezcal]

Chris, is history repeating itself? Considering your past experiences with your previous bikes, you should know better. GET A NEW BIKE!

Regarding Thai mechanics...I completely agree. I had one that let brake fluid ruin the colour of the front rim, another one tried to 'tune' a carb and completely messed it up, another forgot to tighten the front brake brackets...

Now I do most of the maintenance work by myself. Luckily I have a low-tech bike!

TRUST NO-ONE!

[mezcal]

edit double post...

Edited September 13, 2011 by mezcal

[wana]

yamaha dealer was a complete joke week

i went in for a warranty service

according to the manual there was over 20+ odd things he was supposed to check and or adjust includi9ng the carb ,sparkplug ,brakes ,transmission and a dozen other things etc etc

the kid changes the engine oil ,over inflates the tires AGAIN and 5 minutes later he tells me its ready

260 thb and he stamped the book as having had its "yamaha service "

buying a bike advertised with "full complete service history " here is a complete joke

id complain to yamaha but who'd listen ..........TIT

[wantan]

yamaha dealer was a complete joke week

i went in for a warranty service

according to the manual there was over 20+ odd things he was supposed to check and or adjust includi9ng the carb ,sparkplug ,brakes ,transmission and a dozen other things etc etc

the kid changes the engine oil ,over inflates the tires AGAIN and 5 minutes later he tells me its ready

260 thb and he stamped the book as having had its "yamaha service "

buying a bike advertised with "full complete service history " here is a complete joke

id complain to yamaha but who'd listen ..........TIT

I agree, same with my "Yamaha Service". But i guess it is everywhere in the world like this. No Yamaha Shop would adjust the valves, check all brake hoses carefully for cracks, check the tightness of each single spoke, lubricate every thing like written in the manual, adjust the headlight beam, and so on...

The difference e.g. to germany is, that in thailand you can watch the mechanic doing his work. So you know at the end that he has done not much. But for 260 Baht, what do you expect? And i like the fact that you only pay for the parts they replace.

In germany you normally can not watch at the work that is done. You have to trust them. You have to pay much money (normally a fixed price for service plus money for the parts they use), but they sure not do everything they should do too.

[wana]

they could have at least pretended they were servicing the bike and told me to come back in an hour or so

its just the laziness and the attitude they take when working on something as importat as the safety of a machine you could easily get killed on that gets on my tits ....

,and its not like theyre doing the work for free

when you buy a new bike manufacturers have already factored warrantys into the price and left themselves with a healthy profit ,

dealers get credited "paid" to do these services by manufacturers and im pretty sure thats why they rip a page out of your service book and keep it when they finish the "service" so they can get their credit back from yamaha or honda for "doing the work " that never got done

Edited September 14, 2011 by wana

[andrew55]

When I bought a new bike a few years ago my TW threw out the log book/ manual! I tried to explain that a completed log book would add value if we sell. She duly explained that Thai people 'not do like this'. She was right.

Services according to the book for little bikes seem non-existent. Far more important that the bike is blessed for lucky at a good wat by good monk. Nothing is checked at service and no secret is made of this. Just change oil and maybe filter. I get the kid next door to do mine for a RedBull and an hour or 2 playing games on my laptop. I also gave him a quality tyre pressure gauge! Good investment.

Hope not off topic, but must say that Isuzu throughout LOS have always followed log book exactly with my pick-up. Very professional. 100k+ and still as new. Why not the bikes?

[SumetCycle]

they could have at least pretended they were servicing the bike and told me to come back in an hour or so

its just the laziness and the attitude they take when working on something as importat as the safety of a machine you could easily get killed on that gets on my tits ....

,and its not like theyre doing the work for free

when you buy a new bike manufacturers have already factored warrantys into the price and left themselves with a healthy profit ,

dealers get credited "paid" to do these services by manufacturers and im pretty sure thats why they rip a page out of your service book and keep it when they finish the "service" so they can get their credit back from yamaha or honda for "doing the work " that never got done

Dealers do not get credited from the manufacturers for regular service work. The only time this would happen would be for a part recall or free oil change promotion. Even then, the amount paid to the dealer is very little.

I would suggest going through the service book with the dealer before the work is done. Ask them to explain step by step what is going to be done. This way you make it clear to them that you want a proper and complete service. If you don't feel they did a correct service, speak up. More importantly, don't pay until everything has been done correctly.

[wana]

they could have at least pretended they were servicing the bike and told me to come back in an hour or so

its just the laziness and the attitude they take when working on something as importat as the safety of a machine you could easily get killed on that gets on my tits ....

,and its not like theyre doing the work for free

when you buy a new bike manufacturers have already factored warrantys into the price and left themselves with a healthy profit ,

dealers get credited "paid" to do these services by manufacturers and im pretty sure thats why they rip a page out of your service book and keep it when they finish the "service" so they can get their credit back from yamaha or honda for "doing the work " that never got done

Dealers do not get credited from the manufacturers for regular service work. The only time this would happen would be for a part recall or free oil change promotion. Even then, the amount paid to the dealer is very little.

I would suggest going through the service book with the dealer before the work is done. Ask them to explain step by step what is going to be done. This way you make it clear to them that you want a proper and complete service. If you don't feel they did a correct service, speak up. More importantly, don't pay until everything has been done correctly.

if the dealers get nothing for the service then it would be impossible to get a warranty service done anywhere ,they could just tel you theyre too busy and take it to another shop

nobody does anything for free in thailand ,do they ?

its hard to explain to a thai kid "mechanic" exactly what you want ,short of taking his tools off him and doing it yourself

he can read thai better than i can ,he can see the 20 odd things hes supposed to check and tick the boxes as he goes down through them (its all in thai so its not like i went in with an english warranty service manual )to ensure everything is checked ,

the only problem is he and none of his superiors seems to care

he also inflates my tires to the maximum number on the side wall and outside the shop i have to let half of the air out again or i cant drive on wet roads but TIT

[SumetCycle]

they could have at least pretended they were servicing the bike and told me to come back in an hour or so

its just the laziness and the attitude they take when working on something as importat as the safety of a machine you could easily get killed on that gets on my tits ....

,and its not like theyre doing the work for free

when you buy a new bike manufacturers have already factored warrantys into the price and left themselves with a healthy profit ,

dealers get credited "paid" to do these services by manufacturers and im pretty sure thats why they rip a page out of your service book and keep it when they finish the "service" so they can get their credit back from yamaha or honda for "doing the work " that never got done

Dealers do not get credited from the manufacturers for regular service work. The only time this would happen would be for a part recall or free oil change promotion. Even then, the amount paid to the dealer is very little.

I would suggest going through the service book with the dealer before the work is done. Ask them to explain step by step what is going to be done. This way you make it clear to them that you want a proper and complete service. If you don't feel they did a correct service, speak up. More importantly, don't pay until everything has been done correctly.

if the dealers get nothing for the service then it would be impossible to get a warranty service done anywhere ,they could just tel you theyre too busy and take it to another shop

nobody does anything for free in thailand ,do they ?

its hard to explain to a thai kid "mechanic" exactly what you want ,short of taking his tools off him and doing it yourself

he can read thai better than i can ,he can see the 20 odd things hes supposed to check and tick the boxes as he goes down through them (its all in thai so its not like i went in with an english warranty service manual )to ensure everything is checked ,

the only problem is he and none of his superiors seems to care

he also inflates my tires to the maximum number on the side wall and outside the shop i have to let half of the air out again or i cant drive on wet roads but TIT

No, the warranty service work is not done for free. The customer pays the dealer for it.

I guess if you can't speak or read Thai, it might be difficult to explain what you want done. Perhaps learning Thai or bringing a Thai friend along might help. Also, most of the younger dealership oweners I know can speak English. If they are there, ask to speak to them. Most of them should try and set things right. If the shop's management doesn't care that service isn't being done properly, I would find another shop.

At any rate, I hope you have better luck with future service work.

[wana]

they could have at least pretended they were servicing the bike and told me to come back in an hour or so

its just the laziness and the attitude they take when working on something as importat as the safety of a machine you could easily get killed on that gets on my tits ....

,and its not like theyre doing the work for free

when you buy a new bike manufacturers have already factored warrantys into the price and left themselves with a healthy profit ,

dealers get credited "paid" to do these services by manufacturers and im pretty sure thats why they rip a page out of your service book and keep it when they finish the "service" so they can get their credit back from yamaha or honda for "doing the work " that never got done

Dealers do not get credited from the manufacturers for regular service work. The only time this would happen would be for a part recall or free oil change promotion. Even then, the amount paid to the dealer is very little.

I would suggest going through the service book with the dealer before the work is done. Ask them to explain step by step what is going to be done. This way you make it clear to them that you want a proper and complete service. If you don't feel they did a correct service, speak up. More importantly, don't pay until everything has been done correctly.

if the dealers get nothing for the service then it would be impossible to get a warranty service done anywhere ,they could just tel you theyre too busy and take it to another shop

nobody does anything for free in thailand ,do they ?

its hard to explain to a thai kid "mechanic" exactly what you want ,short of taking his tools off him and doing it yourself

he can read thai better than i can ,he can see the 20 odd things hes supposed to check and tick the boxes as he goes down through them (its all in thai so its not like i went in with an english warranty service manual )to ensure everything is checked ,

the only problem is he and none of his superiors seems to care

he also inflates my tires to the maximum number on the side wall and outside the shop i have to let half of the air out again or i cant drive on wet roads but TIT

No, the warranty service work is not done for free. The customer pays the dealer for it.

I guess if you can't speak or read Thai, it might be difficult to explain what you want done. Perhaps learning Thai or bringing a Thai friend along might help. Also, most of the younger dealership oweners I know can speak English. If they are there, ask to speak to them. Most of them should try and set things right. If the shop's management doesn't care that service isn't being done properly, I would find another shop.

At any rate, I hope you have better luck with future service work.

i actualy can speak enough thai to usualy get fixed what i need fixed ,the warranty thing is a booklet with checklist of things that need done at certain intervals

1000km, 4000km ,8000km ,12,000km etc (im guessing the 50,000km warranty is invalid if these "services " are not carried out because they could say they bike was neglected etc )

i usually do things myself if i can and only visit the local yamaha dealer to keep the warranty status intact

[thaicbr]

they could have at least pretended they were servicing the bike and told me to come back in an hour or so

its just the laziness and the attitude they take when working on something as importat as the safety of a machine you could easily get killed on that gets on my tits ....

,and its not like theyre doing the work for free

when you buy a new bike manufacturers have already factored warrantys into the price and left themselves with a healthy profit ,

dealers get credited "paid" to do these services by manufacturers and im pretty sure thats why they rip a page out of your service book and keep it when they finish the "service" so they can get their credit back from yamaha or honda for "doing the work " that never got done

Dealers do not get credited from the manufacturers for regular service work. The only time this would happen would be for a part recall or free oil change promotion. Even then, the amount paid to the dealer is very little.

I would suggest going through the service book with the dealer before the work is done. Ask them to explain step by step what is going to be done. This way you make it clear to them that you want a proper and complete service. If you don't feel they did a correct service, speak up. More importantly, don't pay until everything has been done correctly.

if the dealers get nothing for the service then it would be impossible to get a warranty service done anywhere ,they could just tel you theyre too busy and take it to another shop

nobody does anything for free in thailand ,do they ?

its hard to explain to a thai kid "mechanic" exactly what you want ,short of taking his tools off him and doing it yourself

he can read thai better than i can ,he can see the 20 odd things hes supposed to check and tick the boxes as he goes down through them (its all in thai so its not like i went in with an english warranty service manual )to ensure everything is checked ,

the only problem is he and none of his superiors seems to care

he also inflates my tires to the maximum number on the side wall and outside the shop i have to let half of the air out again or i cant drive on wet roads but TIT

Are you sure?????????????????

[wantan]

No, the warranty service work is not done for free. The customer pays the dealer for it.

But i have paid only for the parts they used at my Yamaha Shop until now. I always thought they may have calculated their work fees into the prices of the parts.

[wana]

No, the warranty service work is not done for free. The customer pays the dealer for it.

But i have paid only for the parts they used at my Yamaha Shop until now. I always thought they may have calculated their work fees into the prices of the parts.

as far as i understand it ,yamaha warranty services are free

free as in you only pay for the disposables (oil ,brake fluid/ pads ,filters,sparkplugs ,tires etc )

ive never been charged for "labour" on a warranty service on any of our bikes

[Semper]

I had a mechanic give up on getting the sparkplug out once, he just said it was too hard. Quite funny at the time.

I had the same experience once on my Honda C70. I told him to change the plug, answer can not.

[wantan]

No, the warranty service work is not done for free. The customer pays the dealer for it.

But i have paid only for the parts they used at my Yamaha Shop until now. I always thought they may have calculated their work fees into the prices of the parts.

as far as i understand it ,yamaha warranty services are free

free as in you only pay for the disposables (oil ,brake fluid/ pads ,filters,sparkplugs ,tires etc )

ive never been charged for "labour" on a warranty service on any of our bikes

OK, this explains a lot. It also explains why they do not smile when i come for service every 2000km

Thanks for the info.

[KRS1]

I had a mechanic give up on getting the sparkplug out once, he just said it was too hard. Quite funny at the time.

I had the same experience once on my Honda C70. I told him to change the plug, answer can not.

haha, the thing about this guy is that he was simply sitting at the wrong angle and couldn't get enough force onto the wrench...lol

Mechanics avoid the CBR 150 sparkplug like the plague ! 3 shops turned me down...

I got it out later, and am now a pro at it..lol

[SumetCycle]

No, the warranty service work is not done for free. The customer pays the dealer for it.

But i have paid only for the parts they used at my Yamaha Shop until now. I always thought they may have calculated their work fees into the prices of the parts.

Yes, this how most places do it, but the dealer is making a profit off of the parts and oil. This is what I meant by the customer paying for service. Sorry for the confusion.

[KRS1]

Mechanics also make a percentage off the parts they replace.

[Semper]

Mechanics also make a percentage off the parts they replace.

Well, they wont make % on spark plugs. They simply refuses to change them.

[KRS1]

haha good one !

[Kwarium]

Can't resist venting on this great topic of crap work and mental mechanics and service shops. ;-)

My 8 year old Kaze scooter has never been serviced anywhere but Rama 9 Kawasaki, the main dealer service center in Bangkok. Well, I do stop down the street locally for oil changes now and again, and clean/gap the plug and service air filter myself.

So I call Kawasaki on a Thursday or Friday wanting to get the bike in for routine (annual) tune up/check up. No problem bring it in. Planning to leave it for the weekend, no rush, but when dropping the bike, told Tuesday would be the soonest. (Thinking so why did you tell me to bring it in if you're that busy?)

With wife and I explaining that nothing is broken, but we want the bike 'Per-Fek' (Thai word, ya' know) they finally write a work order. I want them to check/change drive chain and even sprockets if needed as it's hidden under plastic, change fork oil, motor oil and oil filter screen change, (service guys say there is such a thing...never knew.) new plug and air filter foam, check/change brake shoes, clean carb, check and lube cables and wheel bearings (not sure if they're sealed or not, this is why I use the factory service center). Generally check everything.

Call them 5 working days later on Wednesday and get told almost done, working now, we'll call you. Friday call again and get told working now, not finished and with a crappy attitude like I'm bugging them to boot! Saturday morning I call and am told... can you guess... 'almost finished', and again, a crappy attitude on the phone (They got a crappy attitude right back on that call!) Late Saturday afternoon I get a call that it's done and can pick it up in the hour before the shop closes.

Yeah right, have you been on Rama 9 inbound on a Saturday afternoon?

I'm busy Monday, (Gee something to do besides fool around with a scooter service? LOL!) Tuesday get a call from Mr. whoever has a bad, short tone on the phone asking if I'm gonna pick it up. OK, manage to get over there before closing. Try to get someone to go over what actually got done- no one has much to say, not even a mention of the 8 day tuneup -the spare parts in the basket consist of a float bowl gasket and a cracked fuel vent hose. Go next door and pay and start to ride down Rama 9 road in almost 6:00 traffic heading out of Bangkok. Engine is feeling strong, but man is it riding harsh! Yep they did work on the bike, cause both tires are at 45 lbs/psi!

Bottom line after the 8-day tune up the bike now starts harder than it ever has, otherwise I would have forgotten the whole fiasco by now. If I ever reach 20,000 km on it I think I'll try some place different. Glad I have a reliable mechanic for the big bikes!