Kawasaki Dealer Disappointment

[12DrinkMore]

Went to CM dealers twice in the last two months.

1. The radiator boiled over after stopping. As it had happened a few times I had diluted the coolant with water, so I asked them for a new radiator cap and to replace the coolant. Went back after an hour, they gave me a coolant bottle 90% full, "did not need it all, just a little". This irritated me, as I had told the girl and the mechanic to replace the fluid. Then I got the bill. They charged me 200 Baht labour for a job which required removing three screws and the radiator cap.OK, it is the minimum charge, but the cap and coolant came to 1,000 Baht.

I wish I had just bought the fluid and cap and done the job myself.

2. Next visit for new tyres. The mechanic was very keen to sell me some Pirellis, I said let's have a look. He goes to the store and brings out two partially wrapped tyres, they were grubby and had some water or fluid stains. The DOT mark indicated they were about 18 months old. I said I did not want old dirty tyres. I asked what else they had, after 10 minutes he came out with a Dunlop front tyre, wrapped but very grubby and the label was missing. Couldn't tell the manufacturing date, but when I asked he said maybe four of five years old. I asked when they could get some new tyres, he said, "maybe boss not want order". I walked out.

However, the good news is that after asking around I was told about Piston . He carries a large range of Pirellis, two of which are now attached to my bike. DOT stamp shows late 2014.

[moose7117]

i got a service done by him, piston shop, whilst travelling around northern Thailand, next day the bike just stopped !

i rang him and he drove 1 & half hours to pick me and the bike up, drove me back to the shop and fixed it straight away.

the problem was a vacuum line that cracked under the tank that fuelled the bike.

it was not touched by him, but he fixed it any way and did not charge me for it.

so i bought two shirts from his shop and a few beers for him.

he was a nice guy and did a great job on my bike and went out of his way to help me with a problem that was not of his making.

cannot recommend him enough.

rob

[Beardog]

too bad the one in Pattaya is awesome just had a new cap put on 630 baht no charge for the top up of coolant & the price of the cap included labor. I take real good care of them with tips whiskey & soda's & energy drinks Christmas & new years. I even get free parts from the bikes in the back(used) & they make me parts if I need them. I can't say anything bad about the guys in Pattaya, they are all techs & not just mechanics. Down to explaining to me how they run the tests on the computer & what I am looking at on the laptop.

[drift]

too bad the one in Pattaya is awesome just had a new cap put on 630 baht no charge for the top up of coolant & the price of the cap included labor. I take real good care of them with tips whiskey & soda's & energy drinks Christmas & new years. I even get free parts from the bikes in the back(used) & they make me parts if I need them. I can't say anything bad about the guys in Pattaya, they are all techs & not just mechanics. Down to explaining to me how they run the tests on the computer & what I am looking at on the laptop.

That's good to hear Beardog. I don't live in Pattaya but they are the nearest Kawasaki dealer to me. That's Mityon Kawasaki on Sukhumvit Road near Pattaya Tai road? They're the only one I know of there.

Thanks

[Beardog]

Kawasaki is way more knowledgeable than Mityon. Every one of the techs are not just backyard mechanics but had to pass rigorous testing & then in the field testing. Kawasaki isn't shy about cutting the people that are not only polite to customers but know what they are doing. I was sad to hear the OP had a problem with Kawi. The Kawi shop has 4 sizes of torque wrenches & compared to when I was running an auto shop they use all the same western technicians computerized equipment & everything. But the Upside is in the U.S. I couldn't let people in the repair part of the shop for Insurance reasons......Unless they told me they wanted to learn & I would take them back more or less as an employee so I could show them how & what to do if they desired. I enjoy being a mentor as much as I love to learn new tricks! It is sad that they didn't go the extra yard with the OP. I even help Kawi sometimes even if is just helping jockeying the bikes around. That helps a lot being liked & respected as not only a Tech myself but as a friendly helpful person in general. 2 times ago I came in for a part no longer stocked that a scooter shop left off(cause they said it wasn't useful or needed-Thank you very much ) And he took of a brake bar & ground it down to a perfect match for me free of charge & service charge for 20 minutes worth of fabricating me the part. Being nice sometimes has its perks! Mityon I doubt they are as strict. I watched them do some horrible service work on a rebuild on a 750 Honda engine & they had extra spacers & washers they left out of the rebuild. Bet the owner was miffed when it seized up. Near as I can tell you always wind up using all the parts & you can't omit parts in critical areas especially in an engine rebuild. And seriously they are going to be cheaper & do a better job cause the Kawi boys all love their jobs & it does not matter who services it they aren't drinking on the job or from what I can tell they are not hungover when working. They probably make as much on pooled tips as they do on their Paychecks.

[AJS 7R]

Kawasaki is way more knowledgeable than Mityon. Every one of the techs are not just backyard mechanics but had to pass rigorous testing & then in the field testing. Kawasaki isn't shy about cutting the people that are not only polite to customers but know what they are doing. I was sad to hear the OP had a problem with Kawi. The Kawi shop has 4 sizes of torque wrenches & compared to when I was running an auto shop they use all the same western technicians computerized equipment & everything. But the Upside is in the U.S. I couldn't let people in the repair part of the shop for Insurance reasons......Unless they told me they wanted to learn & I would take them back more or less as an employee so I could show them how & what to do if they desired. I enjoy being a mentor as much as I love to learn new tricks! It is sad that they didn't go the extra yard with the OP. I even help Kawi sometimes even if is just helping jockeying the bikes around. That helps a lot being liked & respected as not only a Tech myself but as a friendly helpful person in general. 2 times ago I came in for a part no longer stocked that a scooter shop left off(cause they said it wasn't useful or needed-Thank you very much ) And he took of a brake bar & ground it down to a perfect match for me free of charge & service charge for 20 minutes worth of fabricating me the part. Being nice sometimes has its perks! Mityon I doubt they are as strict. I watched them do some horrible service work on a rebuild on a 750 Honda engine & they had extra spacers & washers they left out of the rebuild. Bet the owner was miffed when it seized up. Near as I can tell you always wind up using all the parts & you can't omit parts in critical areas especially in an engine rebuild. And seriously they are going to be cheaper & do a better job cause the Kawi boys all love their jobs & it does not matter who services it they aren't drinking on the job or from what I can tell they are not hungover when working. They probably make as much on pooled tips as they do on their Paychecks.

FYI Mityon owns Kawa Big Bike.

[mark131v]

I have had the exact opposite service from Pattaya Kawasaki to the point where I wont buy a Kawasaki due to the clowns who work there. Only a couple of episodes but first impressions matter, first my wife's Ninjette needs some new stickers on one side of the fairing, orders it in as they don't hold any stock, no problem why we are there she tried to get the number plate resecured and tidied up but in the end after they had set about it with a pair of mole grips I ended up redoing it myself at home

Finally the sticker arrives and she gets the call to bring the bike in so off she goes, bloke sets to work with the hair dryer to remove the scratched graphics gets it done then realises he has ordered the wrong side, no proper apology and the wife is a bit unhappy as she now has to ride around for the next 2 weeks with half the bike as bare plastic as they have not got any other spares so must be ordered again

Gets the call again to come in and they make a complete hash of putting on the new stuff when they had finished it has loads of bubbles and creases in the finished article and it looks like it has been done by 5 year old. They then tried to charge her for both sides including the side they had ordered in error to which the missus loses it and tells them she wants to see the boss, boss comes out she tells him that she wants it redoing as it looks like an complete amateur has done it

It was finally done a week or so later but when you compare that to the professional service we have had from Big Wing they really don't compare, shame really as I really like their bikes but I would not want to rely on Pattaya branch for servicing, Beardog I don't know if you have any dealings with Pattaya Big Wing but if not it is worth popping over to see what a clean organised servicebay looks like as the Kawasaki one isnt which is a shame if the mechanics are as good as you say

ps edited to see if anyone knows of any other Kawa dealers in Rayong/Pattaya/Siracha sort of area

Edited March 18, 2015 by mark131v

[Beardog]

Maybe it is because I buff them out twice yearly with Whiskey Cokes & red bull drinks. they always do a great job for me. But I am pretty sure they are not taking people to the back area at the shop where they store bikes that are non runners & give parts when needed. When I painted my bike I needed the bridge that went along the handlebars & they gave me one off of a 2010 till it was painted & then I returned it. Now if Miyon owns Kawi which I do doubt the repair shop is totally inferior compared to Kawi. They sold me a carb I didn't need on a bike & at Kawi they would test it first not just replace parts . They don't sell you parts to make money at Kawi They do sell parts to get business at Mityon. I have used both & there is a huge difference in Parts replacers & Technicians! Mityon may be huge in the amount of shops but their Techs can't hold a candle to Kawi or most likely Honda as well. Mityon is a Somchai enterprise at best.

[mark131v]

There you go:

https://www.facebook.com/MityonKawasakiBigbike

https://www.facebook.com/HondaBigWingPattaya

Mityon also hold the Big Wing franchise but in Pattaya they seem to do it better from a service and facilities point of view at least in my limited experience though of course yours may vary