Need a good suzuki dealer...

[benVFR]

Just got home with my bike... cleaned more crap off the forks, but it still appears to be leaking.

I guess I don't want to bother fixing it myself, I think it should be covered under the warranty.

I'm in Waltham... anyone know a trustworthy dealer around here?

Greater Boston Motorsports on Mass Ave. in Arlington seems to be the closest, anyone know if they are any good?

Thanks,
Ben

[Stoneman]

I personally have yet to find a 'trust worthy dealer'. If I'm not sure how to do it, I find someone that is and learn from them. I'm TOTALLY done with dealerships...

[Pearldog]

I went through the same search in October. For large issues-I am taking my SV either to Sky Cycles or to SouthShore Motorsports. From the people I have spoken with- both shops are fair/decent. I have gone to both places and bought some stuff from the Southhore parts department. I am in Newton so it is either slab to Quincy or backroads including 117 to Sky Cycles (or Rt. 2).

You may also want to try Degsy -once I get my shit together re: forks/shock he will probably do a better job than any shop.

PD

sorry--I screwed up posting and the system won't let me delete

[RandyO]

Unfortunately, I think the only way you get respect from a shop is to put on 25K/yr at minimum, thats 8 oil changes, 3 sets of tires, a chain & sprockets, 3 tuneups, 1-2 valve inspections, and a few other things that come up occasionally, like brakes, coolant refresh, cables, fork seals, clutch etc. , at that rate your in there at least once a month, but usually twice, or more, beleive it or not, at that point, you can prolly get a discount (parts & labor), walk-in (no appointment) service, and a charge account.

You want to get to your dealer ahead of time, give the service dept a warning that parts have been ordered and when they are in you will be in for service, don't wait till yer down to cords to find out that 208's are on backorder

And don't be anal, what goes around comes around.

[oreo_n2]

i know GBM wants way too much money to mount tires and do valve adjustments. i learned that on the RF last year so i usually go to Parkway for suzuki stuff. plus i still get a discount over there. If they drop your tank you can probably work one out too.

[bemused]

I'm always leery of taking anything to a dealer... but I've gotta cautiously agree w/ Josh, here: I've taken the Kat to Cycles 128 a few times now, and haven't had any nasty surprises from their service department yet. the only times they've missed their projected finish times have been for legitimate reasons, there haven't been any unexplained "extra" charges, and the mechs I've talked to there know what they're talking about.

I know it would be a helluva commute for you... but that's my .02 shekels worth...

[Stoneman]

Originally posted by RandyO
Unfortunately, I think the only way you get respect from a shop is to put on 25K/yr at minimum, thats 8 oil changes, 3 sets of tires, a chain & sprockets, 3 tuneups, 1-2 valve inspections, and a few other things that come up occasionally, like brakes, coolant refresh, cables, fork seals, clutch etc. , at that rate your in there at least once a month, but usually twice, or more, beleive it or not, at that point, you can prolly get a discount (parts & labor), walk-in (no appointment) service, and a charge account.

You want to get to your dealer ahead of time, give the service dept a warning that parts have been ordered and when they are in you will be in for service, don't wait till yer down to cords to find out that 208's are on backorder

And don't be anal, what goes around comes around.

You make some good points there, Randy. But in my opinion, a dealership should treat EVERY customer that way. Ya never know when that pain in the ass customer that's looking for a cheap brake job is gonna wanna come in and drop $10K on a new ride. They seem to think that they've got the average consumer by the balls, which is far from the case now-a-days. Maybe five years ago, that was the situation. But today's consumer is a much wiser person. A lot of these so-called dealerships best wake the fuck up, SOON!

[stoinkythepig]

Wouldn't count of fork seals being a warranty item. They are likely damaged by road debris. I do all my own work and cannot recommend a dealer.

Why not have RandyO drop it off at his dealer? Sounds like he has a good thing going.

[Stoneman]

Originally posted by stoinkythepig

Why not have RandyO drop it off at his dealer? Sounds like he has a good thing going.

Sadly, using Randy's name at that particular dealer will yield you nothing. Hell! I even had Randy pick me up when I dropped off my bike there. I wouldn't let the 'his' dealer adjust my chain. Bunch of fuckwads...

[benVFR]

Yes I just called the nearest dealer, they said under one year fork seals are automatically covered under the warranty, after that they are a case-by-case basis. (I paid extra for more time on the warranty)

The parts appear to be about $20/side and fork oil seems to be less than $10/32oz bottle so I think I'm going to end up spending the money on a good front stand and whatever tools I need, as the dealership said 2-3 hours @ $75/hr + parts if they decide not to cover it under the warranty.

Now if I just knew what I was doing...

Ben

[twrayinma]

you gonna consider putting 10w or 15w oil in the forks, since you'll have 'em apart anyway?

[benVFR]

If I end up taking it apart myself and someone would be able to help/supervise I suppose I ought to just get the cartridge emulators and the whole 9 yards and do it all at once.

Ben

[stoinkythepig]

They are pretty easy to do. If you can wait until April 12, I'll be installing some cartridge emulators in a 2001 Concours for a friend. Be a good time to either watch and learn or perhaps we could do both bikes on the same day.