600mile/1000km maintenance

[earwax]

anybody think its a good idea to take your ruckus into honda for the 100 dollar check up? is it better to do it yourself? what do they actually do?

[Dandy Dan]

just change the oil if it's running good. they don't do that much. I'd only do it if you don't like doing things yourself and you barely put miles on so it's been like 6mths or something. I put 600 miles on it the first 2 weeks....there's no way i'd pay 100$ if it's only been a mth or something.

[chanito]

An oil change and a wash, the reason i hate going for those simple services, is that they give them to the least qualified tech, more than likely they will over fill your oil, you will save yourself money and suffering by doing it yourself

[earwax]

thanks i'll do it myself :-)

[Robo-Mod]

Basically it's a $100 for about an hour of work. It is up to you if you think a monkey turning a wrench should get a hundred bucks for an hours work which requires no college degree, and thay are not union workers. Plus it's a scooter.

[chanito]

I am a monkey turning a wrench and i think i deserve the 100 dollars for an hour work, plus more techs have to go to a technical college in order to learn our trade

[Kami no Chiizu]

But Chanito, you're our favorite monkey!

[Robo-Mod]

I did not mean it like that. Knowing what they do for the $100 service- would you charge a friend that much? I'm not try to discount your education or career. Sorry.

[grscum]

I have not priced the service at my dealer yet, but if they are charging $100... forget it! That would be retarded to pay that much for an oil change and inspection condidering the Mazda dealer only charges me $25 for the same thing with my new car!

And they are going to be seeing less of that $25 since I ride my Ruckus most of the time!

[chanito]

;D It is OK Robo, it is just that it burns me that everybody think that because you fix cars for a living, you are an uneducated brute who could not do anything else, and i have to admit that there are a lot of those calling themselves auto techs, but some of us got good grades in school and went to a vocational school to learn this trade, expend 30k in tools and keep up with the improvements in cars by going to classes, and i do not charge a penny to my friends, and grscum is correct bike and boat tech charge a lot more for similar jobs, i guess because they assume that bikes and boat are a luxury

[grscum]

I was going to take my Ruckus in for the 600 mile service since I thought it would be good to have the dealer do the work while it is still covered undered. That way if there where any problems I would have 100% proof that all service had been done at the proper times. Then someone told me the dealers charge 2 arms and a leg! A few people have told me just to do the service my self and keep the receipts for the parts used. I use to do the service on my dirt bikes and quads. Its pretty easy. I could change the oil, clean the air filters, and lube the chain and axel bolt in an hour or so depending on how many beers were left in the cooler after the desert trip!

Bla bla bla!

[Robo-Mod]

grscum,

You got it.

Where do got to the desert? My family has some land in ocotillo wells.

[grscum]

I use to ride Glamis, Buttercup, Gordon Wells, and Ocotillo Wells. Have only been out a couple times since breaking my femur a couple years ago. Sold off all my bikes and the Ruckus is the first set of two wheels I've been on since then!

Where does your family have there property? Use to go out there alot in high school.

[Robo-Mod]

We have 40 acres in Ocotillo. I was hit on my Harley last October and I'm getting back into it on my Ruckus. Since my ankle was broken I could not drive our new Chenowth 4-seater with a turboed 911 motor. *damn*

[tygerfifteen]

chanito, i'll swap ya your mechanic skills for my cooking skills for a week? what do you say?

I think mechanics work hard "edit profanity", i mean my friend is one for toyota and his hands are awful they are more scarred than mine and I work with fire, and knives all day.

[chanito]

;D I will do it in a heart beat, my cooking skills are OK but not good, i would love to know how to make a dish look good, thats an skill i always envy the chefs for

[wainair]

There are alot of great knowledgeable mechs out there. I think where everyone looses respect for them is from bad dealer experiences or Canadian Tire experiences where they are trying to sell more parts. I had one mechanic I went to when I had my Volkswagens and he was a god with vee dubs. He could tell whats wrong from listening to the engine and he never forced parts you didn't need. I blew a timing belt on a 16v sirocco once, as luck would have it at a stop light, idling, with the clutch in and I didn't prang one valve!( the 16v sirocco had less than zero valve clearance like the ruckus) Bill came up to me and said "your one lucky SOB" and explained after taking the heads off to check the valves that all I needed was a new timing belt, not one valve was bent!! One hour labour and the cost of a timing belt kit!! But he was an independent, he just knew his stuff. I miss Bill. Dealers make money selling parts not from repeat business.

[grscum]

its hard to find a mechanic who doesnt want to rape you!

I'll be doing my 600 mile service this next week. Just hit 500 miles on my way to work this morning.

[sharkynrk]

the biggest up a dealer tech has is the tools, the work (no matter what it is) is not all that difficult if you have the right tools for the job. As years of experience have taught me, you can rig up a tool to get the job done, but it will be more of a hassle, and that is why most techs spend as much money as they do on tools. Who wants to do the same crappy job repeatedly when spending some bucks will save alot of time and heartache.

I appreciate someone that makes their living as a mechanic because that is what they love to do. Two of my best friends are techs for dealers and both went to an automotive technical school (wyotech I believe), but there pretty much is not anything they know how to do that I don't and haven't learned through my own passion for working on cars. In the end it all comes down to experience and the three of us have been working on cars together long before we had drivers licenses. But if you are going to make a living out of it, go get the training it will be easier to get a job by all means

[jeffreaky]

So I should look into changing my oil at about 600 miles/1000km?