[Soumyajit9]

Folks,

Before I jump into the actual matter, a quick history here - I own a 2004 make Yamaha Libero, OR registered. I transferred the bike from Bhubaneswar to Bangalore in 2009, paid a hefty Karnataka road tax and and now its on Bangalore streets. The bike's running is approx 2000kms in a year. Its mostly used for the daily errands (read:grocery). I don't ride it to office, conzidering that its' a 50kms drive to and fro, home to office.

I have been visiting Orion Yamaha in Koramangla since the last 4 years at an interval of every 1 year for the annual service. But somehow their service time is huge. It takes upto 2 days to deliver the bike. Its' an old bike and original parts are quite in demand. It makes me worried whether these people would put spurious parts in the bike. Also, Orion Yamaha does not have a fixed package with a fixed set of service, so I am unsure what are they charging me and how fair are the prices. Also prices go up now and then, so each year, I pay some amount more for the regular service there.

Recently I have been scouting the internet to find some good bike service center in B'lore and came across a new Castrol Bikepoint that has opened up in BTM 2nd Stage, less than a km from my house !! I wonder how have I missed it all these days. These people said that they are operating here for close to a year !!!
Before I take my 9 year old Yamaha Libero for a nice service, I have a few questions which I thought of putting up in the forum here.

1. Has the Castrol Bikezone name changed to Castrol Bike Point ? Is it the same franchise of Castrol ?
2. I went in to enquire about the servicing packages. The package details are as below. Is this a fair price ? I am planning to opt for the Platinum package. Replacement parts are chargeable extra.

Regular office goers or bike riders, kindly advise.
I am not the Hyper-Biker, hence looking for a reasonably priced service.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorbikes Section. Thanks for sharing!

[MotoNanu]

These Castrol Bike Points are not the same as Castrol Bike Zones IMO. If you check on the Castrol Bike Zone link, there is only one in Bangalore!

The bike points are kind of local garage/ mechanics who have put up the board as Castrol Bike Point. Now am not very sure if they are truly affiliated with the brand! As I see in the attachment, the shop is actually 'Ace Bike'. Similarly in Koramangala, there is a Srinivas Auto who also advertises as CBP.

Coming to service quality, it all depends on the kind of mechanic in the CBP. These are no exceptions just because they claim to be CBP. I have serviced my bike at CBP, Koramangala and I did not observe anything special. So it is the same gamble as trying out any other mechanic for that matter. Best of luck

Cost seems to be OK for me. You can try the service once and make a better judgement. Better to have a chat with the mechanic and assess their skills before going for it. Make sure that you get the engine oil changed right in front of you.

EDIT: The previous link was for CBZ, CBP is here

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by MotoNanu

These Castrol Bike Points are not the same as Castrol Bike Zones IMO.
EDIT: The previous link was for CBZ, CBP is here

Thanks a lot MotoNanu for the Links.

Indeed Castrol BikePoint and BikeZone are different. But what I see is that Castrol Bike Point is mentioned in the Official Castrol website, which makes it sound more legit than BikeZone.

So, in a way I am happy that I have found an authentic garage near my house. Ace Bikes is one of the franchisees of Castrol Bike Point. There are hundreds of them in Bangalore as per the list.
From the first looks, the service center is well equipped with ramps and organized inventory. I don't have the pictures, but it looks way more organized than the local garages. Hopefully they have trained technicians too. The place is mostly crowded all the time that I have passed by it.



I'll put up a more detailed review of this garage once the get my bike serviced from them, probably this weekend.

[ulhas.ahirrao]

Hi, BikeZones are different than BikePoint. Though both are franchisees, BikeZones are supposed to be much bigger and better equipped with facilities and have newly created facility altogether.

While BikePoints are nothing but Mechanics who are recognized and branded by Castrol because they are suppose to keep and sell on Castrol. They are much smaller than BikeZones. BTW Castrol has stopped opening BikeZones and that business line is shut by them. The ones who are running are running on their own and are allowed to use the brand name.

[mac187]

Originally Posted by ulhas.ahirrao

Hi, BikeZones are different than BikePoint. Though both are franchisees, BikeZones are ... .....newly created facility altogether.

While BikePoints are nothing but Mechanics who are recognized and branded by Castrol because they are suppose to keep and sell on Castrol. BTW Castrol has stopped opening BikeZones and that business line is shut by them. The ones who are running are running on their own and are allowed to use the brand name.

+1

Please do not get carried away by the brand name. Since the business line has been closed down, Castrol will not take any compliants/ feedback on the same. Please check with some customers who have used their service and then decide.

OT: Currently, Castrol are focused on Pit Stop which is for cars. This business model is based on the learnings of the failed 2-wheeler franchisee model.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by ulhas.ahirrao

Hi, BikeZones are different than BikePoint. Though both are franchisees, BikeZones are supposed to be much bigger and better equipped with facilities and have newly created facility altogether. While BikePoints are nothing but Mechanics who are recognized and branded by Castrol because they are suppose to keep and sell on Castrol. They are much smaller than BikeZones. BTW Castrol has stopped opening BikeZones and that business line is shut by them. The ones who are running are running on their own and are allowed to use the brand name.

Originally Posted by mac187

+1 Please do not get carried away by the brand name. Since the business line has been closed down, Castrol will not take any compliants/ feedback on the same. Please check with some customers who have used their service and then decide.
OT: Currently, Castrol are focused on Pit Stop which is for cars. This business model is based on the learnings of the failed 2-wheeler franchisee model.

Thanks guys !!! I was not aware that Castrol has shut down this line of business. Now one interesting observation that I made last week was that these guys are selling Honda 2 wheelers too !! So I can now be damn sure that these guys are simply mis-using the Castrol brand name. I have planned to visit them this weekend and stand by and get the servicing done. Now that I am almost sure that this might not be a genuine service center, I better keep an eye on each and every parts that they open and clean (lest they replace with fakes).

Castrol Pit Stop for 4 wheelers is also something new to me. Hearing for the first time. My Beat's free service is over and I have been doing sloppy paid service at Chevy A.S.S. I had decided on going to Carnation for my next service, but Pit Stop sounds exciting. Will visit them and find out more. Thanks for the update.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

I better keep an eye on each and every parts that they open and clean (lest they replace with fakes).

That's a good idea of getting the bike serviced in front of yourself t get to know their standards and workmanship levels. Try and gather more information from friends/colleagues about this service point before venturing in.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

My Beat's free service is over and I have been doing sloppy paid service at Chevy A.S.S. I had decided on going to Carnation for my next service, but Pit Stop sounds exciting. Will visit them and find out more. Thanks for the update.

Isn't your car still under warranty? Haven't you purchased any extended warranty for your Beat? If you get the car serviced outside other than Chevrolet A.S.S., you may loose the warranty.

Aren't you happy with the service provided at Chevrolet A.S.S.?

Anurag.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

That's a good idea of getting the bike serviced in front of yourself t get to know their standards and workmanship levels. Try and gather more information from friends/colleagues about this service point before venturing in.

Yes, standing by and seeing the bike getting serviced is the only option why I still want to take a chance at Castrol Bikepoint.
Orion Yamaha (one of the Yamaha dealers in B'lore) takes the bike, keeps it for 2 days and gets it serviced. I have no clue whether they do the standard job list or not. It's atleast a different relief at Castrol BP. They said that the entire Platinum package would take 3-4 hours to complete, which is high reasonable I think.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Isn't your car still under warranty? Haven't you purchased any extended warranty for your Beat? If you get the car serviced outside other than Chevrolet A.S.S., you may loose the warranty.

Yes, the car is in its 3rd year and the warranty expires on March 2014. But, will getting it serviced outside void the warranty ? It would be a simple skip of a paid service and I think it should be fine. Any other service center would at max put up a sticker of their shop to advertise that I got a service there. I don't think Chevy A.S.S would void my warranty if I skip a paid service at their place.
Any thoughts ?

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Aren't you happy with the service provided at Chevrolet A.S.S.?

I don't know what emoticon to select - or
HERE and HERE are some of the reasons why.
I was not into T-BHP earlier, so I don't have a written account of my experience and I can't even explain the pain I have gone through each time.
Chevy is doing bad, and its' not even rectifying things.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

I don't think Chevy A.S.S would void my warranty if I skip a paid service at their place.
Any thoughts ?

To my knowledge the manufacture will or can cancel the extended warranty or any claim that you make for replacement of a defective part under warranty.

If you're car gets a problem and you take it to the service centre the manufacturer will first check the service schedule and only start digging into the problem.

[Blow Horn Ok]

One of my relative got the franchisee of Castrol Bike Zone in Noida and the company claimed huge support in terms of training and promotions/marketing. But the entire effort of arranging the mechanics, machines, spare parts, marketing had to be done by my relative and people @ castrol only knew to seriously hunt for the fixed Royalty. Apart from the name, Castrol provided zero support in almost everything. After several months of disputes and serious losses, Finally the set up was sold to a different person who continued with the same facility and dissociated from the "Castrol" name.

I suggest don't go by the "Castrol" name and find a good independent roadside mechanic. Don't get along with packages and all. Just get the general things done and change the necessary parts when need arises.

I am getting my bike (2006 pulsar 150) serviced @ a local mechanic since 3 years and he does a fantastic job. Almost everything is done instantaneously in front of my eyes. No wastage of time and no fooling around. For parts, he has a boy who runs to authorized service centers or happily gives his own bike to the customers who like to buy the parts of their own.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by Blow Horn Ok

I suggest don't go by the "Castrol" name and find a good independent roadside mechanic. Don't get along with packages and all. Just get the general things done and change the necessary parts when need arises.

That was one scary experience.
Since these guys are offering a complete check up at 350 bucks, I think I'll give it a try. But since I now know about Castrol's shutting down of this business line, I won't put any trust in these mechanics. So I'll be extra vigilant on what these guys do during the service. Hopefully they give me a good experience.

[ulhas.ahirrao]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Castrol Pit Stop for 4 wheelers is also something new to me. Hearing for the first time. My Beat's free service is over and I have been doing sloppy paid service at Chevy A.S.S. I had decided on going to Carnation for my next service, but Pit Stop sounds exciting. Will visit them and find out more. Thanks for the update.

Pit Stop is similar BikePoint, meaning existing car garages re-branded to Pit Stop and they sell only Castrol (supposed to). I use them only for Oil Changes, its slightly cheaper if you negotiate hard. They get better margins from Castrol.

[a4anurag]

OT:

I feel Bosch service centre would be better bet than the Castrol.

Not pretty sure with the quality and workmanship in the Castrol service centres. Has anyone tried the Bosch service centres? I have seen a few here in Hyderabad.

Cheers,
Anurag.

[ashwin.terminat]

Anyone has any reviews about Nimisha Bikes aka Castrol Bike Zone in Rammurthy Nagar?

They are the only service center I've seen in Bangalore(Found out from Castrol Bike Zone's Website) that offer to tune the carb using a Gas Analyzer.