[ObsessedByFIAT]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Never was a bigger lie uttered - "those guys are really trained very well and can take good care of your vehicle!"

That is how you view it, because you have had bad experience, but for me, I have seen three to four HH Service stations and they all have been good in terms of servicing the bike and customer satifaction.

And the very reason why I said that they are really trained well is because, one of my friend was actually working in Rama motors(Wakdewadi) as a mechanic.

IMO, why dont you try any other service station? Maybe you will find the difference.

regards,
Abhishekh Jain

[justROYal]

I have had the misfortune of going through a few service stations for hero Honda and Bajaj in Bangalore. What you say is sad but true enough. Most service stations handling lower capacity machines have been around since the Splendor. Back then, if the customer got his mileage, he was happy enough. Performance was not really asked for. Now that they have suddenly had to upgrade to the tech-savvy customer who decides to find out what is happening to his bike, they fall short of expectations. VST Bajaj in Bangalore had asked me to leave the workshop as my presence was a source of tension for the mechanic. I have watched them remove a spark plug from a bike, look around, find another one, clean it up, and plug it in. Their system doesnt have a rate for 2nd hand sparkers, so you pay for the original spare.

Originally Posted by Raccoon

After the experience with the 1st free service, I'v been doing all the maintainence stuff myself. But eventually i will need someone as I cannot do stuff like fork oil change, oil filters cleaning, etc... I don't have the place or tools.

Before the 1st free service, my bike was giving a great fuel efficiency. Immediately after the service, both pick up and efficiency went down. This in spite of me explicitly telling them not to even touch the carb. Gawd knows what they have done....

Also, now I have noticed paint chipping off big time from my cylinder block. I took it to the same service center, even spoke to the manager, but it was rubbished saying all bikes develop this problem. I intend to escalate this. But now warranty validity can be made an issue... if they want to...

Taking the Do It Yourself route is the best thing to do. You dont really need a lot of space or very hi-tech tools. The basic tool kit more often than not suffices to solve most problems. For something specific, you could go to a mechanic's garage and use his tools. I have never seen a mechanic turn back someone asking for his tools and place for a short while.

Another advantage of the DIY route is the bonding that you develop with your bike. The more you get your hands dirty on her, the more you guys get to know each other...the more you would realize that she's far more than just a machine.

Out of curiosity, why didn't you want your carb touched during 1st service? I mean little else to do there if you ask him to steer clear of the carb. It needs to be opened, cleaned and checked for metal shavings. Those are absolutely mandatory for the 1st service. The carb is a really simple mechanism. Unless you are majorly retarded, its difficult to screw it up.

The paint issue is something I see across HHs. Don't know why they use paint that does not survive the heat. I suggest you go ahead with your escalation plans. These guys need to understand that compromising on build quality is not the best way to improve the bottomline.

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by ObsessedByFIAT

That is how you view it, because you have had bad experience, but for me, I have seen three to four HH Service stations and they all have been good in terms of servicing the bike and customer satifaction.

And the very reason why I said that they are really trained well is because, one of my friend was actually working in Rama motors(Wakdewadi) as a mechanic.

IMO, why dont you try any other service station? Maybe you will find the difference.

regards,
Abhishekh Jain

Could you possibly list these "good" service centres? As you said Pratham (Wakdewadi) is one... which are the other 3?

Originally Posted by justROYal

VST Bajaj in Bangalore had asked me to leave the workshop as my presence was a source of tension for the mechanic. I have watched them remove a spark plug from a bike, look around, find another one, clean it up, and plug it in. Their system doesnt have a rate for 2nd hand sparkers, so you pay for the original spare.

Thats blasphemous! Now just imagine if someone had a Irridum or Platinum or multi electrode spark plug! They would just replace that with some old worn plug! Amazing!!

Originally Posted by justROYal

Taking the Do It Yourself route is the best thing to do. You dont really need a lot of space or very hi-tech tools. The basic tool kit more often than not suffices to solve most problems. For something specific, you could go to a mechanic's garage and use his tools. I have never seen a mechanic turn back someone asking for his tools and place for a short while.

Another advantage of the DIY route is the bonding that you develop with your bike. The more you get your hands dirty on her, the more you guys get to know each other...the more you would realize that she's far more than just a machine.

I have been doing the maintainence stuff myself, as I mentioned. Had not given my Shogun to anyone for 3.5 years. But finally I had to, as I had to get the fork oil changed, chain cover cleaned, etc., etc. Can't do that myself... and things like cleaning chain and chain cover and all are really messy. I don't even have a pressure washing facility to attempt it. In fact even cleaning foam air filters (Shogun) is a damn messy job. Paper filters like in my CBZ-X are a boon.

Originally Posted by justROYal

Out of curiosity, why didn't you want your carb touched during 1st service? I mean little else to do there if you ask him to steer clear of the carb. It needs to be opened, cleaned and checked for metal shavings. Those are absolutely mandatory for the 1st service. The carb is a really simple mechanism. Unless you are majorly retarded, its difficult to screw it up.

The paint issue is something I see across HHs. Don't know why they use paint that does not survive the heat. I suggest you go ahead with your escalation plans. These guys need to understand that compromising on build quality is not the best way to improve the bottomline.

Where on earth would these metal shavings get into the carb from??? Carbs come well set from HH dude. Letting even the shadow of a mechanic come near it spells possible doom! I don't see any need to clean the carburettor unelss you have some issue which points towards a dirty carb. My Shogun's cab was not opened/cleaned for more than 4 years. The less you let them touch things, the safer it is.

[tj123]

Go for the Unicorn & trust me it will not let you down. I can testify its as I have used it for the last 4.5 years & have done 35000 km on it. I never ever had any problem with the bike.
Still the engine & gearshift are silky smooth, mileage is consistently 55kmpl+ always, that too in Bangalore traffic situation.
YZ 16 is a great looking bike, how ever don’t know the long term reliability as it is a new bike, earlier generation bikes had lot of reliability problems.
Suzuki GS 150Ris a new bike but I am sure Suzuki will do a through job before releasing a product in the market
TVS’s products are not upto the mark, the proof of this is frequent product updates /upgrades, they learn from mistakes & implement in the next version hence forger Apache RTR , no way for me.

[justROYal]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Where on earth would these metal shavings get into the carb from??? Carbs come well set from HH dude. Letting even the shadow of a mechanic come near it spells possible doom! I don't see any need to clean the carburettor unelss you have some issue which points towards a dirty carb. My Shogun's cab was not opened/cleaned for more than 4 years. The less you let them touch things, the safer it is.

Well, I must confess I dont know much about HH's. I am a bulleteer, and we guys keep playing with our carbs. Also, it is a good idea to keep cleaning it periodically. sometimes, while fitting parts, tine metal bits are shaved off, particularly from the pitches of the screw-on parts. You dont want these metal filings to screw around with your jets.

I dont know if it is different for HH's in any way...never opened those carbs myself.

[Raccoon]

Hmmm... now I can imagine why you said that. I seriously don't expect to find such stuff in a Honda bike. If I do, I might as well migrate to a Bullet.

HH bikes seem to come out perfectly tuned and all from the assembly line... carb, tappets, everything. Its the ASCs that rape everything big time. Carb certainly needs no touching as long as you use good petrol and stuff.

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Could you possibly list these "good" service centres? As you said Pratham (Wakdewadi) is one... which are the other 3?

Here you go: -

1. Rama motors, Which Later changed to City Motors. (Lot of mechanics were changed at that time along with the other support staff)
2. Tejas Motors (Kalewadi, pimpri)
3. Shegal Motors. MIDC, Chinchwad (A friend of mine has three HH bikes, Slepdour, Glamour and CBZ, the old one) which he gets serviced from here and believe me, his bike is ridden by all his friends and family; however the bikes are still in good condition. Thanks to Shegal for taking such good care.

Let me know if you need any other details.

BTW, I had posted these service centers previously as well.

Regards,
Abhishekh Jain

[justROYal]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Hmmm... now I can imagine why you said that. I seriously don't expect to find such stuff in a Honda bike. If I do, I might as well migrate to a Bullet.

HH bikes seem to come out perfectly tuned and all from the assembly line... carb, tappets, everything. Its the ASCs that rape everything big time. Carb certainly needs no touching as long as you use good petrol and stuff.

Well, I do understand that smaller capacity bikes require a lot less taking care than the Bull. I mean I don't see HH riders reaching down to adjust carbs to their ride conditions. But trust me, it is this very aspect of the Bullet that endears it to its users.

I know people who name their carbs and their tyres separately.

Ideally, any machinery with moving parts needs to undergo constant checks for wear and tear. You buy a HH, and you feel your carb is perfectly tuned. In three to four years, you are back in the market, lookingfor a new bike. A bulleteer keeps tuning his carb, checking for wear and tear...gets his hands dirty every Sunday morning on her...and the bike stays for a good 15 years. Another BHP-ian, bblost, has had a TBird for 7 years now, and has done about 72000 kms on it. His engine block is yet to be opened. Apart from regular service, rubbers and consumables, his total expenditure on his bike till date has been around 700 bucks.

I totally appreciate the service-free aspect of the bikes we see most commonly, but as an automobile enthusiast, you are missing out on something if you are not tinkering around with your baby.

[Technocrat]

Ideally, any machinery with moving parts needs to undergo constant checks for wear and tear. You buy a HH, and you feel your carb is perfectly tuned. In three to four years, you are back in the market, lookingfor a new bike. A bulleteer keeps tuning his carb, checking for wear and tear...gets his hands dirty every Sunday morning on her...and the bike stays for a good 15 years. Another BHP-ian, bblost, has had a TBird for 7 years now, and has done about 72000 kms on it. His engine block is yet to be opened. Apart from regular service, rubbers and consumables, his total expenditure on his bike till date has been around 700 bucks.

With due respect to the Bullet. The modern bikes can do over a lakh kms without attending to the carb or any moving part every Sunday & just by following up routine servicing.

There are many good condition HH CD100s, Suzuki MAX 100s etc running for over 15 years without skipping a beat.

I totally appreciate the service-free aspect of the bikes we see most commonly, but as an automobile enthusiast, you are missing out on something if you are not tinkering around with your baby.

I agree but only if this is optional & not mandatory

[greatmana2000]

YZ 16 is a great looking bike, how ever don’t know the long term reliability as it is a new bike, earlier generation bikes had lot of reliability problems.
Suzuki GS 150Ris a new bike but I am sure Suzuki will do a through job before releasing a product in the market
TVS’s products are not upto the mark, the proof of this is frequent product updates /upgrades, they learn from mistakes & implement in the next version hence forger Apache RTR , no way for me.[/quote]


Could you tell us which earlier gen bikes from Yamaha had reliability issues ? I have owned quite a few yamaha bikes and I can tell you that those bikes last long ..really long

[greatmana2000]

Originally Posted by justROYal

Well, I must confess I dont know much about HH's. I am a bulleteer, and we guys keep playing with our carbs. Also, it is a good idea to keep cleaning it periodically. sometimes, while fitting parts, tine metal bits are shaved off, particularly from the pitches of the screw-on parts. You dont want these metal filings to screw around with your jets.

I dont know if it is different for HH's in any way...never opened those carbs myself.

Some people just dont have the time or the inclination to keep opeing up carbs , tappets , adjust chain slack , shocks , and tighten bolts and screws . That is the headache with a bull. Half of a persons valuable life is wasted maintianing a bull . I wish the manufacturer had some quality policies implemented in the assembly line .
None of the jap bikes need any adjustment with the carbs and the only adjustment required is a tappet adjustment which the ASC screw up .

[greatmana2000]

[quote=ObsessedByFIAT;1313627]Here you go: -

1. Rama motors, Which Later changed to City Motors. (Lot of mechanics were changed at that time along with the other support staff)
2. Tejas Motors (Kalewadi, pimpri)
3. Shegal Motors. MIDC, Chinchwad (A friend of mine has three HH bikes, Slepdour, Glamour and CBZ, the old one) which he gets serviced from here and believe me, his bike is ridden by all his friends and family; however the bikes are still in good condition. Thanks to Shegal for taking such good care.

Let me know if you need any other details.

BTW, I had posted these service centers previously as well.



Rather than going through all this pain , just walk into a regional hero honda office and take up the issue with the regional manager . I am sure he /she will be fothcoming in helping . I have done it a couple of times with Yamaha and HH and I can assure you that the service done will be to your satisfaction .