Does your dealer do this?

years ago after a major accident

car took me out

major work

rode the bike

2mins down the rode took off from a set of lights

tank hit me in the face

70s bevel duc about 78

wish they had ridden it

new front end binding

cheers

Never trust a shop that doesn't test ride your bike, new or fixed. It is incredible how screwed up some of these bike are right out of the crate when new. Mis-adjusted controls, loose fasteners, no oil or coolant in them, totally screwed up suspension settings. As for a repaired bike many watercooled bikes are not up to operating temp until around 5 miles of riding. What did it hurt to have the tech ride it 10 miles? Excessive tire wear?

A test ride sounds great, but 10 miles sounds excessive for just an oil change. A circle around the block and wring out just the first two gears is more than enough time to show any problems that would result from a botched oil change...hell you will usually know as soon as you fire the engine.

Had a guy bring a Royal Star by my shop after having the rear tire changed at another shop and was complaining that the rear brake was dragging. Sure enough, someone put a spacing washer on the wrong side of the caliper bracket. Did they do a test ride? This problem should have been found when rolling the bike across the shop floor. I once did a complete engine, chassis and brake teardown on a BMW for an aftermarket company and put 100 miles on the bike before it was shipped back east. I test ride everything, though usually not that far.

could be that its a 10 mile loop 'around the block

imho, anything less is insufficient, ya haven't even got the bike fully warmed up, water may be up to temp in 10 miles, but oil isn't

As a helicopter mechanic, I go for the test ride whether I want to or not. Pilots are quite insistent that we do.

mine did but only because he likes my bike

My bike is test ridden after every service. Usually on the way to work the next day!

28 years of motorcycle ownership. Never had a bike in a shop other than my own.

1+

I always test ride a bike after working on it, usually dirt bikes and short rides. Just a few minutes, 5-10. If it's major work on something street legal more. We have a particularly problematic sumo that I've put over an hour on, but there are reasons for that one.

I had a front brake caliper fall off pulling into a gas station driveway on my new bike. Could have been disastrous. Doubt if they would have found it if they had tested it. a

That was the dealer's fault. They didn't tighten the bolts after they put the front wheel in during pre-delivery assembly.

Local BMW dealer does this, I had oil/brake fluid change plus little coolant top off couple months ago and they did it but I dont think it was a looooooong ride. However I did not pay that close attention to how long they were gone.

My only local dealer claimed they did this, to the extent that I've been forced to go there. 100% unverifiable as per odometer and front end so tweaked it was a chore to go straight.

Be more appreciative of your dealer who does.

While on a cross-country trip a couple of years ago, I stopped at Gateway BMW in St. Louis as I needed an oil change. They helped me out immediately and I noticed the tech who did the swap rode the bike. Before they would release it, another tech, armed with a torque wrench and several sockets, torx, etc., started going over brakes, axles and various other areas. I asked the service manager what was going on and he said, "We try to check out everything that could make you fall down." I appreciated the attention to detail!

My local dealer has the service tech ride the machine after service. I don't mind a bit.

Mike

With liability what it is in the US, a test ride is almost mandatory. It seems every attorney sees the fault for everything with the last mechanic who laid hands on the bike, even if the brakes fail and the bike was only in for an oil change. They see it as the fault of the shop because they didn't predict the failure.

The fact is the dealership where I used to work would actually make note on a repair order if they would NOT test ride it due to safety concerns listed on the work order that were not being serviced.

I'm betting there are some shops that will run new tires in a bit to avoid having some rider go out, crank a quick turn, then dump the bike due to the preservative on the new tire. We had someone raise a stink even after we emphasized the risk of leaning too far on new tires until scuffed in a bit. That was in the 80s, now they'd probably sue. But now I believe the shop has them sign off on the warning being given. If it was my place I'd tell the mechanic to put ten miles on the tires.