Dealership mechanics WTF ???

[skipman]

So I'm out of town working,my 990r needs a valve check. I call the nearest stealership (twice) to make sure they can service the 990's. They assure me yes. I tell them I need a valve check and a fuel filter ( i supplied the filter),they say bring it on down, will be 2 days. A month later they have fucked up my bike,still in shop. Somehow they activated the immobilzer??? Then i find out today they don't even have a damn service manual???? They told me they should have 1 tomorrow. I have never trusted mechanics and will never take one of my bikes to 1 again!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dustodust]

hear ya man
its like leaving your submissive and horny wife with someone to take care of, they'll just fukerup .

I have always done my own MC work. Never a leak never a breakdown

Once I let some "well respected and well known" shop rebuild an RFS motor, took it back three times in the first hour on the clock
it blew to smithereens at 1.25 hours , the doofus forgot a wristpin clip , you could put your fist in the front of the motor . the stuff he was smokin musta been good, so then I get it back after another 3 months and the trans is slipping out of first.....
So then I let my (former) riding "buddy" expert mechanic with his own shop, take over the wreckage to fix the trans says hes gonna swap the EXC over into a low hour SX motor ......LONG LONG LONG 5 month story, we ain't friends anymore (his choice) because I am not allowed to protest getting screweled I am supposed to just bend over and keep shoveling cash
NEVER EVER EVER AGAIN
EVER

[tantarcristian]

don't be sad..... i'm in the same problems as you.i have a 2012 990 R and here in Romania at my Ktm dealer ,mechanics are as incompetent.At 700 km they forgot to tighten a bolt from the chain tensionier and all the oil was spilled on the highway.they did not know the oil level is checking with the engine hot and put too much oil that it burned in 200 km.I went with the screws loosened.
30 days after the 7500 km test at official KTM dealer,the turns were not so sure and accurate as they were.When i put it on the centre stand i observed that the whole sterring column was weak and unscrew..
I sent a lot of letters to the CEO of KTM......but no answer.If i will take care my bike on my own i will lose my warranty.
what to do??!
and my fear of what might happen next

[Katoom72]

After my first service my rear wheel was covered in break fluid.
The cap of the reservoir came lose, but after a call they did not toutch it they said. Nice first service, if u don't check on the brakes....
'Wash it off immediatly, it's corrosive' No shit sherlock!

2nd service, same dealer. They forgot to tighten the bolt on my battery...
It came lose right in the middle of a trackday while comming out of a corner... Not fun on an EFI

I'm doing all my services myself now.

[laramie LC4]

Originally Posted by Dustodust

Once I let some "well respected and well known" shop rebuild an RFS motor, took it back three times in the first hour on the clock
it blew to smithereens at 1.25 hours , the doofus forgot a wristpin clip , you could put your fist in the front of the motor . the stuff he was smokin musta been good, so then I get it back after another 3 months and the trans is slipping out of first.....

may i ask who this doofus was? i bet i know him....

laramie

[Orangecicle]

I took mine to a shop to change out the rear tire. Simple job, right? Well, dude did everything just right, including laser aligning the sprockets (never seen that before), but he forgot to tighten the nuts on the chain tensioner bolts.

Honestly, a trained mechanic is going to be good at some things, but most mechanics aren't going to go to the trouble of searching this forum to find out how people have solved problems on the big KTMs before diving into a repair. I think of my 950 Adv. as a mechanic's bike, and I'm the mechanic.

[Katoom72]

Originally Posted by Orangecicle

I took mine to a shop to change out the rear tire. Simple job, right? Well, dude did everything just right, including laser aligning the sprockets (never seen that before), but he forgot to tighten the nuts on the chain tensioner bolts.

Honestly, a trained mechanic is going to be good at some things, but most mechanics aren't going to go to the trouble of searching this forum to find out how people have solved problems on the big KTMs before diving into a repair. I think of my 950 Adv. as a mechanic's bike, and I'm the mechanic.

you'd think they know the stuff we find here. Or is a KTM mechanic certificate for sale in k-markt?

[RedRupert]

Originally Posted by tantarcristian

don't be sad..... i'm in the same problems as you.i have a 2012 990 R and here in Romania at my Ktm dealer ,mechanics are as incompetent.At 700 km they forgot to tighten a bolt from the chain tensionier and all the oil was spilled on the highway.they did not know the oil level is checking with the engine hot and put too much oil that it burned in 200 km.I went with the screws loosened.
30 days after the 7500 km test at official KTM dealer,the turns were not so sure and accurate as they were.When i put it on the centre stand i observed that the whole sterring column was weak and unscrew..
I sent a lot of letters to the CEO of KTM......but no answer.If i will take care my bike on my own i will lose my warranty.
what to do??!
and my fear of what might happen next

Don't be sad, my Soviet Brother!

My local KTM dealer in Latvia (Motorats, is there a clue in the name?) agreed to carry out the 15,000 km service. When I got home, I checked to see if all was correct. The bike had not been touched - there was still dust on the cam covers.

I contacted a big boss at KTM Austria. I got all my money back + KTM crash bars + they carried out the service in front of me, so I got the service parts free. Now, that KTM dealer is no longer a KTM dealer

What do you do? Get a KTM Repair Manual and do it all yourself. You will never regret it. It's easy. You'll save loads of money, that you can spend on lovely goodies for your bike!

If you're really bitter, buy a BMW and send a copy of the purchase invoice to KTM HQ. Then disassemble your KTM and sell all the parts on eBay - thus depriving KTM of income from selling parts. Tell KTM HQ that as well.

[Unstable Rider]

End result of what a BMW dealership mechanic did to my rear hub and bearings. This place is about 30 miles from the Mpls. area.
They sell and "service" about 6 makes of bikes. Apparently not all really well. I could have done this all by myself at home....
For around $100 an hour for labor, one would expect more talent and training.
Bashing something with a hammer until it surrenders or the metal fails not the right approach.

I believe I asked them to replace the bearings, not turn the aluminum hub into garbage, maybe they misunderstood.

Duh! the Cir clip, THE CIR CLIP!

When I saw the damage upon arriving to pick up my wheel, the SERVICE MANAGER generously said they were not going to charge me for the tire labor and bearing install labor.

"Oh, how generous, asshole", you just wrecked a $460 rear hub. The SERVICE MANAGER further offered that "the metal in that area was really not all that important".

I later brought it to the attention of the dealership's owner, and to be fair, he did order me a new hub. My bike was down for three weeks. They re-strung it, and the back wheel still has a slight wobble. Stupido!

[TA-Zappa]

Not all mechanics are bad, I had (NB! had) a great mechanic but the salary and travel cost for him didn't make up so he quite and started to wrench tractors instead. Better pay!!!

The one's who replaced him was not as good and I've stopped servicing my bike at a garage and try to do it on my own nowadays...

Cheers,
Zappa

[skipman]

WOW !!!!!!!!

[geometrician]

KTM offers FREE Tech training in North America if you work at a KTM dealership- everything but airfare & housing- they even take us to lunch & provide snacks all day.

Once you've completed the 2 weeks of training & pass your written tests you get diplomas for all the models you have checked out on. The dealership moves to the "Orange Level" of KTM certification upon purchase of the full line of all shop tools (many tens of thousands of dollars alone). KTM NA is moving towards mandatory training- none of the other companies are doing this! Some brands don't even maintain permanent training facilities in the USA, renting hotel convention rooms in odd cities whereas KTM's are in the headquarters (Ohio & California each have classrooms) where we are free to observe, meet with & discuss various topics with other company employees.

To me this shows KTM is dedicated to providing quality support to the customer.

Not all dealerships are Orange Level, and not all the Techs have gone to the school. If you want to have your bike serviced at a reputable dealership ask about Orange Level certification then look at the Tech's diplomas and have the Service Manager assure you that Tech will be the one working on your bike.

[Dustodust]

Originally Posted by laramie LC4

may i ask who this doofus was? i bet i know him....

laramie

I Pm'd the name, Im sure you know him. The guy has so many failures, NOW I hear about it,( by unsolicited evesdropping ), wish I had known before ! Wherever I go, at desert races, at work, on a ride in Baja.
He does so much volume and farms out enough work that he gets away with it.
every time he gets a failure "that was the first time that has happened" and then he wants more money. If you dont kiss his butt he will shame you like its your fault for "bringing him your garbage" and screw it up worse and take litterally forever to fix it.
It was so aggravating I actually thought about taking him to small claims, I think that's why he fled the state
totally amazing !!!

.I do know a good shop here in So Cal though they do good work, proven track record and know what they are doing with KTMs

[luvmyhilux]

You guys scare me with your stories..... I just bought my 990 R new in the Uk, had it for a week and noticed the tax disc was missing........ Seems the PDI,d the bike, fitted the accessories but FORGOT to actually register the bike with the DVLA here in the UK............

[corndog67]

Originally Posted by dustodust

i pm'd the name, im sure you know him. The guy has so many failures, now i hear about it,( by unsolicited evesdropping ), wish i had known before ! Wherever i go, at desert races, at work, on a ride in baja.
He does so much volume and farms out enough work that he gets away with it.
Every time he gets a failure "that was the first time that has happened" and then he wants more money. If you dont kiss his butt he will shame you like its your fault for "bringing him your garbage" and screw it up worse and take litterally forever to fix it.
It was so aggravating i actually thought about taking him to small claims, i think that's why he fled the state
totally amazing !!!

.i do know a good shop here in so cal though they do good work, proven track record and know what they are doing with ktms

z?