Sigh. Thank goodness I have a warranty!

One thing to keep in mind regarding the amount of time it's taken the shop.

You waited until the beginning of spring to have your tires replaced. Lot's of other folks are doing the same or similar things. Motorcycle service depts of ALL brands get absolutely slammed in the spring. A long wait is not at all unusual.

sfalexi said:

The speedo problem was minor, but the back brake dragging was NOT good.

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Sounds like the dealer is going to take care of your secondary master cylinder (SMC). Good chance that you'll never have to worry about it again but if you do, quite a few of us (including yours truly) have replaced the SMC to fix a dragging rear brake. It's not a difficult job but like anything else, if you've never done it before, you'll probably feel nervous about tackling it. That's where the helpful folks on this forum come in handy. Just the mention of the letters "SMC", will have Larry (Igofar) and a lot of others chiming in with advice.

sfalexi said:

Yeah. I notice things like that too. I guess if I'm wishing, I just wish I could have more of choice of m/c repair shops (car repair shops are all over the place so it's much easier to find a good one).

Right now my time is very very tightly scheduled due to my personal goals and hobbies. Honestly, I would have toyed around and worked with this board to fix the speedo if I didn't have trouble with the back brake. The speedo problem was minor, but the back brake dragging was NOT good.

Either way, I've been doing my 4, 8, and 12k services on my own. I'll probably pay for the first 16k service (JUST the valves, I'll do spark plugs and oil on my own), and then after that learn to check the valve clearances myself.

Alexi

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You might ask the dealer what they charge to test the valve clearances - and then ask what you save if you take the tupperware off the bike and deliver it without same. Sure you can ride the bike to the dealer without the fairing - just make sure no wires are flapping around. Don't forget to insist that the tech note down before clearances and after clearances. Keep a record of these.

Oh, and I echo the suggestion about not bringing a bike in for service in the spring. If you need tires, pull the wheels and take them to the dealer (if you don't want to do them yourself) with or without your own new tires when winter hits. And think about doing whatever you can yourself and then drop the bike off at the dealer mid winter. Your area looks like it is cursed with decent weather year round, so this might not save you as much down time......

Addendum to prev post.

Btw, I use the time when the plastic is off the bike to wash and wax it thoroughly in the comfort of my home (well, i spread newspapers and sheets out on the kitchen counters and do it all there...it helps to do all the dishes first - that's a political move....grin).

Nevada said:

One thing to keep in mind regarding the amount of time it's taken the shop.

You waited until the beginning of spring to have your tires replaced. Lot's of other folks are doing the same or similar things. Motorcycle service depts of ALL brands get absolutely slammed in the spring. A long wait is not at all unusual.

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Fair assessment. I did ride through the winter though (got my heated jacket and gloves and whatnot). But I guess for future, replacing tires early to get the bike in in the winter, instead of waiting till it actually NEEDS to be replaced (if that ends up being spring), wouldn't be the worst thing.

SMSW said:

You might ask the dealer what they charge to test the valve clearances - and then ask what you save if you take the tupperware off the bike and deliver it without same. Sure you can ride the bike to the dealer without the fairing - just make sure no wires are flapping around. Don't forget to insist that the tech note down before clearances and after clearances. Keep a record of these.

Oh, and I echo the suggestion about not bringing a bike in for service in the spring. If you need tires, pull the wheels and take them to the dealer (if you don't want to do them yourself) with or without your own new tires when winter hits. And think about doing whatever you can yourself and then drop the bike off at the dealer mid winter. Your area looks like it is cursed with decent weather year round, so this might not save you as much down time......

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Blessing and a curse! Love being able to ride year-round with some minor comfort mods to clothing, but it makes NOT having my bike that much sadder of a time since I'm used to riding all the time.

Alexi

PS - I look forward to getting it back. I rode about 9000 since I bought it last year (managed to find a former garage queen that was traded into a dealer with only 600 miles on the clock, despite being 2 - 3 years old). My goal this year is to ride an additional 15k for calendar year 2015 (putting it around 22k). I figure my 16k service will end up being around September so I'll just plan to have it done after whatever the heck STOC gathering I made a reservation for (somewhere in NC.)

Alexi

CONCLUSION

Got my bike back. Rode it around and it's working well. Date entered repair shop, 13 March, date returned, 15 April. Sucks.

HOWEVER!

I do believe the shop as I was checking up on it. I understand it takes time going back and forth with corporate to justify whether something is a warranty issue or not. I understand that you can order the parts and sometimes it just takes longer than I hope for the parts to come in.

But the conclusion is, I have my bike. New rear rotor, new brake pads and fluid. New speedo sensor, and it was all warranty work so no $$$ out of pocket.

I consider it a win, and I'll work with this honda shop again and just be a little more clear when dropping it off, asking when they'll have an opportunity to look at it and just let them know I'll check up on them periodically.

Alexi

Sounds like the tech bent the rotor when doing the tire. Not good. At least they took care of it. Happy riding.