Having Doubt about Workshops Integrity?

Hi ,my bike is in the mechanics shop getting a safety certificate,he told me the only thing needed to get it passed is for new fork seals to be fitted as they're leaking,ok . My problem is i this,if their leaking would there be any evidence of this such as oil on the ground etc,ive only had the bike 3 weeks and am positive there isn't any leaks based on not finding anything on the ground,assume i know next to nothing,am i being too wary?thanks

 

If your seals are leaking you will see it where the fork tube and bottom leg meet. The seal will be oily. When mine went bad there was no fork oil on the ground.

 

thanks zombie,i didnt notice any oil around the seal,maybe if i didnt wipe everything every 5 minutes i may have noticed something. I think because some people have ripped me off in the past i find it hard to trust anybody these days when it comes to money, i will have to get over this to some degree, thanks.

 

ah the beauty of non-inverted forks. When your seals go out on the wide open road you don't dump all your oil right away.

 

thanks budda,am slowly learning.

 

the key question is: how much does he want to charge you to fix them? Fork seals aren't all that difficult, just a big PIA.

 

he said about$150, thats aussie dollars,does that seem reasonable?

 

Replace them yourself. It will be a good learning experience. Not difficult at all. Just takes a couple of hours for a first timer.

 

Considering what you'll pay Down Under for just the parts, that isn't that bad of a price.

That being said, I agree wholeheartedly. Easy, straightforward PAIN in the arse. Certainly easy enough to make it worth not paying somebody to do, though.

A good time to get your feet wet and learn some more about your bike.

 

yeah i would've normally but at the moment i have no time, i need to get the safety certificate done and get it registered in my name asap due to the rules here(government),a long story, thanks

 

Un fortunately, where you live, that price is probably about 50-50 parts/labor. (Sorry-- we get cheap parts, you get XJR1300s. The world ain't fair.)

I would say you're probably NOT getting ripped off.

Get on the road; get educated later.

 

thanks for reassuring me, out of curiosity does xjr1300s mean
very expensive,i think i know what you mean,the other day it was a $120 for a kit for the front caliper without a piston,i felt like belting mr yamaha or the dealer.

 

What sort of bike we talking about ken? Put some info in your profile so we can see

Are the forks standard, air assist or anti-dive as things can be more complicated with the advanced technology. Do you have a manual yet, if not I suggest purchasing one to assist you.

I agree that if you have the time doing the job yourself is very satisfying and for around $150-$200 I reckon you would purchase everything that you need for a complete overhaul, including springs, seals etc and delivery to Australia.

If you've just purchased the bike and want to get it registered and on the road before delving into the loveliness of working on it you might spend the $150, consider it part of the purchase price, and then work up to overhauling everything yourself.

 

yall have to take into consideration on wether he has the tools to do the job in the first place. seals aren't expensive. but the time and expense of buying the tools to do the job. probably comes to about the same to just pay someone to do the job.

specially if it takes specialty tools. no sense in b uying something youi'll probably never use again for at least 20 years.

 

That's short money for new seals, Aussie dollars are more than US right?

 

For $US1.00 you can buy $AU1.13.

For $AU150 I'd be asking if that was one or both forks' seals.

Tool purchases is also a fair comment but if you're going to work on a bike there is an initial outlay to be expected for some basic tools. Certainly some jobs require special tools that may only be used once or twice but that outlay should be balanced against what the cost would be to pay a mechanic to do the job. Well that is how I justify the outlay of cash for tools to the wife

 

gday,my w'shop manual is in the post and should be here anyday,i have most of the basic tools needed but not having done this before i dare say i will need more tools. as far as the shock's go i think they would be original but having said that the mechanic thought the calipers were from a xv750,but i have seen the same ones on another xj 650 in the forums here, i need to get the manual and check everything out for myself. thanks again.

 

hi, alls well that ends well, got roadworthy,got bike registered in my name,new tank badges on the way, that will be my first little job.lol thanks all

 

Glad you got squared away.

No, I was referring to the fact that Yamaha sells the "naked" XJR1300 there but won't bring it to the USA.

 

No, an XJR1300s is a naked Yamaha bike that is NOT available in the US!