how to know if shop has done the work requested of them

I just got my xj750 maxim out of the shop. took it to them for carb rebuild the bike was leaking gas from the air box. i picked it up and its running the same as it was terrible !! my question is how do i find out if they did the work they said they did ? there is no rebuild kit on the invoice/work order.
i paid 800 for petcock rebuild,used front brake master cyl, and supposed carb rebuild
ANY AND ALL FEED BACK NEEDED THANKS !!!

 

Sorry to say but i can't imagine that you could get that much in parts and labor done with much craftsmanship for that price,all you can do is take it back to the shop,but most likely they will find a way to charge you more so much of the time.You can always ask for your money back and threaten to call the local BBB,it's a bad situation to be in.

 

Hate you break it to you, but a neglected 38 y/o motorcycle is not something you can take to a shop and have them fix for a reasonable price. Mechanics have to eat too, and an old motorcycle will need many hours of work. If you aren't able or willing to do the work yourself, sell the bike and get out now.

You can ask them what they did for carb rebuild, what they replaced, etc. Realistically, you're looking at $2-300 in parts alone for the regularly replaceable things, and that's not including any carb removal, disassembly, or tuning. You said the airbox had gas leaking out of it. If they rebuild the petcock and replaced the float needle/seats that should stop that issue. Is it still pouring gas out of the airbox?

Note that doing this won't make the bike run better, unless the ONLY problem it had was sticking float needles. This is highly unlikely with any of these old XJ projects. If you want a shop to start troubleshooting why a motorcycle doesn't run well, you better be ready to pay many times what that bike is worth for the troubleshooting effort because it takes hours of work. What's your compression? How's you ignition system? Are there air leaks? Are the float heights set properly, carbs synced and pilot screws tuned? Are any cables hanging up?

I'd also be worried about a used master cylinder, was it rebuilt? You cannot put a 30 y/o master cylinder on a motorcycle without a rebuild and expect it to work well.

 

with just a rebuild the carbs still have to be tuned to bike.
check the wet fuel level. over flow was the issue you presented them with.
what does a carb rebuild consist of ?

does not mean they replaced jets could be they just replaced the float needles. and a dip in an ultrasonic tank.
I would expect to have fuel orings replaced, mixture o rings replaced and throttle shaft seals when the term rebuild is used.

you could ask them what they did.

used mc is just that swap a part in and bleed brakes.
petcock rebuild is a quick job( your not going to get a Bigfitz style rebuild) and could have been as little as an oring.

 

WOW!! That just sucks. I would see if you can talk to a manager and see if they can explain the bill? Doing the work yourself on these older bikes is the only cost effective way of working on them. The love that we put into these old bikes to make them work (imho) is part of the enjoyment of having them in the first place. Most shops now days want to work with fuel injection systems and dyno systems to tune the bikes. Out older bikes need a little more hands on TLC to get them back to working order. If a shop mechanic takes the time to do that, the cost of the labor alone in a very shot time, will exceed the cost of the bike.

I still feel $800 is a very harsh price. Did they give you an estimate for the work? Did you sign a contract for a stop at cost price? Did they ever call you to explain how much it was going to cost? If so, find the dates and times even if you have to get the phone records to do it. This way if you want to fight it you will have something in your favor.

 

if the shop had to remove and install the carbs the price he was charfed is in line with the labor of that and what ever they did to the carbs along with r&r mc and petcock rebuild. it is not like he droped off the parts they all had to be removed from bike and reinstalled.

 

OH IM NOT ONE TO CALL THE AUTHORITIES OR ONE TO LET SOMEONE BURN ME LIKE THAT. SO U SAY 800 IS CHEAP FOR A CARB REBUILD ?

 

THANKS TIM I DO MOST STUFF MYSELF THE CARBS IS A REALLY TECHNICAL THING THAT REQUIRES PATIENCE AND SPECIAL TOOLS BOTH ARE SOMETHING I DONT HAVE LOL. HE SAID 400 BEFORE I DROPPED IT TO HIM FIVE HUNDRED IS WHAT HE CHARGED

 

THE CARBS DONT SEEM TO HAVE ANY NEW PARTS EXTERNALLY IN FACT THEY DONT EVEN LOOK LIKE THEY WERE OFF AT ALL
THATS WHY IM ASKIUNG IF THERE IS A SURE FIRE WAY TO KNOW IF HE REBUILT THEM OR NOT

 

THEYRE UNCLEANED AND AS THEY ALWAYS WERE IN MY OPINION

 

Okay stop YELLING ...you got ripped off , carbs were "cleaned" with a can of carb cleaner . Carb overhaul kits are under 100$ , the only "special " tool required is a synch tool , and a couple of business cards cut in two, will get you close on a bench synch . The only way to fully clean carbs is to take them to " church of clean " full tear down ALL rubber seals replaced . You have to break the rack which means the carbs are separated from the rails and fully tore dow. The only tools required is a large Phillip's screw driver , and a small Japanese screw driver ( this looks like a Phillip's but is pointy) a flat blade screw driver and a 10mm wrench , some blue loctite, a 1gallon container of Berrymans carb dip, soak bare carb body 30 minutes a carb. A couple of cupcake or small bowls to keep parts separated and some cold beverages and a couple of hours and that is about it.

 

There are some bad dealers and shops out there. I was stationed in Warner Robins GA, took my new to me ZX14 to have the valves done. I got a call it was done, paid the nice people and went out to the bike. Looked at the valve cover and it still had road grime on it and had never been taken off. I walked back inside, got the manager and showed him. He refunded my money on the spot. The shop even closed down less then a month after that. Too bad too, most of the people there were good works.

So yes it happens to many people and you just have to be careful. So was the cost for getting your bike out $800 or ended up being $400? At least they did let you know that the price changed, that was good of them and what a shop should do. This is going to sound weird but if you chose to try to get your money back to in with a cool head. Kill them with kindness as you are trying to find out what they really did to the bike carbs. Did they give you any old parts or did you ask for them? They could just give you any old carb parts too so would be a issue.

Bottom line it looks like this was a leaning lesson, some hurt the pocket book more than others. Once you get past the emotional part of this, get back in there and get her back on her feet.

 

If you need to know if any carb was done you need to do a few things yourself, like removing the rack from the bike. If you take the bowls off and the gaskets start coming apart, it would be a clear sign to me they never removed them and probably didn't do anything else except maybe spray carb cleaner into the intakes with bike running.

 

sorry wasn't yelling just didn't have my glasses !! now that i don't shake when i talk about it the 82 xj1100 still just sits and the 83 xj750 runs but drips gas from the bowl of the carb. i will call the bbb and file a complaint. that's the only way i can get back at them. i will do any and all future repairs myself that's for dam sure. it wasn't that i couldn't do it i was just bein lazy. i know I've been spiratic in my posts and responses and i apologize.