Tune up price help
03-24-2013, 06:04 PM
#1
Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Danville Illinois
Posts: 69
Tune up price help
Men,
Been mostly a lurker on here for years. Have asked a few questions, but now need some more help. I am looking to get some things done to my bike. I am not going to do them myself, as I am not mechanically inclined or want to mess something up. I am a teacher, football coach and father of 4 so I don't have the time or money to waste on Self messed up repairs. Basically I want to know what the cost should be for the following items.
Carb clean and sync.
Chain adjusted.
R/R replaced.
New Battery.
Throttle cable tension adjusted......mine is way too tight.
I do not live near a big town and have little choices to take it to. The only dealer I have been to charged me 79$ for an oil change. It was in and out in 20 min. Any help wound be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and ride safe.
Been mostly a lurker on here for years. Have asked a few questions, but now need some more help. I am looking to get some things done to my bike. I am not going to do them myself, as I am not mechanically inclined or want to mess something up. I am a teacher, football coach and father of 4 so I don't have the time or money to waste on Self messed up repairs. Basically I want to know what the cost should be for the following items.
Carb clean and sync.
Chain adjusted.
R/R replaced.
New Battery.
Throttle cable tension adjusted......mine is way too tight.
I do not live near a big town and have little choices to take it to. The only dealer I have been to charged me 79$ for an oil change. It was in and out in 20 min. Any help wound be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and ride safe.
03-24-2013, 07:28 PM
#2
Senior Member
MotoGP
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: NYC
Posts: 5,033
Ooof. Thats a tough one since they kinda know they have you. Your only sorta hope is to call around for the best price. Those are some easy but pricey jobs since digging the carbs out is chargeable time.
What are your issues with the bike now. Are you sure you need the carb work? Throttle cable can be adjusted by hand with the adjusters at the grip. New battery can be done with a screwdriver.
It may be that you do want to expand your horizons and learn a little mechanical stuff just to not get ripped off.
Your other option is to look on craigslist for someone who does bike fixing on the cheap. There also has to be some small shops & not big stealerships around to go to.
What are your issues with the bike now. Are you sure you need the carb work? Throttle cable can be adjusted by hand with the adjusters at the grip. New battery can be done with a screwdriver.
It may be that you do want to expand your horizons and learn a little mechanical stuff just to not get ripped off.
Your other option is to look on craigslist for someone who does bike fixing on the cheap. There also has to be some small shops & not big stealerships around to go to.
03-24-2013, 08:35 PM
#3
Senior Member
Superstock
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Warrenton Virginia
Posts: 380
Max, I'd add up the hours and multiply by 100 plus new full price parts with %10 on top. So... Carb clean and sync = 2 hours (one for some of us at home who do it routinely)
Chain and battery = .5
Throttle cable should be adjusted as part of re-installing the carbs
and the RR replacement is probably at least an hour if you are looking to upgrade to something better and they will do it. Now add on $120+ for a battery and anywhere from 100-300 for an RR depending on what you get and $500-750 wouldn't surprise me a bit. How old are the kids? Do they like the back seat? Make a project out of it and teach the kids they can be self reliant and do anything themselves, it's just a little brain power. Just my 2 cents, anyway hope you get it up to snuff and riding soon.
Chain and battery = .5
Throttle cable should be adjusted as part of re-installing the carbs
and the RR replacement is probably at least an hour if you are looking to upgrade to something better and they will do it. Now add on $120+ for a battery and anywhere from 100-300 for an RR depending on what you get and $500-750 wouldn't surprise me a bit. How old are the kids? Do they like the back seat? Make a project out of it and teach the kids they can be self reliant and do anything themselves, it's just a little brain power. Just my 2 cents, anyway hope you get it up to snuff and riding soon.
03-24-2013, 09:57 PM
#4
Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Danville Illinois
Posts: 69
I definitely can change the battery, and would not mind paying a good shop for it given the economic benefit to the shop. I belive in supporting local independent places, but that is exactly the type of place that jacked me on the oil change. This is a big Harley area and they all overpay for their service around here. I have had the bike for 5 years plus and have not had to do a thing to her. My kids are from 13 to 5 with a 10 and a 8 in the middle. They would love to ride with me, but I don't have the proper gear for them and I will not even consider putting them on it.
My time is better spent with them at one of their functions, if I need to pay 400 bucks to not have miss time with them, it is worth it. I likely do not have the specific tools nor do I want to "learn" while fixing my baby.
I am not sure if the dead battery is a result of a bad R/R, but after using the search feature, on here it seems cheap insurance to frying other stuff and a new battery. The carbs could be negotiable, but I am always leery of taking it to a stealership that just adds cost as "necessary"
The bike also needs to have the fuel gage looked at. It won't do anything but flash as if it is empty. It has since the first day I got it. The dealer I bought it from said the fuel level was just low. It was 200 miles away and I got no where with them when I called them to dispute the low fuel level.
Thanks for the responses, I hope to get her back to running near new. That is why I love Hondas. They usually are bulletproof.
My time is better spent with them at one of their functions, if I need to pay 400 bucks to not have miss time with them, it is worth it. I likely do not have the specific tools nor do I want to "learn" while fixing my baby.
I am not sure if the dead battery is a result of a bad R/R, but after using the search feature, on here it seems cheap insurance to frying other stuff and a new battery. The carbs could be negotiable, but I am always leery of taking it to a stealership that just adds cost as "necessary"
The bike also needs to have the fuel gage looked at. It won't do anything but flash as if it is empty. It has since the first day I got it. The dealer I bought it from said the fuel level was just low. It was 200 miles away and I got no where with them when I called them to dispute the low fuel level.
Thanks for the responses, I hope to get her back to running near new. That is why I love Hondas. They usually are bulletproof.
Last edited by General Maximus; 03-24-2013 at 10:00 PM.
03-25-2013, 12:04 AM
#5
Out of my mind, back in 5
MotoGP
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Skurup, Sweden
Posts: 6,109
My advice, buy and swap the battery yourself, and adjust and lube the chain... That's regular maintainance, so that's not cost effective to have a shop do at all... And it's a matter of minutes to do, so it won't really cut into the kids time... Just swap one ride for it... The tools needed is as basic as a philips head screwdriver and a couple of open-end wrenches...
Have the shop work the carbs, but since it's a small shop likely, that never worked on a VTR, either be very specific on what you want them to do, as in google the site, and print out a "manual"... Or, be prepared to spend big money on re-doing and fixing the things they messed up...
The R/R is a kind of inbetween thing... A shop is unlikely to want to do anymore than swap an OEM part... And that's not really a "fix" or "upgrade" it's just delaying the problem really... So, it's most likely you will have to tackle that one on your own if you want it done right...
As for the fuel sender unit, check the wiring, it's very common for the wire to become pinched, or disconnected at the plug, when people work on the bike, and if you are lucky, you just need to plug it in, or worst case, fix the cut wire... The whole testing procedure is laid out in detail in the repair manual... Same thing, only basic tools needed, and if you are lucky it's a half hour procedure, so it's well worth the time IMHO...
With those things done at home, spending the money to get the carbs done, and if you can find a shop willing to do the R/R wiring, I'd say it's a lot easier to justify the money spent there...
Have the shop work the carbs, but since it's a small shop likely, that never worked on a VTR, either be very specific on what you want them to do, as in google the site, and print out a "manual"... Or, be prepared to spend big money on re-doing and fixing the things they messed up...
The R/R is a kind of inbetween thing... A shop is unlikely to want to do anymore than swap an OEM part... And that's not really a "fix" or "upgrade" it's just delaying the problem really... So, it's most likely you will have to tackle that one on your own if you want it done right...
As for the fuel sender unit, check the wiring, it's very common for the wire to become pinched, or disconnected at the plug, when people work on the bike, and if you are lucky, you just need to plug it in, or worst case, fix the cut wire... The whole testing procedure is laid out in detail in the repair manual... Same thing, only basic tools needed, and if you are lucky it's a half hour procedure, so it's well worth the time IMHO...
With those things done at home, spending the money to get the carbs done, and if you can find a shop willing to do the R/R wiring, I'd say it's a lot easier to justify the money spent there...
Last edited by Tweety; 03-25-2013 at 07:30 AM.
03-25-2013, 03:49 AM
#6
Retired- but not tired!
SuperBike
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 1,478
Personally I can see where you are coming from. I don't have 4 kids, but between work, home ownership chores, family, and community service commitments, it really would be helpful if there was a service shop that was trustworthy and fair where I could also take my bike sometimes. I mean if you think about it for a minute, what you're asking for is not the least bit unreasonable... just unlikely.
In my case as much as I'd be willing to pay someone more expert than myself I end up doing my own work just because our bikes are so uncommon and I can't just throw money and hope at it.
But maybe if you're patient enough you will find someone like that near you. Seriously the R/R should really be replaced with a better design(MOSfet) from another brand and the associated wiring done too. That approach might be very difficult to find at a repair shop. Good luck.
In my case as much as I'd be willing to pay someone more expert than myself I end up doing my own work just because our bikes are so uncommon and I can't just throw money and hope at it.
But maybe if you're patient enough you will find someone like that near you. Seriously the R/R should really be replaced with a better design(MOSfet) from another brand and the associated wiring done too. That approach might be very difficult to find at a repair shop. Good luck.
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