ridiculous maintenance charges

[CanAmIamDavid]

What are the alternatives for getting standard maintenance done like oil change air filters check belts excetera any ideas?
The price at dealerships is outer space

[youngers]

get a repair manual , and owners book of the cycle you have , and start learning your self ! too be a rich toy owner , you have too learn how to repair the toys cheep cheep cheep , but for oil and filter and lubrication of the front end , do it your self is the best way , it is much faster , and you are sure it is done too your liking ... stuff like clutch and easy too get too things should be easy enough , with the repair manual ... did a few things myself from you tube , spyder lovers , and repair manual from amazon ... I did the clutch seals in the 2012 , took 2 days but only cost in the range of 50 dollars , the replacement parts ,and 2 tools to do the job ... going to get into an oil change next weekend

[Bob Denman]

You haven't mentioned the prices that you are getting...
Perhaps they're not as bad as you think!
(Or maybe they are!)

[Easy Rider]

The price at dealerships is outer space

Ever owned a Harley ??

What line of work are (or were) you in ? And how much do you "charge" for your services ??

Shop around; find another shop to do the work.
Some independents have enough experience to do the basic stuff......and often charge less.

[JAS POWER]

I see it like this...

#1 Do it yourself
#2 Find a smaller motorcycle shop
#3 Get used to what your dealer charges (Like Bob said maybe its not that out of whack)

I'm a firm believer (nowadays especially) you get what you pay for.

The dealer for sure can check for computer updates, & any service recalls. Not all small shops will be able to do that.

[ARtraveler]

My dealer currently charges $110 per hour. Down from $130 a year ago. Add parts, etc. and its not hard to get to those $300 to $350 oil changes that most encounter.

[bboley]

I found an independent here in Janesville WI (Rock County Cycles) that did the oil change with Valvoline full synthetic and checked everything else out for $95. The Can Am dealers in the area want over $200, Call the real motorcycle shops around your area there should be more cost effective options out there for you. In addition if you want to go to car tires in the future instead of the over priced Kendas you will want to have someone who is willing to do that for you also as most Can Am dealers wont. Good luck!

[JP58]

I found an independent here in Janesville WI (Rock County Cycles) that did the oil change with Valvoline full synthetic and checked everything else out for $95. The Can Am dealers in the area want over $200, Call the real motorcycle shops around your area there should be more cost effective options out there for you. In addition if you want to go to car tires in the future instead of the over priced Kendas you will want to have someone who is willing to do that for you also as most Can Am dealers wont. Good luck!

My local dealer did car tires for me.

[JayBros]

From your location I suggest scheduling your maintenance in the early spring or fall when the dealership doesn't have to have armed guards protecting the shop. Seriously, you didn't mention what model Spyder you have but with a service manual you can get online for $30 or so and a nominal suite of tools, Torx bits and metric sockets and Allen wrenches, you can do a lot of the routine maintenance yourself if you have average mechanical ability. There are also a good number of excellent videos that show in superior detail how to do a lot of the routine jobs. If you have an RT and learn the proper way to remove and reinstall the mirrors that's 90% of removing the Tupperware. There are always plenty of contributors here who can offer very good advice and tech tricks.

[Bob Denman]

My dealer currently charges $110 per hour. Down from $130 a year ago. Add parts, etc. and its not hard to get to those $300 to $350 oil changes that most encounter.

Mine charges $65.00 per hour...

[papanorm]

Hope he doesn't see post #6

[Motorcycledave]

hey Bob mine won't get out of bed for $65 an hour, try $125 out here


QUOTE=Bob Denman;1275880] Mine charges $65.00 per hour... [/QUOTE]

[Crisis]

My dealer currently charges $110 per hour. Down from $130 a year ago. Add parts, etc. and its not hard to get to those $300 to $350 oil changes that most encounter.

Just did my oil change purchasing everything as always from Ron. $80.00.

[Easy Rider]

Just did my oil change purchasing everything as always from Ron. $80.00.

Am I the only one who thinks THAT is pretty ridiculous too ?
What exactly costs $80 ??
3 quarts of oil and a filter ?????

[ARtraveler]

Just did my oil change purchasing everything as always from Ron. $80.00.

It is a wonderful thing when you are able to do the mechanical stuff on these. Starting with just the Tupperware, it seems way above my pay grade. And...I used to do all the oil changes in my autos and two wheeled motorcycles.

[Motorcycledave]

I have had several Harley's and even they don't cost as much to service
as the Spyders, most dealers in this area charge $125 hr. +parts

Ever owned a Harley ??

What line of work are (or were) you in ? And how much do you "charge" for your services ??

Shop around; find another shop to do the work.
Some independents have enough experience to do the basic stuff......and often charge less.

[rcturner]

What are the alternatives for getting standard maintenance done like oil change air filters check belts excetera any ideas?
The price at dealerships is outer space

Service is expensive. However, if you figure out the real cost to the dealer with a real service facility, trained mechanics, service management, accounting, etc, I am guessing that $100 per hour is a bit of a deal. It costs a good dealer a lot of money to have someone available with the parts to do the job and a place to do it when you want it done. If you want to save some money, learn how to do the simple things yourself. I do oil and filter myself and my dealer does everything else. We are both happy with that arrangement.

[ARtraveler]

Have to agree, it does cost bucks to provide a sales, service, and parts department. Lots of overhead going on there to break even.

What is not mentioned is the fact that most service seem to outcost other vehicles by a lot--unless your driving a caddy, bmw, or similar.

I had my break-in service on the Vulcan last week and it was fully a hundred dollars less than the same service done to the .

And most of the time now, we are not seeing certified mechanics either.

The same dealer sells and services both brands here.

[rcturner]

Have to agree, it does cost bucks to provide a sales, service, and parts department. Lots of overhead going on there to break even.

What is not mentioned is the fact that most service seem to outcost other vehicles by a lot--unless your driving a caddy, bmw, or similar.

I had my break-in service on the Vulcan last week and it was fully a hundred dollars less than the same service done to the .

And most of the time now, we are not seeing certified mechanics either.

And the same dealer sells and services both brands.

My Honda Goldwings cost almost nothing to maintain. My Harley could easily cost as much or more than the Spyders. The brand and design are key in this conversation.

[mcalva]

Problem here is not only the charges but the dealers too.
When they work on your spyder you can see they have no idea about it.
Sometimes I had have to explain to the mechanic the way to dissasemble some parts.
I had an oil change and they fill too much the reservoir so I had to return to the service in order to make the oil level
again cause Spyder lost oil. Is not normal the dealer doesn't know make the oil level of the vehicles they sell.

So as here there are not other mechanichs where I could try I pay the charges expensive and the service is not very good.

I will try to learning as much as possible and only will visit the dealer when with my means and my knowledge doesn't reach
the answer.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Problem here is not only the charges but the dealers too.
When they work on your spyder you can see they have no idea about it.
Sometimes I had have to explain to the mechanic the way to dissasemble some parts.
I had an oil change and they fill too much the reservoir so I had to return to the service in order to make the oil level
again cause Spyder lost oil. Is not normal the dealer doesn't know make the oil level of the vehicles they sell.

So as here there are not other mechanichs where I could try I pay the charges expensive and the service is not very good.

I will try to learning as much as possible and only will visit the dealer when with my means and my knowledge doesn't reach
the answer.

.....And will add that it's not UN-COMMON for your Spyder to get damaged and/or missing fasteners at the Stealership , and they will deny it was them ...... Mike

[youngers]

What are the alternatives for getting standard maintenance done like oil change air filters check belts excetera any ideas?
The price at dealerships is outer space

hey dave haven`t seen any reply , what did you end up doing ? { if you do take it too a dealer , take the plastic off your self , that cuts down in the price , by hours }