Kind of an expensive day - 28k service

[gkamer]

Took my 2018 RT into the shop today for the 28K service. During the service they discovered the drive belt had been damaged by some type of debris. Also the rear tire was marginal. Tech said it could probably last till spring before it needed to be replaced. But since they were already in there, I decided to have it replaced as well. I was quoted $2,000 and change. Now I know if I had the tools, the expertise, and the mobility, I could have saved a lot of money. But since I don’t have any of those attributes, this was the only way for me to go. They are going to have to order the drive belt, said it would take about a week to get in. Which is fine since winter is coming here in the Pacific Northwest and riding opportunities will be far and few between.

[Bfromla]

Only 28K on belt? ouch

[gkamer]

Only 28K on belt? ouch

I had noticed my bike was making an odd noise. You could hear it over or secondary to the normal engine noise. Hard to describe, sort of like a howling sound. I wonder if that was caused by the damaged belt? I'll have to wait till I get it back to find out. The noise wasn't constant but especially evident at lower speeds.

[BertRemington]

I had a Moto Guzzi V7 III still under warranty so I stayed with dealer service. I asked for quote to change lubricants at 3K miles: engine, transmission and final drive. I was supplying lubricants. No body work had to be removed (the V7 III doesn't have any) or other parts and pieces for access. $300. I sold it within a month (good riddance).

4K miles and $400 per year? I'd say your running costs are cheap from a Moto Guzzi perspective.

Keep on riding.

[CloverHillCrawler]

Why would you not have at least one drive belt for each of the models you service on hand?

They don't take up that much space.

[redrazor]

Why would you not have at least one drive belt for each of the models you service on hand?

They don't take up that much space.

[bigbadbrucie]

Why would you not have at least one drive belt for each of the models you service on hand?

They don't take up that much space.

Problem being that you’re looking at from your point of view. Try lookiing at things from the dealers point of view. You sell snowmobiles, spyders, seadoos, quads, and you sell 6 different brands as well as service them all. Now you, the customer, come in and the dealer has to order a part because the dealer doesn’t carry one that fits on each individual unit? He would have to have a large building in order to store an a searchable manner for all of the service items. Of course the the dealer must order the belt.

[CloverHillCrawler]

Problem being that you’re looking at from your point of view. Try lookiing at things from the dealers point of view. You sell snowmobiles, spyders, seadoos, quads, and you sell 6 different brands as well as service them all. Now you, the customer, come in and the dealer has to order a part because the dealer doesn’t carry one that fits on each individual unit? He would have to have a large building in order to store an a searchable manner for all of the service items. Of course the the dealer must order the belt.

I maintained a 680 bed hospital that had over 63 air handlers with different sized belts as well as belts for all sorts of automated equipment there from the OR to the Kitchen and was able to maintain a belt stock in a small and reasonable space with spares for everything. If you are selling Motorcycles/spyders there are not that many belts that would overwhelm them especially if you are servicing them on a regular basis. Why would you want to risk customer satisfaction over something like a belt? I could see waiting for a belt if it is not something you normally sell or service but if you are servicing the models you sell why not stock a common use part like a belt?

I guess we come from two different ways of approaching it but I would be personally embarrassed about not having something as simple as a belt stock on hand.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I maintained a 680 bed hospital that had over 63 air handlers with different sized belts as well as belts for all sorts of automated equipment there from the OR to the Kitchen and was able to maintain a belt stock in a small and reasonable space with spares for everything. If you are selling Motorcycles/spyders there are not that many belts that would overwhelm them especially if you are servicing them on a regular basis. Why would you want to risk customer satisfaction over something like a belt? I could see waiting for a belt if it is not something you normally sell or service but if you are servicing the models you sell why not stock a common use part like a belt?

I guess we come from two different ways of approaching it but I would be personally embarrassed about not having something as simple as a belt stock on hand.

Maintaining an appropriate inventory is always a challenge for a business, especially when that inventory has to be sold in order to generate revenue. In your hospital job you did not have to be concerned about generating revenue from your belt inventory. You had to be concerned about keeping patients, and especially staff, particularly those above you, comfortable and happy. Big difference in business models.

[UtahPete]

Maintaining an appropriate inventory is always a challenge for a business, especially when that inventory has to be sold in order to generate revenue. In your hospital job you did not have to be concerned about generating revenue from your belt inventory. You had to be concerned about keeping patients, and especially staff, particularly those above you, comfortable and happy. Big difference in business models.

[CloverHillCrawler]

Maintaining an appropriate inventory is always a challenge for a business, especially when that inventory has to be sold in order to generate revenue. In your hospital job you did not have to be concerned about generating revenue from your belt inventory. You had to be concerned about keeping patients, and especially staff, particularly those above you, comfortable and happy. Big difference in business models.

I can see what you are talking about as I worked as a driver for an Auto Parts store for about 2 years.

A lot of my runs were gates belts and hoses, AP exhaust, and various brake parts to gas stations and service centers and car dealerships around Arlington Va. in the early 1980's

Usually when I arrived the vehicle was in the bay with the mechanic either taking the old part off or waiting for me to get it back on.

I just can't see why this industry can provide that same type of support for these vehicles.

Especially if you are not a DIY'er and the wait for even an oil change is 8-10 weeks out at most places.

I may just be impatient because I know on most things I can usually do it myself and I don't have to wait on somebody else.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I just can't see why this industry can [can't?] provide that same type of support for these vehicles.

Volume, return on investment, and turnover.

Volume in that the number of Spyders out there, and the percentage that suffer failures being low, make it impractical to keep every potentially needed part on hand.

If a business stocks a slow moving, or near non-moving part, the cost of storage coupled with the zero or negative return on investment means the business actually subsidizes the customer who finally comes around and buys the part. One solution would be for the dealer, say for a belt, add an additional charge once a month to the price of it to cover a portion of the cost of physical storage space. And then he would need to add the going investment return on the value of the belt, say 1% to 5% per year that he could realize by leaving the money in the bank. I'm sure you would consider that to be an untenable idea. I'm sure you'll agree waiting for a few days or weeks for the part to come in beats paying double the price so the dealer can afford to stock it for 15 months.

Both of these factors distill to the issue of turnover. Let's say a dealer buys one belt at the start of the year, sells it within a month, and replaces it. And let's say this happens every month. He will have the investment of one belt sitting on the shelf all year, but he will receive the profit of twelve belts in the year. So you can easily see how he can afford to have one on the shelf all the time. But what if he only sells one every 18 months? That paints a whole different picture concerning the return on investment.

In your auto parts experience you saw the value of volume, a lot of cars that needed parts, and a lot garages that were selling the parts. That's just simply not the case with Spyders.

[JayBros]

Taxation of inventory varies by state and local area. Since dealerships in states and within local areas in these states where an inventory tax is applied take another hit to Uncle Tax Collector, it is a disincentive to stock lots of parts, e.g., one belt for every model, even though they don't take up much room.

[Deanna777]

Took my 2018 RT into the shop today for the 28K service. During the service they discovered the drive belt had been damaged by some type of debris. Also the rear tire was marginal. Tech said it could probably last till spring before it needed to be replaced. But since they were already in there, I decided to have it replaced as well. I was quoted $2,000 and change. Now I know if I had the tools, the expertise, and the mobility, I could have saved a lot of money. But since I don’t have any of those attributes, this was the only way for me to go. They are going to have to order the drive belt, said it would take about a week to get in. Which is fine since winter is coming here in the Pacific Northwest and riding opportunities will be far and few between.

Hi gkamer,

I had a similar situation with my 2014 RTS-SE6; when I took my Spyder in for its 28,000 mile maintenance (it had 30,000 miles), the dealership found the drive belt cogs were in bad shape (not safe to drive) and they found a PIN in the automatic steering column which needed to be replaced. I said to the dealership that I don't want to keep dumping money into my 'at the time 2014 RTS SE6' (which is now SOLD) so I traded my it in for my current Spyder, which is a 2023 F3 LTD Special Series. Also, the cost of drive belt cogs including labor was going to be more than $2,000.00. The PIN in the automatic steering column was going to be the same cost as the drive belt cogs. The drive belt on my 2014 RTS-SE6 was OEM.



My 2014 RTS-SE6 was 9 years old, and it depreciated a lot in value.


Deanna

[CloverHillCrawler]

That quote for a belt seems really way overpriced, a belt costs about $400.Even at $150/hr for labor would turn out to be roughly 10.5 hours of labor for a $2000 quote.

I would hope that it would not take 10.5 hours just to replace a drive belt.

[Mikey]

Hi gkamer,

I had a similar situation with my 2014 RTS-SE6; when I took my Spyder in for its 28,000 mile maintenance (it had 30,000 miles), the dealership found the drive belt cogs were in bad shape (not safe to drive) and they found a PIN in the automatic steering column which needed to be replaced. I said to the dealership that I don't want to keep dumping money into my 'at the time 2014 RTS SE6' (which is now SOLD) so I traded my it in for my current Spyder, which is a 2023 F3 LTD Special Series. Also, the cost of drive belt cogs including labor was going to be more than $2,000.00. The PIN in the automatic steering column was going to be the same cost as the drive belt cogs. The drive belt on my 2014 RTS-SE6 was OEM.



My 2014 RTS-SE6 was 9 years old, and it depreciated a lot in value.


Deanna

Next time you need a belt replaced bring it over to my place, I'll do it for a steak dinner! Wow $2000 for a belt job!

[ncll]

$2000 to replace the belt and tire? Parts would be about $350. Even at the terrible California labor prices That is a screw job. I have done it in two 1/2 hrs and I am not a mechanic. I have just owned 5 Spyders and hate dealers prices. (also retired Sheriff's Deputy)

[RayBJ]

Motorcycle dealerships are regularly closing down because they aren't making profits. Floor planning of new machines and spare parts costs are a big drain on small businesses. I'd rather have to wait a bit for a part than not have a local dealer if/when I need one.

[Saluda]

JITI, blame the Japanese. I believe they started just in time inventory.
Also, I wouldn't compare hospital inventory to that of a Spyder dealer.

[ff73148]

I had a Moto Guzzi V7 III still under warranty so I stayed with dealer service. I asked for quote to change lubricants at 3K miles: engine, transmission and final drive. I was supplying lubricants. No body work had to be removed (the V7 III doesn't have any) or other parts and pieces for access. $300. I sold it within a month (good riddance).

4K miles and $400 per year? I'd say your running costs are cheap from a Moto Guzzi perspective.

Keep on riding.

Part of the problem today is the labor rate. Dealers in NJ are $140 per hour. Plus it depends if the dealer goes by the book. If he manufacturers service manual says two hours for service that is what they charge, even if the service takes one hour. You have to search for an honest dealer. Now most dealers won't work on bikes if they are ten years or more older.

[Tango]

My dealer charges $159/hr.. Tom