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12,000 miles service price
- Thread starter COOLMACHINE
- Start date
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
I disagree. If you look at the valve adjustment procedure alone, it has a three hour flat rate charge and takes most of that to actually accomplish, unfortunately. Add flushing the brake, clutch, and cooling systems, replacing the rear wheel bearings, and mounting and balancing the tire, and I think the labor charge was very reasonable. I have been twisting wrenches for over 50 years, and I wouldn't want to do it in that amount of time. I agree that the charges for fluids were excessive, but they are common for the dealerships.
I am not going to get into dealer labor charges and such, but I agree, it is a price to be paid, like with a BMW. Comes with the territory (and an anal maintenance schedule). I do have one question, why the valve adjustment check? By the revised maintenance schedule, the first is to be done at 6,000 miles, then every 12,000 miles thereafter. Did you skip the 6K valve check? I think you got off very well compared to what some others have paid.
wolfshead1
New member
General Motors should read this forum.If all the trucks I have bought needed a maintenance program like the Spyders they would be cash flush and still number 1.
If there was a sticker on the Spyder that said the average maint. cost for 5 years would be $3500 not including any repair charges for systems and parts that malfunction during the 5years do you think sales would slip?
If the sticker said the wait for gaskets is 1 or 2 months and with certain problems the machine will be out of service for weeks would that cause a downturn in sales.
Don't get me wrong I'm still pro Spyder and getting off of a really flawless HD Ultra cause it's just too heavy for me anymore.This is what I'm faced with and I don't think a $16,000 machine that has been in development for 10years with three model years of production should be sold without telling the purchaser of the 20% to 30% of cost of maintenance included after the sale.
I know owning a Harley or a Bmer or Duc. is pricey but is anything a pricey as the Spyder?
If there was a sticker on the Spyder that said the average maint. cost for 5 years would be $3500 not including any repair charges for systems and parts that malfunction during the 5years do you think sales would slip?
If the sticker said the wait for gaskets is 1 or 2 months and with certain problems the machine will be out of service for weeks would that cause a downturn in sales.
Don't get me wrong I'm still pro Spyder and getting off of a really flawless HD Ultra cause it's just too heavy for me anymore.This is what I'm faced with and I don't think a $16,000 machine that has been in development for 10years with three model years of production should be sold without telling the purchaser of the 20% to 30% of cost of maintenance included after the sale.
I know owning a Harley or a Bmer or Duc. is pricey but is anything a pricey as the Spyder?
COOLMACHINE
New member
I've gotta check that one.
Yo Scotty,
I've got to get back with you on the 6K valve check. Gotta take a look at the receipt. I had the 6K service done at a different dealership. TTYS. JW
Yo Scotty,
I've got to get back with you on the 6K valve check. Gotta take a look at the receipt. I had the 6K service done at a different dealership. TTYS. JW
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
Yep, my Beemers...easily!
Being a previous Ducati NUT, I learned how to work on the bike through forums, not unlike this one. Even adjusting the desmo valves. Ducati allowed owner to perform maintenance-proper documentation required.
If one is in the market for a new Ducati, the cost of 2 year maintenance is now ZERO dollars. "Ducati just made your next motorcycle purchase decision easier by introducing "Full Factory Support," a zero-cost maintenance program. .... Ducati Factory Support, including no maintenance costs and the industry's most comprehensive warranty—24 months/unlimited mileage."
Ducati realized that their 1% market share had allot to do with high maintenance cost and an old reputation of not being unreliable. Of course Ducati has a ton of competition.
The Spyder has no competition (IHMO), so reducing or eliminating maintenance cost is not likely to happen. Also, not allowing owner maintenance under warranty (other than changing oil) is their way of working with dealer's.
I estimated the Cost of Ownership of Spyder before purchase - doesn't everyone on every big ticket item they buy?
It is what it is - you must pay in order to play. I feel extremely lucky and blessed in being able to play with my Spyder.
If one is in the market for a new Ducati, the cost of 2 year maintenance is now ZERO dollars. "Ducati just made your next motorcycle purchase decision easier by introducing "Full Factory Support," a zero-cost maintenance program. .... Ducati Factory Support, including no maintenance costs and the industry's most comprehensive warranty—24 months/unlimited mileage."
Ducati realized that their 1% market share had allot to do with high maintenance cost and an old reputation of not being unreliable. Of course Ducati has a ton of competition.
The Spyder has no competition (IHMO), so reducing or eliminating maintenance cost is not likely to happen. Also, not allowing owner maintenance under warranty (other than changing oil) is their way of working with dealer's.
I estimated the Cost of Ownership of Spyder before purchase - doesn't everyone on every big ticket item they buy?
It is what it is - you must pay in order to play. I feel extremely lucky and blessed in being able to play with my Spyder.
I paid $800 for the 12K without the tire and I swear it runs better now than when it was new. I had the recall done on the steering prior to this service and did'nt notice any difference. After the service the steering seemed to be alot better. Don't know why. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned.
WaltH
Senior Member
The bearings that were replaced are from the wheel hub. Apparently, they overlooked the similar, but twice as wide, bearing in the sprocket. If I told my technician to replace the wheel bearings, I would expect him to replace all three bearings (wheel assembly). It is even possible the sprocket bearing receives more stress than the other two. This may be a lack of familiarity with the Spyder on the part of the technician, or perhaps he didn't have the blind hole puller needed to remove the bearing (can be punched out from the rear, if the sprocket is separated). In my first year, everything I did was a "first" for my home dealer including the first oil change, the first tire change, the first "Y" gasket leaks, etc., etc.
M
MetroAsian
Guest
Hi Leo76Dragon....yes my Spyders have the pre-paid service done at East Bay Motorsports. They are pretty cool there and Daryl the service manager will start to know you by name if you bring your Spyder there. It's a great deal that they have with the pre-paid service but I think they put your job at the end of their priority list because it's a pre-paid. Same goes for warranty work 
WaltH
Senior Member
I would disagree with you if they actually did the valve clearance inspection. This alone would take most of an hour without any changes in the shims (??). For some dealers, not necessarily this one, there might be a temptation to skip the valve clearance inspection and just charge the customer for it anyway since there is almost no chance at all that the clearance would be out of tolerance in just 12,000 miles. The customer would never know the difference. It is ridiculous to require a valve clearance inspection every 12,000 miles. This is for the benefit of BRP's relationship with -the EPA and not for the Spyder owner. Charging for work not done, or parts not needed, is not unheard of in motorcycle shops. I have seen much worse than charging for a valve inspection which was not performed.
Smylinacha
Yellinacha
That is CRAZY money. I'll get rid of this thing first before I pay that. It's not fun when it makes you broke to ride it. I don't have that kind of money just laying around that's for sure!
WackyDan
New member
Most modern anti-lock braking systems require the ABS controller to be cycled in order to actually bleed them. If you try to bleed your brakes without hooking up to the computer or ABS gizmo, then you are creating even more problems.
Yes, the maintenance can be expensive. You have to remember you have a High performance machine, that is not like any other motercycle out there. What brings up the cost is the labor rate. So what can you do?
You can remove the plastics before you take it in for service.
You can do you own Oil changes.
There are many other things you can do yourself, but that still requires an investment in tools and a shop manual.
Odds are your vehicle is still under warranty, Why not pay that little extra price, just for the piece of mind, that if something does go seriously wrong, you won't have to pay for it. A new engine plus labor costs way more than scheduled maintenance.
You can remove the plastics before you take it in for service.
You can do you own Oil changes.
There are many other things you can do yourself, but that still requires an investment in tools and a shop manual.
Odds are your vehicle is still under warranty, Why not pay that little extra price, just for the piece of mind, that if something does go seriously wrong, you won't have to pay for it. A new engine plus labor costs way more than scheduled maintenance.
Essentially you need to hook it up to the BUDS system because of the Break Presure sensor. ther are actually 4 places to bleed your brakes on the spyder not Just 3
1. The Left Caliper
2. The Right Caliper
3. The Rear Caliper
4. The VCM unit
Then the BUDS system is used to complete the bleeding procedure. Due to the fact that your Spyder is equipted with a Brake Pressure Sensor, the pressure will be off after the manual bleeding procedure. BUDS is used to do a final bleed and to reset that sensor. If the buds sytem is not preformed, you will recieve ABS error mesage across your console.
I owned BMW K1200LT before purchasing a premier edition RT. The maintenance costs for the Spyder are not out of line compared to the LT. In the first years of production of the LT, everyone was afraid to do the work themselves for fear of voiding the warranty. As time went on, the mechanical and engineering minds on the K1200LT forum began to dig into their machines, understanding them better, and doing many of the things previously thought better left to the dealers. Major mechanical fixes are detailed on the forum, from replacing the clutch, drilling weep holes for the clutch slave cylinder, and correcting the speedometer which was 10% off true speed. They also learned to bleed brakes and then go to the dealer for the final step, hooking to the computer.
I guess what I am trying to say is with a little more time we too will be doing maintenance on these machines previously thought best left to the dealers. From what I have seen thus far on this forum, the mechanical and engineering minds are here. No one wants to void their warranty, but sooner or later someone will say the he!! with it and find out what really makes these things tick! So far most of the effort seems to have been on mods, but that will change. People will share their knowledge of these machines, making ownership less expensive if you are willing to do some of the work yourself.
BTW, cant wait to get my new Spyder:yes::2excited:
I guess what I am trying to say is with a little more time we too will be doing maintenance on these machines previously thought best left to the dealers. From what I have seen thus far on this forum, the mechanical and engineering minds are here. No one wants to void their warranty, but sooner or later someone will say the he!! with it and find out what really makes these things tick! So far most of the effort seems to have been on mods, but that will change. People will share their knowledge of these machines, making ownership less expensive if you are willing to do some of the work yourself.
BTW, cant wait to get my new Spyder:yes::2excited:
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
Well spoken! welcome
Had to have this done this week my caps went bad and got air into system (Brake Failure Message) But at least it was covered under warranty :ani29:
I love riding it too FYI. If you have a good dealer nearby, cant do any of the work yourself, and plan to ride a lot then the prepaid maintenance is definitely worth a look. If only i could get the buds then I most likely would NEVER take mine to a dealer and i am sad to say that cause I would really like to support a dealer. My first two harleys I had the greatest dealer in the world. heck i would ride up there early on a saturday morning have coffee with them 9and all the other bikers just there fro coffee or a few parts) etc. he sold his dealership and retired, some jerk took over who had the "new" harley dealership mentality which in most is "would you like to buy a ridicoulusly priced t-shirt?" etc etc. I know there are good dealerships out there ...just really wish I had one I guess.ray:
I know what your saying about the dealer you got your first two Harleys from. Had a dealer like that in Zion (northern) Ill. Lake County Cycles. greatest dealer I've ever had, even had a pool table to play pool. He did the same retired.
But I seem to have a pretty good dealer now with Donahue Super Sports in Wis. Rapids
