12K service - what should it cost?

[fastwin]

and i have little doubt that $1900 gets you a good service...but, it's a service.  it's not like they're going over the bike to set it up for uber track performance.  all i know is when my SS needs the normal service stuff, i'm going to be looking at either jim sabin, or randy, or richD (if i can come up with enough beer and bacon).  i can only imagine what the bills for routine service will be on a bike with 33k+ miles.  even if it was *just* $1k, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to spend 1/4 the value of the bike on a valve and belt service.  i may as well just sell it and look for the next set of wheels, imo.  i love my bike, but not enough to make me bad at math.

I like Jacob's line about selling his Monster right before the 12K since the service cost would be about a 1/3 of it's value. That thinking may not be too far out of line. I'm sure that has something to do with Ducati reducing service expenses on the new line up. That expense may well keep people from purchasing a Ducati over a Japanses bike. Been out of the BMW loop for a while so this may be a good Donald or Scott question but what's the cost for major Bemmer services? I know Scott had Randy do the 25K (?) service on his. Does the Plano shop charge $100/hour too? They carry BMW, Ducati, Triumph and MV Agusta so it can't be too far off AMS' rate.

[calscrazy]

it's really simple. anything you can do yourself do it. brakes, chain, sprocket, belts, plugs, all fluid changes, etc. that is how you save money. i have never done mine but believe me when i tell you i will definitely be making the effort. i will just simply offer to pay someone to supervise the first time to make sure i do it right then the second time i will be off and running. the only thing i will have ams do is the valves. i do everything on my cars except internal engine and it will be the same on my bike. i see your point concerning japenese bikes i don't remember having to take my katana in and i dogged that poor thing. it's no different than taking your car to a dealer. when you come in these techs do alot of looking trying to find any recommended services or probs. why? because that's how they make their living. i can't imagine it's any different at the motorcycle dealer. my 7500 service cost me $400. i expect the 15 to be more but not too much with me doing most everything myself. i figure i will do my stuff then take it to them and they can do theirs and MAYBE a look over just to double check my work.

[Duc L'Smart]

I personally would not let Plano touch any of my bikes, ever again, for any reason.
P.S.- It's been my experience that they keep bikes at least 2 to 3 weeks, sometimes longer, so AMS is not out of line there.

I would personally rather pay someone competent to do the job right the 1st time, & sleep well at night
Like any other high performance machine, we purchase Ducati's knowing that they are not disposable, & require maintenance to keep them in top running condition

[Duc L'Smart]

IMHO-

I've had AMS work on 3 Ducatis now, & I have NEVER known them to look around trying to make up stuff to do.
If anything, they have been overly generous, looking the bikes over, tweaking things, & being patient while I ask all kinds of inane questions, and really undercharging me for the time they have spent.
One huge is reason they look the bikes over thoroughly is safety. They have a responsibility and possibly legal liability to their customers, & I greatly appreciate their thoroughness

[Bonwilder]

The more sh*t you have the more you spend in prev main., repairs, ins., etc.......the nicer the sh*t the more all that stuff costs....that's life! 

[Kevin848]

The more sh*t you have the more you spend in prev main., repairs, ins., etc.......the nicer the sh*t the more all that stuff costs....that's life! 

Mo money mo problems 

[Bonwilder]

Mo money mo problems 

Mo stuff mo problems!

[fastwin]

The more sh*t you have the more you spend in prev main., repairs, ins., etc.......the nicer the sh*t the more all that stuff costs....that's life! 

Well said.

[Kevin848]

Well said.

Count 'em folks... 2 words 

[Cyclone]

  I'm going to have Randy do my 12K & new tires on the GS - I ordered all the parts and will take them over to him - I'm also adding crashbars to get ready for some extended tours ( maybe Big Bend ).

As y'all know I'm cheap thrifty but since your life kinda totally depends on having the bike run as flawlessly as possible that would seem to be the big deal.  I've dropped some $$$ for service with a dealer north of LBJ that will remain nameless & still believe that they " phoned it in " and kept it 4 ever doing it ! I'm willing to pay the big money for great prompt service.  Slow, careless, & expensive - and an attitude that says " we are doing you a HUGE favor just to glance at your tractor " pisses me off !

Little stuff makes a big difference in how a bike rides - when this dealer did my last tires I begged them to tune my spokes since the GS stood around waiting for me for 9 years - they didn't !  I had the worlds biggest German vibrator until I tuned the front spokes myself - some were dead & some were so tight they were about to pop!

Not to go all Fastwin on you here but if you get what you pay for in a timely fashion it's worth it !  I think this is why many serious motorcylists get into wrenching their own bikes - it's a trust thing more than a $ thing ! If you go really fast or head to the boonies ( or ride the freakin' tollroad ) bad stuff could happen if your bike eats lunch on you !!

my 2 cents !!

[Bonwilder]

Count 'em folks... 2 words 

You can count?!?  I was wondering, because I've been reading the two word thread and the five word thread......seems like you struggle with it sometimes.......I'm just sayin......  

[Kevin848]

You can count?!?  I was wondering, because I've been reading the two word thread and the five word thread......seems like you struggle with it sometimes.......I'm just sayin......  

No its true... I have issue when it comes to numbers. You should see my bank account 

[calscrazy]

i don't think they do bad work at all or go all crazy looking for stuff that is wrong. i am sure they do look and prob tell the customer what they find. "just so you know your brakes are gonna need attn in about 1000 miles" that is called "upsaling" the customer. do you need it right then "no". do you need it in the future "yes". it planted the seed so that in about 1000 miles you come back to have those brakes done. why? because they told you and you trust them because they were the first to notice. it shows they do care. but it also helps them in customer pay labor which pays a hell of alot more than warranty.
 reallistically i think their parts pricing is where they get you. when i called on some tires for black beauty the cheapest he had was $150 for the rear. the exact same tire at motorcycleproshop.com was $119. so then i call motosport. they price match and free shipping over a $100. same thing on my chain and sprocket. cycleworks is alot cheaper. all i am saying is if you have the patience to wait or some mechanical ability you can save yourself alot of money and it makes "HIGH PERFORMANCE MACHINES" a little less pricey in ownership. plus you get the joy of doing it yourself which is worth its weight in gold. it's the same way that you guys like to use randy. he's less expensive as the dealer yet just as competent.
IMHO- AMS does outstanding work and i also expect some $$$ to be spent on my part but i know i can save me some money also which helps in the kid dept or beer dept for some.

IMHO-

I've had AMS work on 3 Ducatis now, & I have NEVER known them to look around trying to make up stuff to do.
If anything, they have been overly generous, looking the bikes over, tweaking things, & being patient while I ask all kinds of inane questions, and really undercharging me for the time they have spent.
One huge is reason they look the bikes over thoroughly is safety. They have a responsibility and possibly legal liability to their customers, & I greatly appreciate their thoroughness

[Cyclone]

   Oh yeah - I forgot part of my rant!  When dealers service departments leave your bike OUTSIDE IN THE WEATHER & SUN FOR WEEKS ( & refuse the cover you offer them - because they "don't want to be responsible" HELLO - they're responsible for the bike  ) - THAT IS JUST WRONG, WRONG, WRONG ! 

Ok - all better now - deep breaths !! 

[fastwin]

Hey, watch this...Again, well said! Three words. Pretty good huh?

Now I'm gonna blow it...

I knew going in that the 916SPS bills would be biggie sized. Not pregnant doging at AMS at all. I put myself in that situation buying a bike that had way too much motor for the street. I didn't realize how much a pain in the butt it would be because of the excessive motor and POS slipper clutch. I would have never done that engine work on a street bike. Ever. I was lured into buying it based on the incredible low miles, the condition and my blind desire to have an early SPS. I thought the engine would be easier and cheaper to tame. I was wrong. Mega bills later it's still not where I wish it was but I am finished, done, caputt with it. It is what it is and always will be. But in my opinion AMS did an excellent job trying to neuter it back into a street bike and the stock SPS cams were hard to find and very expensive. No whining. Just deal with it. [moto]