After a long hiatus from riding, my son hit the magic age of 10, and I was good to ride again. (For some unexplainable reason, my dying before he was 10 was not ok, but after 10, I was good to go for risky activity.) I picked up a 2 yr old CBR 600rr, and promptly took it to RnR for baseline suspension setup. The tech immediately went into high pressure sales mode. Told me that the stock suspension was inadequate for my size, and I would not be safe on the road without an aftermarket rear shock. I explained that I was just getting back on 2, and would not likely be railing to the degree that would challenge the stock suspension. He said that the stock setup is for tiny little Asians, and anyone over 165 lbs was risking their life riding it stock. This, after I told him my weight to set the bike up. (If you recall from when we met at Shenny, I am not a super large mammal - certainly a good bit under 165) I reminded him that I wasn't 165... he said "Well, once you include the 10-15 lbs of weight you subtract, you are pretty close!" So he then confirms that he did in fact set my suspension for his +15 lbs weight. I asked him to set it to my REAL weight and he argued, saying first that he knew I was no 150 (ouch!), and then finally agreeing to reset with the warning that I was (again) risking my life by riding on a suspension improperly set at my 'vanity weight'. From here, he again started on the high pressure sales for an upgrades suspension, and also a few other items that the stock version was "unsafe", including the brake lines and levers. And the best part? They tried to charge me additional $ for the extra time it took for him to talk my ear off about upgrading stuff, and to reset the suspension because did it wrong the first time. I then rode it home to find that it was really, really wrong.
I took it to another shop (VonDari), who said it was set for a very very heavy rider, such that the RnR mechanic was either completely incompetent or did it on purpose. Nice.
The second time I took it there, before even looking at that, they said that the front brakes were 'bone dry', there was brake fluid 'everywhere', and there was a hole in the front lines, and the rear fluid was overfilled. Since the front brakes had just been bled and brakes worked just fine, this seemed off. When questioned, the mechanic showed the top of the bladder, which was of course dry. The res underneath was properly filled-go figure. There was just a few drips of fluid, and the lines were also fine. The mechanic didn't even try to explain how he got this so wrong.
The bill was for $85 to check both brake systems and remove the brake fluid drips. I get that this stuff takes time, and time is money but none of it was requested. I don't know if trying to fix things that aren't broken is an indication of shitty mechanics or a blatant cash grab, but I am going to avoid either way."
A little more color... when I asked to see this 'bone dry' reservoir, the mechanic took off the lid and said "SEE??? BONE DRY! I found the leak on your lines, they need to be replaced too." I reached over and plucked the bladder off, revealing a full resevoir below. He looked like a deer in the headlights... and just said "Oh. Well.... sometimes it's really hard to tell if it is empty or not." I asked to see where this issue on the lines he supposedly found was... he just kind of looked lost and scared, and said ummm a lot. At this point, Rick swooped in and started explaining why they couldn't do the work I brought it in for (not their fault). He also pointed out an issue with the front fork, and basically just TOLD me that they would start on that immediately and how much it would be to fix. I had to interrupt him to say no, I don't want you to fix it. He then went into the whole its unsafe, you will crash and die on the way home spiel. From a weepy front fork? I know it needed to be fixed but it was hardly a fully blown seal and saying it was unsafe was a flat out lie.
Soooo he finally says OK, once we get all this brake fluid cleaned off and the rear res emptied to the correct level, we will have you out the door. I specifically said do NOT touch anything. I can do these things myself. I said it to Rick and I said it to the little turd mechanic. I go up front and wait about 20 minutes, and when the bike is ready I am charged $85. ?!?! I asked what for and Ali said for the cleanup of the fluid and draining some of the fluid from the rear res. I started to blow a gasket when Rick walked in. He asked what the problem was. I explained that they were charging me for stuff that I specifically said not to do. Rick read over the invoice, and said, "Yeah, no. Thats not right for a MARCC member, you didn't apply the discount." He then turned and walked out and left Ali to argue. After some words, I did pay the $50, because it just wasn't worth it to keep arguing, and also I didn't want Rick to have ANYTHING to use to twist this to how it was my fault read more
