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Your not smart enough to fix your own bike!

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Wish we could dig around in our ECU mapping the way we could hang needles, adjust float height and change jets. This is TX, I don't need a bike with an AFR creating the highest possible EGT.

Edit: as far as toolkit, the Wera Tool-Check plus Metric does a lot for me that the onboard toolkit can't do and takes up very little space.

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My 05 GS has a decent tool kit, can do valves, pull coils and plugs and has enough torxs to fit any fasteners on the bike.

My 06 has just enough to just keep you entertained while the wrecker comes. šŸ˜„
 
It is the "Planned Obsolescence" program along with the big profit service scam.
I went to the Conroe Toyota dealership for my air bag recall a while back. While I sat in the waiting area, "Caring Service Writers" explained to the masses what services they needed. I was very close to saying "They are blowing smoke up your posterior parts", but I held my tongue. It wasn't easy to do.
They presented me with a list of items that I needed to address if "I wanted to keep my truck on the road".
It included a transmission service, $299.95, I paid Attkinson Toyota (Bryan,Tx) $109.95 for the recommended service. Spark plugs, $291.79, I bought 8 NGK iridium plugs for $60.00 and it took 30 minutes to replace them. Replace differential oil, 165.77, I let Attkinson do it with the transmission service for $55.00. They only wanted 1108.91 for the timing belt/water pump replacement but $186.42 was added in for the $15.00 serpentine belt replacement. You can not replace the timing belt without removing the serpentine belt (and radiator). I guarantee, they would have tacked on tension pulley's, cam shaft seals, coolant and more to the timing belt replacement. A $199.95 fuel injection and throttle body service was recommended and power steering fluid replacement was 129.95. I bought a $3 turkey baster and sucked the Power steering fluid out of the reservoir about 4 times and replaced 90% of it. Total cost less than $10.00.
Added to their estimate was 120.88 to diagnose that the 12 year old batteries in the TPMS were dead. I bought 5 new sensors when I replaced the tires last fall for $150.00
Not all dealerships are bad. I needed a few dash lights for my new to me 07 4Runner. $4.71 each in Bryan and Huntsville, $8 something in Conroe. I told them I would go to Bryan for the bulbs and didn't see any reason to do business them any longer.
I replaced my timing belt, water pump, thermostat, tension pulleys, spark plugs, coolant hoses, coolant, trans fluid, P/S fluid, differential oil, serpentine belt and the tire sensors for in my 05 Tundra truck for about $750.00. Other than tires, one front brake job and oil changes, this was the first time I spent any maintenance $. Way less than the 3k+ the sleazy dealership wanted.
I am glad I can do almost any vehicle service myself, but knowledge is power. Even if you don't have the tools/skills, learning how mechanical systems work can save you thousands over your lifetime. rh
 
IMO, I dont blame dealerships for charging what they do, they do have high overhead and tons of staff (clockwatchers) they have to pay. And of course the name of the game is Profit! Otherwise, why bother with a business

As Rick said, "knowledge is power" .....power to keep more of your own money!
 
I've been holding off getting the airbag fixed in my Toyota because I know they will bring me ten more things they want to charge me for. I think I'm going to take it to the dealer near me and when they bring in that dirty air filter to make a sale explain to them why my wife drove across Houston to buy her Highlander, rather than down the block. I may let them do an oil change. I hate doing oil changes.

I've found repairs easier since the digital age. Diagnostic tools not only confirm that you're hearing a miss, but also what cylinder and if its the coil, or whatever. Repairs are about the same difficulty, except not quite a frequent. When I was a teenager a car with 60K miles was worn out. 30K miles on a '69 BSA and it needed the top end done. Now spark plugs with 60K on them will keep going for a while.

As for tool kits, I update mine with each repair, adding whatever I use that was not already in the tool pouch. Of course, there is no reason to carry a tool if you don't have the spare, except to have it with the vehicle, rather than at the bottom of the tool box. The BMW coil puller is an example. Let's face it, having the tools to change a clutch cable you don't have on hand is just dead weight. I once had a chain go bad in Tennessee and ended up buying a chain from a Yamaha dealer and the tools I needed to finish the job at an O'Reilly's.

With DRM we're likely to see more work having to go to the dealer.
 
There are a lot of owners of all kinds of things mechanical that either don't have the facilities, or want to do their own wrench turning or the knowledge to do so. These are the lambs the service writer prey on. When I take a vehicle in for a warranty and the dude with the clipboard comes into the waiting room with a pair of clippers in his back pocket, I use that four letter word before he gets finished with the first item, "NOPE, just address the warranty issue and I'll handle the rest".

Agreed that is nice to be able to take that stance but it's what gives dealerships a bad name by fleecing their customer base with shady sales and warranty tactics. If they would take more pride in customer satisfaction instead trying to do that onetime wallet grab, yeah, I'd let them get greasy and I'd pay the "reasonable" price.
 
Interesting observation on the "onetime wallet grab." That's been a problem forever. Carl Sewell wrote a book about it called "Customer's For Life." He even took a Cadillac in trade that one of his customer left with the service department that had a trunk full of game meat. The customer said he told the service writer to take it home and the service writer said he didn't. I'm guessing he didn't. Sewell realized back in the 80s that one customer could spend a quarter million dollars buying Cadillacs from him, if he could just keep him.
 
My brother ran the sales department at Harmon Nissan in Texas City in the 80s-90s. Hi philosophy was return customers were worth their weight in gold. Not only do you get to sell another car, you get the referral to make another satisfied customer. He had one customer buy seven personal vehicles from over the years.

Problem is, the owners are always looking at the proffit margin on each sale figuring that it needs to be as high as it can for that one sale or service because the customer will shop elsewhere next time.

Hammond Nissan went out of business shortly after my brothers passing.
 
Back to the motocycle dialog, my 05 GS actually came with a tire plugging kit and C02 inflator. That was probably back when they assumed the owner would be taking them back into the bush where a thorn or two may exist. Since then, these bikes have gotten more and more street capable and less adventurous. Guess the tool kit cost became prohibitive when they had to include a mobile connectivity kit. šŸ˜„
 
Even back when bikes used to come with a tool kit pouch, I rarely used or carried them. Quality was typically on par with the tool section at Big Lots. To me, they were dead weight for around town riding. For longer trips, I assembled my own quality tool and repair kit, depending on which bike it was and its specific needs. I used to have a drawer full of OEM tool kit pouches, each with a note reminding me which bike it came from, so I can put it back when I sell the bike.

As for repairs, I, for one, don't miss the supposedly good ol' days. Y'all can keep your points and carburetors. I'd rather deal with FI, ECU and UBDII any day of the week. I remember synching 4 carbs on Japanese inline4s with mercury-filled carb sticks. What a PIT(F)N. Nowadays, some bikes let me do that with a software utility program. Besides, as mentioned above, cars and motorcycles of all makes these days are far more reliable. Yeah, sometimes things still go south when they aren't supposed to, but fixing them typically is still the same buying replacement and R&R. Except these days, Ebay and the internet lets me cast a far wider net, especially for used parts hunting. In the old days, the only recourse is to open the yellow pages and call up every junkyard asking if they have this or that part. Sometimes, we had to bring own own tool box to the boneyard to pull our own part(s). I had fond memories of weekends doing that with my buddies. Now... f*** no!

Perspectives, folks... perspectives.
 
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