Shop Horror

feetchermancj · Post by **feetchermancj** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 6:49 pm

So I decided to buy my girlfriend's dad's 2008 Buddy 125 with 2k miles on it. I'm getting it from him for only $600.00

. Here is the downs side though. Prior to me getting it, it turns out the gear oil drain plug had fallen out and was never notice and ridden without gear oil. So my girlfriend's dad and I took it to the shop to rebuild the final drive/rear end. Unfortunately the only repair shop here is not a genuine dealer so we had to order all the parts after we waited a month for the mechanic just to tare it apart to let us know what we needed to order. Gears,bearing,seal, ect. Finally three months after taking it in they said it was ready. Or not. After they put everything together there was a very audible metal on metal grinding sound. So they took it apart to find out whats wrong. They thought it was the clutch so they decided to run the scooter with out the clutch bell on to see if the clutch was opening properly. This is where the fun starts. The tech that was helping the mechanic gave it too much gas so the clutch without it's bell on it, had nothing to stop it from opening up way past its normal position. The spring on the clutch broke and pieces of the clutch and springs went flying. Unluckily for them A big piece of the clutch destroyed the airbox and air filter and it also damaged the drive shaft. So now at no cost to me they are basically rebuilding my buddy. It sucks that I still can't ride it but on the up side I don't have to pay for any of the repairs now.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:18 pm

I think the name of the thread is wrong. It's not Shop Horror. It's

Horrible shop

SoCalScooter · Post by **SoCalScooter** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:36 pm

feetchermancj · Post by **feetchermancj** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:51 pm

Syd wrote:I think the name of the thread is wrong. It's not Shop Horror. It's

Horrible shop

Yeah its pretty bad but its one of only two shops in town that works on motorcycles and the only one that works with scooters. I didn't expect to have problems with them since they are a dealer/shop that works on yamaha, honda, and kymco scooters and all the big name motorcycles and snowmobiles.

Wheelz · Post by **Wheelz** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:54 pm

Wow! I'm sorry that happened to your scoot, but I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of that shop.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:59 pm

feetchermancj wrote: ... I didn't expect to have problems with them since they are a dealer/shop that works on yamaha, honda, and kymco scooters and all the big name motorcycles and snowmobiles.

Given that, it's just unacceptable for them to have such difficulty with the final drive on the Buddy. I don't like casting dispersion on shops/mechanics that I don't know, but that just seems a little "out there".

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:40 pm

feetchermancj wrote:They thought it was the clutch so they decided to run the scooter with out the clutch bell on to see if the clutch was opening properly.

DUH.

I've done some dumb things while making repairs/maintenance but know better than to do this!

feetchermancj · Post by **feetchermancj** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:01 pm

ericalm wrote:
feetchermancj wrote:They thought it was the clutch so they decided to run the scooter with out the clutch bell on to see if the clutch was opening properly.
DUH.

I've done some dumb things while making repairs/maintenance but know better than to do this!

Yeah my girlfriend was the one at the shop when this happened. She was telling me over the phone what they were doing and I told her that it was going to end in disaster and right after I said that she said they broke the clutch.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:06 pm

Free rebuild, yay?

Good luck!

neotrotsky · Post by **neotrotsky** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:36 am

skully93 wrote:Free rebuild, yay?

Good luck!

From that shop, it sounds like a free rebuild would be a rip-off

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 1:45 am

They really have no excuse. The Buddy engine and transmission are basically a copy of the Honda GY6 design. There should have been no surprises there for an experienced mechanic. (though, if it were me, I might have trailered the bike to Portland for major engine/transmission work - always easy to be smart in hindsight, of course

)

bluebuddygirl · Post by **bluebuddygirl** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 2:46 am

I hope you get to enjoy it before the white stuff falls. I will not call it by name yet.

easy · Post by **easy** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 3:38 am

blind bearing puller at harbor freight is abt $65 only down time is waitng for parts

Drum Pro · Post by **Drum Pro** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 7:48 am

I could see that happening at any of the shops where I live...

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 3:18 pm

As we say in the technology racket: "sometimes 'free' is not cheap enough."

feetchermancj · Post by **feetchermancj** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 5:25 pm

Dooglas wrote:They really have no excuse. The Buddy engine and transmission are basically a copy of the Honda GY6 design. There should have been no surprises there for an experienced mechanic. (though, if it were me, I might have trailered the bike to Portland for major engine/transmission work - always easy to be smart in hindsight, of course )

I would trailer it if I didn't drive a geo metro.

While the buddy has been in the shop I have been ridding my girlfriend's identical buddy whenever she's not riding it.

Modern Buddy

Shop Horror

Shop Horror

I immediately thought of this...

Re: Shop Horror

Re: Shop Horror