Some you win, some you lose.

[Yoniboi]

I asked my local bike shop how much they'd charge to balance the carbs (after months of buying gaskets, oils, odd nuts and bolts etc), and the answer was: Nothing, if you want to do it yourself just borrowing the tools!
So, I went last Friday, after cancelling the Monday appointment, and bringing the following Monday's reschedule forward.
Got there at 13:15. Rode the bike into the workshop and got to work. Unfortunately he'd had the gauges recalibrated and two of the hook-ups to the manifolds hadn't come back with it, so we had to do the middle two first, followed by the outside pair, and that took a bit longer, plus the engine was hot and the middle two screws are a bitch to get at without burning yourself.
Whatever, after one and a half hours I'd finished, in the end with a lot of help from Miguel; he went to lunch over an hour late with a handshake and a big smile and he still refused to charge me.

Today I went to a different shop in the city centre, a breakers where I bought the R1 brakes, SV handlebars, GSXR radial MC and clutch MC etc, and mainly non OEM stuff like lights, indicators, tail tidy filters etc. I've spent over a thousand euros there in the last 3 years and I wanted to borrow a fibreglass CBR1000 race tail unit to see how it would mock up on the Spondon. When I say borrow, I mean pay the 250 euros, take it away this lunch time and take t back tomorrow lunch time in perfect condition. So the manager starts on with, bring it back and I'll give you a credit note, and I'm saying... hang on, it's no special order, you've got it in stock, I'm a good customer and I'll buy it if there's hope in hell of making it fit without completely butchering it. So he tells me that he's got a hundred thousand customers like me and if they all took stuff away and then brought it back asking for their money back....

I told him to keep it.

Like my dad always said: There's nowt as queer as folk!

John

[fe911]

I've found that you want to stay away from breakers as much as possible. Their business attracts a lot of thieves. Both ends of the sales. And they start acting like the thieves themselves. I was at a local place that I've been to for years. And when I was leaving, They asked me to empty my pockets, because they thought I was stealing from them. And they were not very professional about it at all. Quite a scene! That was the last time I ever went there!
I like to stick around racers, they usually have all the tools and know-how you will ever need. And they are pretty grateful to anyone who gives them a hand near race-days. Plus, they have friends, who usually have any spare part you're ever going to want to try out. And experience with getting things to work that aren't made for your bike.

[sickle44]

as much as I can't stand eBay, it has been quite the GodSend for me for finding parts as well as this Forum. I'm definitely NOT saying eBay is the be all and end all, I just find it soooooo much better to deal with then the pricks who run the breakers(%85 of the time). I've brought the dude, two brand new bike sales from friends when he was workin' at Honda, now the guy's got his own gig he thinks he's King shit of Turd Island. AAAAHHHH!!! They're everywhere