Bad Mechanic

[iRide]

I had my engine rebuilt and this bike has had leaks since. I picked it up today and he says the the oil was leaking from crank case breathers and since i did re route they shud not appear again. I notice before re route one hose had grey smoke coming out once the bike got hot which wud explain the oil build up around filter. He says the re route causes excessive crank case pressure from the 3/8Ts. Isay hes full of it. He also says me drilling holes in my air box causes a lean bike to run leaner and now it runs hot. So I asked this shady mf'er what was the temperature readings and he obviously has none. He is just guessing. So if Iever see a leak on my bike again Im taking it to the dealership and sending him the bill.

[anrkizm95]

bike mechanics are no different than auto mechanics.after 22 years of turning wrenches i've worked with 5 or 6 other good techs.maybe 10-20% should be working on vechicles for a living.

[GAXB9R]

^[up]

[Zeroflat24]

All i will say is - do you have a race ecm in it, or is it programed for an "open air box"? if not i can see where he came up with the "lean" comment. But like anrkizm said, there are a ton of mechanics out there who have no right to be anywhere near motorized vehicles.

[squidbuellie]

It sounds like a topical shade tree mechanic response.
But my question is when you say it's been rebuilt do you mean top end, rings or bottom end.

[iRide]

Ya it has the ebr race ECM installed recently. When I take it in for TPS reset ill ask the techs what the actual temp is. He's just guessing he has no idea if its hot. When I dropped it off we thought it had an oil leak. Long story short, he said if the gasket failed hed buy it if it was cooked I had to buy it. I told him if he was charging me forget it. That I'd take it to the dealer and if it was his fault I'd send him a bill and he agreed to check it out. Well now he has this theory. He's just trying to cover his ass in case there is really a leak.I learned enough about Buells recently to know most mechanics aren't qualified to work on Buells for the simple fact they don't have the software to properly diagnose them or do a TPS reset. This guy even tried to ask for a 1hr shop fee. Which I refused to pay obviously.

[iRide]

This guy is no shade tree mechanic. Its a legit shop around here. They think very highly of themselves. I brought it in because the idle went crazy, it was very high. And he tore it all apart said it needed a new crankshaft. So we had it trued and put in. And 4500 dollars and 2400 miles later I'm still having problems. It never had any oil coming out the breathers before.

[MuSh]

4500?? Ouch

[Theycallmecrash]

$4500!?!? Ow... Im a young mechanic and i strive to be a better one, but seriously its hard. Takes a lot of experience and skill to become a good wrencher.

[vance580]

4500 Oh my. I didn't even pay that much for my entire Buell. I bet it was just a tps problem. My idle got messed up with the temp change and I just reset the tps and it was fine after that. I rebuilt my engine myself for about 500. Do you live in NC cause I'll wrench on your Buell for that much money and it won't leak anything.

[squidbuellie]

So the answer is yes...

This guy is no shade tree mechanic. Its a legit shop around here. They think very highly of themselves. I brought it in because the idle went crazy, it was very high. And he tore it all apart said it needed a new crankshaft. So we had it trued and put in. And 4500 dollars and 2400 miles later I'm still having problems. It never had any oil coming out the breathers before.

Not to sound like a d-ck but 9-10 shops (independent shops) are shade tree shops.
They must have seen you from a mile away..
Your saying you brought it in because it had idle issue. But they replaced the crank? Well that wouldn't be a idle issue, that would be a knocking issue.... You would hear a klack-klack......but

I'll bet $20 that they didn't even time it right. Which would make it run rich.
The ECM will try to compensate for the timing and tps issue, which will make the motor run.....But I'm not saying that it will run right.
And for being a "legit" shop this statement doesn't make sense

he said if the gasket failed hed buy it if it was cooked I had to buy it
The valve cover could have a fire on top of it and not cook the gasket (yes it would cook the breather ring)

Now I know I didn't really solve any of your problems....so hopefully you can use this as a learning experience.
Next time just buy a used motor or do it yourself.

[anrkizm95]

Not to sound like a d-ck but 9-10 shops (independent shops) are shade tree shops. [up][up]
i would also add dealers just because they have the tools doesnt meen they have the techs.2 of my best customers for diag and electrical are the chevy and ford dealers down the street.


Im a young mechanic and i strive to be a better one, but seriously its hard. Takes a lot of experience and skill to become a good wrencher.
take every class your employer offers you also take all the online trainnig you can afford its costly but well worth it.focus on electrical and diagnostics its the future it pays the best and doesnt wear you out.find a busy independent shop with a top tech and and learn everything you can from him.stay away from dealers unless your going to stay with one your whole career.in 5 years if you invested the time and money and have the aptitude you'll be a first rate tech making 80-120k depending on where you live and the shop.last but not least wear a mask around sprays,sneakers not boots and dont jump down off trucks.:D

[BuellyBagger]

bike mechanics are no different than auto mechanics.after 22 years of turning wrenches i've worked with 5 or 6 other good techs.maybe 10-20% should be working on vechicles for a living.

anrkizm is absolutely right about this and that goes for body techs too! I've been working @ a Ford/GM/Chrysler dealer since i got out of tach school in 06 and there are only 2 out the 12 mechanics in our service department i really trust to work on my stuff, and ive come to trust pretty much no one with my bike.

[Zeroflat24]

I've been working @ a Ford/GM/Chrysler dealer you seriously work at a dealer that sells dodge, GM and ford? I have never seen a dealer that sells all three of those brands.

[rah7777777]

I was a tech at Mercedes for 5 years. My shop had 80 techs including the Porsche guys. I knew many of those guys real well and I can honestly say I would only trust maybe 4 others to work on my own vehicle.

Now, I am very picky with my vehicles. Even though they are old (my 03 Buell is the newest vehicle we have) they start and run just fine. Mainly because I do everything myself ( with the exception of alignments, which sucks because one of my specialties was alignments and front end, but I don't have an alignment machine in my garage)

Anyhow, there are way too many techs who I wouldn't trust with my lawn mower, much less my truck or bike! It's very sad. Service writers aren't any better either. The whole dealer experience is really set up to encourage ripping a customer off.

2 reasons I left... Warranty work sucks and I'm too honest to charge people for stuff they don't need, so in return it was hard to make good money ( techs are paid a set amount per job)

[iRide]

Ya ur def right squid once I connected ecm spy I learned they def had the static timing a bit advanced. And it was running hot. It would cut out on the freeway which it never had done before. Or enter skip spark mode. It runs a lot better now w re route and race ecm. Just need to fix this surging idle. Cud just be tps reset. They clearly are just trying to make up excuses for anything that goes wrong. Just take the money and run kinda ppl.

[theMelvster6]

I think the problem with mechanics, is the generality of their training. If you want a solid engine...take it to a shop that specializes in engines. I have a good friend that has a shop here in Vegas, he build engines for top fuel drag bikes. 180" Big twins making 800hp...I'd let him wrench on my motor. If you don't abuse the bike, the bottom end on the BUELLS are solid! I can't believe that your crank was bad and causing poor idling. I do a lot of my own wrenching. And These xb engines are pretty simple.

[Hooker]

lmao i just have to ask....who the hell "takes their bike in" for a TPS reset? it literally takes like a minute to do yourself, and you don't even get your hands dirty

[theMelvster6]

people without the software and cable I suppose...we never established if OP had the tools

[iRide]

I made a cable for my stock ecm but its a new ebr ecm now. Since its still under warranty I need to have it set at the dealership or buy EBR software. A mechanic explained how they punch in the VIN. Digital technician connects to Harley servers and EBR will know if I had it set at the dealership or not. Its a 2006 so...

[BuellyBagger]

you seriously work at a dealer that sells dodge, GM and ford? I have never seen a dealer that sells all three of those brands.

Yeah i live in BFE nebraska (Bum F*&k Egypt) and the owner, over 25 years, bought every dealership in town :D

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