Topic: Rip-off or not?

[RomanMotard]

Guys, i would like your opinions and experience towards my situation! Basically my clutch on my Honda cbf 125 started to slip so i went to a private garage where a bunch of brazilians work, they know what they doing and they usually charge much less than a dealer ( i've been there before), so the main guy fiddled with my clutch cable (without a charge) and it worked good, after a week it started to slip again, so i went back and told them to open the primary case and have a look! So they drained the oil and started to changle clutch plates straight away, he even came up to me and showed me how burnt they were, they cleaned clutch with a cloth from all the old oil, got new plates and changed oil! So here i am sitting, as the job finished i went to pay for it, the invoice came up to £90, i was shocked and couldn't believe it as i was expecting atlease £40-60, so i told one of the guys that i can't pay that much because its simply too much? So i spoke to the boss and he said that he can only drop it to £85 and told me that im dreaming, i told him that i expected a price like that from a Honda not them, but he didn't listen and told me that i can only get my bike when i pay for it! So I've paid a total of £80, i was really pissed off,  wasted my whole day and missed my lecture at uni! My question is whether i was ripped off? Or is it actually a good normal price for such job?      

[MATTP]

mate, the new oil on it's own from a service would be over half that and with the time and parts of the clutch I would say be happy. Also, did they change the filter? Not much of a cost and always good to have new oil with new filter.

[Mr Rizla]

Sorry you feel ripped off, did you discuse in advance what the charges were expected to be.. for a clutch strip and rebuild including new friction plates, fresh oil and labour thats not a bad price, sorry if you feel ripped off but from what i read you actualy should be happy it fixed

[RomanMotard]

Thanx for the reply guys, i just wanted to know your opinions on this, i didn't know the price so i had to hear your info on this... Im glad that the price is good, because at first i  personally thought it was a rip-off, because the mechanic started to change friction plates without asking me in advance as well as that they already opened the primary case ( i also noticed they were looking my way when talking to each other in brazilian, which had me paranoid lol, so i just went along with it... well i guess i will learn to ask in advance and be more confident to speak up when they don't listen... 

[MATTP]

I have a guy over here who works on my bike. I have 100% faith in him to do a good job on the bike and while I could get some cheaper bloke near where I live, his work is bang on and I have a relationship with him now where the bike played up on me on the way home from work, got it to him that night and the following afternoon after work I was picking up the bike.
Find someone who you trust, it could be these people, and then have fun on the bike 

[RomanMotard]

very true mate, im actually might need to re-evaluate my actions, and think about it! 

[trouty]

that was a job you could have easily learned to do yourself... but here's how the job works..
slacken clutch cable
remove cover (remember a new gasket MAY be required when refitting, but usually not)
remove clutch outer basket
remove, inspect, replace as necessary the steels/friction plates
refit outer basket
refit cover
refit and adjust clutch cable.

you'll notice i didnt mention draining oil.  Because if you're confident that the oil is recent-ish, you can lay the bike on its side to do the whole job without losing any oil.

Bear in mind also, that the viscosity and type of oil may be a contributing factor to clutch slip (avoid using fully synthetic) so if not sure what was in there, then worthwhile changing the oil.

Also, depending on bike, you may need to drain the coolant before hand then refill after.

do at home for the cost of oil (if needed) and friction plates, maybe around £50 ish, and an hour (maximum) labour.  £90 is not excessive, but its an easy enough job to do yourself.

dont be afraid to give it a go next time.

[Biker Biker]

Also getting a Haynes manual would be useful to help you with maintanance