hi all, just had my Honda serviced by thunderroad in Newport very disappointed by the service. I asked the service fella not to ride the bike as it only has 131 miles from new and the dealers are located on an industrial estate so roads are full of stones and pot holes. also asked them to check the tyre pressures which he said would be done on the service anyway. when I picked up the bike I noticed that 2 miles had been put on the bike no tyre pressures were done and the chain was still slack. he aslso said that bleeding the brakes would take 7 hours but the realised it wasn't abs....... is this correct for the brakes on an abs system seems a bit extreme but said it was something to do with the electronics. will be speaking to the service manager today.
Assuming yours is new, not familiar with the post 13 blades but for 09-12 seen anything from 4-8 hours quoted for the bleed. The time is due to the location of the bleed nipples. Not sure if it is different on 13+ bike but pre 13 it is recommended to remove the rad and headers! At your mileage unless you are experiencing problems you should not need a bleed, in-fact I'd leave it well alone! Its a whole world of pain if not done properly.
And if you do have issues, it's a warranty job! Assuming you've not done only 131 miles in > 2 years of course... TBH... That was the reason I coughed for the extended warranty... It's already taken a bite from the last bleed done on mine (Soon as you have issues, they bleed it... Bloody thing has been bled so much if it were a person it'd be dead) H
I use Thunder Road Bridgend. They're good. Aren't TR in Newport at the old South Wales Superbikes place.? I've used a guy near there to get a few seats covered and reshaped. He's called Dave Harding, Diggers Seats. Has a place next door to the outlaws clubhouse!
i had a few tell me to go to thunder road bridgend but the Newport shop is only 5 miles from me. thunder road is in Cwmbran. south wales superbikes are still there. I did ring thunder road and spoke to the service manager who wanted to pick the bike up and go through it again and drop it of back to me but work commitments and the fact I don't like the bike in the back of a van is putting me off. lost that little bit of trust with them now. may speak to them and ask for a part refund on the price. I paid for a bronze service and to change the brake and clutch fluid. cost me £256.00. does that seem like a good price. ? no tyre pressures were done chain wasn't adjusted and they took it out 2 mile for a test ride when I asked them not to. not so much the miles just roads and full of stone chips and potholes.
I would stay well clear of that place, you have a 2007 blade and I would think a so called Honda dealer would know when the abs was put on blades. I have done an abs bleed on my 2012 bike and yes it took ages but I followed the service manual and after a few tries I got it done, however at the 16k service I had it done again along with new seals and pistons, new cam chain tensioner plus all the other bits on this big service. For a normal quick service its usually just under £200 so I would think £256 is about right, just to put a bit of a smile on your face my 16k cost me £1853 which funny as it sounds was still cheaper then a service I had on my BMW.
So you don't like the bike in the back of a van or ridden does it actually see day light each year it just de values let them pick it up and get it sorted I hope all works out.
it hasn't seen daylight for 7 years lol. i just don't trust them now its the first time i have used them for servicing so just not impressed. will drop it up to them and get it sorted.
Good luck quite right if there is no trust take it elsewhere it always is a shame when there is not a great dealership on the doorstep this is when I really miss my Ducati when that used to come back it looked like new when I go to honda just a number, once the panigirle is replaced I will no doubt get one again
I don't have a Blade with abs but I do have a zx10r with abs and have bled myself no problems. I think you only have an issue if you replace a brake component and therefore have a route for air to enter the hydraulic system. If your just bleeding, your just displacing old fluid and replacing with new fluid so no route for air to enter. I have done a simple abs bleed in 20 minutes as per the Kawasaki manual. I personally see no reason for it to take a dealer 7 hours for a bleed / fluid change unless the blade is dramatically different abs system or there replacing brake / hydraulic components at the same time as the bleed.
that's what the tech said when I asked him 7 hours something to do with the electronics which takes it so long. can anyone give us some more info.
I know its vastly different but BMW bleed my cars 4 caliper abs system in 20 minutes. I can honestly see no reason for the 7 hours.
by the book, ABS bleed required removal of the headers and radiator, - can be done w\o this though. @liquidcooled1966 I was under the impression that you had an 07 non ABS?
The problem with bleeding the c-abs system conventionally, is it doesn't bleed the front & rear power units or valve units. I can appreciate the logic that passing new fluid & drawing the old should enable a full fluid change, but the conventional circuit does not flow through all channels of the valve & power units because they need to be selected & opened electrically. If you do a full c-abs bleed, air is generally expelled from the bleed nipples on the valve & power units. Its not so bad when you have done it a couple of times & I have had (touch wood) entirely reliable brakes since performing the process myself. I can get the job done in about 3-hours & most of that is removing fairings, tank etc. The rad & headers don't need to be removed; it just requires the correct long reach tool for the bleed nipple on the front power unit.
I think it's a safety requirement that they ride the bike before returning to customer to ensure no faults! With the work carried out
As Swiss T has said above, he used a long reach tool and kindly did a post on his latest bleed using it, here's the link for your info; http://www.1000rr.co.uk/threads/updated-to-c-abs-diy-bleeding-manual.24095/#post-355657
yes that's fine but when they don't check tyre pressures and leave the chain really slack its not good. bike was not fit for the road. that is poor.
