Can they fix it? No

Mechanics are missing faults when they carry out services on our bikes, according to an undercover survey carried out by MCN sister magazine RiDE.

They picked a range of seven dealers from around the country, suggested by RiDE readers, and asked each one to carry out a 24,000-mile service on a 1995 Honda CBR600 which had been ” rigged ” with 19 faults, including:

Worn steering head bearings. Spark plug with too-large a gap. Carbs out of adjustment. Low coolant level. Choke out of adjustment. Low tyre pressure. Headlight aim too high. Loose chain. Wheels out of alignment.

Each of these faults should be picked up according to the CBR’s 24,000-mile service schedule, but when the bike was examined afterwards it was discovered that not a single dealer had fixed anywhere near all of them. You can see how they scored in the list following.

Dealer Scores

Each dealer could score 21 points if they fixed all 19 faults according to the service book and kept the bike clean. This is what they actually got…

Colwyn Bay Motorcycles 10

Abingdon Motorcycles 8.5

Motorcycle City, Portsmouth 8

Thunder Road Motorcycles, Bridgend 8

Ormskirk Motorcycles 7

Bridge Motorcycles, Exeter 5.5

Carnell, Milton Keynes 5.5

How do you rate your dealer? Submit a review in the ” Product Review ” section by following the link to ” Products and Service Reviews ” and then clicking on the link to ” Add your own review ” or follow the link on the right to see what others think and post your own response to this story

Read the full story in the May issue of RiDE, out March 28.