VasMan Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 Hello everyone! I am in a real need to find a good mechanic because I just had a pretty bad experience, by following Google's "expertise"... so I am hoping that one of you maybe you could guide me better based on your experience. Just to give you a little bit of a background story. I purchased a used FZ6 Fazer (2006) in July with around 30.000 mileage. It was very well maintained by the previous owner and since then I travelled almost all Europe and 12 countries. Everything looked fine. When I came back in London and I started using it to commute to work it started to behave a bit strange when the engine was off after a small trip, and I was trying to start it again. It wouldn't start straight away. Basically the problem got worse in 2 weeks time when the engine wouldn't start. The bike was giving me the error with number 12. With a quick search the problem seemed to be the crankshaft position sensor, which is not a big deal. It is an electrical problem and not mechanical. Yamaha dealership wouldn't accept to get it fixed since it is more than 7 years old, which I still find very strange, and even rude but that is another story. Since I couldn't start it I looked if a garage was nearby, and actually there was. When I called the guy he told me that he is not my area anymore and that he moved. But since we had a good discussion and he looked knowledgable I decided to hire a van, get some friends with me and get it to him. He was very confident that will be a quick fix. 2 days later he called me and he said that is a much bigger job since "the timing is out camchain has jumped a tooth on camshaft sprocket" I told him to hold and that I would come over to check, cause some of the things did not make sense... 2 more weeks passed, (while the bike was out in the rain uncovered) and I went there I realised that he based his above diagnosis without even opening the engine...! Long story short he told me that he would open it and check. Almost a month is now passed... And yesterday he calls me and basically he gives me the following report... " Engine does not start Firstly fuel pump, fuel pressure and injectors were checked I suspected cam chain tensioner failure causing the timing chain to jump a tooth on the sprockets Checked timing it was all ok, my initial diagnosis was wrong Checked ignition coils and crank shaft position sensor Sparks but after inspecting the actual spark plugs they were showing signs of overusage furthermore the spark was a thin light brown colour Spark plugs were replaced but no improvement Further investigation was required Noticed petrol in the crank case I suspect it is caused by low compression Valve clearance needs to be checked as not fully closing valves are a very highly probable cause Chances are low but also worth mentioning that worn piston rings are also not an unlikely cause of the low compression These are purely speculations or educated guesses at best Recommendation is to strip top end check valve clearances replace valve shims accordingly reassamble check compression if no little or no improvement replace piston rings" As you can imagine I did not receive the service I would expect, and basically he told me that it is not worth doing the repair... but the bike overall behaved perfect apart from this, so I would not trust that it is not repairable... So, could you recommend someone that you would trust to do a good job? I would extremely appreciate that! Thanks in advance!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted November 19, 2016 Moderator Share Posted November 19, 2016 Think that title is an oxymoron .The only person I trust to fix my bikes is me. Long description but your a bit shy on detail. Were there any other signs, bad idle, cutting out or running odd. Maybe having to rev higher for the power or dropping a gear earlier. Also, "well maintained" that counts for nowt. I have known people who would wash and polish till the bike gleamed but hadn't the faintest idea of maintenance and worked on the 'aint broke don't fix it' theory. Others like my late mate, he would obsess over the tiniest mechanical detail, it had to be perfect. Soap! Not a chance, but his bike make a swiss watch seem thrown together. Any receipts or service history. Have you done anything with it on your trans European trip, what's the mileage now? There is a Fazer forum that may help with the London angle, there are some folks on here on there, I cant help you as all of my bikes are a lot more than 10 years old but someone will be along. I hope you get it sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhat250 Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 How much did he charge, for this diagnose , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VasMan Posted November 19, 2016 Author Share Posted November 19, 2016 Hey @Cynic thanks Yes I've got an updated service book with everything in it No other signs to be honest, I am not a mechanic of course (i am a mechanic's son though) but the bike not running odd or cutting off. Just when I would turn it off and try to get it on again (e.g in a gas station) the starter would just 'click' and the motor indication would light up. But after few minutes it would start again. So an electrical problem would make sense to me, but apparently not to the mechanic... @blackhat250 When I went there to check for myself, and after telling him the few things I know and learned from others, (basically telling him that if the camchain was the problem, I should be listening a loud noise from the engine) he said that he would not charge me if he is wrong... so no labour whatsoever. Of course, he changed the spark plugs and he wants me to pay for these, even though someone could argue, that since this was not the problem, he shouldn't do it or he should put the old spark plugs back and not charge me... Anyway, all what I want now is to give my bike a second chance, with someone that could hopefully do a better job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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