More brake failure... urgent advice needed!

[Sp!ke]

I would edit this a little... something like

To change the drive belt, this would require the removal of the rear wheel and calliper bolts. It would seem most likely that the calliper bolts were not correctly refitted/torqued following their removal.

You might also want to mention that the caliper was bashing around held only by its brake hose.

The dangerous aspect of this wasnt so much loss of braking on the rear but the potential for the caliper to have locked up the rear wheel completely imho.

I would also point out that mistakes like this wouldnt happen if the shop had a process whereby another set of eyes gave the bike a quick once over prior to handing the bike back to you.

 

[pos.k]

suggest that you also make it quite clear that you do not expect to be presented with any sort of bill for this work to rectify their original poor workmanship.

 

[Spinal]

I would edit this a little... something like

To change the drive belt, this would require the removal of the rear wheel and calliper bolts. It would seem most likely that the calliper bolts were not correctly refitted/torqued following their removal.

I left this vague for a very precise reason, the bike has a chain, not a belt... the belt change is the cam-belt (which I'm not sure they need to remove the drive-chain for). My motorbike mechanical knowledge is quite limited as you see! I did that that last line tho:
Given that the bike hasn’t been used since the service; no bolts were found on the short stretch of road I rode on; the bike has been in locked storage since the service; and that to remove the rear wheel, I do believe you need to undo the calliper bolts and rear swing-arm spindle - I have reason to believe that the calliper bolts were not correctly refitted/torqued following their removal.

You might also want to mention that the caliper was bashing around held only by its brake hose.

Done:
Aside from the cosmetic damage to the calliper resulting from this oversight, I have been informed that the brake line has probably been stretched and is hiding damage as the brake calliper was dangling and dragging, held on by only the brake hose. Also, I have since noticed brake fluid leaking out of the overflow of the reservoir.

The dangerous aspect of this wasnt so much loss of braking on the rear but the potential for the caliper to have locked up the rear wheel completely imho.

Done (also included a bit from pos.k):
I realise that mistakes happen, and am sure that we can agree that this could have been disastrous if a further incident arose from the lack or rear brake; or the dangling brake line and calliper locking the rear wheel. I appreciate your prompt resolution of the matter, at W.M. Snell’s cost. If you wish to contact me, my office number is 01895 ****.

I would also point out that mistakes like this wouldnt happen if the shop had a process whereby another set of eyes gave the bike a quick once over prior to handing the bike back to you.

Point taken, but I think I'll keep this letter as friendly as possible and use this if I need to write another letter...which, hopefully, I wont!

 

[Doodle]

I'd be careful of the use of "I've been informed"...implies you don't know what you're talking about (which you may not, but don't let them know that) and relying on info from others.

Just state that you believe it likely the brake hose will have been damaged during the time the caliper was hanging off and dragging.

 

[Spinal]

I'd be careful of the use of "I've been informed"...implies you don't know what you're talking about (which you may not, but don't let them know that) and relying on info from others.

Just state that you believe it likely the brake hose will have been damaged during the time the caliper was hanging off and dragging.

I don't know what I'm talking about That's why I love this forum so much, it's full of people who not only know what they're talking about, but are willing to teach!

New edit:
Aside from the cosmetic damage to the calliper resulting from this oversight, I have reason to believe that the brake line has probably been stretched and is hiding damage as the brake calliper was dangling and dragging, held on by only the brake hose. Also, I have since noticed brake fluid leaking out of the overflow of the reservoir.

M.

 

[pos.k]

I don't know what I'm talking about That's why I love this forum so much, it's full of people who not only know what they're talking about, but are willing to teach!

New edit:
Aside from the cosmetic damage to the calliper resulting from this oversight, I have reason to believe that the brake line has probably been stretched and is hiding damage as the brake calliper was dangling and dragging, held on by only the brake hose. Also, I have since noticed brake fluid leaking out of the overflow of the reservoir.

M.

would suggest:

"It is likely that the brake line has been stretched....."

I love this red lining stuff -like being back at school....only not on the receiving end!

 

[Sp!ke]

I left this vague for a very precise reason, the bike has a chain, not a belt... the belt change is the cam-belt (which I'm not sure they need to remove the drive-chain for). My motorbike mechanical knowledge is quite limited as you see! I did that that last line

That doesnt tally with your version of the bill as I understood it.

I interpreted DR belt to mean drive belt. If they changed the cam belt, why is it not called a cam belt?

This being the case then I cant see from your list why they would have disturbed the caliper bolts at all... not unless they needed to invert the caliper to assist bleeding or something.

[edit] I just had a look at a few 750SS pics and notice that the caliper is inverted with the bleed nipple at the bottom. This means that you'd need to undo the caliper and turn it Bleed nipple up in order to bleed it corrrectly. Is your caliper inverted (under the disk) or above?

What does DPS mean?

 

[Frank O' Phile]

Given the width of rear tyre on modern bikes it is often necessary to remove the rear caliper just to be able to clearly inspect the pads. Even if the pads werent replaced, the caliper may have been removed.

Also, if they didn't need to remove the caliper and could inspect the pads, surely they would have noticed the bolts coming loose?

Spinal, I think you are treating this too lightly because you were lucky to return home without having a serious accident.

Hope you get satisfaction from them. New caliper, new hose, properly filled reservoir and an apology.

 

[corned]

That brake hose still bothers me. Might you consider marking it in some indelible way to ensure it is not still on the bike when you get it back?

 

[kwakdonut]

I'm still amazed that they have the cheek to charge £100 to pick up and drop off the bike!

The service on my z1000 last month was all of £90........

 

[Spinal]

That doesnt tally with your version of the bill as I understood it.

I interpreted DR belt to mean drive belt. If they changed the cam belt, why is it not called a cam belt?

This being the case then I cant see from your list why they would have disturbed the caliper bolts at all... not unless they needed to invert the caliper to assist bleeding or something.

[edit] I just had a look at a few 750SS pics and notice that the caliper is inverted with the bleed nipple at the bottom. This means that you'd need to undo the caliper and turn it Bleed nipple up in order to bleed it corrrectly. Is your caliper inverted (under the disk) or above?

What does DPS mean?

Thanks! I've amended the letter. No clue what DPS is... I'll ask!

That brake hose still bothers me. Might you consider marking it in some indelible way to ensure it is not still on the bike when you get it back?

I did think of that, and am going to take some pictures now...

M.

Edit: Just went out and with a cooler head (and camera) had a better look. The hose has some minor scrapes on it so it would be fairly recognisable if they didn't change it. The calliper isn't as scraped as I made it out to be - but it's still scratched... will post pics asap.

M.

M

 

[Doodle]

Looks like a braided hose, stronger than standard "rubber" but still not worth the risk. Caliper has taken a good bouncing it seems; I've reused worse but the point is you shouldn't have to.

Clearly they've had to unbolt it to bleed it, and then not done it up properly again.

 

[Spinal]

Update time!

The owner of the dealership just came out to collect the bike; was VERY apologetic and said that the people at the garage are going to have a hard time about this (which I'm not so pleased about - we all make mistakes; we live and learn. Plus, no-one got hurt this time).

He did mention that they take the bike for a test ride after each service, and that the MOT was carried out after the service so the brake test should have shown something... but he also said that calipers don't just fall off so it must have not been refitted properly.

Spike : you are amazing help! At first he said he wasn't sure if they took the caliper off, but I mentioned that as the calliper was underslung it would have been removed to bleed it... He agreed

Without my even asking, he's said they would replace the lot.

I must admit, I'm impressed with the service so far, they're getting my custom back next year! I think that you can't judge a garage when things go well (well... not without stripping the parts and checking... thus spending as much time as if you did it yourself), but you really can tell by how they deal with it when something goes wrong. Oh yeah, and they'll try getting the bike back to me by tomorrow - depending on whether they have the parts in stock.

I'll keep you updated, and thank you very much for the help

M.

 

[Sp!ke]

Always a good judge of any company is how they act when mistakes are made. (and everyone makes mistakes occasionally)

Surprised he admitted that the MOT inspector missed it as well though. It may not have showed up in the brake test itself but the inspector should have spotted it when visually inspecting the brake lines/ rear wheel bearings and most definately when inspecting the pads.

Looks like you have manicured fingernails btw, that isnt going to last on your rally. You'd better brush up on your spannering (bush mechanic) skills.

 

[219]

Sounds like a good result - look forward to reading about a happy resolution .

 

[Spinal]

Looks like you have manicured fingernails btw, that isnt going to last on your rally. You'd better brush up on your spannering (bush mechanic) skills.

LOL - not really... it's just that I'm very paranoid about motorbikes as I know (very) little about them!

When it comes to cars, I'm not saying I'm a mechanic (which I'm not) but having grown up in Africa (and learnt to drive there) I can take most engines apart (no guarantees that I can put it back together again).

There was a period where I was practically sweating swarfega, and I do like to keep my hands clean... but I've never had a manicure - there are gloves to keep the grease away

M.

 

[219]

I'm impressed with the service so far, they're getting my custom back next year! I think that you can't judge a garage when things go well (well... not without stripping the parts and checking... thus spending as much time as if you did it yourself), but you really can tell by how they deal with it when something goes wrong. Oh yeah, and they'll try getting the bike back to me by tomorrow - depending on whether they have the parts in stock.

I'm prompted to think to myself : how many MERCEDES dealers would volunteer this level of service under similar circumstances ?