Finding and using bike hospitals and motorcycle repair facilities will become a part of your life if you are a bike or motorcycle enthusiast.
If you have or will be taking the big step of purchasing a bike or motorcycle, then you should be prepared to maintain it. The costs of either of these machines is huge and keeping them in good condition is essential. If you ride motorbikes for pleasure, for transport or for sport, there will, at some point, be an incident where your motorcycle or bicycle is damaged. Even if you manage to avoid accidents, there will undoubtedly be wear and tear which should be taken care of.
Doing it yourself
Many motorcycle and bike enthusiasts try to take on repairing and maintaining their vehicles themselves. This requires some sound knowledge of the parts and they way they work, and of the specific bikes brand. Many enthusiasts will lovingly take their bike apart to find the source of a problem or simply just to clean it. They spend hours slowly putting it back together, studying each piece and working carefully. However, in many cases the problem is not fixed and due to a lack of technical experience and knowledge on the part of the enthusiast, something else is broken in the process.
Without proper training in bike and motorcycle repair, doing it yourself is never a good idea. Unless the problem is something very small and easy to fix, most professionals would suggest leaving it to them. You can, however, grow your knowledge by learning more, but it is advisable to avoid taking the vehicles apart or attempting to fix a major problem until you have the experience and knowledge.
Taking your vehicle to bike hospitals and motorcycle repair facilities
There are many bike hospitals and motorcycle repair facilities across the country, some with a better reputation or better facilities than others. Because of the enormous value of your vehicle, you will want to be sure that you take it to the very best repair facility or hospital possible. You will want to ensure that the facility has:
- A good reputation and the references to prove it
- Trustworthy, well trained, experienced and qualified staff
- Good facilities with all the necessary tools and equipment
- Safe facilities as your expensive motorcycle or bike might be sitting in it for a long period of time
- A policy of openness and transparency so that you know exactly what the staff are doing to your vehicle and why
Avoiding dishonesty in the vehicle repair industry is essential. Many businesses or staff within them have been known to over charge clients for labour, or to deceive the customer into paying for a bigger, more technical job when it is not necessary. You can ensure that you do not fall victim to this kind of deceit by taking note of the following tips:
- Do your research carefully. Make sure to look online, in print classifieds and ask around your friends and family to find good, well known facilities and hospitals.
- Look for criticism or praise online for businesses you are considering. Often, people will comment about their experiences with a certain facility on online forums.
- Prepare a list of questions and then visit the facility. Look at everything carefully and take note of how the staff member answers your questions. If you come prepared, a potentially dishonest staff member might decide that it is not a good idea to try and deceive you.
- Take a friend or family member who has some knowledge of bike or motorcycle repair with you. Rely on them to ask the right sort of questions.
- If you cannot find anyone with experience in this particular field to come with you, ask a friend who is good at reading people to join you. He or she might be able to tell whether or not you should trust the staff members. Just having another person with you might make staff members less inclined to try to pull the wool over your eyes.