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My brand new baby i just bought...dead i think

6K views 86 replies 18 participants last post by  hogcowboy 
#1 ·
My bike was at a inspection repair shop they inspected it all said all was good but 3 thibgs


A week later and probally 20-50 miles later sounds like a screw bouncing around come to find out the thing had no oil at all and the repair shop said they might have forgotten to check the oil out in the inspection


So my motor might be dead....what should i do
 
#2 ·
Don't take this the wrong way but how did it not occur to you to check the oil?
Anytime I by something used the first thing I do is change the oil because a seller will always tell you he recently changed it but I never believe them.
I don't think you can hold the shop responsible for not checking the oil if it was running fine when they checked it.
I'm hoping you didn't spend much money on this bike I don't think you have much of a leg to stand on if it is in fact dead.
Maybe you will get lucky and it is not ruined. Have you tried to add oil and turn it over? Is the engine locked up?
 
#3 ·
1. Before you ride any machine take the time to learn how to operate it. That includes learning how to do the basic pre-ride checks that every rider must learn to do if he hopes to survive.

2. Don't take your bike back to the shop you just mentioned.

3. Don't ride it until you've figured out what's wrong with it.

4. Don't waste time conversing with strangers on the Internet about how you should bring legal action against the shop.
 
#4 ·
How were you able to ride 20 to 50 miles with no oil in the engine?
Trying to interpret your writing.. you said "repair shop they (that?) inspected it said all was good but 3 thibgs (things?) What were the 3 things?

Best advice from Eye. "Don't waste your time conversing with strangers on the internet." I hope your bank account is flush.
 
#5 ·
3 things was front tire. Engine gasket. Motor mounts

My bank account is not


And it ran fine no issues just today sounded like a screw banging around inside





As for other issues i didnt check oil cause i didnt ride it at all i took it right to shop day 2 from buying it i am familar with riding bikes and stuff and i paid the shop for a FULL inspection so it should be on them for this


And i talk legal action because the comment of. "Oh i guess we just missed that" cost me a motor possiblly and to replace that is $1300. I am not paying that for a bike i just bought just recentlly or ever for something they dropped ball on
 
#7 ·
"A week later and probally 20-50 miles later sounds like a screw bouncing around come to find out the thing had no oil "

"3 things was front tire. Engine gasket. Motor mounts"

How did the bike get 20-50 miles on it with a bad front tire and motor mounts? This may seem like a crazy question but what was wrong with the Engine gasket????? Was it leaking oil????
Did the shop make any of these repairs? If they replace said gasket then you have a case if they simply told you that the gasket was bad and you choose to put 50 miles on it I can take a guess what happened to the oil!
The primary function of this gasket is to keep the oil inside the motor!
I hate to break it to you but no one is going to find in your favor you have a better chance of going after the old owner for selling you a bad bike but I'm sure you bought it as is. This said I would break open the piggy bank and either buy a new bike or make the repairs needed. You may want to look for a new shop to do the work.
Best of luck
 
#8 · (Edited)
I fixed tire same day i brought it back it was just a loose valve stem. And a friend was buting the motor mounts when he saw i didnt need them or a gasket

No oil leakages
No repairs they wanted $890 for those 3 repairs
Engine gasket they said was bad but it was brand new when bought

The shop still dropped the ball on the oil though badly
Not sure how i managed to get so far on no oil but never rode rough or anything
 
#11 ·
Something doesn't add up here!
This shop didn't do any work just look at the bike.
You didn't ask them to change the oil? Not sure why they would have check it?
checking fluids it on the pre ride check list in most owners manuals, I'm not saying the everyone does it but it's there.
How old is said tire that they recommended to replace? An old tire should be replace based on age even if it was not leaking.
What did they clam was wrong with the gasket that they felt it needed to be replaced this is critical! I don't understand why this was on the list unless it was leaking?
It is very hard to ride fifty miles with no oil, not saying it would be impossible frankly I don't know anyone that has tried it!
lastly you say that the gasket was new who changed it? Is it possible they never added oil when they did the work? This may be the person responsible but it still comes back to you for riding without checking the fluids.
As stated above oil stops leaking when it is empty. Have you added oil to the bike since you discovered it was empty? If so does it leak while sitting? It may have only leaked under load which would make sense why it was missed and as you drove it the oil leaked out and then seized.
This is a very unfortunate case but doesn't sound like you have a leg to stand on.

I an employee that just bought an SUV from a friend the car was well maintained and clean, after he bought the car he brought it to my mechanic to check it out. The mechanic told him he needed bearing and tires my employee said he would make an appointment to bring it in next week for service. A few days later the transmission died. The shop didn't check the transmission it drove fine into the shop should they be responsible for the transmission? After all they were asked to go over the entire car and let him know of any problems. They did tell he there was new fluid in the transmission so it was likely serviced recently but the car only drove maybe 200 miles after this inspection before it died. How did they miss this?
This is a true story I just found out about this yesterday while my employee is upset about this he is not blaming anyone he brought it to a transmission shop and was told it is a bad speed sensor should be between $800 = $1000 to fix if no other problems are found once trans is opened.
There is always a risk when buying a used vehicle! This is one of the reason the first this I always do is change the oil and filter it is a cheap easy thing to do to help prevent issues I also like to check the oil before I buy anything it is a good tell tale sign as to how well it was maintain be the owner.

best of luck I how you fond a reasonable solution but I don't believe the shop is going to reach into their pocket to help maybe they would give you a discount if you use them to fix it but I'm not sure I would trust them to do the work!
 
#12 ·
On this bike no they just looked at the bike for the full inspection
I asked for a full inspection thinking it means oil since they did bote the gas tank is good condition no leaking gas
I know i should check but were talking same day breaking since inspection here preety much

The tire didnt even need to be replaced it was a valve stem and when i said it was a tubeless tire they said they never heard of it but was glad to know it wasnt that bad

The exhaust gasket claimed it was leaking but the friend who looked at exhaust gasket who has since replaced it said he wasnt sure why im replacing it since barely any damage to it.

I managed 50 miles somehow cause i cant see how any other way

It was changed since we now added oil n let it sit (no oil leaks)
It hasnt leaked oil at all since we added it

I just dont feel i should need to come out of pocket because 2 of the 3 repairs were wrong that was listed but never checked the oil because i rode it off from there shop n did my riding around for work n it siezed up same day

The shop didnt tell me dont forget riding check up
They said dont wear sandals n ride
This is on them i feel they cant check oil on 1 bike and not the other and claim "its good will gesture" and then charge me for it
 
#15 ·
Your story is all over the place. You claim they inspected it but didn't do any work. You also state in one post that they should have put the oil back in it.

Jamesaki said:
it makes me more mad when they said a biker should be held responsible for checking his oil even when leaving a shop because its not our fault if we forget to check it or put oil back in thats just the cost of business..
WHY did they take the oil out? or what makes you think they did? Something doesn't add up here.
 
#16 ·
Your story is all over the place. You claim they inspected it but didn't do any work. You also state in one post that they should have put the oil back in it.



WHY did they take the oil out? or what makes you think they did? Something doesn't add up here.
No i said this whole time JUST A FULL INSPECTION

Never did i ask them to do repairs or work on it

Thats what they told me but they said they never looked at the oil at all


But they said if we are paid for an oil change and we forget to put oil in then its not our fault you are suppose to check thst out before you leave
 
#20 · (Edited)
I wonder what Judge Judy or Judge Wapner would say?

They might say, "If it is part of a pre-ride to check oil, then this would NOT have happened if you checked it before riding it when you left the shop. Even though they were paid to do a 'full inspection' if you were going to ride the bike from the shop, you should have checked the oil. The judge would probably say, "The whole story about the gasket being bad or 'was new ' seems murky, then it seems it was an exhaust gasket. It almost seems like there was oil in the engine and got blown out through a bad gasket and then the 'so called shop did not bother checking it, also for them to say,"No bike shop in the world will ever check oil or fuel or any other fluids" That seems pretty strange to me and THAT right there tells me, "The shop is SO NOT worth going back to with that attitude."

Maybe it is sadly 'The perfect storm for losing a bike, too many things culminated at a point of time, low oil in the crank case, a bad gasket, a louzy attitude towards inspections and checking fluids, things said. ' It might just be a case of the BIG 'IF" if you always checked the oil before starting the bike. I remember trying to get out of trouble with Dad ( a lot of my younger years ) something was to have been done, 'But Dad, if. . . Dad said, "Yeah an if the dog didn't stop to take a ****, he would o' caught the freaking rabbit."

Things have happened earlier in my life an it really got me mad an yeah I tried to place blame elsewhere, but I was 16 and I did know better, just too damn lazy at THAT time to do what I should have and at the time NEVER would have admitted it, sooner or later though, I knew I 'EFFED UP' and had to grow up and start to accept responsibility. BUT by doing that and being able to say, "I know there was the proper amount of oil in the engine, every time I started it,
well that changes things a little bit anyways, and since the shop did NO work and you checked the oil before you left the shop and there was the right amount of it as shown on the dipstick, then maybe you could go after the previous owner, some states have a so-called lemon law.
 
#21 ·
well i have a big thing that will turn this into my favor even more

I called the shop they said it ran good because they test drove it around the property and stuff

so that means they did not check the oil before test riding it
which means they didnt do the pre check either
which means i am going to win this if i fight it because IF THEY checked it pre check up then then would have seen the oil and said something but because they didnt check it either then they rode it with no oil
 
#22 ·
Hello James,

I could be wrong but You did ride the bike to the shop. . .right? IF SO, I bet they will say,"He road the bike to the shop, so we had to figure he checked the oil before he left his house." They probably just ran it around the parking lot then brought in in and inspected it. What was the story with the gasket? Did the engine show signs of leaking oil?

Now, It is still a shaky deal and I think it depends on what you told them and what they put on the 'work order' Even if you told them, don't start and run/ride it, that would have seemed strange, how in hell are they gonna be able to inspect it?

I think the end game is this, "You rode it from the shop back to your house' and maybe a bit more, 20 to 50 miles? did they write the miles down on the work order? I think that regardless of what was checked or not checked, you rode it home and a week later it is seized up, you did not hear the engine 'knocking on heavens door? as it was?

James, you are the ONLY one who knows whether the oil was ever PROPERLY checked before the bike was started when you left the shop, and even though they said no bike shop in the world will/would ever check fluids, it is your bike. . .
 
#24 ·
Damn, this story is a 'pigs breakfast' all over the place. James, why on God's green earth did you buy a bike at mid night May 28th? James, How did you get the bike to the shop? Did you ride it there? I don't understand a shop saying, "No bike shop is ever going to check a bikes fluids." That makes no sense at all.

Just out of curiosity, did you go to the shop wearing shorts and sandals? You should not have to be told by the guys at the shop to check engine fluids!

I don't think you know anywhere as much about bikes as you say or would like to think, I can't see a bike doing five miles with very low oil and quite frankly, I say Critter is right. Oh it is time for a cold beer.


The shop said no bike shops check a bikes fluid
I trailer it to the shop
The reporg says inspection
I rode it leaving shop
Pants n sandals
They said exhaust gasket replace and i did
Engine showed no signs of leaking oil
Bike still does not leak oil
I didnt hear rattling till i tried to start it
 
#23 ·
Damn, this story is a 'pigs breakfast' all over the place. James, why on God's green earth did you buy a bike at mid night May 28th? James, How did you get the bike to the shop? Did you ride it there? I don't understand a shop saying, "No bike shop is ever going to check a bikes fluids." That makes no sense at all.

Just out of curiosity, did you go to the shop wearing shorts and sandals? You should not have to be told by the guys at the shop to check engine fluids!

I don't think you know anywhere as much about bikes as you say or would like to think, I can't see a bike doing five miles with very low oil and quite frankly, I say Critter is right. Oh it is time for a cold beer.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I don't know what Pete Seeger and Peter, Paul an Mary will think of this twisted rendition of 'Where have all the flowers gone?"

Where has the crank case oil gone? long time passing.
Oh where has that oil gone? I just don't know
Where has that oil gone? through a screw-up, that's my own!

Oh when will he ever learn? Oh when will he ever learn?

James, if you ever do get around to riding and hopefully you will, as bad a screw-up it is, it could be worse if you don't learn from it. Also don't wear sandals if you are riding, it looks ridiculous and you could lose a foot.
 
#26 ·
I don't know what Pete Seeger and Peter, Paul an Mary will think of this twisted rendition of 'Where have all the flowers gone?"

Where has the crank case oil gone? long time passing.
Oh where has that oil gone? I just don't know
Where has that oil gone? through a screw-up, that's my own!

Oh when will James ever learn? Oh when will James ever learn?

James, if you ever do get around to riding and hopefully you will, as bad a screw-up it is, it could be worse if you don't learn from it. Also don't wear sandals, if you are riding, it looks ridiculous and you could lose a foot.
Im not now i got boots

I hope i can ride again
 
#30 ·
I may be getting two different people confused here. Is this the guy that doesn't know how to use a file? And is this that same bike where some door won't lock? Or is this a different guy and different bike? I'm a little confused.
 
#33 ·
Well Critter, if is is smart, he will know "He dropped the ball." What happened at the shop really doesn't matter, does it? He drove it from there and she seized up, to me, had he checked the oil and not depend on them having done it, he'd still have a bike that runs. As our country's first electrician, Ben Franklin said, "Lessons hardest bought are the lessons best taught." or 'Once burned, best learned.' Well I hope he gets a bike, knows how to do a proper pre-ride and gets to enjoy motorcycling.
 
#34 ·
well i found out the shop took my bike out for a test drive around 2miles to see if any other issues were going on when i brought for the inspection

and they didnt check the oil so these repairs are solely on them

and yes i know where to check the oil but no matter what happens
they broke the engine there at fault
 
#35 ·
I am not a lawyer, but I did score 94 on a contract law class.
You may have a case, but I fear it is a case of Caveat Emptor with your corpus delicti.
Check if your state has a small claims court. It will be too costly otherwise. A good rule to follow. If you think you are 100% in the right, your chances are 50 / 50. If you think you are 100% in the wrong, your chances are 50 / 50. You have know idea what the other side will present as evidence against you.

One of the good things about some old Commie countries, such as Yugoslavia, is you could take your case to the local judge, and have it heard in short order. You would need to study Roman Law tho, and not chat with anyone with a Casca name.

UK
 
#38 · (Edited)
Checking the oil level is on you. Even if you drove it straight out of the shop and straight home and checked it to find no oil it would be a battle to get restitution, it sucks, but is reality of the situation. You can try to sue, they might settle if your lucky. I had a similar situation at a Grease Monkey in Colorado on a transmission flush and that advice is exactly what he told me. (An attorney)

You see when you sue or demand a repair of neglect or mechanically failure due to a mechanics error their insurance company takes over and it is up to them, not the service or shop, usually. Good luck with you venture.
 
#39 · (Edited)
Well James, It did not dawn on you to check mileage and write it down when you left the bike at the shop? You say,"They rode it around the parking lot? See if you knew the actual miles before you left the bike with them, then you would know they rode it around and you would not have to make it up later that they rode it around town. As I said in a previous post, I don't think it matters what happened at the shop, you did not check the oil before you left the shop, you say

" But I left the shop in front of them and they said everything was checked." So the guys watched you leave the shop? So what? James, If you were really with it you'd have checked the oil and would not be having this problem. You never heard the engine knocking? You might be better off forgetting about motorcycling for a while, you see James, Motorcycling is for riders who DON'T take chances with their bikes, so far as oil and other fluids and maintenance in general, riders who are MATURE and RESPONSIBLE and ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY, don't have your problems because they KNOW it is THEIR ride and they MAKE SURE they have CHECKED fluids before they start a bike as well AS doing A PROPER PRE-RIDE. I don't see you as being a 'Road Captain'
 
#42 · (Edited)
I'd love to see Judge Judy get this case. It's perfect for that show. I sometimes see the last 2 minutes of that show just before the 5 o'clock news here. I can almost hear her handing down her judgement.:surprise::grin:

Troll??? Seems possible. Where's our troll sniffer, Biker Dash???

 
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