How much would you charge for the work to my bike? | GTAMotorcycle.com

How much would you charge for the work to my bike?

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KOSALKA

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My ninja 300 would not move. Clutch out, wouldn't stall. Wouldn't move at all. Clutch was completed fried.

My Mechanic had to replace the entire clutch assembly, replace it with a new one, oil changed, and found out the flywheel needed to be replaced aswell. 10 days later he's asking $700.

Is this fair? **** me if it is..
 
Sounds steep to me. Most bikes' wet clutches can be replaced by removing the side cover with the engine in situ. If you have a couple of of "special tools" it's not a terribly difficult DIY task. I expect a N300 to be on the "easier" side of things.

Here's a DIY from Ari Henning at Motorcycle Magazine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-n86uKvh5E

I'd be interested to know why the flywheel needed replacing. What was wrong with it?

As well, what constituted "completely fried"? Did you get the parts back? If so, pics?
 
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For my bike (2011 V-Strom 650) the entire clutch assembly went out on me while I was riding in North Carolina or Virginia. The parts alone was around $700:(
My mechanic did the work for free, so I was thankful for that.
The one-way uhaul cube van to get my bike home was around another $1000, so I was not thankful for that.
 
Pm frekeguy for questions/quote
 
To do all that work with all the subsequent required parts, $700 is in the ballpark. If it is the rotor that was replaced, then that alone would be a huge chunk of the cost and frankly your mechanic would then be practically working for free

(Can someone remind me what people call a flywheel... is it the rotor? Surely it's not the clutch basket)
 
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KOSALKA said:
My ninja 300 would not move. Clutch out, wouldn't stall. Wouldn't move at all. Clutch was completed fried.

My Mechanic had to replace the entire clutch assembly, replace it with a new one, oil changed, and found out the flywheel needed to be replaced aswell. 10 days later he's asking $700.

Is this fair? **** me if it is..
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Depends on what brand parts he used to replace your clutch and flywheel? OEM Kawasaki clutch plates cost $200 and OEM Kawasaki flywheel for my bike is around $350.....So going by those OEM replacement parts prices, you would have not payed very much for labor...On the flip side if they used cheap aftermarket parts then that changes, but I would not know unless you posted what actual parts were replaced and with what
 
TwistedKestrel said:
To do all that work with all the subsequent required parts, $700 is in the ballpark. If it is the rotor that was replaced, then that alone would be a huge chunk of the cost and frankly your mechanic would then be practically working for free

(Can someone remind me what people call a flywheel... is it the rotor? Surely it's not the clutch basket)
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depends on the manufacturer, but since he had clutch problems I would assume they mean the clutch basket, likely grooved and hanging up on the clutch plates. However the price of OEM clutch basket for a 300 is around $400-500 from a Kawasaki dealer alone...Makes the $700 total price questionable unless they did not actually use OEM replacement parts...

This should all be broken down on your receipt/work order. A list of parts/price and labor per hour price and time spent working on the bike.....Rather then a total for just $700 with no pricing breakdown?
 
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Perhaps even more important is for the original poster to understand why this happened in the first place, and understand what to do differently so that it does not happen again.

Does the original poster understand what happened which caused this problem?
 
good catch Robbo
never did hear from OP about his trans problem
now the clutch is toast
must be more to this story
 
shanekingsley said:
What are typically some causes of this type of thing?
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New rider, operator error. High-RPM clutch slippage, instead of gently pulling away from a stop with the revs just above idle to minimize slippage.

Clutch cable and/or release mechanism not adjusted properly, either not disengaging fully, or not allowing it to engage fully. An experienced rider would detect symptoms prior to complete failure, such as clutch engagement at an abnormal position in the lever travel, or slippage under load, or "creeping" when in gear with the clutch pulled in. This can also cause improper gear shifting, e.g. the previously reported inability to shift past 3rd gear.

Beware when adjusting clutch mechanisms that some of them have two adjustments ... one for the slack in the cable, and another for the free play at the actual mechanism that disengages the clutch. (Yamaha FZR400 and 600 are like this) You can adjust the slack in the cable to all eternity, if the actual clutch disengagement mechanism doesn't allow the clutch to engage fully then it will slip under load.

For "slipper" clutches (which the Ninja 300 has!) - Incorrect assembly. Many of them are quite sensitive to the "stack height" - the total thickness of all the clutch plates together - and require select-fitting steel plates of differing thickness in order to work properly.

Incorrect assembly in general. On my Yamaha FZR the pressure plate will physically go onto the inner clutch hub and bolt up 5 different ways, but only one of them will work ... the one that has the alignment marks lined up!

General abuse and neglect. Use of engine oil with inappropriate specifications. Stupid oil additives (snake oil). Abusive riding habits, whether the owner realized it or not. Excessive clutch slippage under load. Substandard aftermarket parts. This list could probably go on forever.
 
KOSALKA said:
My ninja 300 would not move. Clutch out, wouldn't stall. Wouldn't move at all. Clutch was completed fried.

My Mechanic had to replace the entire clutch assembly, replace it with a new one, oil changed, and found out the flywheel needed to be replaced aswell. 10 days later he's asking $700.

Is this fair? **** me if it is..
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Difficult to say without seeing the parts list that was replaced.

OEM clutch housing is $365 + tax....plus your labour.
13095-0561HOUSING-COMP-CLUTCH$364.87


Didn't you just get this bike used? I'm pretty sure this would have been a problem the previous owner would have known about...but I guess it's buyer beware.
 
Its doubtful the ignition rotor (flywheel ?) was replaced.
I think OP got clutch basket and rotor mixed up.
Definitely more to this story, but as has been suggested, if ALL the clutch components were replaced then $700 (parts/labour/taxes) isn't out of line.
 
Brian P said:
For "slipper" clutches (which the Ninja 300 has!) - Incorrect assembly. Many of them are quite sensitive to the "stack height" - the total thickness of all the clutch plates together - and require select-fitting steel plates of differing thickness in order to work properly.
Click to expand...

sounds like this ninja 300 has the ultimate slipper clutch, that's all it does. OP, I hope you got a kiss with this deal, a F''ck without a kiss is harsh.
 
Look on the bright side...OP you have a “new to you” bike with all new clutch internals and an oil change.

It could have been a lot worse (ie. breakdown in the middle of nowhere and have to pay big $$$ towing charges on top of the repair).

Maybe you under paid for the bike so it all evens out...maybe not.
 
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Brian P said:
...Clutch cable and/or release mechanism not adjusted properly, either not disengaging fully, or not allowing it to engage fully.... This list could probably go on forever.
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Thanks Brian. I recently adjusted the cable and release and it felt ok for a little while, but something doesn't quite feel perfect -even though I followed the manual. First time doing it, so I will check it again.

Related question: Can using different levers (like the Ebay shorty levers) have any effect on clutch wear? I was thinking that even if there were small machining variances between OEM and aftermarket, by properly adjusting the cable slack and release everything should be okay.
 
Also remember to replace the clutch cable occasionally. A worn or sticky cable doesn't help with clutch feel.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
 
Exactly, the OP needs to post a pic of the receipt or detail the receipt as written.
If I take my bike for a shop to replace the clutch and the fly wheel and they charge me 700 I would be happy, so it all depends of the work performed and the parts replaced.

JohnnyP636 said:
depends on the manufacturer, but since he had clutch problems I would assume they mean the clutch basket, likely grooved and hanging up on the clutch plates. However the price of OEM clutch basket for a 300 is around $400-500 from a Kawasaki dealer alone...Makes the $700 total price questionable unless they did not actually use OEM replacement parts...

This should all be broken down on your receipt/work order. A list of parts/price and labor per hour price and time spent working on the bike.....Rather then a total for just $700 with no pricing breakdown?
Click to expand...
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