Best place to service a Honda

[conundrum]

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Coming up to first service on my CBR250R, which involves a lot more than just an oil change (valves/shims need to be inspected, possibly replaced if they are out of spec...all of which means pretty much disassembling the bike).

With that said, I've heard some 'not so great' things about Clarington Honda's service department (both here and in other places), so I was just wondering where everyone else goes for anything they don't do themselves. Also as the 250Rs are still rather new (and this is first service), preferably someplace that typically does work on Hondas, that way warranty stays 100% intact.

Thanks in advance

 

[RetroGrouch]

valves/shims need to be inspected, possibly replaced if they are out of spec...all of which means pretty much disassembling the bike

You're being paranoid. Try Markham Powersports.

 

[mimico_polak]

Got my first CBR250 service at Honda in Mississauga and was very happy with the service.

 

[PhoenixFZ]

Markham Outdoor Power

 

[Alex_San]

Markham Outdoor Power

That's where I did mine. They said valve inspection is not necessary (even if in the manual Honda says otherwise).

 

[ZERO_5]

I used to bring my 125 to Markham Outdoor Power. I Wasn't WOWed by the service but I wasn't disappointed either. Give them a shot.

 

[ItIsWhatItIs]

Coming up to first service on my CBR250R, which involves a lot more than just an oil change (valves/shims need to be inspected, possibly replaced if they are out of spec...all of which means pretty much disassembling the bike).

With that said, I've heard some 'not so great' things about Clarington Honda's service department (both here and in other places), so I was just wondering where everyone else goes for anything they don't do themselves. Also as the 250Rs are still rather new (and this is first service), preferably someplace that typically does work on Hondas, that way warranty stays 100% intact.

Thanks in advance

hmmm, this is a conundrum.

 

[cleaver]

I was quite happy with Markham Outdoor Power. (CBR125R)

 

[油井緋色]

I used to bring my 125 to Markham Outdoor Power. I Wasn't WOWed by the service but I wasn't disappointed either. Give them a shot.

Don't know about their service dudes but their sales guys ****** me and a few others off. Condescending tone.

 

[PhoenixFZ]

Don't know about their service dudes but their sales guys ****** me and a few others off. Condescending tone.

?

My experience was the opposite. I bought my 1000RR back in '07 from Scott, (-he is still there, too). It was by far the "easiest" purchasing experience I've ever had for a motorcycle.

 

[Kri$han]

Coming up to first service on my CBR250R, which involves a lot more than just an oil change (valves/shims need to be inspected, possibly replaced if they are out of spec...all of which means pretty much disassembling the bike).

With that said, I've heard some 'not so great' things about Clarington Honda's service department (both here and in other places), so I was just wondering where everyone else goes for anything they don't do themselves. Also as the 250Rs are still rather new (and this is first service), preferably someplace that typically does work on Hondas, that way warranty stays 100% intact.

Thanks in advance

In my experience: I've been advised to never do a valve adjustment, unless the valves are noisier than normal.

You can actually make it worse; even an experienced technician can make it worse...

 

[ZERO_5]

Don't know about their service dudes but their sales guys ****** me and a few others off. Condescending tone.

Mehhhhh same thing again...weren't rude, but they weren't the nicest. I walked out of there because of ridiculous prices ... they wanted more for a 2010 CBR600 demo then what I got my brand new 2011 GSXR for. Let's not get off topic though, service was "good".

 

[kbvr6]

Mississauga Honda not bad

 

[PhoenixFZ]

I walked out of there because of ridiculous prices ... they wanted more for a 2010 CBR600 demo then what I got my brand new 2011 GSXR for.

For some reason, Suzuki always seem to sell their bikes cheaper. And I could be wrong, but I believe Newmarket Suzuki undercuts all the other Suzuki dealers as well...?

Either way, I think MOP and all the Honda dealers are at the mercy of Honda Canada when it comes to pricing.

 

[Knight_Rider]

Markham Outdoor Power

++1

 

[Wingboy]

In my experience: I've been advised to never do a valve adjustment, unless the valves are noisier than normal.

You can actually make it worse; even an experienced technician can make it worse...

Noisey is good.Quiet is bad.

 

[Brian P]

In my experience: I've been advised to never do a valve adjustment, unless the valves are noisier than normal.

Bad advice. Tight valves will result in hot combustion gases leaking out past the valve. Obviously this will cause power loss, but it will also make the valve run hot and damage the valve seats. Loose valves will make some noise and that's about all, unless the valve is SO loose that it starts hammering the lifters and the valve seats, but by that time it will be making SO much noise (and run so badly) that no reasonable person with any shred of mechanical sympathy would operate the engine any more. (Then again, I know some people who just turn the key and go, and as long as the car moves faster when they press the accelerator then it must be good, never mind how much noise or how many warning lights are on ...)

You can actually make it worse; even an experienced technician can make it worse...

You can screw up ANY job. Experienced technicians can screw up, too.

There's a fairly broad balance between the risk of damaging something through complete neglect, and damaging something by attempting preventive maintenance and failing. Usually, following the factory's maintenance schedule won't be too far wrong.

If you do the clearance checks yourself, you can log what the actual clearance measurements are (and if anything needs to be changed, what change was made). After a couple of checks you can see what the long term trend will be, and adjust future inspection intervals accordingly. But on a bike with (say) 24,000 km inspection intervals, the mileage covered in establishing the trend is longer than how long most people keep the bike! Just follow the factory schedule ... unless it's something outrageously frequent.

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