Brake caliper repair?

elizabethgypsy

elizabethgypsy

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Hey y'all, a couple questions..
Took my bike to cyclewerx Friday to get a safety done.
They call me after a bit saying it looks good, except the front brake is dragging, and it's a very common problem for 70's Honda Cb's. Says they can't tell if it just needs a service on the caliper or a rebuild until they get it open, they'll call me shortly to let me know. That if it's just a service it'll be around $167 including price of safety, rebuild will be $330 and change including safety. After an hour and no call I go by, they say oh yeah we aren't getting to it until Monday, and won't get parts until Tuesday. Wait but it might just need servicing, right? Well yeah, maybe. Also for some reason the carb overflow pipes are plugged with screws. Can't tell me why someone would have done that, but they'll just cut them. Then they start trying to convince me I should buy this part to automate the valves, called Dyna, for around $300. ($210 part, and $85/hr labor).
Feeling at this point like they are just trying to get as much money out of a safety as they can.
Then they say it might not be ready until Wednesday, and they might not call to let me know if it's service or rebuild, because they are so busy.
Made me a little nervous..

Has anyone else had a similar experience there? Anyone have an idea why previous owner would have plugged the carb overflows? And lastly if I decide not to get them to do the work, do it myself and then bring it back to them for the safety certificate, would I have to pay for it twice?
 
Sorry to hear this but it smacks of "take advantage of the customer" which seems to be the norm for a lot of dealers / service guys now. I see this especially with lady customers, it happened to my (lady) friend too. They throw a bunch of gobbledegook at you in the hope you will take it as gospel and ok the work. You need to take it elsewhere or at least have a knowledgeable person take a look at it. Plugging the carb overflows tells me something is not right with the carbs and they likely need a cleaning and rebuild. The Dyna they are talking about is not to "automate" the valves but is an ignition module to replace the points ignition your bike has. It is an improvement but likely not necessary....an upsell. You need to take this bike elsewhere, you are getting set up to be hosed. Yes you can get someone else to do the work and I would then advise you to find a Canadian Tire store that does bike certs. They don't do bike work and therefor have no reason to upsell you. Good luck with it and don't let yourself be taken advantage of. Please PM me if I can be of anymore help.
 
-Can't speak for Cyclewerx, but they may charge you again for the safety if you do the work yourself. Technically they could no longer safely assume anything about the state of the bike, since it's been out of their hands, so they could justify going over it a second time. That said ... I would do the work myself. A 70's CB is gonna need a lot of maintenance, and you'll either be pouring cash into it getting someone else to do it, or you'll be getting an early start on getting familiar with it doing it yourself. A caliper rebuild is not hard to do yourself, if it's not in bad shape.
-Somebody might have plugged the carb overflows if they were constantly overflowing ... not a smart thing to do, but I can imagine the thought process. "Why is there gas coming out of these holes all the time? Why are there even holes here? I'll fix that good" etc.
-Automate the what now? I have a feeling they were talking about replacing the ignition points with a digital Dyna unit. It's your call on whether or not to get it - it probably works better than the points do, and you'd never have to check or adjust them again. On the other hand, you can just check the points and save yourself $200 ... and enjoy the novelty of points ignition. :P
 
Spyug said:
Sorry to hear this but it smacks of "take advantage of the customer" which seems to be the norm for a lot of dealers / service guys now. I see this especially with lady customers, it happened to my (lady) friend too. They throw a bunch of gobbledegook at you in the hope you will take it as gospel and ok the work. You need to take it elsewhere or at least have a knowledgeable person take a look at it. Plugging the carb overflows tells me something is not right with the carbs and they likely need a cleaning and rebuild. The Dyna they are talking about is not to "automate" the valves but is an ignition module to replace the points ignition your bike has. It is an improvement but likely not necessary....an upsell. You need to take this bike elsewhere, you are getting set up to be hosed. Yes you can get someone else to do the work and I would then advise you to find a Canadian Tire store that does bike certs. They don't do bike work and therefor have no reason to upsell you. Good luck with it and don't let yourself be taken advantage of. Please PM me if I can be of anymore help.
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I agree with Spyug. I'd take it somewhere else.

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Thanks for the reply Spyug! I don't like assuming I'm getting hosed due to having lady parts, but yeah, sometimes people pull that bullcrap. Unfortunate.
I'm going to give them a call first thing Monday morning to let them know I just want the caliper done, no upsells. Keeping my fingers crossed the caliper just needs servicing so I can just get this over with and get him on the road!
 
TwistedKestrel said:
-Can't speak for Cyclewerx, but they may charge you again for the safety if you do the work yourself. Technically they could no longer safely assume anything about the state of the bike, since it's been out of their hands, so they could justify going over it a second time. That said ... I would do the work myself. A 70's CB is gonna need a lot of maintenance, and you'll either be pouring cash into it getting someone else to do it, or you'll be getting an early start on getting familiar with it doing it yourself. A caliper rebuild is not hard to do yourself, if it's not in bad shape.
-Somebody might have plugged the carb overflows if they were constantly overflowing ... not a smart thing to do, but I can imagine the thought process. "Why is there gas coming out of these holes all the time? Why are there even holes here? I'll fix that good" etc.
-Automate the what now? I have a feeling they were talking about replacing the ignition points with a digital Dyna unit. It's your call on whether or not to get it - it probably works better than the points do, and you'd never have to check or adjust them again. On the other hand, you can just check the points and save yourself $200 ... and enjoy the novelty of points ignition. :P
Click to expand...

Yeah one of the reasons I bought this bike was to learn how to work on it myself, so it's pretty tempting to pull it and do it myself.. Just sucks I'll have to pay the $95 for the inspection they've done, and not get the certificate.
And yes that was the Dyna unit they mentioned. Poor wording on my part, ha. I kind of dig there's no computer in the bike, I think I'll skip it.
 
Points....wow. Sounds like a car from the 60's.

OP - check your PM, I can prob help out.
 
Cyclewerx should be a very straight up place the dyna is so the bike doesn't need constant attention looking after points or leaving you stranded on the road. All they are asking is that the front brakes be fixed which needs done and the other thing are in your best interest. If you are not worried about reliability just get them to fix the brakes and certify it. I don't think they are trying to rip you off, they looking out for you if anything. The carb overflows are likely plugged because the previous owner had no idea what they were. Too many people on here think everyone is out to rip them off.
 
Fix it yourself. It's very easy for your bike.
Youtube has videos and I am sure you can find lots of pics and how to info on the web.

You can probably buy beer and pizza and get a few ppl on this site to help you out on a rainy day.
 
Also, to clarify - I am not suggesting Cyclewerx is not dealing fairly in any way. $330 to get your bike on the road isn't terrible, and it sounds like it is covering more than just a potential caliper rebuild.

I forgot to mention something - if somebody intentionally plugged the carb overflows, the carbs may have other problems ... thinking that it could have been a previous owner's solution to a needle valve that was stuck open.
 
Ah mid 70's honda's... if it is a twin i suggest http://www.hondatwins.net, if it is a 4 cylinder i suggest http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php. the brakes are very simple on these old bikes often the caliper pistons get gummed up with old crusty brake fluid, they also corrode and pit which can cause leaks and or sticking. Sometimes its as simple as the pads getting hung up from corrosion or debris in the piston side of the caliper. $330 isnt horrible if there rebuilding it the parts from honda are about $95 for the piston and $7 for the piston seal. As for the Dyna, they are less maintenance than points but there is nothing wrong with points if they are in good condition and working properly. the plugged carb overflows would suggest the carburetors probably at least need setup, and may require a partial to total rebuild
 
Spyug said:
Sorry to hear this but it smacks of "take advantage of the customer"
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Smacks of "typical crap you deal with on 40 yr old bikes".

all those recommendations are sound. Get the Dyna, or get stuck out in the road on a wet day.
 
Having a mid-70's Honda myself, the brake problem is expected. What bike is it? My CB200t has the opposite problem, where the brake is not strong enough. I'd wait and see what the magnitude of the brake problem is before deciding to move it elsewhere.
 
Back in the day, the first thing I would do when someone would bring me a non-working Briggs was to strip out the points and put in electronic ignition. That fixed them almost every time. Recently I brought a snowblower back from the grave with points, that was the first time I ever got the damn things to work.

Are the points accessible at the side of the road or are they hiding behind something that is difficult to remove? Even if they are accessible, if your roadside repair kit requires feeler gauges, that is a bit excessive.

Personally, I would put in the electronic ignition. It would be paid for the first time you avoided a tow. Do it yourself, with Frekeyguy, or have cyclewerx do it, that doesn't matter, just do it.
 
The thing with old bikes is you need to learn to work on them yourself or be at the mercy of someone else and end up paying. As mentioned, old bikes all require more upkeep and if you are not up for that and or the attendant cost of someone doing the work for you then you need to rethink the choice of bike. For many of us, wrenching on an old bike and bringing it back to a safe and reliable ride is a big part of the enjoyment and the reason we much prefer old bikes. Fixing something yourself also brings immense satisfaction and goes a long way to promoting confidence and self esteem. You can learn to do theses things and I urge you to try. With the Internet, the knowledge is at your fingertips and there are tons of vids to show you the way. Give it a go.
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