How much does it cost for a motorcycle shop to replace a cylinder head. Say you provided the complete head. Does 700 in labor plus 200 for random parts sound like too much or is that normal? AND what if you got your bike supposedly fixed but there was a new ticking sound? anything you can dooooooo? (not to mention when I went to pick it up it was missing the fuel switch and a hose coming from the newly "repaired" cylinder head was completely unattached to anything. just looking for some advice, im getting screwed i think cause i dont have any knowledge on hte subject...

7/1/2006 1:23:08 AM

what kinda bike is it?

7/1/2006 7:40:10 AM

a 900RR Fireblade, with D&D exhaust

I'd say for such an old bike, you could have gotten a whole 'new' engine for like 300 bucks off ebay or craigslist and pay a motorcycle mechanic guy off here to install it for you for dirt cheap. There's a few good motorcycle mechanics that riders know. (like Igor)

That's a lot of labor charge but does look like the normal going rate for letting a shop or dealer do it since replacing a cyclinder head pretty much means you have to take the whole bike apart and drop the engine.

[Edited on July 1, 2006 at 12:44 PM. Reason : ]

7/1/2006 12:38:23 PM

Iknow we at toxic customs would only charge you like 500 or so

7/1/2006 1:57:06 PM

seems reasonable, thats a hell of a lot of work, sounds to me like they were too lazy to reset all the valve clearances, assuming the valvetrain came off of it, if not, then maybe a slack timing chain

7/1/2006 4:46:14 PM

they said its probably a rod which is not the part of the engine they fixed so not thier problem. that now the bike could go at anytime. and that to fix it would be like 2000 bucks. so thats 1000 just for labor already and then 2000 more for a bike thats worth 5000 max. any ideas? liability here? the bike was missing fuel guage parts and a hose, couldnt that have caused a tick if they ran the engine?

7/1/2006 4:54:22 PM

(missing parts because they lost them and hose unattached because they overlooked it in the repair)

7/1/2006 4:55:08 PM

get a long screwdriver and touch it to the block and head and different places and figure out where it is there is a big difference between a valve tick and a rod knock and rod bearing about to go can be flet, not just heard

7/1/2006 5:10:46 PM

new engine time ebay like jeff said

7/2/2006 4:39:27 AM

^he already got the work done, no sense in spending extra money for a new engine now.

Go back to the shop that did the work and demand them to fix the problem, of which they created, for free. Or you'll report them to the Better Business Bureaus or sue them at small claims court (don't need a lawyer).

7/2/2006 4:59:56 AM

well when i got the estimate from them first they told me 2000 bucks, 1000 for a new cylinder head and then 1000 for labor and some other random parts for around the cylinder head. so i went on ebay and found a cylinder head for 100 bucks and brought it to them. I think they may not have liked that and that had something to do with the crappy work. about the ticking noise, they said that because they couldnt start the engine before they started fixing it there is no to know if their was a tick so they arent liable. But i know their wasnt. And if I was told that it would be 3500 to completely fix my bike not 2000 I wouldnt have even done it. (all of this is on top of the fact that for all i know the unattached hose could have cause a tick and the missing part shows me their lack of attention to detail.

7/2/2006 10:55:09 AM

oh and i cant mess with the bike because they still have it. when i went to pick it upa week ago it was missing those parts and hose was unattached so i left it there because they said the mechanic would have to look at it the next dsay. week later still no call. they have had it for like 2 months now. thats not right, im leaving gor texas in a few weeks and im not going to even get to ride it.

7/2/2006 10:57:09 AM

reminds me of my experiences with suzuki of sanford haha

7/2/2006 11:19:21 AM

Which shop is this and where is it at? Have you paid them yet? Do you also have a reciept with an estimation of how long the job should have taken. 2 months for a job of which a well-equiped shop could have done in a day or two is not right. If I was getting paid some 700 bucks in just labor alone, I would have done the RR in one weekend if I had the tools.

I say you take this to their manager and file a complaint to get everything in working shape or your (or part of) money back. If the manager is still not forthcoming, file a complaint with the BBB and file a small claims and try to get your money back in full, for bad service or something like a service not completed.

7/3/2006 6:05:19 AM