Post by 90GTVert on Apr 9, 2010 9:07:15 GMT -5
Just FYI before you read any farther, this post is pretty much a rant and ramblings about my experience with scooter repair and it'll probably bore you. No useful info here, just saying it to say it if that makes sense.
I've been trying to pick up some work doing scooter repair or performance for a year now. I just did my only real performance job last night. Only took me a year to get it. It really hasn't worked out that well, and sadly I have decided that I have done my last scooter job. I have been thinking about giving it up for a little while, but I was trying to give it time.
In one year (yes one YEAR, not month or week) I have profited under $1,000. I really don't have the right mindset for business, and I really don't have the right customer base here. Don't get me wrong, I do have a few good customers that are cool and don't give me any trouble. I'm a very cool-headed person that tries to be fair to everyone and doesn't like to start a bunch of crap. In general I treat my customers more fairly than I treat myself, and that's a big part of the problem as well.
I set my labor rate at $35/hr. I know the motorcycle shops around me charge around $70-80/hr and I know one of the scooter shops that a lot of folks go to charges $50/hr. $35 seemed like a pretty good deal to me. In one year I have never charged a customer the full $35/hr. I don't have much money and I'm not used to paying repair bills, so I always discount the bill because it looks too high to me or because I'm just too nice for my own good at times.
For example, I charged $50 labor for 5-6 hours of work for one customer. Including carburetor cleaning and adjustment, spark plug and plug boot service, cleaning the air filter, replacing the starter bendix, messing with a kick start that acted a bit funny, complete check and adjustment of all controls, brakes, tires, etc..., replacing some bulbs and reapairing a housing that was busted, charging the battery, and I forget what else. He's a young guy that's probably still in high school and a scooter is his only means of transportation other than a bicycle. I know how much my car meant to me at that age, so I wanted to try and help him out a little with the ride he has.
Another example, I posted about in the 150cc section, was just his week. A guy brought me his Chinese scooter for a charging issue. I tested and diagnosed it as a stator issue. The threads inside the flywheel were stripped from the factory (he says no one else worked on it) so I couldn't get the standard puller in there. On top of that the flywheel seemed to be really lodged on the crank. I tried a steering wheel puller, a couple of jawed pullers I had, and then bought three more pullers that I thought may have worked. Like I said, that sucker was wedged on there. I put so much tension on some of those pullers that I ended up stopping because something or someone was going to get hurt and it never moved a mm. I ordered a 6 and 8 pole stator because I couldn't see which was behind the flywheel, but never got to use either. 4 hours of fiddling with the thing, 3 new pullers, and $100 worth of parts later I called the guy and told him to come pick it up for free. If it were mine I'm confident I could have removed it, but it became to much of a risk for me. I explained the whole situation, showing him other flywheels and pullers and such and barely even got a thanks.
On to another issues. I have dealt with some people that are a bit demanding or unreasonable IMO. Bare in mind, I do not let a scooter sit once it's dropped off unless I have explicitly told the customer I have other plans or whatever.
In fact, it actually worries me to have a scooter sitting and not being worked on. Generally I start working the minute the customer leaves or I get it home from picking it up. Whenever I don't need parts I tend to work until the job is finished, through meals, very late into the night, or whatever it takes to get it done. I have dropped off scooters after 10PM to customers that I know are out late or work late. Recently I picked one up after 6PM, worked on it straight, and dropped it back off at 10PM... and this was on a Saturday night.
That's how I am, so I really don't see the need for anyone to try and push me to do something or check up on me, but some people do. Here's how bad it's got recently. I had a fellow come up and pretty much schedule himself in for that afternoon. I never really approved it, but he was coming up. I waited and he never showed up. That's another big one BTW, lots of no call/no shows and very late arrivals (like morning appointment, afternoon arrival). The next day 2 guys show up that I've never seen before and get ready to start unloading a scooter as I walk out. Someone else told them I would work on their scooter that afternoon. This was just yesterday and I was fed up at that point, so I told them I had quit scooter repair. I said I have a job coming this afternoon and that's gonna be the last of it for me, at least for some time. They kind of acted like I owed them something and should look at it, and repeated that another customer had told them I'd do it today. On top of people being in a hurry to get stuff done, now I have people scheduling themselves in or scheduling other people in.
The job I did last night was the first big bore kit I've done for a customer. I've had plenty of calls and promises, but this is the first that came through. Usually people talk to me so I can answer all their questions and then take the scooter to another shop and spend their money. Then when that shop doesn't do something just right they call me again for some minor work. I've been told to order parts by people that promise they'll drop off the money for them and never seen them again. Luckily I always stuck to my policy of needing the money up front for parts unless your scooter is in my possession and worth more than the parts you want or need. Some folks didn't seem to like that policy either, but I don't have the funds to order stuff for people that never show up to pay.
On a brighter note, I did my first wheelie on a 70cc scoot last night. I installed a Polini Sport kit on an 09 Eton Beamer III. It had 4g rollers initially, which didn't like the new found power, but it did pull the wheel up a bit when I blipped the throttle. I swapped in 6.3g rollers and it didn't really wanna do it anymore, but I don't want the thing screaming so he blows it up right away. The guy said he did 43-44MPH all time tops, and 40-41MPH if he installed his windshield and he's always last in line taking off with the group he rides with. He's about 150lbs I guess. I'm closer to 300lbs and it takes off pretty well and went 46-47MPH with me on it sitting up after the install. I got home and discovered his back tire only had 15psi so I pumped that up to 35psi. Should be even faster. I bet he'll do 50+ pretty easily sitting up. Stock carb, stock airbox w/o snorkel, 90 main (surprised me), stock exhaust. I 'm liking this thing. Looks 100% stock. Sounds 100% stock. There really is a big difference in the gearing on a normal scoot and a Triton too.
The guy seems really nice, and I've told him he's my last job. The really sad part is, after working on this thing and seeing what the other local shops have done to it, I might be the best scooter mechanic these guys had the option of choosing. I'm not arrogant by any means I assure you, but it's obvious. Maybe the other mechanics are great mechanics and better than me in some respects, but it doesn't look like a lot of care is being taken with some work to me. He said he had sliders in the variator that he paid a shop to install... nope, just rollers. He had a shop try to de-restrict it (the dealer). They clipped a wire on the Eton CDI (better them than me, I'm sure the dealers know which it is off the top of their heads). That part is good. Then they removed the snorkel from the airbox, OK. Then they removed the air filter and drilled the main jet to an 85... so the thing had no air filter at all and it's purely a street scooter. When they put the airbox back together they forgot some screws and tried to install two screws into one hole (one on top of the other). That's one of two shops within ten miles of me.
The other shop I know of within ten miles of me is also a dealer. I spoke with one of their customers that said he waited a month for a mechanic to look at it because they are more focused on lawn and farm equipment from what he's seen. I think they started selling scooters as easy money when gas prices first went up but they aren't really interested in them, but that's just my opinion. I had another one of their customers tell me they couldn't even get a belt for his scooter that he bought from them. I understand having a hard time with parts on Chinese scooters, but wow. First off, it's a belt for a 139QMB. Second, you're a dealer.
On top of all of that, I keep hearing of fast 50cc scooters that want to race. To date my closest race with anything other than 150cc plus scooters has been with a 70cc, piped, 1E40QMB and I was at roughly 1/2 throttle for part of that race because he was supposed to be fast and I didn't realize he was trying till he tucked down after about 40-45MPH. When I tell people one of my scoots has been 65MPH they seem to think I'm exaggerating. I think that's why they want to race or talk about other people to race, because they just know I'm full of it and want me to back down. I'd race a sprotbiek, and have, so backing down isn't really my thing. If I lose I lose. It's supposed to be fun. I make no bones about it, my scoots aren't even fast AND I'm nearly 300lbs. It's not like I've got some crazy race scooters. I think people around here are just so used to bull that they can't fathom that I might actually be honest about what my scooters do. Sadly they're all down or running like crap at the moment though.
Don't get me wrong either, there are people around here that I think are better than me at this stuff. IIRC felliot owns or works at a shop in Denton (20ish miles from me I guess). From what I've seen of his posts, he sounds like he's wayyy more qualified to do this stuff than me. Oddly enough, I've never heard a customer mention anyone in Denton really. One guy told me someone in Denton stocks some parts but doesn't like working on them. Unless the customer was mistaken I can't imagine that would be him. Does anyone around here know how to find a decent mechanic or do they just go to the shops that put up with their antics?
Sorry for the really long rant. If you managed to read all of this, thanks. Please don't take any comments as arrogance or anything of the sort, I'm not like that. I'm jsut fed up with the whole deal. Maybe it shows the importance of investigating your customer base before attempting to start any type of business?
I've been trying to pick up some work doing scooter repair or performance for a year now. I just did my only real performance job last night. Only took me a year to get it. It really hasn't worked out that well, and sadly I have decided that I have done my last scooter job. I have been thinking about giving it up for a little while, but I was trying to give it time.
In one year (yes one YEAR, not month or week) I have profited under $1,000. I really don't have the right mindset for business, and I really don't have the right customer base here. Don't get me wrong, I do have a few good customers that are cool and don't give me any trouble. I'm a very cool-headed person that tries to be fair to everyone and doesn't like to start a bunch of crap. In general I treat my customers more fairly than I treat myself, and that's a big part of the problem as well.
I set my labor rate at $35/hr. I know the motorcycle shops around me charge around $70-80/hr and I know one of the scooter shops that a lot of folks go to charges $50/hr. $35 seemed like a pretty good deal to me. In one year I have never charged a customer the full $35/hr. I don't have much money and I'm not used to paying repair bills, so I always discount the bill because it looks too high to me or because I'm just too nice for my own good at times.
For example, I charged $50 labor for 5-6 hours of work for one customer. Including carburetor cleaning and adjustment, spark plug and plug boot service, cleaning the air filter, replacing the starter bendix, messing with a kick start that acted a bit funny, complete check and adjustment of all controls, brakes, tires, etc..., replacing some bulbs and reapairing a housing that was busted, charging the battery, and I forget what else. He's a young guy that's probably still in high school and a scooter is his only means of transportation other than a bicycle. I know how much my car meant to me at that age, so I wanted to try and help him out a little with the ride he has.
Another example, I posted about in the 150cc section, was just his week. A guy brought me his Chinese scooter for a charging issue. I tested and diagnosed it as a stator issue. The threads inside the flywheel were stripped from the factory (he says no one else worked on it) so I couldn't get the standard puller in there. On top of that the flywheel seemed to be really lodged on the crank. I tried a steering wheel puller, a couple of jawed pullers I had, and then bought three more pullers that I thought may have worked. Like I said, that sucker was wedged on there. I put so much tension on some of those pullers that I ended up stopping because something or someone was going to get hurt and it never moved a mm. I ordered a 6 and 8 pole stator because I couldn't see which was behind the flywheel, but never got to use either. 4 hours of fiddling with the thing, 3 new pullers, and $100 worth of parts later I called the guy and told him to come pick it up for free. If it were mine I'm confident I could have removed it, but it became to much of a risk for me. I explained the whole situation, showing him other flywheels and pullers and such and barely even got a thanks.
On to another issues. I have dealt with some people that are a bit demanding or unreasonable IMO. Bare in mind, I do not let a scooter sit once it's dropped off unless I have explicitly told the customer I have other plans or whatever.
In fact, it actually worries me to have a scooter sitting and not being worked on. Generally I start working the minute the customer leaves or I get it home from picking it up. Whenever I don't need parts I tend to work until the job is finished, through meals, very late into the night, or whatever it takes to get it done. I have dropped off scooters after 10PM to customers that I know are out late or work late. Recently I picked one up after 6PM, worked on it straight, and dropped it back off at 10PM... and this was on a Saturday night.
That's how I am, so I really don't see the need for anyone to try and push me to do something or check up on me, but some people do. Here's how bad it's got recently. I had a fellow come up and pretty much schedule himself in for that afternoon. I never really approved it, but he was coming up. I waited and he never showed up. That's another big one BTW, lots of no call/no shows and very late arrivals (like morning appointment, afternoon arrival). The next day 2 guys show up that I've never seen before and get ready to start unloading a scooter as I walk out. Someone else told them I would work on their scooter that afternoon. This was just yesterday and I was fed up at that point, so I told them I had quit scooter repair. I said I have a job coming this afternoon and that's gonna be the last of it for me, at least for some time. They kind of acted like I owed them something and should look at it, and repeated that another customer had told them I'd do it today. On top of people being in a hurry to get stuff done, now I have people scheduling themselves in or scheduling other people in.
The job I did last night was the first big bore kit I've done for a customer. I've had plenty of calls and promises, but this is the first that came through. Usually people talk to me so I can answer all their questions and then take the scooter to another shop and spend their money. Then when that shop doesn't do something just right they call me again for some minor work. I've been told to order parts by people that promise they'll drop off the money for them and never seen them again. Luckily I always stuck to my policy of needing the money up front for parts unless your scooter is in my possession and worth more than the parts you want or need. Some folks didn't seem to like that policy either, but I don't have the funds to order stuff for people that never show up to pay.
On a brighter note, I did my first wheelie on a 70cc scoot last night. I installed a Polini Sport kit on an 09 Eton Beamer III. It had 4g rollers initially, which didn't like the new found power, but it did pull the wheel up a bit when I blipped the throttle. I swapped in 6.3g rollers and it didn't really wanna do it anymore, but I don't want the thing screaming so he blows it up right away. The guy said he did 43-44MPH all time tops, and 40-41MPH if he installed his windshield and he's always last in line taking off with the group he rides with. He's about 150lbs I guess. I'm closer to 300lbs and it takes off pretty well and went 46-47MPH with me on it sitting up after the install. I got home and discovered his back tire only had 15psi so I pumped that up to 35psi. Should be even faster. I bet he'll do 50+ pretty easily sitting up. Stock carb, stock airbox w/o snorkel, 90 main (surprised me), stock exhaust. I 'm liking this thing. Looks 100% stock. Sounds 100% stock. There really is a big difference in the gearing on a normal scoot and a Triton too.
The guy seems really nice, and I've told him he's my last job. The really sad part is, after working on this thing and seeing what the other local shops have done to it, I might be the best scooter mechanic these guys had the option of choosing. I'm not arrogant by any means I assure you, but it's obvious. Maybe the other mechanics are great mechanics and better than me in some respects, but it doesn't look like a lot of care is being taken with some work to me. He said he had sliders in the variator that he paid a shop to install... nope, just rollers. He had a shop try to de-restrict it (the dealer). They clipped a wire on the Eton CDI (better them than me, I'm sure the dealers know which it is off the top of their heads). That part is good. Then they removed the snorkel from the airbox, OK. Then they removed the air filter and drilled the main jet to an 85... so the thing had no air filter at all and it's purely a street scooter. When they put the airbox back together they forgot some screws and tried to install two screws into one hole (one on top of the other). That's one of two shops within ten miles of me.
The other shop I know of within ten miles of me is also a dealer. I spoke with one of their customers that said he waited a month for a mechanic to look at it because they are more focused on lawn and farm equipment from what he's seen. I think they started selling scooters as easy money when gas prices first went up but they aren't really interested in them, but that's just my opinion. I had another one of their customers tell me they couldn't even get a belt for his scooter that he bought from them. I understand having a hard time with parts on Chinese scooters, but wow. First off, it's a belt for a 139QMB. Second, you're a dealer.
On top of all of that, I keep hearing of fast 50cc scooters that want to race. To date my closest race with anything other than 150cc plus scooters has been with a 70cc, piped, 1E40QMB and I was at roughly 1/2 throttle for part of that race because he was supposed to be fast and I didn't realize he was trying till he tucked down after about 40-45MPH. When I tell people one of my scoots has been 65MPH they seem to think I'm exaggerating. I think that's why they want to race or talk about other people to race, because they just know I'm full of it and want me to back down. I'd race a sprotbiek, and have, so backing down isn't really my thing. If I lose I lose. It's supposed to be fun. I make no bones about it, my scoots aren't even fast AND I'm nearly 300lbs. It's not like I've got some crazy race scooters. I think people around here are just so used to bull that they can't fathom that I might actually be honest about what my scooters do. Sadly they're all down or running like crap at the moment though.
Don't get me wrong either, there are people around here that I think are better than me at this stuff. IIRC felliot owns or works at a shop in Denton (20ish miles from me I guess). From what I've seen of his posts, he sounds like he's wayyy more qualified to do this stuff than me. Oddly enough, I've never heard a customer mention anyone in Denton really. One guy told me someone in Denton stocks some parts but doesn't like working on them. Unless the customer was mistaken I can't imagine that would be him. Does anyone around here know how to find a decent mechanic or do they just go to the shops that put up with their antics?
Sorry for the really long rant. If you managed to read all of this, thanks. Please don't take any comments as arrogance or anything of the sort, I'm not like that. I'm jsut fed up with the whole deal. Maybe it shows the importance of investigating your customer base before attempting to start any type of business?
You should be more like JMstar when it comes to that kind of stuff. Even when I ordered my boost bottle from you, you only made like 50 cents profit dude. You couldve charged me more, and I wouldve paid it. Good work is worth good money, and your work is some of the best ive seen. I'm with the other people saying that you should stick at it for a while longer. I'd hate to see those skills go to waste.
Sorry. 
I say make yourself as, or more expensive than the local shops. You are better than them so clients will still get better value. The key to this step is that people only value what they pay for. You will eliminate the ones who are only wasting your time and energy.