Who's to blame???

[Haven250]

OK here is a quick run down.. I had a customer bring a 03 rm 100 in to our shop for a "siezed" engine.. In talking to the lady she tells me shes is new to bikes . She had went to another shop and asked for mixing oil but they mistakenly gave her transoil which she mixed with her fuel and put into bike. While shortly after the main bearing locks up.. While she is not the first person in history to do this and it has been my experience that the bike will either run like crap or foul a plug before locking up.. I also have replaced many main bearings on the rm 100 and the kx 100 sort of a continues problem.. but on the other hand she was given the wrong oil and advice from the other shop so it what is your take on this??????????

The other shop says thay are not a fault and the owner of the bike says they are!!!!! Meanwhile I am stuck in the middle because i do not want to choose sides..

[Margaritaville]

If the owner of the shop in question had any sack at all he would take responsibility. She didnt know what to get so she asked the "experts" at the other shop and got bad advice. I have met way too many incompetent parts guys that dont know what they are talking about to side with the shop.

[heykenny]

I tell you what I would try..... the kawasaki engine in that 100 had a bad habit of not holding the mag side crank seal.. when it moved inboard it would block the oiling hole and cause the bearing to fail.. no matter what the oil.. Suzuki stepped up for us and fixed the ones we saw at my place ... a little leg work and you may have both a happy customer and come out looking like a hero.. worth a shot.. call Suzuki

[no hand]

Sadly, I think this girl is responsible for what she knows or don't know concerning her bike. This is why she was given a owner's manual when she bought the bike. It says in the manual: read this manual before operating the vehicle. My take on this is if she had to ask questions on mixing oil... it's because she should have read the manual before riding her bike. Once I was given fork oil as mixing oil at the dealer. When I told the lady she gave me fork oil and I asked for mixing oil she was in shock because she had been selling this fork oil as mixing oil for a while.

[kpsr]

If the shop gave her the incorrect oil then they are at fault. But in the same token I agree with no hand, there are way to many peopel that want information spoon feed to them.

I own my own shop and know how you feel to be put between a rock and a hard place.

[RhinofromWA]

Lady is ultimately at fault. She can ask all she wants....did they mix her gas, and pour it in her bike, and start it up for her? No.

Guess she learned the hard way...

I ask the shop questions all the time. Often I dissagree with what they are "advising." I weigh my options, choose what I believe is right, and live with the consiquences.

Rhino

[yamarida225]

i herd my people say that you could put olive oil in the gas and it will run but run relly bad so it could be the bike and not putting the wrong oil in the gas its mosty about the luberacation done by the type of oil some are just better then others and will make the engine run better like "engine oil" or premix

[Haven250]

Here is an update. I tore the bike down and the main bearing on the contecting rod is locked up tight. But what has me puzzled is that the plug looked like imo that it was burning fine. I was expecting to see a really oiled plug from not being able to burn properly..The crank bearing do have slight smooth movement but i can not rotate them completly due to locked up rod. I sort of am leaning toward the bearing just plain out going out and sort of bad timing on the oil issue. Also I come to find out the bike had not been serviced for 7 months but was rarley ridden.

Also the airfilter was as dry as the New Mexico land scape..

[Wiz636]

I don't see how tranny oil would cause a main bearing to sieze.

The lady can't blame the shop as it IS ultimately the owner/rider's responsibilty to do things correctly. If she doesn't know the difference between tranny oil and premix oil then she most likely will mess up the pre-mix ratio anyways.

Dry airfilter or wrong oil...that's a no brainer.

This thread does bring up another point though...know your stuff. You can find good mechanics at the shops once in awhile but they are slammed and will never care as much about your bike as you do.

The parts/service guys are trying to keep track of several models of street bikes, enduro bikes, MX bikes, and quads. Most shops sell more than one brand so that compounds the problem. If it's a Yami dealer throw in all the snowmobiles. Add in generators for Honda and Yamaha. They would have to be miracle workers to know everything.

Make damn sure that YOU know everything there is to know about your bike(s).

[Haven250]

Very well put Wiz .. I currently am working on 21 dirt bikes and atv's all different brands and problems so my plate is always full. It is hard to help out cutomers with what they are looking for when at least 1/2 of them dont have a clue of what kind of bike they even have. So I have put up a sign at our shop that says "My crystal ball is currently out so if you dont know your year make and model chances are I wont either" some get it others are still clueless.

[zig06]

The shop that sold her the oil is at fault. Clearly she is new to dirt bikes, but by being honest and asking for the correct oil, she has a lagit excuse. In my opinion whom ever took her money should have taken a moment to make sure that she was getting what she had asked for.

Haven250, you do not need to choose sides. Just work the problem as you have been, and if you can cut her a decent deal, you may end up with a new loyal customer.

[Haven250]

I have choosen not to repair the bike.. The lady sent her "personal" mechanic to question everything I was going to do to the bike. So after putting up with his arrogance for I while I straight out told him why doesnt he do the repair and save this lady some money. I just had a gut feeling that I was about to marry this bike for ever.

I felt that if anything that would fail on the bike would be my "fault" for the life of the bike. I then packed everything up in box and told her "mechanic" it will be sitting outside the shop if they wanted to pick it up!!!!! Ohh it turns out that her mechanic is the guy that sold her the bike...

[zig06]

Smart move.

[adams]

Incredible story i dont think its the shop's fault, I think this is a valuable lesson to the owner. Thats life. If I had to trust everyone else to make my decisions then I would've died/gone broke a long time ago. I also think she had some balls to get the previous owner/ "mechanic" in to grill you on the repair.

[hondaracer9551]

this is kinda off the subject but when the main bearing gos bad does the bike make like a squealing noise because i have an 03 rm100 to and it shooting gear oil out of the crank case vent when u revv the engine and it kinda squeals

[Haven250]

I feel the same way adams...

Also hondaracer that squeal could be your main or even crank bearings going out. Another sign would be excessive vibration almost to the point you cant hold on to the bars.

The bike in question on this thread was a 03 rm100 and the real ironic thing about this hole ordeal was the day this lady came to me I was just finishing up another 03 rm100

with the exact same problem. I have done several of the rm100 and kx100 with crank problems.It may be worth your while to pull the jug and do a physical inspection of the crank. or at least pull of the stator cover and turn it by hand and listen for any grinding or roughness use a stethascope if you have one..