Interesting statistic

[TK4]

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My buddy's small repair shop has a new computer guy who's helping him get up to speed on tracking information.
Interestingly, over the last year, 94% of the bikes they worked on were either Japanese or H-D.
*Bear in mind the shop performs general repairs, not major motor work or specialized tuning.*
This raised some questions for me, is that because:
1) Euro bike owners are more comfortable returning to the dealer or going to a specialist (Ken's Motorworks for Ducati for example) ?
2) The lack of access to specialized information and tools that would allow the independents to participate ?
3) Japanese and H-D riders put more miles on and wear more stuff out ?
4) The aforementioned riders are cheap and don't want to spend the $$$ to go to a big box dealer ?
5) There are just plain more of the aforementioned on the road ?
6) Is this representative across the city or an isolated statistical anomaly ?
Inquiring minds need to know, please in all seriousness. Let's try to keep the flaming to a minimum.

 

[LBV]

I suspect pretty well all of those points and now the new Euro bikes need to be hooked up to the dealers proprietary diagnostic equipment.

Both my older 2014 Moto Guzzi and now my 2019 Ducati both need to be taken to the dealership just to reset the service light. Many care about that light but I personally don't. As long as I know I changed the oil & filter properly I don't care if the symbol comes on and stays on.

 

[matthew]

People buy a ninja 250 as a first bike and don't know how to repair it. Same applies to hd and a mid life crisis divorce bike.

 

[Hardwrkr13]

I suspect pretty well all of those points and now the new Euro bikes need to be hooked up to the dealers proprietary diagnostic equipment.

Both my older 2014 Moto Guzzi and now my 2019 Ducati both need to be taken to the dealership just to reset the service light. Many care about that light but I personally don't. As long as I know I changed the oil & filter properly I don't care if the symbol comes on and stays on.

Your Ducati‘s oil change reminder light is triggered by date. Go into your dash date settings and roll the date back a year and it’ll go away fyi. You can keep doing that yearly until the Desmo service light gets triggered then it’ll need the proper reset software.

 

[bitzz]

Both my older 2014 Moto Guzzi and now my 2019 Ducati both need to be taken to the dealership just to reset the service light.

This is total un-abridged DOOSHBAGGERY.
The only reason it's there is to get your wallet and your bike to the dealership. You can have your proprietary diagnostics, which is pretty dooschy, but there should be a basic, customer accessable way to turn the oil change service light off.
If the auto manufacturers can work with OBD and autolan, with standardized diagnostic tools, the bike manufacturers can too. Yamaha seems to be coping.

 

[bitzz]

1) Euro bike owners are more comfortable returning to the dealer or going to a specialist (Ken's Motorworks for Ducati for example) ?

A couple of things going on here...
a) Somehow people got convinced Ducati's have magic under that bodywork and you have to be a specially trained wizard not to release it. It's part of the Ducati (and other companies too, just I feel Ducati is the best at it) mystique. (There is nothing special about a modern Ducati... no magic. It's all marketing. Any mechanic can change the oil, pad slap, or replace the timing belt on your Duc.) (I say this knowing there are monkeys out there that can screw these jobs up... but they're not REALLY mechanics and shouldn't be working on Honda's or even 10 speeds)
Ken WAS (a long time ago) a Ducati factory trained tech. He no longer has access to the newest diagnostic tools from Bologna, and he copes just fine... You know why? Because he is damn good mechanic. Nothing special, just good at what he does. There's lots of damn good mechanics out there.

b) Part of this marketing magic of Ducati's (and other companies too, just I feel Ducati is the best at it) is to present Ducati's as a up-scale, up-market product, like Chanel, Dior or YSL in fashion, Rolls, Ferarri or Lambo cars, Rolex or Patek watches, that up-scale, up-market people would own and people that are up-scale and up-market, are willing and do, pay through the nose for services... so paying through the nose for service is part of the Ducati experience and is entirely necessary to prolong this charade.
Ducati (and a lot of other companies too, just I feel Ducati is the best at it in the motorcycle market) markets directly to people that think they can buy "COOL"... the logic goes: Cool peoples own Ducati's, so if I own a Ducati, I too will be COOL... and paying through the nose for service is part of the price of COOL and would not have it any other way. If I paid less, I would be less COOL.
Marketing 101 or 102

...ME? I buy Ducati's cuz' I like the way the old ones ride.
I'm too old to be COOL. I wouldn't know what to do with COOL. I'd trade COOL for a decent night's sleep.

 

[Mad Mike]

I suspect pretty well all of those points and now the new Euro bikes need to be hooked up to the dealers proprietary diagnostic equipment.

Both my older 2014 Moto Guzzi and now my 2019 Ducati both need to be taken to the dealership just to reset the service light. Many care about that light but I personally don't. As long as I know I changed the oil & filter properly I don't care if the symbol comes on and stays on.

I reset a friend's '14 Guzzi Norge. If I recall it took about 20 orchestrated keypresses on the cluster to pull it off, I found the sequence on a Goochie forum.

I'm guessing high-end niche bikes will get progressively harder to service without access to proprietary tools and info from manufacturers. I would expect volume bikes producers will weigh customer retention higher than propping up their dealer service network with forced visits.

 

[crankcall]

When you take a Duc in and they pop off the seat and reach for the OBD hookup plug , thats where it starts ..... my Ducati battery charger also plugs into the OBD hole , so thats cool.
I suspect @TK4 , all the points in your friends analysis is quite correct , there are a LOT of japanese bikes on Cdn roads , quite a few HDs that are older and need work. Also dealers are NOT servicing older bikes , you can get turned away from a dealer with an older bike ( me with a yamaha)

And none of these dealers in the premium slots are dummies , if they can force you into the shop for proprietary software , good for them. Buy that KLR that anybody can sort, and feel bad about your life decisions

 

[Lightcycle]

Not only the OBD equipment, but also mechanicals like having a wheel balancer that handles single-sided swingarms.

Pulled into Calgary and wanted to get my tire changed but didn't want to go to the stealership. Many independent shops were willing to sell me a tire and change it out for me, but nobody had the right equipment to balance it for the SSSA on my 12GS. Many Ducs also have SSSAs.

Finally found a BMW Motorrad independent shop, but they were only marginally cheaper than the dealership. There's an investment cost associated to service specialized brands that UJMs don't have.

 

[Maniac]

1) Euro bike owners are more comfortable returning to the dealer or going to a specialist (Ken's Motorworks for Ducati for example) ?
2) The lack of access to specialized information and tools that would allow the independents to participate ?
3) Japanese and H-D riders put more miles on and wear more stuff out ?
4) The aforementioned riders are cheap and don't want to spend the $$$ to go to a big box dealer ?
5) There are just plain more of the aforementioned on the road ?
6) Is this representative across the city or an isolated statistical anomaly ?

7. Euro bikes never break.

 

[Lightcycle]

7. Euro bikes never break.

Yeah... those Euro bikes have never met me on a trail before.

Challenge accepted.

 

[hdsomeday]

My buddy's small repair shop has a new computer guy who's helping him get up to speed on tracking information.
Interestingly, over the last year, 94% of the bikes they worked on were either Japanese or H-D.......................................................

Tell your buddy to get his guy to break it down by manufacture year as well (although I'm sure he can pretty much do that himself, roughly).

That may tell a different story

 

[TK4]

Tell your buddy to get his guy to break it down by manufacture year as well (although I'm sure he can pretty much do that himself, roughly).

That may tell a different story

Generally speaking, most of these machines are 5 years or older.

 

[sburns]

It's interesting info for sure, and questions, some of which you will not have an answers to because the scope of information is isolated to this locaiton. Location being a key factor. It could be these types of riders are within a certain distance to the shop. Could be he is known to service these bikes, referrals from similar riders, good work, service, and rates. Little or no competition or is just better then others. People just not interested in wrenching or don't have space or tools. Over time he could formulate a better picture of his clientele, typical work, and costs.

 

[TK4]

Over time he could formulate a better picture of his clientele, typical work, and costs.

I believe that's the ultimate plan.

 

[bitzz]

Generally speaking, most of these machines are 5 years or older.

And in those 5 years, most of those bikes would have got: a few oil changes, tires, a chain, a air filter, MAYBE a fluids change and plugs...all first year apprentice work at the dealership. So there is a good chance the bike hasn't ever been looked at by a REAL mechanic

 

[crankcall]

you dont want to over analyse , once you realize you show up every morning to work on clapped out Suzukis , he'll just be sad. Talking endlessly to the kid that wants a slipon carbon exhaust for his CB125, because you know , 9hp..... oy vey

 

[TK4]

you dont want to over analyse , once you realize you show up every morning to work on clapped out Suzukis , he'll just be sad. Talking endlessly to the kid that wants a slipon carbon exhaust for his CB125, because you know , 9hp..... oy vey

Hey, hey - a CBR125 with a slipon will generate 13 smokin' HP (on a good day)

 

[Mad Mike]

A couple of things going on here...
a) Somehow people got convinced Ducati's have magic under that bodywork and you have to be a specially trained wizard not to release it. It's part of the Ducati (and other companies too, just I feel Ducati is the best at it) mystique. (There is nothing special about a modern Ducati... no magic. It's all marketing. Any mechanic can change the oil, pad slap, or replace the timing belt on your Duc.) (I say this knowing there are monkeys out there that can screw these jobs up... but they're not REALLY mechanics and shouldn't be working on Honda's or even 10 speeds)
Ken WAS (a long time ago) a Ducati factory trained tech. He no longer has access to the newest diagnostic tools from Bologna, and he copes just fine... You know why? Because he is damn good mechanic. Nothing special, just good at what he does. There's lots of damn good mechanics out there.

b) Part of this marketing magic of Ducati's (and other companies too, just I feel Ducati is the best at it) is to present Ducati's as a up-scale, up-market product, like Chanel, Dior or YSL in fashion, Rolls, Ferarri or Lambo cars, Rolex or Patek watches, that up-scale, up-market people would own and people that are up-scale and up-market, are willing and do, pay through the nose for services... so paying through the nose for service is part of the Ducati experience and is entirely necessary to prolong this charade.
Ducati (and a lot of other companies too, just I feel Ducati is the best at it in the motorcycle market) markets directly to people that think they can buy "COOL"... the logic goes: Cool peoples own Ducati's, so if I own a Ducati, I too will be COOL... and paying through the nose for service is part of the price of COOL and would not have it any other way. If I paid less, I would be less COOL.
Marketing 101 or 102

...ME? I buy Ducati's cuz' I like the way the old ones ride.
I'm too old to be COOL. I wouldn't know what to do with COOL. I'd trade COOL for a decent night's sleep.

All good, but there are also things you need to prepare for when working on Euro bikes. Japanese and most American bikes are design and engineered from end to end, the suspension, brakes, electronics, frames, wheels, plastics... all designed and manufactured in a vertically integrated system. Euro bikes are gloms of systems where the bike makers engineer the major mechanical stuff (frames, plastics, engine and final drive mechanicals). Fuel, electronics, exhaust, cooling, suspension, and brakes are system integrated from other desighners and manufacturers.

The level of integration and reliability testing on Euro bikes can't approach the Japaneses.

 

[Mad Mike]

Hey, hey - a CBR125 with a slipon will generate 13 smokin' HP (on a good day)

I love little bikes. I have a couple of 125s, they do 110kmh pinned. I picked up a beaten DT50/LC, gonna try to wring 100kmh out of her. My plucky 50cc Yamahopper has close to 4hp, screams along at 62kmh.

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