It wasn't 25%. I was the one who told her they needed to get changed. The safety marking was completely gone and it was damn close to nothing.
Rosey Toes Safety?
- Thread starter youngrider
- Start date
It wasn't 25%. I was the one who told her they needed to get changed. The safety marking was completely gone and it was damn close to nothing.
There are so many retarded responses even on the first page that I stopped reading. OP, you have to understand that there is a certain list of things that are on the SAFETY certificate list. Those things are a MUST. If a mechanic tells you that you have to replace something AND it's not on that list, you can tell him to f*ck off and give you your certificate.
I have had a mechanic tell me that he wouldn't safety the car that I was selling because of a couple of things (he was potential buyer's grandfather or something). Well, none of those things were related to safety, so he just wanted to make money on me.
Ted certified my first bike when I was buying and selling it. Both times he did check all major things - mirrors, brakes, lights, tires, whatever else is on the list. So in my case he was thorough.
I have had a mechanic tell me that he wouldn't safety the car that I was selling because of a couple of things (he was potential buyer's grandfather or something). Well, none of those things were related to safety, so he just wanted to make money on me.
Ted certified my first bike when I was buying and selling it. Both times he did check all major things - mirrors, brakes, lights, tires, whatever else is on the list. So in my case he was thorough.
Any mechanic safetying your bike can refuse it for whatever reason they see fit its not a law that they give you a cert. You are free to go somewhere else or report them to BBB or whatever. Not saying that he was right or wrong but if you ever said that to me you would be getting a size 12 escort to the door. Just sayin 
Any mechanic safetying your bike can refuse it for whatever reason they see fit its not a law that they give you a cert. You are free to go somewhere else or report them to BBB or whatever. Not saying that he was right or wrong but if you ever said that to me you would be getting a size 12 escort to the door. Just sayin
EXACTLY, you get a safety cert, week later run wide and put the bike in the rhubarb patch, first thing your surviving family does is yell "it was just safetied, must have been a bad safety check"
Any mechanic safetying your bike can refuse it for whatever reason they see fit its not a law that they give you a cert. You are free to go somewhere else or report them to BBB or whatever. Not saying that he was right or wrong but if you ever said that to me you would be getting a size 12 escort to the door. Just sayin
I've been denied safeties because my exhaust wasn't original on a car. And I was denied a safety because my bike had straight pipes. I don't know if they're on the list or not, but it didn't seem right to me.
Safeties are ******** cash grabs.
Agreed but your asking the mechanic to do it. He didnt ask you to come in. I dont know a single mechanic that "likes" doing safeties. Shops may but the guy signing the sheet sure doesnt I can guarantee you that. He is sticking his neck out for 36 days as said earlier if something goes south who is getting sued? Tell your MPP you dont agree and while your at it get him on the clean air crap as well.
skapan
Well-known member
This thread won't die because people think a safety inspection means the bike is perfect. Reality is something less than that, and Ted will only recommend work be performed if it's really necessary, where the majority of the other local shops look at a safety as a way to make some money, so sure they will tell you to replace pads that have 25% left. To pass a safety inspection you need enough pad material for one or two good hard stops from 100 or so, that's about it. 1/32 of an inch I think is the technical measure. You can also get a safety on a bike that doesn't run, as long as it doesn't leak and the kill switch works. I like Ted, he is a real biker from long ago, and apparently that's not so relevant for today's riders. Too bad.
Schedule 6. 2. (7): ... from a rate of speed not less than 30 kilometers per hour, with heavy pedal or where applicable, heavy pedal and lever control force,
(a) the motorcycle shall come to a complete stop within seven (7) meters;
(b) no component shall fail; and
(c) each wheel brake shall release immediately after the control force is removed.
I was replying because of the tough guy comment about a size 12 in the rear.
I understand he didn't ask you to come in, but I say it's a cash grab for the mechanics, not the government. The mechanics can make up whatever bull they want to milk more money from you. And what neck out? It has to pass at the time of inspection, so if it fails the next day it's irrelevant.
Could you perhaps point me to a lawsuit over a bad safety?
got my safety done a week ago, $40, went with my cousin and he even fixed the tension on his bike for free!
IMO he did a thorough job, make sure all the requirements are there (lights, brakes, horn, chain, sprocket), he gave me a half can of chain lube too!
he test rode the bike down the street as well, that's a testiment of a safety cert, a rider willing to actually test the safety of the bike first hand instead of just signing the cert...
IMO he did a thorough job, make sure all the requirements are there (lights, brakes, horn, chain, sprocket), he gave me a half can of chain lube too!
he test rode the bike down the street as well, that's a testiment of a safety cert, a rider willing to actually test the safety of the bike first hand instead of just signing the cert...
The comment was directed at the comment above where the guy says "F%ck off and give me my safety" and I stand behind that its not a "tough guy" comment is 100% accurate if someone comes into my shop and ever said that to me thats exactly what he will get.
This is the last time I will comment anyway I think I have made my point. Been doing them for years and there is no money in them I can guarantee you that. Can I make stuff up? Possibly but then they just leave and you get a bad rep on sites like this..... its bad business.
As for a suit. It happens all the time. Someone gets a bike safetied and then flies off the road a week later and gets killed. The family looking for a reason and/or a cash out and sues the mechanic that just wrote the safety. I have two stupid lawsuits in the works right now (no not for safeties but other stupid crap looking for a cash out from the insurance company just the same) In our world personal responsibility for our actions is long gone. Just the way it is.
I turn people away all the time that just want a safety tell them its not worth me coming to get the bike to do it. They can get it faster and cheaper down the street. Used to love it when Ted was running all over writing them I bet I have literally sent him 100s of safety business.
Dont kid yourself the govt makes more than the mechanic/shop on safeties. You know what a book of certs cost? You know how much time goes into it and what you can charge?Not to mention the records that MOT make you keep and the fines you get when you dont dot your Is or cross your Ts. The accounting time/cost alone makes safeties a loss leader. No money made just liability risk.
TorontoBoy
Well-known member
Ask Ted for advice on your bike and he will give you his opinion, but he will not fail your safety unless it fails the MOT criteria. I admire him for his honesty and cannot fault him for this. If you want items fixed on your bike, some mechanics will tell you 25 percent; left on your brake pads is not sufficient and will want you to change them. Above the legal requirement for the safety, all other items are a judgement call. There is no requirement for this in the safety cert. If this is what you want then don't go to Ted. If you feel your pads are low, then ask Ted to change them and he will.
As stated before a safety certificate is not a guarantee of road worthiness, but only that it passes the minimum requirement. This is sort of like the Gr 10 high school literacy test, where the government sets the low bar. If you want you can go better, but to get the high school diploma you need to pass the low bar. The safety cert is the same.
This is your bike. The safety cert states it passed the minimum requirement. If this minimum is not sufficient for you, and it should not be, then do something to improve your bike's condition, because your life depends on it. Even if a mechanic insists you make repairs you do not agree with and threatens to fail you, there could be other issues that he will miss. There is no criteria above the mimimum requirement to hold this mechanic to any fault.
Ted has safetied 2 of my bikes. I asked him lots of questions and he gave me honest answers. He did insist on a couple of things in order to pass the safety and they were valid requirements. The other repairs were "watch it and do it later". I cannot fault Ted for this.
The old Cycleworld in Scarborough, thankfully long gone, failed one of my bikes partially because my spokes had surface rust. There is no criteria in the safety cert requirement that spokes on a wheel must be rust free. Still they took my money and I felt ripped off. In light of these types of mechanics I much prefer the honesty of Ted. You decide.
Cowmooflage
Well-known member
Hey, it was an honest, unintentional mistake. If you're so sick to the stomach in regards with such trivial things, stop reading.
Here's the checklist of the safety requirements to meet MTO standard http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_900611_e.htm#BK11 (schedule 6)
... what it requires seems pretty thorough, which Ted is not. And as kneedragger mentioned, the things that they actually have to thoroughly inspect would take quite some time that it really is a loss for 40$, mechanics like Ted check the bare minimum and say it's "okay" and move onto a bigger job that is worth their time and money.
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cbcanada
Banned
I have had ted safety my bikes and i have had ken safety my bikes. And both are very fair and good. And both answered my questions and gave me tips and advice. I would recommend them both.
People think a safety cert is the holy grail. Its not. A rider should know his bike well enough to tell if the brakes are shot the bearings are done or the this and that is toast.
Some mechanics do charge more and fabricate work that dont need to be dine but thats life.. If you have a beef with a mechanic because they over charge and rip you off then do the work yourself or learn a little basics atleast.
The mechanics are not begging you to go see them. So don't hate because they want to make a living. They have not taken an oath to only do the work thats totally necessary. If you dont want to be ripped off then help yourself and become knowledgable.
People think a safety cert is the holy grail. Its not. A rider should know his bike well enough to tell if the brakes are shot the bearings are done or the this and that is toast.
Some mechanics do charge more and fabricate work that dont need to be dine but thats life.. If you have a beef with a mechanic because they over charge and rip you off then do the work yourself or learn a little basics atleast.
The mechanics are not begging you to go see them. So don't hate because they want to make a living. They have not taken an oath to only do the work thats totally necessary. If you dont want to be ripped off then help yourself and become knowledgable.
1) That one poster is just trolling looking for someone to go on record saying that Ted does shady safety certs - he doesnt. All opinions I have read is that he gives sound advice, and if the bike failed, he is well priced and suits to fix it.
2) I hate safety certs, however, as good as I am mechanically, I do miss things from time to time. And a second pair of eye balls is a good thing.
3) I hate the flat rate system - this means that mechanics sometimes lie or "embelish" an issue so as to get extra work, and in turn, more money in their pocket. Worse, the managers and service advisors also receive bonus' on the units per hour, and profitability. Which means, everyone is out to make sure you get ****ed for work that isn't necessarily needed. This is my biggest beef.
4) If the government passed a law banning the flat rate system - I think you would see FAR less fraud and customers getting screwed royally in the auto and moto repair industries.
2) I hate safety certs, however, as good as I am mechanically, I do miss things from time to time. And a second pair of eye balls is a good thing.
3) I hate the flat rate system - this means that mechanics sometimes lie or "embelish" an issue so as to get extra work, and in turn, more money in their pocket. Worse, the managers and service advisors also receive bonus' on the units per hour, and profitability. Which means, everyone is out to make sure you get ****ed for work that isn't necessarily needed. This is my biggest beef.
4) If the government passed a law banning the flat rate system - I think you would see FAR less fraud and customers getting screwed royally in the auto and moto repair industries.
I have spoken out against the flat rate system more than once. And I refuse to run a shop that uses it, however I have work at shops that do use it. It is an interesting problem... The flat rate system is flawed right from the get go. It breeds poor workmanship by rewarding techs who finish the work quickly and cutting corners. The upside to the business is that if it is not busy, your labour costs go down. The flat rate system "seems" to work in the automotive (car) industry because there is one book that everyone is getting the flat rate times from, and everyone follows it. So the ability to overcharge for a job is severly hampered.
Having techs work strictly on an hourly basis isn't perfect either, as they get paid whether they are working or not. Now we would all hope that any employee would be well motivated to work harder and thus excel in their position, but that doesn't always happen (as most of us well know).
The happy middle is something that is popping up more and more called split-rate. Where a tech is paid a base salary (using fictional numbers) say $20/hr and then they are paid $5/hr of work billed out. And depending on the tech and shop the percentages can be changed, so a really good tech in a busy shop might want $15 base and $15 flat. This system seems to have the advantage of both motivating the techs to produce and also make sure that during the dry spells they still earn a decent living wage to make sure the bills are paid.
Making the use of the flat rate system "illegal" won't solve the problem, making sure that you are getting good value for the money you spend at a shop will. If you are paying $75/hr and the shop is constantly producing bad work, you won't go back. If another shop charges $85/hr and gets it right everytime, they will get the business. Regardless that the door rate is higher. This forum is a great tool for making sure that everyone is getting the proper value for their service dollars. With all the feedback, consumers and industry alike are able to change and adapt.. which benefits both sides.
