1. Price Guide For Motorcycle Repair

New and used motorcycle pricing - Select a category or make to get the Kelley Blue Book suggested retail price or trade-in value for your motorcycle.

I Capitulated For A While, Then Made The Decision When I bought my shop, the labor rate was $45. I immediately raised it to $48, then $60 the next year. A few years later, we hit $95, then $99. Some time ago, at our weekly meeting, I raised the specter of going over the $100 mark.

Well, you would have thought I was asking the service manager to parade naked up and down in front of his house! He and my general manager teamed up and said that we’d lose all kinds of business if we did such a horrible, mercenary thing!

I capitulated for a while, and then made the decision. I went to our sign maker, and had new labor rate signs made, then reprogrammed the DMS to $110 an hour.

Price Guide For Motorcycle Repair

That’s right. Which in reality was far less than the jump from $48 to $60. I made this decision with no staff consultation. I announced it one morning, and of course, the caterwauling began. Clients won’t come back when they learn of our new rate.

People will freak out. No one else in our area was over $100 an hour. This is a disaster.

Guess how many complaints we had? From a guy who was always complaining anyway. We didn’t really want him around, and I was hoping he would go elsewhere. Alas, that was not to be.

Even he saw that we were worth this extra cost for services. The point is this: I meet dealers all the time who say, “I can’t raise my labor rates because I’ll lose business.” Poppycock, to use a euphemism. You, as a business, have to make a profit. You, as a dealer, have to pay your employees. You, as a businessman, have to pay your mortgage, your expenses, and I’m sure that you, as a hardworking business owner, want to take some money home to your family, and have a great life. As well, I’ve always had the highest PDI, freight and build charge in my area. When I hire a new salesperson, I always hear, “How can I possibly ask $250 more than everyone else for PDI than the other dealers?” I tell them that you just do it.

Don’t assume that the customer will balk at it. It’s been my experience that most people are alright with it if you explain it properly.

It’s the salesperson who presents these charges that won’t look the client in the eyes who has all the problems. There are obviously limits; charging an extra 40% labor rate, or double the PDI and freight charge of your competition, may not work. But don’t be the cheapest; that will not build a business to be proud of – or a profitable one. Once again, this is nothing new, and in my 20 group, we had a member tell us that his amazingly low labor rate was all he could charge, as no one in his area would pay more than that. We jumped all over him, and he raised his rates. Guess how many complaints he had? You’d be right if you guessed none.

The problem was all in his head. At the same time, you have to back it up. Your service standards have to be high. You have to strive to be the best.

And when I say service standards, I don’t mean just having great techs, but having great service writers, and fantastic P&A counter people. Raise the bar.

Make your competition jealous. Don’t back down; you must have a profit, and if you make the transactions with your clients worth their money, you won’t be getting complaints or lost business. You’ll be getting fewer complaints, happy customers and more profits. And what is the problem with that? Some say his tears are adhesive and that he’s scared of bells. All we know is he keeps his identity hidden for various reasons.

Send us an email if you have a topic you’d like him to cover.

Rates $90 per hour for most labor, plus parts and sales tax. Storage $95 per month,.

Tires mounted and balanced for $30 off the bike. If you bring us the whole bike, it’s $45 for front wheels, and rears are $75 for chain drive, $65 for shaft drive, and $95 for most belt drives. $10 discount per tire purchased through Nashville Motorcycle Repair. Adhesive wheel weights are used for most balancing and are included with the work. Tubes, rim strips, and/or new valve stems cost extra as needed. Oil changes cost $45 for most bikes, not including the oil and filter. We use K&N filters and fully synthetic motorcycle-specific oil and conventional oil.

Change your oil and filter at least every year or every 3,000-5,000 miles. If you ride a lot of miles in a year (10,000+), use synthetic oil and feel free to double the mileage interval.

Our oil is $19/liter synthetic and $9/liter conventional, and oil filters run $8-15. A 3-liter oil change will cost as much as $117 or as little as $80. Also, we only charge for how much oil goes into your bike, to the nearest tenth of a liter. Please note this covers engine oil changes only. Shaft drive and non-unit construction bikes (Sportster, BMW airhead, etc.) require additional oil changes for their primary drives, transmissions, and/or final drives. Brake and clutch fluid flush $25 per master cylinder. Brake pad replacement $50 per caliper, includes cleaning and regreasing slides (as applicable).

Brake shoe replacement $80 per axle, includes cleaning and regreasing pivots in the brake. (Less expensive if we do it while changing the tire.) Brake fluid should be replaced every 2 years — the fluid absorbs water over time, which will decrease the effectiveness of your brakes and eventually corrode your brake calipers’ pistons. Fork service: $190 for damper rod forks, $235 for cartridge-style forks. This is for both forks and includes seal and wiper replacement (if required), cleaning of all internal components, fresh oil addition, and re-installation. Replacement parts and oil not included.

Steering head bearing replacement Typically $200-315; faired and heavy bikes being at the higher end of the scale. If your steering feels like it has a “notch” in the center, you need new bearings. If you’ve gone 12,000 miles or four years, you need your steering head bearings cleaned and regreased. (This takes somewhat less labor than outright replacement, and no new parts are required.) If you’re getting your forks serviced at the same time (see above), we’ll charge straight time for the steering head bearing service, which typically adds 1 to 1.5 hours. Steering head bearing tightening If you feel a “clunk” in the handlebars when you grab the front brake (while moving), or if the front end feels especially rough over small bumps, your steering head bearings are likely loose and need to be adjusted. This can be done in 30 minutes on most bikes.