Advice Needed: mechanic Cracked my Clocks

[Funkatronic]

Dear all

in a bit of situation i could use some advice

i recently had my bike front end upgraded and dynoed by a reputable mechanic who i dont not want to name at present as i know he is used and well liked by a number of members here and to be fair the other work he did on my bike im very happy with.

problem is while my bike was is his care a crack has materialized in my tacho clock. I pointed this out immediately to 2 members of staff when i went to collect the bike and was told a part would need to be ordered and they would call me to arrange a time for me to bring the bike back (its quite a journey for me to his workshop).

I had not heard any thing back from him so have had to chase him. Now he is refusing to fix this issue and is claiming that after a chat with Ducati the crack is down to wear and tear as the clocks can spontaneously break if the bike is left in the sun.

i know that the clocks are not exactly brilliant but this sounds like a load of old bull to me and i'm planning to call my solicitor first thing but wanted to see if anyone had any ideas on what my rights and or recouse are in this situation.

Ideally i don't want to go down the legal route but i preperared to if thats the only way to get this resolved

thanks in advance

ali

[CK & AK]

Originally Posted by Funkatronic

Now he is refusing to fix this issue and is claiming that after a chat with Ducati the crack is down to wear and tear as the clocks can spontaneously break if the bike is left in the sun.

Never heard of this before.

Can I suggest you speak to Ducati Uk directly? - or ask to speak to the regional tech rep to discuss further?

Hope you get this resolved soon

CK

I'm taking it the crack is in the clear plastic not the dial it's self , if so then i have had a similar problem . My bike went in to cmw for a service , when i picked it up i rode away and noticed it had small cracks runing across the plastic which were not there before , i rode straight back and Richard took a look and thought they were stress cracks , they were repaired under warranty with no fuss.

[jerry]

Ducati clocks are crap and the plastic cracks far too easily its so common that Ducati should own up for it .

[Nickj]

LMAO ... Breaks in the sun Ohhhhh my that is a blinding excuse!!

Do I take that to mean that we have a special material designed for a permanently overcast sky or do Ducati just assume people buy their bikes to keep as indoor display items??

The sun shining is a pretty global kind of phenomenon you might have thought that might just be considered in the design and materials used.

I'll just go poke the dials on the old GT550 and FZR600 out the back and see how they've stood up to 20 years of sun..... {slopes off outside}

No cracks, no crazing AND STILL WORKING LOL

[Nickj]

Problem is that your mechanics will have found is that the 'parts' will be a new set of clocks. Don't see them wanting to invest a few hundred in your bike if they don't have to.

The clear plastic over the LCD on my ST4 cracked. As you say Monsterman; Ducati clocks are crap.
I don't know Funkatronic. It's possible that your mechanic cracked it as he moved the bike, but the guy might be right in saying they just crack without provocation. In his shoes I'd be inclined to give the owner the benefit of the doubt, dig in my pocket and fix it in the cause of good customer relations. (I hope he's reading this.)

Originally Posted by Nickj

Problem is that your mechanics will have found is that the 'parts' will be a new set of clocks. Don't see them wanting to invest a few hundred in your bike if they don't have to.

Surely they're repairable, aren't they? The Smiths rev counter on my '72 Triumph Daytona was playing up a few years ago. That rev counter looked like a device you can't open up. It's crimped together by the chrome rim. But I spoke to PJ Speedos in Guildford and the said 'no problem'. I sent it to them and it came back looking and working like new.

Originally Posted by M900nster

Surely they're repairable, aren't they?

Nope - although it is technically possible to take the clocks apart, in practice it is a time consuming job and if they are replaced under warranty, then they come as a complete unit - including the back cover...

I think Nickj is spot on with his assumption - once the workshop found out the price of replacing a five quid piece of perspex is actually a £300+ set of clocks... the deal changed?

xxx

[Funkatronic]

Hi all

thanks for your posts

no doubt once they found out the costs of parts they decided to try and fob me off.

i have spoken to trading standards and it seems the law is on my side, "The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 as amended states that I am entitled to expect the work to be carried out with reasonable care and skill and the materials used should be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose."
The bike was damaged in their care regardless of how it happened so they (or their insurers) will have to suck it up

if they don't, i have quite a few options within the law. they will be tedious but i'm feeling pretty ****ed off right now so i wont lose any sleep over taking him to court if i have to.

watch this space...

thanks again for all your comments

ali

Originally Posted by Nickj

Problem is that your mechanics will have found is that the 'parts' will be a new set of clocks. Don't see them wanting to invest a few hundred in your bike if they don't have to.

cmw just replaced the perspex not the complete clocks.

so....the dealer is...? (and good luck with your claim)

Originally Posted by Scootaboy

so....the dealer is...? (and good luck with your claim)

I don't think it was a dealer, it was an independent - otherwise they would have known about the price of the clocks before they made such a generous offer!

I respect Funkatronic keeping their name out of the picture, as he says, their work is recommended by a number of others and this is a little out of the ordinary situation?

xxx

Originally Posted by walber-tone

cmw just replaced the perspex not the complete clocks.

Yes, I understand this is possible - but do you know where they got the replacement lens from? As far as I understood, you cannot order these (individual) parts from Ducati?

Of course if some bright wag with a lazer cutting machine would cut a few blanks out using an original as a pattern - that might save a lot of hassle (not to mention money!) for owners of older bikes?

xxx

Originally Posted by JMo

Yes, I understand this is possible - but do you know where they got the replacement lens from? As far as I understood, you cannot order these (individual) parts from Ducati?

Of course if some bright wag with a lazer cutting machine would cut a few blanks out using an original as a pattern - that might save a lot of hassle (not to mention money!) for owners of older bikes?

xxx

They were complete clocks , but if they changed whole unit i would have had a zeroe'd mileage , and i didn't want to have any possible queries on the reason when i sell it. This was all done under warranty , no cost to dealer.