Hey guys, I live in Connecticut and am looking for an SV specialist that would be interested in doing a very thorough service on my SV1000. It sits for long periods and needs a total refresh.
I can travel up to 100 miles, or so to deliver it. I'm looking for a guy that has done lots of work specifically on SV's that is a bit of a perfectionist.
I have cash in hand and can pick the bike up very quickly when it is finished.
Service would include a thorough tune-up and valve job. Flush cooling system. Flush and rebuild master cylinders and install new Spiegler lines. Rebuild calipers and install new brake pads. Install chain, sprockets, maybe tires. Service suspension and install stiffer springs. Etc...etc...
Would like to drop off in early-to-mid March and have ready for the Spring.
Must be well known and trusted on the SV forum. Thanks!

p.s. we could always send the suspension out to be refreshed.

PM me if interested in the job!

Had a much appreciated referral to a small repair shop in Hastings, NY from a fella here on the board.
Unfortunately, when I contacted them, their hourly rate is off the charts. Well above what my local Suzuki dealer charges.
The service I'm looking to do would have cost $2500, or more.
Anyway, I'm still looking. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!

$2500 seems cheap to do everything on your list.
-ms

That's being polite, I thought I was being polite by not responding.

You might find someone that's done a lot of work on the 650s but with the 1000 being available for (I think) only 4 years and selling relatively few I'd be very surprised to find a mechanic that's done "lots of work" on it.

Regarding the goal to find a mechanic that's a perfectionist, generally you'll get what you pay for. Good service won't be cheap and cheap service won't be good. If you're looking to save some cash I'd suggest either doing it yourself or perhaps waiting until winter. That's the slow time of year for mc mechanics and you might find one that has a reduced rate.

Yeah, mechanics charge is around 100bucks per hr, and i know they charge around 300-400 bucks just for valve adjustments...and also SV1k is not the youngest babe on market so lot of shops might not be even interested to work on it....thats how i ended up to learn a lot from forums,friends,manuals...etc
Also SV is easy one to work on, had 4cyl full faired sport bikes before and even to change spark plugs on that thing or valve adjustment meant to take everything off...day of work
Find some fellow SVhaver in your area who can help and you will see....but dont forget to buy him/her 6pack 😊

Yeah, that was the actual intent of the thread... I'm looking for a "shade tree" mechanic, not a shop.
If I wanted to pay $100+ an hour for service, I'd just take it to the Suzuki dealer and get a receipt with a warranty on their work.
I'm looking for a guy that is a really good home mechanic, or an actual dealership mechanic looking for some side work.
I will be happy to pay them well... (even well above what the dealer pays them as their hourly pay), but I'm not going to pay the full customer retail that a shop charges.

Hopefully, I can find the right fella!

p.s. I pay in $100 bills and pick the bike up as soon as the work is done (within 3 days)

I think if you are looking for a highly skilled technical person, even on the side, you are going to find that you would be paying close to that $100/hour mark. Even harder to find one that has in depth and hands on experience with SV1000s. Lots of folks around here that charge less, but I end up getting the bike to do the work/fix properly in the end.

Ship it to Oregon! I will do it, but my hourly even as a side gig likely would not make you happy.

-ma

I think this is an excellent idea TBH. You might as well pony up some good money too and let Mike work his magic on your engine to make your SV1000 the beast of the East Coast!

I'm confused as to the logic here... I have friends in various trade industries that do side work on my house and cars all the time. Plumbing, carpentry, electrical, car mechanic's etc...

None of them charge anywhere near what their employer charges. That's how and why they get side work. If the business gets $125 an hour, they usually charge around half that. There is no receipt. No guarantee on the parts.
They're still making more than what their boss pays them.

If they were to charge the same amount as the business, why wouldn't I just take my work to the business?

When that business charges $125 and hour, it's because they have a ton of overhead. Mortgage, insurance, electricity, work vehicles, stocking of needed parts and tools, etc... They usually pay the licensed workers anywhere from $50-$60 an hour.

I appreciate all of the info and tips, but things are different where I live here in CT.

I will say this. I would guess that about a third of the work I do comes in from people using other people or the dealers and it has not been done properly. On these jobs I charge even more to fix crap work and then to actually complete what needed to get done originally. It would have been a money saver to get it done right the first time.

You think the technicians are making $60 an hour!?! It is probably more like a half or a third of that. Dealers often have huge turn over and lower quality staff because they won’t pay enough to keep really good folks in the buildings. There are exceptions to this of course and I know people in the business who are exceptionally good.

I am not cheap, but I do have a very loyal following of people who are willing to wait in a long queue for me to work on their stuff.

You just need to find someone that can do a level of work you are happy with for a cost you can deal with. If you can not, you need to budge on one of the two.

-ms

At a guess I would say that of 100 early school leavers, 50 work in fast food, 40 in the building industry, 9 mechanics and 1 bike tech. That is why they don't have to work cheap.
Would you take the cheapest quote for brain or heart surgery?

I agree on most points Mr Vic....

But, i reckon a "bike tech" is rarer than that......and mechanics ....? most of them these days are what i would call "fitters"....dis' 'll fit this....dis' 'll fit 'dat.....
Particularly in the chain stores...... so, yeah, its worth paying good money, IF the guy really knows his stuff......and quite often, those guys are out on their own, cause they
didn't fit in the team environment (they wanted to do good work, which takes time) and the bean counters just want turnover of jobs.....

I didn't want to cut a person in half, too hard cleaning up the mess.

Ha ha....you got it mate...