[solved] Hefty Bill

Hi guys.

I need your opinion.

I sent my Bonnie T100 for MOT and Triumph Glasgow found several problems.
Headlight pattern facing the wrong way (wtf ???), rear tyre unsafe for cornering and in need of change, rear brake uneven and pads in need of replacement, left mirrors going salsa dancing on the bars, chain in need of deep cleaning and so on.

When they got to my rear brake service they realised one of the bolts holding the "moving parts of the caliper" was seriously f'up and in need of replacement but it doesn't come as a spare part. Apparently after an ebay search, and whatever it was either fixing it one way or another or changing the whole shebang which would be even more costly.

My initial Mot fixes Bill jumped from £300 to £600 to make my bike safe.
Question:

I have that cash available. But my next yearly insurance payment is coming in may. Would it be more financially advantageous of asking my insurer to pay for it, and accept the consequence on my insurance bill or to leave Carole Nash completely out of it ?
(first claim in 3 years history, ergo ever)


I mean, how much does a "small claim" ( i did not crash the whole bike and asked for a new one) like this would affect my next insurance quote ?

Cheers guys.

 

The initial bill wasmuch cheaper before the break service and I had to change the tyre and fit it.
But Yeah, I know exactly what you mean, but the guy from Triumph explained to me twice that basically the calliper was fucked. And yeah the works have been done. Maintenance, no, but the thing could be qualified as breakdown, as it is not functionnal, no ?

Thing is, without my MOT the bike is now sorn

 

I have breakdown cover and the rear brake was basically non safe. It's a bit of a grey area, no ?

Normally I would not even think of claiming on my insurance, but fuck me, this is basically paying my insurance twice.

 

Aaaaaah the wonderful world of government forced services sold by private companies...

I can't say I have any surprises there, but on some things, it's always better to ask the opinion of more experienced peers.

 

Yeah Actually Triumph got me easy there, the Bike was in MOT and they were like "this is fucked, we fixed it already you owe us that much".

I agreed on £300 of repairs, they sent me a £600 bill.
I don't mind paying for my lack of taste in motorcycle mechanics, a bit more when I'm clearly getting ripped off.

 

I didn't okay the doubling of my bill, I okay a £300 bill and the research for the part or bolts or whatever. Anyhow this is Triumph/Ducati/Harley (One management). i doubt they will negotiate on anything. Will see. Fool me once...

 

Haven't paid yet.

 

So.

When I raged because my bill just went 200%, Alan, the guy from Triumph took time to explain me as much as I could understand. There was a bold or at least the fixation of a moving part that was fucked up and probably for a while.

1. Which Lead to an uneven use of the brake pads and was messing with the alignment of the calliper.

2. That bolt was very hard to remove as it was broken It took the engineer "5 hours" to fix this. ( So I guess 3 plus lunch break ).

3. Apparently whatever was broken is not sold by triumph as a spare part and could not be bought on eBay. So it was either a fix or a full replacement of the calliper.

3. They fixed it and now consider it safe.

Unfortunately, without this fix, they mot sign the mot for my bike, which is sorn (because MOT is now overdue and therefore can't be taxed), and I would have to pay for the existing bill and then get my bike delivered and then find someone else and get the bike picked up and so on and so on.



Fuck it... Pay the damn Bill.
Get riding.

 

Just need to pay, they offered me free delivery and 'Alan' is calling me today with delivery times.

 

Aaaaaaalllllright.....
Now I get the bill.

Here's exactly what happened:
The mounting bracket which was holding the rear brake calliper to the bike was taking pressure and damage from a faulty bolt and a misalignment. So the mounting from the bike the calliper got damaged and stripped hence rending a change of bold useless as it would not tighten anything. Instead of replacing the whole mounting bracket and calliper (not sure I understand this part) in order to come back to factory setting they managed to re drill the hole and use a "helicoil" whatever to secure the whole mounting. (agin my lack of knowledge deserves me I know)

It was not just changing one part. it was making sure the whole thing could hold at all. it will now hold securely and I'm advised to check its proper tightening once in a while.

 

I completely agree with you, but I think the major problem here was extracting the broken bolt without damaging the frame or the mounting plate, redrilling a hole for it, same for the calliper itself, and reassembling everything. I am not a 100% sure of what happen, but there was a clear issue of a bolt dead stuck and broken in 2 holes that needed to be cleared out and redrilled carefully.

Thanks for your input anyhow. I appreciate it.