I think it would be beneficial to Kwak to have some sort of certification and customer satisfaction targets at a minimum to be a factory dealer.   I would be more inclined to use a dealer if something like that was in place.

It's too good an idea -- that's why Kawi and dealers won't ever do it.  There's a good reason that manufacturers protect dealer turf, to reduce transparency and accountability.  It is totally up to the individual ethics of each dealer and how closely they monitor their service depts.  Many owners never even visit the shops they own -- they are absentee investors, so the service dept is totally free to engage in whatever nefarious activities they wish. 

I have seen, more times than I care to mention, shops charging for services they never even performed like valve checks for instance.  Take your bike to a dealer for service at your own peril......

The only thing we can do is recommend dealers with which we've had good experiences.  I have a thread dedicated to that in the FAQ for the C14.  Even they make mistakes, but it's how they handle them that makes them rise to the top.  It's probably time to add more to that.  I'm open to nominations...



http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=4936.0

off topic, but this entire diversion from the original post just got me to thinking how we might be able to further remove our dependency from dealerships.  Kinda like the idea of the windshields that have been in motion for awhile, what are your thoughts on a community cheapo laptop with KDS loaded on it. I'd chip in and even volunteer to do the initial setup, although I bet there are some that would benefit more from having it first to share some knowledge on its use before the system hits the road.  Cheap laptop is $200 unless someone has one to donate, KDS I think runs $400-$800 (at least thats the price range I've seen).

I use to work at Gates Rubber Co. building belts.  Sounds to me like someone missed a bad hose during inspection.

My father-in-law only used Gates when he ran his service station.  Solid products.

My father-in-law only used Gates when he ran his service station.  Solid products.

Hopefully the quality is still there after I left.......