I have the perfect example-
Today, a customer comes into the shop and tells me how he saw one of our bikes on the street and he just had to have one BUT he was on a very tight budget.
He brings in this lower end cantilevered bike,still in the box from Toys R Us, coaster rear brake, no front brake stock wheels and beach bars with a wide butt sprung saddle.
The deal was struck-
Our shop labor fee is $36.00 per hour, he would have to pay that.
$150.00 for a Sky Hawk 48cc round head kit I just happen to have left on the shelf, my last one of the older small bearing/small front engine mount type.
$25.00 to assemble the bike and fit it to him(it would have been free if he bought it from us).
$22.00 for a good quality side pull front brake with stainless steel/Teflon cable and lever.
$15.00 for a good dual leg kick stand.
$26.00 for a decent quality 6 volt generator with a white head light and red tail light.
I set a stop watch and laid out every thing I needed to build the bike first.
Several of the shop dogs (mechanics) gathered around to watch and hand me stuff as I worked.
25 minutes to re true and tighten up the stock wheels.
15 minutes to assemble the box bike.
12 minutes to install the front brake and adjust it.
3 hours to assemble, adjust and check out the engine and mounts, a few holes in the rear mounts had to be drilled out and elongated, and to make sure the cylinder head was torqued down correctly and all of the engine bolts were treated to a dab of good old blue loctite, the clutch was adjusted properly and it was hot run on the bench test it with a ultra rich 16:1 mix of gas and natural oil, varying the engine RPM ever few seconds but using a high powered fan to keep it cool and not over revving it.
45 minutes to bolt the engine into the frame.
25 minutes to install the rear drive sprocket with the stock rag joint and center it perfectly on the spokes.
15 minutes to measure, cut and install the chain and check the chain line.
10 minutes to install the chain tensioner.
10 minutes to re drill and install the chain guard with new rubber adle clamps so it wont scratch the frame.
35 minutes to install the gas tank and plumb the fuel line and filter, the holes in the clamps were no were near right so I made new ones out of 1/8" stainless steel strap with sliced up old inner tubes and black electric tape wrapping the frame at the contact points to support the tank its entire length.
45 minutes to install the throttle and S/STeflon cable, I always cut down the throttle cable to the proper length and re solder and grind a new carb end on them. I use 2 throttle cable adjusters one on the throttle and one on the carb.(no sloppy over length cables will EVER leave this shop un molested)
20 minutes to install the clutch lever and Teflon cable, the clutch lever that came with the kit was junk so I replaced it with a nice tektro cast off lever from our cast off stores.(free)
All cables get routed properly and mounted to the frame with cable keepers and zip ties.
20 minutes to install the generator and lights.
5 minutes to install the kick stand.
TIME!
7 hours, 45 minutes X $36.00=$268.20 in labor charges.
Plus parts, the bill came to $532.20
I call that a GREAT DEAL for a PROFESSIONALLY assembled bike any day.
I called him and told him to come by for his fitting tomorrow.
I think this wraps up this thread...$500 bucks for THAT POS at the beginning of this thread?
Thats just someone looking for a fast buck.
LET THE BUYER BEWARE, pick a good bike shop, they will do the job right the first time and stand behind the work.
BBB