RedBaronX
Member
I don't think that I would want to build a bike for someone else for less than $200 labor... but there isn't anything special about his bike, and the workmanship is barely sufficient at best.
$500 labor charge for building an MB???
- Thread starter Wheres my dog
- Start date
buzbikebklyn1
New Member
- Local time
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- May 24, 2009
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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
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
Richard H.
Member
- Local time
- 6:17 AM
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2009
- Messages
- 222
I see the bike had zero bids so it seems the commonsense of the marketplace prevailed.
I
ibdennyak
Guest
Wow Buz....$36/hr for labor....pretty reasonable. Cost of doing business must be lower than I anticipated in NY. How would you compare shop rent, insurance, utilities etc. to other areas?
In Ak plumbers are 85+ , electricians are 75+, Garages are 95+.
Guess it ain't easy living in an igloo. Just the other day the wind blew my satellite dish into the next Burrough. (We don't have counties here.)
In Ak plumbers are 85+ , electricians are 75+, Garages are 95+.
Guess it ain't easy living in an igloo. Just the other day the wind blew my satellite dish into the next Burrough. (We don't have counties here.)
bluegoatwoods
Well-Known Member
Buzbikebkln, you're right; there's not much left to say after your thread.
The bike you put together sounds like a very fine $532 investment for your customer.
The ebay bike doesn't even come close.
Good job.
The bike you put together sounds like a very fine $532 investment for your customer.
The ebay bike doesn't even come close.
Good job.
i agree with blue if a person takes his time and does it rite like you did yours and checking it out correctly and adding here and there and adding lites and stuff and giving him a free clutch handle was a awesome gesture was his wheels suficcent enough to handle the torque of the motor i gotta change out a rear rim soon on my new build i used stock rim and it is already popping i hear it on occation while riding it it would be worth 500 dollars other than that no
retromike3
Member
- Local time
- 7:17 AM
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2008
- Messages
- 409
problem with inexpensive bikes to start with
The main thing that think is a problem is that even with a few "good" parts on this ride its almost impossible to make a poor quality bike work and feel like a good bike.
You say you assembled the bike in fifteen minutes from the box. So did you take the wheels and the tires off and true them and dish them correctly? Then did you go over the parts that weren't sealed bearing, or did you just bolt the parts together like they do at Kmart?
I worked for a Fred Myer by my house in-between bike shop gigs and I saw them put together a hundred bikes in a afternoon. They used air tools. I don't see that as quality work. Maybe it was assembled at the factory exceedingly well
but, I have my doubts. Usually its takes longer for me to get a inexpensive bike to "feel" right than it does for a higher quality one.
Now what happens next? Usually after a few days the bike loosens up and you need to "tweak" it back to shape. an the same thing goes for the engine. Back when I did retail I would give them sixty days free service and suggest that they bring it in for a free "tune up" after thirty days.
All in all I figured that I lost money on most of the new bikes I sold ,but I made it up on returning customers and accessories.
mike
The main thing that think is a problem is that even with a few "good" parts on this ride its almost impossible to make a poor quality bike work and feel like a good bike.
You say you assembled the bike in fifteen minutes from the box. So did you take the wheels and the tires off and true them and dish them correctly? Then did you go over the parts that weren't sealed bearing, or did you just bolt the parts together like they do at Kmart?
I worked for a Fred Myer by my house in-between bike shop gigs and I saw them put together a hundred bikes in a afternoon. They used air tools. I don't see that as quality work. Maybe it was assembled at the factory exceedingly well
but, I have my doubts. Usually its takes longer for me to get a inexpensive bike to "feel" right than it does for a higher quality one.
Now what happens next? Usually after a few days the bike loosens up and you need to "tweak" it back to shape. an the same thing goes for the engine. Back when I did retail I would give them sixty days free service and suggest that they bring it in for a free "tune up" after thirty days.
All in all I figured that I lost money on most of the new bikes I sold ,but I made it up on returning customers and accessories.
mike
WhizBangAndy
Member
This has always been the perennial problem with selling these.
If you do a quality build they want it for cost and if you do a shoddy build it will come back to haunt you.
Either way people never seem to factor in the sweat equity when price is concerned.
If you do a quality build they want it for cost and if you do a shoddy build it will come back to haunt you.
Either way people never seem to factor in the sweat equity when price is concerned.
skipS
Member
- Local time
- 7:17 AM
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2008
- Messages
- 55
I was offered 600 for my bike not once but twice. I only have 300 into it with hardware, shipping, brakes, speedo lights etc . I am thinking of building another just to sell . between the build then the bullet proofing to get some reliability it took at least 15 hours probably more. $20 an hour for my labor is what my time is worth. I think 600 is a fair price . So far on my bike it has been 500 trouble free miles and I commuted on it all year back and forth to work.
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buzbikebklyn1
New Member
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Thanks bluegoatwoods, we are a small shop, but we try to give value for the money.
Anything to advance this hobby/sport/art of ours, and keep my customers coming back.
As the price of gas goes up and the price of LiPo4 Batteries goes down we are going to see an explosion of both gas and electric moto bike and we intend to be at the fore front.
As soon as we move out of our dinky little space we intend to go full bore into the moto bike biz.
Be looking for our new logo.
(I cant mention its name yet because quite frankly, it doesn't exist yet... we are working on it)
That $532.00 price tag represents a base model build of course, my personal rides are a bit more complicated, hence more expensive.
The customer came by the other day asking about stronger brakes, a clear indicator to me of a job well done and a happy customer.
thanks for the compliment... were going to keep building em strong and to last long.
BBB
