getting tracking done

[Rustinho]

as said quality of service in this country has gone downhill badly over the past 20 odd years,

I would pretty much agree there. There will always have been good & bad but the bad seem to stay in business cos people carry on using them.

A family owned bike spares place I use locally are a model of how a business should be run these days but way back when I was a kid (and before that even - the shop has been going since about 1910 or something I think!) it was run by the old man who inherited the business from his dad. What a character he was! (And his father if the stories are to be believed)

The shop was just big enough to stand in and the shop keeper used to fetch what you asked for (with a sneer on his face!). He wouldn't just place things on the counter - he tended to drop them from at least a couple of feet above the counter. He damn well knew his stuff though (as does his son who runs the shop now) and that place has always been cheap as chips...

Getting back to the original point popeye was making about poor quality of service, that is what makes places like this forum so important - for me at least. You get good advice from people, the folks that run their own businesses know how important good customer service is and they're more than happy to go out of their way for you. People recommend places that offer decent service. You tend to find out if you're being given flannel fairly quickly here too!

It makes life that little bit easier when you need stuff doing...

[POPEYE]

We had a bike shop in portsmouth years ago like that, "butlers cycles" been going from the year dot, family run, good friendy service and back up when you had a prob with the bike, they ended up sell up due to the likes of supermarkets knocking out cheap bikes, also a hardware shop, when i see the ronnie corbet and ronny barker sketch set in a hardware shop it always reminds me of this shop, bloke always had the same look on his face, went off to find what ya wanted, gone ages and then come back and drop it on the counter, reall funny guy but knew his stuff,
when i first got my surf (and before i found this site) i was quoted 2 & half grand to service the injector pump!!! plus more if sensors were found to be faulty, took it there as it was so slow!, after several doses of redex and atf fluid it was better, and now with all the other mods it's positvely "normal"
same $hit when i went to get the tracking done some years ago, after faffing about for half an hour they said they couldn't do it as it's an import and they didn't have the specs for it, mentioned the 4 runner but he said its a totally different set of specs for that model!!, try'd to charge me 25 quid, told em to f off, thats was ports tire and exhaust "specialists"

[dieselboy]

Thats what I thought popeye!

On a plus side, the truck feels spot on. It's like driving a brick! When you turn into a road, I can just let the steering go and it returns to dead centre.

This is also the first time driving it since the lift - The new shocks feel great. Rear end is nice and stiff too.

Shame it cost me £94 in the end after needing another track rod end. But when I think about it, if steertrack came round and had the same problem it may have cost me more?
I'd still like some forum members to have a quick once over at Avalanche! If you dont mind?

[dieselboy]

POPEYE I'm driving down to Portsmouth this Saturday for a friends birthday. May see you driving about

[stormforce]

Thats what I thought popeye!

On a plus side, the truck feels spot on. It's like driving a brick! When you turn into a road, I can just let the steering go and it returns to dead centre.

This is also the first time driving it since the lift - The new shocks feel great. Rear end is nice and stiff too.

Shame it cost me £94 in the end after needing another track rod end. But when I think about it, if steertrack came round and had the same problem it may have cost me more?
I'd still like some forum members to have a quick once over at Avalanche! If you dont mind?

We can have a look at it but whether we say anything is a different matter.
I am going to meet up with Dixie on the friday Tony if you want to meet us aswell

[Albannach]

This is also the first time driving it since the lift - The new shocks feel great.

How did you get it there?

[dieselboy]

We can have a look at it but whether we say anything is a different matter.
I am going to meet up with Dixie on the friday Tony if you want to meet us aswell

Where are you meeting mate? I'm at A217 of M25 which. Can meet M1 or somewhere?

[dieselboy]

How did you get it there?

I drove it there this morning, with the tyres sqeeling and the truck pulling when going over bumps. I didn't go over 30mph.

So, this would mean I got up around 6:30. Had a shower and got dressed. Tarted my hair, and left the house around 7:30. I walked out to the truck which was parked about a 10 second walk from the house. I started her up after getting in and tripping on the side step and let the engine run for a short while. I loaded Googles navigation application on the smart phone and drove there pretty steadily.
The journey wasn't too exciting to be honest. Just the usual Low Diesel light illuminated most of the journey and the pirate radio I usually listen to was not broadcasting.
When I arrived I sat in the Surf for about half hour as I was too early and watched the stereotypical foreign drivers attempt strange manouvers for no apparent reason and repeatedly and inconsiderately block the road without showing any sign of contemplating their actions first.
After the work was done, I was able to drive the Surf normally. I did not have to battle the steering over bumps and could travel at the speed limit without any tyre squeel.

[stormforce]

i will find out from Rich but it may be around his house to have a cuppa before we set off

[dieselboy]

i will find out from Rich but it may be around his house to have a cuppa before we set off

Sounds good to me. I like tea.

[stormforce]

there's a post up in the Avalanche thread for pasty orders for saturday lunch

[Albannach]

I drove it there this morning, with the tyres sqeeling and the truck pulling when going over bumps. I didn't go over 30mph.

So it was the second time you drove it?

[POPEYE]

POPEYE I'm driving down to Portsmouth this Saturday for a friends birthday. May see you driving about

Doubt it mate, only time i'm going out is to drop my sons girlfriend off at the guildhall sometime around 7pm and i be driveing his bmw not the truck, might even be his defender!! (if i'm unlucky)!!