Ive emailed Suzuki to ask exactly where I stand if I A, service myself and B, use non VAT registered dealer.

Brilliant, hope you let us know their answer. I do not know of any non VAT registered dealers though.

Re Deepings comparisons of "mechanics" and "fitters", when I was a (time-served ) Fitter, a mechanic was a person who changed old parts for new until the problem sorted itself out. A Fitter however used his years of experience to diagnose the problem, and then was able to replace, or often make, the necessary parts to repair the fault. During my time in the trade, I worked with fitters who re- engined cranes from steam to Diesel power, fitted totally different engines into locomotives, designing and fabricating engine mountings, inlet and exhaust systems, fuel and cooling systems and much more. They were Craftsmen in the truest sense of the word. (Sorry for the rant, but my ruffled feathers feel a little smoother now!!)

Hexatony 2 wrote: Re Deepings comparisons of "mechanics" and "fitters", when I was a (time-served ) Fitter, a mechanic was a person who changed old parts for new until the problem sorted itself out. A Fitter however used his years of experience to diagnose the problem, and then was able to replace, or often make, the necessary parts to repair the fault. During my time in the trade, I worked with fitters who re- engined cranes from steam to Diesel power, fitted totally different engines into locomotives, designing and fabricating engine mountings, inlet and exhaust systems, fuel and cooling systems and much more. They were Craftsmen in the truest sense of the word. (Sorry for the rant, but my ruffled feathers feel a little smoother now!!)

Hello Hexatony 2, didn’t mean to ruffle feathers but this is how it was in the motor car side of things, the mechanic had the skill and the fitter fitted what he was told. This was also reflected in the pay.
It seems as though your background is more heavy engineering. After I finished in the car side of things I went on to building engines at Mirrlees Blackstone and as you said, here I was called a fitter and I now had to learn a different skill set.

The youtube video is a Blackstone medium sized engine with turbo and intercooler, I have built many of these to Lloyds Insurance Spec as they were also used at sea.



http://www.enginemuseum.org/mrindex.html

So no offence meant but this is how it was for me.

[quote="barryG"]Trouble is, Suzuki are notorious for not honouring warranties and trying to wriggle out of claims.

+1

and after owning a k8 that was a complete basket case ... suzukis attitude and snail like pace to warranty repairs means i wouldnt ever buy another

Heres Suzukis take on warranty...... pretty ambiguous

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding maintaining your Suzuki Burgman


To maintain you machine at its peak of performance, it is essential to have it serviced regularly. It is important that this is done by an Authorised Suzuki Motorcycle Dealership as they are automatically provided with the latest technical information and will protect your benefits under the warranty scheme.


Should you carry out service work yourself and a failure occurs as a direct result, the associated repairs may not be covered by the warranty.


For further details regarding your warranty entitlement please refer to your service and warranty booklet.



Should you require any further assistance please feel free to contact us on the telephone number below.



Kind regards

I think legally, for competition reasons, a manufacturer cannot insist that a franchised dealer does the servicing - this applies to Car or PTW. However, they can insist that servicing is done exactly to their specifications to maintain the warranty and - I think - can insist that their own official own spare parts are used.

Hi Deeping, thanks for the interesting links you posted, thats my kind of engine! I served my apprenticeship and working life at the steelworks in Scunthorpe mostly in the locomotive department, serviceing and overhauling loco`s and similar heavy plant. about 30 of those years was spent in the fuel room, repairing and reconditioning the Diesel fuel injection equipment, happy days! Seems like we`re both singing from the same hymn sheet, whats in a name? Respect!!

Hope that diesel has not affected your skin.
Sorry we got off on the wrong foot.