Rates

$125 per hour for most labor, plus parts and sales tax.

Tire mounting and balancing Save money and bring us the wheels off-bike for $45 each. No appointment needed for wheels off-bike; same-day or next-day turnaround. If you need to bring us the whole bike, it’s $80 for front tires, while rear tires are $105 for chain drive, $95 for shaft drive, and $155 for most belt drives. We use adhesive wheel weights for most balancing, included with the work. Tubes, rim strips, and new valve stems cost extra as needed. We insist upon replacing tubes at the same time as the tire — re-using them is a false economy and we know this from experience. Metal valve stems are typically reusable as-is, and we inspect rubber valve stems for signs of aging and replace them as needed. Yes, we’ll mount tires you bring in, with a gentle reminder that if you buy local the profit stays in town. (Our tire prices are internet-competitive.)

Engine oil changes cost $65 for most bikes, not including the oil and filter. We use K&N filters and motorcycle-specific oil from Motul and Bel-Ray. Change your oil and filter at least every year or every 3,000-5,000 miles (check your owner’s manual for more precision). If you ride a lot of miles in a year (10,000+), synthetic oil is probably worth it. Our oil is $20/liter for full synthetic and $9/liter conventional, and oil filters run $8-16. We charge for how much oil actually goes into your bike, to the nearest tenth of a liter.

Other oils Shaft drive and non-unit construction bikes (BMW airheads and K-bikes, pre-Hinkley Triumphs, Ural, etc.) require additional oil changes for their primary drives, transmissions, and/or final drives. Most of these require an additional 0.3-0.5 hours of labor, and a general rule of thumb is to change these oils with every other engine oil change. (Unless you’re riding your Ural through a lot of streams, in which case change it much more often to be safe.)

Brake and clutch fluid flush $40 per master cylinder for normal brake systems. Brake pad replacement $75 per caliper, includes cleaning and regreasing slides (as applicable). Brake shoe replacement $115 per wheel, includes cleaning and regreasing pivots in the brake. (Less expensive if we do it while changing the tire.) Brake fluid should be replaced every 2 years — the fluid absorbs water over time, which will decrease the effectiveness of your brakes and eventually corrode your brake calipers’ pistons. (If you have BMW’s abnormal “whizzy brakes” ABS system with the servo pumps, the high cost of the brake fluid flush (2-4 hours depending on model) is still cheaper than trying to repair that system when it inevitably fails due to neglected maintenance.)

Carburetor Cleaning: We mostly work to a flat labor rate for carbs, despite all the “surprises” old bikes typically hide. We use a commercial ultrasonic cleaner, carburetor cleaning spray, tiny pieces of wire, and sometimes a torch to clean up the ugliest of old carbs. The rate runs from $250 for single carb to $645 for a V4 engine’s carbs. (Most dual-carb bikes are $340, inline-four carbs are $550.) Parts will be at least $25 per carb and can run $35-150 higher (each) if you have torn diaphragms, rotted air-cut bypass valves, stripped-out jets, cracked carburetor bodies, mashed emulsion tubes, etc. After we clean and re-install your carburetors, we check and adjust the synchronization, and then after a road test we re-adjust idle air/fuel mixture screws to where the bike needs them for a proper idle.

Fork service: $320 for conventional damper rod forks, $375 for cartridge and “upside-down” forks. This is for both forks and includes seal and wiper replacement (if required), cleaning of internal components, fresh oil addition, and re-installation. Replacement parts and oil not included. If you bring forks off-bike, we’ll discount $50 off the labor.

Steering head bearing replacement If your steering feels like it has a “notch” in the center, you need new bearings. Replacing them runs roughly $255-520 plus parts, with large and faired bikes at the higher end of that range. If you’ve gone 12,000 miles or four years, you should have your steering head bearings cleaned and regreased. (This takes somewhat less labor than outright replacement, and no new parts are required.) If you’re getting your forks serviced at the same time (see above), we’ll charge straight time for the steering head bearing service, which typically adds 1.5 to 2.0 hours. Steering head bearing tightening If you feel a “clunk” in the handlebars when you grab the front brake (while moving), or if the front end feels especially rough over small bumps, your steering head bearings are likely loose and need to be adjusted. This can be done in 30 minutes on most bikes.

Storage Unfortunately we are not able to offer storage beyond one week of completion of repairs. Bikes left longer than this will incur a $30 per day storage fee.