I don't normally do business with them, ballisticexchris. Hence the reason that I do the majority of my own maintenance, so I don't have to. And in almost 40 years of riding, I've never been in a service center that gave a customer the opportunity to watch their bike being worked on. Nobody here is denying your good experiences with a dealer; in fact, if you went on any motorcycle forum and told them this, I bet a lot of the guys on it would be envious, because they'd tell you that wasn't their experience at all. But you're going to great lengths to deny the personal experiences of guys who've had poor service, especially with your statements like "that's not true at all". You have a bias because you got good treatment; lots of us have a bias because we got poor treatment. The difference is, no one is saying you aren't being truthful, and saying things like "that's not true at all" when you describe
your experiences. We believe you; do us the same courtesy when we say we've had bad experiences. The OP in this thread was new at this, and wanted some guidance. Well, you've supplied some from the perspective of someone who's had exemplary service. That's good thing. He also got guidance from people who, through their personal experiences, gave him the downside to service centers. That's also a good thing. Being informed of things like the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act can be very beneficial to a consumer, when he's being told by a service center that he will violate his warranty if he services his bike himself. And that most assuredly
does happen. Being told to arm himself with knowledge before he goes to a service center, so he knows exactly what a service center should be doing on a service as opposed to what they say they do, is important. Especially when a service center is telling him things like "oh, you have to replace your plugs at the first service". There are plenty of these accounts from riders on motorcycle forums; their experiences are no less valid than yours.
As far as researching service centers for their reputation, of course I did that, because it's common sense. The nearest dealer to me was about an hour away. He got ok reviews. My experience with them was the opposite of OK, to the point that I complained to Yamaha USA. So my next choice to get the work done was to go to a dealer that was two hours away. Lots of people don't have a plethora of choices when it comes to a service center. Your dictum of "it's the customer's fault" doesn't hold any water for a lot of guys out there who ride. Not everyone has a half dozen service centers to choose from; there is not a single Japanese motorcycle service center in the county I live in. In situations like that, even a half-assed shop can easily stay in business when they're the only game in town.
Scott, I guess the irony is lost on you that right after you leap to the defense of service centers as being unfairly categorized, you turn around and slur a different group, the DIY guys, and decide that our reactions to receiving poor service is simply a defense mechanism over the fear of being called cheap bastards. You just slurred a whole group of riders who have decided for a variety of reasons to do their own work on their bikes. Nobody here cares how you spend your money; if you've had good service experiences, then that's good for you. Nobody here is even denying that you've had good experiences, yet you deny the crappy experiences many have had at service centers as simply a reaction to being called cheap. There's plenty of evidence on the side of guys who've had bad service experiences; auto service centers are Number 10 on the Better Business Bureau's list of businesses that receive the most complaints. You have no evidence to back up your "cheap bastards" theory, which is pretty much the definition of a slur.
Ballisticexchris, if you're looking for a synchronizing tool that's cheaper than Yamaha's, look at a Morgan Carbtune. They're a company in the UK, and when I bought mine from them it was around $125.00 with shipping, if I recall correctly. The pound is low against the dollar right now, so it's a good time to buy. It's simple to use, works on bikes up to four intakes, and has no messy liquids like mercury or other fluids to contend with. I've had mine for a few years, and it works well for synching the throttle bodies on the S10.
https://www.carbtune.com/