Warranty - Diy service or let dealer do it?

[iceman]

Just had the first 600 mile service done by the supplying Honda dealer. Including the valve check (confirmed on the service bill) it came to £132. I didn't think that was too bad. The technician also confirmed that the valves were within spec.
Stephen

wow, that's a good price. My 1st service was £83 for basic oil check and a quick glance over (30 minutes total).

[Kenno]

I just paid £140 for an independent garage to do the 2500 service (including valves). Didn't even check how much Honda would be - I just assumed a lot more (and it's about an hour away from me too).

They reckon the steering head bearings are 'notched' and the fork seals may have gone too, so I've got to take it to Honda anyway to check it out under warranty.

[iceman]

That's been talked about a few times here - as in the USA you can have the service done anywhere as long as approved parts are used, in the UK that is also supposed to be true but I believe harder to get warranty fixes done (Honda and dealers do try to get out of free fixes at times).
Surprising an independent knows how to do the job quicker (and better!) than an approved specialist dealer.

[fish]

That's been talked about a few times here - as in the USA you can have the service done anywhere as long as approved parts are used, in the UK that is also supposed to be true but I believe harder to get warranty fixes done (Honda and dealers do try to get out of free fixes at times).
Surprising an independent knows how to do the job quicker (and better!) than an approved specialist dealer.

The problem might be that the specialist shop doesn't know scooters.
I went 30 miles past my local "everything 2 wheel" dealer to visit a Honda Power Seller mega dealer to get my fuel pump recall taken care of. They had a deuce of a time getting the panels off....breaking the same panel twice. In the States they sell motorcycles, and also have a couple of scooters. The mechanics are gold and silver certified Honda techs.....but a scooter is still a foreign object to them. True, some very few lucky riders have a scooter specialist shop in their city.....but the other 98% of us are not so lucky.
The moral of this story is that, outside of Europe -- you gotta be a lot goofy to buy a scooter. Best to have some mechanical abilities.....and courage in the face of the unknown (CVT innards)
Fish