Way too cheap that is!! Be interested to see what they actually did beyond changing filters, plugs and oil.

All I had done was a routine 6000 mile service. As per the service book. I bought the bike through them new,not sure if there was a discount involved,nothing on the invoice to suggest there was.The branch at Andover are a official Ducati dealer,bike sales etc.The chaps at southampton had the tools to do a 6k service but they cannot perform a major(12k) service.Don't ask why I am not all the clued up on the technical stuff!This was last year,2003.
Anyway,I now have a 748s and It will soon be coming upto a service so I will post a quote here for a 12k service.

I just find it a bit odd that most dealers will charge £350 to £450 for the 6000 mile service. How did they manage to do it for so much less? If they have done it by the book then you are laughing!

I think one of the reasons was that their labour charges are not really that high( compared to say..3x ).They sell dukes,so if they are also going to service them they are going to have to do them by the book.
I never had any problems afterwards with the bike.It ran perfectly.Dean,from the Andover branch is ringing me soon with a quote for a 12k service.I will post it here for comparison.

When you get the quote, ask them to detail exactly what gets done. I still find it very difficult to see how they can do all that is expected for the figure you quoted.
A difference in labour charges is NEVER going to account for the difference between your invoice and £450 average elsewhere.

Labour makes up the biggest proportion of a servicing bill as long as no extra parts are needed.

A Ducati service that includes a belt change accounts for 8-10 hours labour in total if my memory serves me correctly. A Jap IL4 generally takes half the labour time to service.

Some time ago I bought a parallel and had it serviced by the dealer that supplied it. I did wonder what they had actually done when I got the bill, it was a lot less than the big bills that I had heard about. It didn't break down or suffer from some terrible mechanical disaster so looking back there wasn't a problem.

I have used franchised dealers more recently, yep they do cost more but some many other factors come into the equation, eg distance to travel, is the bike covered by warranty, previous experience etc, etc.

You makes yer choice and pays yer money.

Ray

Spoke to the guy at Bridge motorcycles,Andover today.He quoted me a price of £400-450 for a major 12k service.That includes belts,oils, labour,VAT,the lot.The other garage which is local to me quoted a price of £750.00.Both doing excatly the same service.Both of them did say that it is possible that the price may go up slightly,due to any unforeseen items that are needed.
But there is still a major difference between the prices!