Hi there,
can anybody recommend a good mechanic in (central) London?
Requirements are:
1) he will need to know what a XTZ660 is or at least that it exists (essential). One of the Yamaha dealers I have visited a few months ago in central London - don't want to mention which one - asked me what model it was... ok, ok... the bike was parked outside his shop and I was pointing at her while talking to him at the counter inside the shop.. but still...??
2) needs to be cheaper than Metropolis in Vauxhall
3) flexible in the way I can talk to him and ask a few questions, not just the "leave-the-bike-and-I-will-call-you..."-type, ideally an XT lover who will start with "oh.., I always loved these bikes they are my favourite: let me tell you what it CAN GO WRONG once they are a bit old and a few thousand km from a part dealer..."

Seriously: a good chap in central London for my XTZ? Not just a Yamaha dealer, they seem to concentrate on super-sport shiny bikes owned by people willing to spend a fortune on them.
Thank you in advance, to return the favour I will recommend a very good family owned workshop if you ever need one around Venice, Italy, my hometown. It is little workshop (20km from Venice on the S.S.14) owned by father&son with a real passion for XTs, KLRs etc, these people EXPLAINED my bikes to me when I was 15 and I had plenty of hot sunny afternoons to spare and I can see they still work with the same dedication and eye for the details.

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... and Nelly The Elephant packed the trunk and said goodbye to the circus...

The shops I use in London are
Southern Cross, 2 Maygrove road Kilburn NW6 2EB Tel: 0207328 1428
and
Banjax: Arch 63 Vallance Road London E1 5BW 0207377 6333

Both shops have mechanics who know XTs and you can talk to.

Another shop I have not used but spoken to the mechanic who was very help full is
Moto serv 18 Action street London WC1X 9ND 0207837 0472

If you just need spare parts it may be easier to order from Metropolis in Vauxhall
as they have the micro fishes for most XTs

Hi Bolla,
thank you for your advice, I took my bike to Southern Cross up in Kilburn and I had it back the morning after, very nice people and willing to spend ten minutes to talk to you, exactly what I was looking for.
Still a bit pricey I think but it's London after all...
Would definitely recommend it

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... and Nelly The Elephant packed the trunk and said goodbye to the circus...

Hi All,

Just following on from the existing thread and I'm after getting an expert or at least a mechanic with sound experience on the XTZ 660 in the South East London/ Kent borders area to look at my bike and or give advice.

Any pointers on good mechanics in this area will be gratefully recieved...

Reg Orpin on the goldhawk road (quite a way out, other side of Shepherd's Bush) always used to be dead good, I used to drop in on the way past and end up chatting for hours whilst helping spanner. Mind you, that's a good 15-20 years ago, so who knows what they are like these days.

My favourite bike shop was in Halliford Street in Islington (and Dove Road before that), but they appear to have closed down, and I can't remember the name they traded under. That is, frankly, a useless piece of information, though. Sorry for that.

There was always another bike shop on Essex Road, on the corner of Ockendon Road IIRC, they traded all sorts of wierd stuff like Urals, but I've seen an SRX-6 in there, as well as MuZ's. Can't vouch for their service quality, or indeed if they are still there (been 5 years and more since I left London), but if they are, they should at least know their singles.

I had a *very* bad time with the bike shop on Drysdale St, N1, who managed to utterly **** a pair of FZR400 calipers that I'd taken in to have the pistons blown out (came back with mole grip marks all over the pistons, and vice marks on the calipers themselves) and then lie about what had happened. The first bit I can accept, but saying "they came in like that" I can't. Sad really, as it was just round the corner and the bloke there was otherwise quite friendly

Whatever you're doing, sounds like you want a "back street" mechanic who'll let you peer over his shoulder while he works, might be an idea to have a word with a courier or two.

Simon

hey Alex

glad to hear about some other italians yam XT lover in london (we're sourrounded by sport bikes in this town )

I am from Padova, and just came back from a trip to Padova / Venice and back,on my TT600RE.

really loved travelling with a monocilinder air-cooled, taking it easy on countriside roads and avoiding motorways.
you can view the diary of my trip, with photos, if you have a moment to waste, on here:
http://web.onetel.com/~dieg0/easyrider/
let me know your thoughts, have you done any big trip on your XTZ?

back to this thread.
i'd be greatful if you let me know if you find a good yamaha mechanic who doesn't just do sport bikes, someone who likes XTs type of bikes....
also, in case i will be around venice again... it'd be great to know where this family run XT mechanic is... i may need it one day!

thank you very much and good to meet you man
Diego

p.s.
my email address is dieg0oo@yahoo.com
if you are on facebook, i have a motorcycle group there, together with other "idealist" bikers, film / books lovers, (name of group: "easyrider". inspiration: the actual movie "easyrider", and "the motorcycle diary").
everyone from this HUBB forum is very welcome to join!

Hi Diego, sorry for late reply I overlooked this thread,
just came back to my native Venice (San Dona', really...) and now I am getting ready for my 1/2 (half) RTW trip heading east. Sadly the shop i was referring to in one of my earlier posts has now gone but I have found a friendly mechanic in my hometown on the SS14 who looks like he knows about these things, most important you can have a chat with him and he listens too...!!! I am getting my bike back tomorrow after a comprehensive engine check and will let you know my final impression. Will sport his shop's sticker on my panniers if he has done a good job.... hope I wont be disappointed.

Keep in touch.

----------------------------------

Sadly, mechanics I found recently by my experience are:

-less prepared (yes....sorry: ignorant)
-less organised
-more expensive

this is by all means a personal opinion.

alex

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... and Nelly The Elephant packed the trunk and said goodbye to the circus...

Hi,
just an update on this.
Motospazio in San Dona (SS14, 30km from Venice, they have a website) did a good job on my bike, Mattia, the main mechanic is a really friendly guy and really looked after my XTZ altough in some occasions they had problems getting the original spares on time from Yamaha (they are Honda & Aprilia dealers).

Jobs done there:
-valve seals replacement
-compression test
-carb tuning
-clutch, replacement of all discs, springs and new bolts
-tacho oils seal replacements
-there is a seal around the cables that come out from the magneto on the left engine side and it was leaking oil, we replaced that as well.
-new spark plug and other bits


I would recommend them.

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... and Nelly The Elephant packed the trunk and said goodbye to the circus...

thanks Alex! that's very useful.
I'm off to Padua again at the end of december, on my TT600RE.
I wanna cross the alps with the snow this time!

Come on guys we must know a mechanic in south east London who we can trust to do a good job and offer advice on an XTZ, sounds as though Alex has been fortunate.....