Aside from the computers and the overly complicated electrical systems the average guy can do most of their own work . All you need is a manual , a decent tool set and the desire to learn and just ask questions when it gets complicated for you . How do think most mechanics got started ? Very few of us where born with a wrench in our hands .

 

OSHA will not allow a non payroll to be on the service floor, just too risky. There can be spilled fluids, flying parts and tools, excessive noise, etc., so much that can go wrong. Most shops will allow you to view the work being done, but only from a distance i.e. window exposing the service bays. Just trust the techs, and if not then trust their warrantied work.

 

You have to say to yourself, Do I watch my steak being cooked when I go for dinner ? Do I watch my accountant at tax time? There are many good videos on repair if you really want to learn and watch someone repair a bike.

 

Maybe there is a reason to watch them even if you don't know how to fix it yourself.

 

Lol, I have seen sockets come flying off impact wrenches, parts getting flung across the shop, etc. At a dealership I worked at a while back (body shop) some of the guys used to pull pranks. They thought it was funny to take a coolant bottle that had a hole in the cap and an air connect screwed into it, set it next to a customer's vehicle, run an air hose to it, stand back, flip the air valve on and blow the bottle up next to an unsuspecting technician! They did this one time when a tech was lying on his back under an almost brand new Super Duty F-350 trying to remove the bed bolts that were seized. It startled him, he sprung up and hit his head on the frame causing him to bleed quite a bit, and to make matters worse he was working with an oxy acetylene torch directly under the fuel tank! They could have caused him to drop the torch on himself or possibly worse, hit the tank and blown the entire shop up! Later that day those idiots were doing the same exact prank to someone else.

 

Seems like every time a costomer is in the shop something goes wrong! Best to pick up one of those fix my hog videos and learn. A few bucks for some tools and your all set plus there are some very informed poeple here.

 

Years ago we had a dip **** guy put a little oxygen and a little acceteleen in a trash bag and tied it with a string and let it float up about 10 feet and lit the string. About then an old man walks in as it goes off and he lost what little hearing he had left. Cost the shop dearly.

 

Are you kidding - I have been working or engines my whole life and most of it was learned by watching or participating with someone who knew what they were doing. You may have adjsuted the clutch on 10 models of bikes - but the mechanic that does it everyday on the one just like yours has the potiential to teach you a few things....

 

If watching the tech slows him down, bear this in mind............ A $400 labor bill is liable to turn into a $600 labor bill. It's your money.

 

There is a dealer near me where you can stand there in the bay and watch....you are free to roam about the service floor.

There is another dealer with windows where you can watch the work being done.

There is another with a single window and your lucky if your bike is in the first 2 lifts, anything beyond that and you can't see it.

There is another one where you don't even see the service bay. They pull your bike around back and its gone until they are done with it.



So I guess it all depends on the dealer. Some Indy shops are more relaxed and will allow it. Some will not. Just ask em.....who knows what they will say.