Kalkhoff maintenance schedule - unrealistic and expensive?

[Cold Water]

Tomwal, I don't have a printed service manual. I've got mine from this page, the one referring to "Pedelec Impulse Evo", Version 1, in English. I searched for the word warranty, and 2 year period is not mentioned on any page.

d8veh, Australia, where I bought this bike, also has consumer laws that override anything a seller may try to impose on you, with similar stipulations like the ones you quoted. In my case, I have the right to return the bike for a refund, replacement or repair, and it's my choice. However, if the failure happens later on, even during the warranty period, the rules are less clear and any side can dispute the claim from the other. If you get an arbitrator who can't tell whether servicing a bike every 1000km is reasonable or not, you may be disadvantaged, especially if you were aware of the requirement.

 

[EddiePJ]

I don't see that it is unreasonable to expect a cycle of any type to be serviced every 1000km.

You haven't stated what the service work entales.

It could be as simple as checking nut and bolt torque settings, checking spoke tension, safe operation of brakes, visual checks for frame damage, checking free play and movement, chain wear and tear, checking tyre pressures etc. All very basic checks which aren't going to cost a fortune to carry out, and should be carried out with regular frequency anyway.
I suspect that the key argument would be who has to carry the work out. None of those checks are out of the realms of a keen cyclist, and provided that the checks are carried out by a competent person, it might then be difficult for a case to be argued against you. The crucial thing would be what constitutes a competent person.

 

[electrickery]

I don't see that it is unreasonable to expect a cycle of any type to be serviced every 1000km.

You haven't stated what the service work entales.

It could be as simple as checking nut and bolt torque settings, checking spoke tension, safe operation of brakes, visual checks for frame damage, checking free play and movement, chain wear and tear, checking tyre pressures etc. All very basic checks which aren't going to cost a fortune to carry out, and should be carried out with regular frequency anyway.
I suspect that the key argument would be who has to carry the work out. None of those checks are out of the realms of a keen cyclist, and provided that the checks are carried out by a competent person, it might then be difficult for a case to be argued against you. The crucial thing would be what constitutes a competent person.

I think his point eddie is it entails £60 uk every 4 weeks to maintain by the dealer..not what they actually do for it. Annual servicing on my car works out a third of the cost.. Sorry mate but its a rip off. Regards

 

[Tomwal]

There are up to date manuals on kalkhoff.com. You should read them. Also you should clarify the position with your dealer. Then you should state your findings on this forum so that people know the position. It is not right to make damaging statements about a manufacturer if you are not absolutely sure of the facts.
£60.00 is not a rip off. A mechanic has to be paid for his services just like anyone else. You are not forced to have the work done. Your warranty will not be invalidated as I am sure you will find out.

 

[electrickery]

The only reference to warranty I can see on the kalkahoff website seems to refer to the 10 year frame warranty and it states among other things .....
"The prescribed regular servicing must have been carried out by an authorised dealer and recorded in the service history log."
So I feel the jury is still out on home servicing...
Dare I add the beauty of cheap Chinese hub drive bikes over their more sophisticated cousins is cheapness of spares and simplicity of servicing and if eventually it gets beyond the pale they are inexpensive to replace.
Regards

 

[Tomwal]

The only reference to warranty I can see on the kalkahoff website seems to refer to the 10 year frame warranty and it states among other things .....
"The prescribed regular servicing must have been carried out by an authorised dealer and recorded in the service history log."
So I feel the jury is still out on home servicing...
Dare I add the beauty of cheap Chinese hub drive bikes over their more sophisticated cousins is cheapness of spares and simplicity of servicing and if eventually it gets beyond the pale they are inexpensive to replace.
Regards

I received a DVD with my bike and it has an option for downloading the latest manual (EN) which I did. It states In the section 5.4 Battery and service life
"Batteries are wear parts. Wear parts come with a 2 year warranty.. If a fault occurs during this period your specialist cycle shop will replace the battery. Normal ageing and battery wear do not constitute a fault"
In the section 8.4 Warranty and service life "The impulse motor is a durable maintenance free drive. It is a wear part with a two year warranty"

Both items are maintenance-free so how could the warranty be invalidated by not having the bike serviced. The mechanic servicing the bike would not do any work on these items.

 

[flecc]

Both items are maintenance-free so how could the warranty be invalidated by not having the bike serviced. The mechanic servicing the bike would not do any work on these items.

There could be an argument that the software needs to be checked. It's a resettable item so there could legitimately be a check against abuse by software reset or use of a dongle.
.

 

[electrickery]

I received a DVD with my bike and it has an option for downloading the latest manual (EN) which I did. It states In the section 5.4 Battery and service life
"Batteries are wear parts. Wear parts come with a 2 year warranty.. If a fault occurs during this period your specialist cycle shop will replace the battery. Normal ageing and battery wear do not constitute a fault"
In the section 8.4 Warranty and service life "The impulse motor is a durable maintenance free drive. It is a wear part with a two year warranty"

Both items are maintenance-free so how could the warranty be invalidated by not having the bike serviced. The mechanic servicing the bike would not do any work on these items.

Tomwal , If what you say is correct that is well and good and as it should be. The op who also has a kalkhoff reads the situation differently. There does seem to be a grey area here over interpretation which I feel can only really be clarified by a query to kalkhoff. I would like to believe your interpretation is the correct one.

 

[trex]

I think many commuters ride to save money on public transport. They wouldn't be prepared to pay 10p a mile on routine check.
could the legal minds of this forum - please take a look at the situation and let us know what you think. Can manufacturers refuse to honour the guarantee if recommended checks are not done and the damage results?
Example: loosened spokes leading to rim flatspots or broken spokes.

 

[flecc]

Can manufacturers refuse to honour the guarantee if recommended checks are not done and the damage results?
Example: loosened spokes leading to rim flatspots or broken spokes.

A manufacturer can set any conditions they wish for their warranty to be honoured, it is after all their warranty and not national law.

Ultimately one has to have dependence on national consumer protection law, and that's precisely why we have such law in addition to manufacturers warranties. It's necessary.

It's common practice to recommend a 500 mile service on a new bike to check for loosening spokes etc, and that roughly equates to the 1000 km of this thread. But I think it unreasonable to require a service every 1000 km subsequently.

In a court action on this point, one manufacturer's argument that it's necessary could be countered by the argument that it demonstrates the product is not fit for sale, since other makers of equivalent products have no such condition.
.

 

[Yamdude]

In the bad old days, vehicles had to have expensive main dealer servicing to keep your warranty.... at least now we have an EU directive that says we can go anywhere for servicing as long as the schedule is adhered to and genuine parts are used.
Vehicle manufacturers will still likely refuse warranty work if you dont have stamps in the service book.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Ebikes dealers start jumping on this dealer servicing, money spinning bandwagon. Especially those expensive German Ebikes.
They also know that a lot of people will not service at the intervals.... so its a nice little get out clause of being able to refuse warranty repairs.

 

[flecc]

Vehicle manufacturers will still likely refuse warranty work if you dont have stamps in the service book.

Services and insurance, the answer is, don't.

The money saved over the years far, far outweighs any cost that does arise on the odd occasion.
.

 

[Yamdude]

Services and insurance, the asnswer is, don't.

The money saved over the years far, far outweighs any cost that does arise on the odd occasion.
.

Well i still get the service stamps on my car & bike, but i use independents that are far cheaper..... and i only have to pay for 1 service on the bike and 2 on the car. Using independents at not much cost is worth the piece of mind for any warranty issues. After that they are out of warranty and i mostly service them myself.

 

[flecc]

After that they are out of warranty and i mostly service them myself.

I don't even do that for cars, they don't need servicing anyway with moderate mileages. As a Ford UK technical man remarked to me over 20 years ago, any new car can run for 50,000 miles without attention, and as a qualified motor mechanic I know that to be true.

Servicing is just a motor industry system to keep dealers in an income stream, since sales alone are not considered sufficient.

The USA industry is better organised, very long ago GM introduced two car models with first service at 100,000 miles. Yes that's right, no accidental extra zeros in that figure.

Here's my car owning history during my 25 years of retirement, all with no services whatsoever:

Fiat Tipo, 10.5 years

Skoda Fabia, 5.5 years

Nissan Qashqai, 3 years )
............................................) Overlapping ownership
Chevrolet Matiz, 5 years. )

Suzuki SX4 SZ5, 5 years to date

Total car years = 29

Total repairs cost: One out of warranty part at £78.

Following makers guidelines on servicing them would probably have cost around £5000 or more.
.

 

[Yamdude]

When i bought my Carrera hybrid from Halfords, they said i must have the 6 week service done to keep my warranty. I wasn't happy about it, as i didn't really want those shop monkeys touching a bike i now own and would rather do it myself. But as it was free and to keep the warranty i begrudgingly accepted it and took it in...... needn't have bothered really, as i converted it with a kit a short time after, so any warranty wouldn't have been worth jack anyway.

Must admit, the thought of having to have a ready made Ebike serviced to keep its warranty isn't something thats ever occurred to me, especially for a cost...... If i ever decide to buy one, its certainly something i'll be asking the dealer about. If its the case, i wouldn't buy the bike.

 

[Yamdude]

I don't even do that for cars, they don't need servicing anyway with moderate mileages. As a Ford UK technical man remarked to me over 20 years ago, any new car can run for 50,000 miles without attention, and as a qualified motor mechanic I know that to be true.

Servicing is just a motor industry system to keep dealers in an income stream, since sales alone are not considered sufficient.

The USA industry is better organised, very long ago GM introduced two car models with first service at 100,000 miles. Yes that's right, no accidental extra zeros in that figure.

Here's my car owning history during my 25 years of retirement, all with no services whatsoever:

Fiat Tipo, 10.5 years

Skoda Fabia, 5.5 years

Nissan Qashqai, 3 years )
............................................) Overlapping ownership
Chevrolet Matiz, 5 years. )

Suzuki SX4 SZ5, 4 years to date

Total car years = 28

Total repairs cost: One out of warranty part at £78.

Following makers guidelines on servicing them would probably have cost around £5000 or more.
.

You may have something there..... although i could not do it myself.
At the very least i do an oil change every year.

 

[flecc]

At the very least i do an oil change every year.

It depends on how long kept and mileage of course. I've not changed any oil in that 28 car years, just topped up. Mileages all low though.
.

 

[mike killay]

My new Suzuki 2.5hp outboard needs its first service after 10 hours, so at an average of 4 knots, that's first service after 45 miles.

 

[mike killay]

I did hear of a campervan that seized up after about 3,000 miles from new.
Apparently it was about 7 years old (very low mileages are common on campervans)
The engine oil had degraded.
On the other hand , my new Nissan Primastar only needed first service at 20,000 miles or 2 years whichever came first

 

[flecc]

My new Suzuki 2.5hp outboard needs its first service after 10 hours, so at an average of 4 knots, that's first service after 45 miles.

On the other hand , my new Nissan Primastar only needed first service at 20,000 miles or 2 years whichever came first

Indeed, Suzuki are notorious now for having short service intervals, while Nissan have followed the sensible trend of reducing the necessity.

One Nissan exception though. The Leaf electric car. First service at six months, then at first twelve months, then annually regardless of how low the mileage. It's the battery checks they fret about.
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