I think Honda service centre messed up my bike

[moto143]

Hi guys,

I ride a Unicorn which has done over 4,500 Kms. yesterday i gave the bike for 3rd free service.. The service guy told me that i need to add additive to the engine oil to prevent overheating of engine in summer.i trusted his words and said OK for it. they charged me 190 rs extra for the additive. I changed the engine oil as well.

After riding the bike am extremely disappointed. The gear shift has become really hard now. Once i reached back home i tried to check the level of engine oil and to my surprise the oil was very thick. I took a bit of it in my finger nails. After some time i noticed that it has become kind of jelly like substance. The substance sticks in my hand.

guys what do you think about this?? do i need to change the entire Engine oil now?? they have also mixed this additive in the petrol as well
Please advice.

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Earlier Bajaj guys used to do this, now Honda has started as well? Oh well, my 2 cents, get the engine oil changed ASAP. I guess he has added a little too much of it, though even the recommended amount would have caused some damage to clutch plates. Here is my rambling on what Bajaj used to use:

Bardahl engine oil additive for motorcycles | Yogesh Sarkar's Blog

Bardahl engine oil additive for motorcycles, Bajaj Auto’s Official response | Yogesh Sarkar's Blog

Review of Bardahl Engine Oil Additive for Motorcycles | Yogesh Sarkar's Blog

As for the petrol additive, that is ok, provided you do not use premium fuel like speed etc. if you do, then there is really no need of it.

[moto143]

Thanks Yogesh for the quick reply. I was really worried. Will get the engine Oil changed ASAP.

Not only the additive, they were also forcing me to decarbonise the engine. As per them it removes the carbon from the engine. I don't understand how on earth will a bike which has done just over 4.5 k kms need decarbonising.

Would this so called additive damange any other engine part other than clutch plate?? Anyways i'm going to lodge a formal complaint to Honda regarding this. This is completely unacceptable.

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Unless it was fake, it shouldn't be really cause any serious damage to anything apart from clutch plates, though Murphy's law can become a factor .

As for decarbonising, at least for Pulsars it is recommended every 20k if my memory serves me right (never got it done), there is no way you would need that at 4.5k!

[freddytin]

Have to agree completely with Yogesh.
A quote from his excellent blog.......

" Getting a good quality engine oil of the grade specified by the motorcycle manufacturer or switching it to a better grade semi-synthetic or fully synthetic engine oil is a much better option then this engine oil additive which promises to be a miracle drug and just like them turns out to be a damp squid! "

We use the term " Snake Oil " to describe these well marketed additives. As far as I know , none of the vehicle manufacturers in England approve the use of any oil supplement.
Modern engines run very close tolerances in their engines, you do not want anything that has the viscosity of treacle. A better flow rate around the engine will benefit engine cooling considerably.

As for de-coking the engine, Well, if the tuning is correct, and your not pootling around like a Granny in a coma, it will probably NEVER require one.

[Salil]

1. Change the engine oil immediately. Keep some of the engine oil in a bottle when you change it in case the guys at Honda want to take a look at the concoction.
2. Which city are you from? Guys here can recommend a less crazy service center in your area.
3. Decarb at 4.5K? Looks like they get about 2 customers a day and are trying to milk you as much as possible! I haven't had to do a decarb in 6 years and 100,346 KMs on my P-180 and even more (meter conked) on my P-150 classic!

[moto143]

Originally Posted by Salil

Change the engine oil immediately. Keep some of the engine oil in a bottle when you change it in case the guys at Honda want to take a look at the concoction.

I won't be needing to use my bike for the next 2 or 3 days so i was thinking to inform Honda about this first so that they can have a look at it and then will go ahead and change the Engine Oil. does that sound like a good idea???

Which city are you from? Guys here can recommend a less crazy service center in your area.

I'm based in South Delhi. In fact this dealer is located nearly 25 Kms from my place. The reason why i service from his place is because i got an annual maintenance contract from them as per which i need to carry out all the services at their place.

Decarb at 4.5K? Looks like they get about 2 customers a day and are trying to milk you as much as possible! I haven't had to do a decarb in 6 years and 100,346 KMs on my P-180 and even more (meter conked) on my P-150 classic!

yes i still feel like kicking myself for getting that addictive from them. They told me that it prevents engine overheating during summers. My UNI used to get overheated so i thought the addictive would prevent it. That's the only reason i went for it.

[Yogesh Sarkar]

If your motorcycle overheats in summers, then it means it is running lean i.e. tunned for mileage. You can get tuned at factory setting (might mean slightly lower mileage) and it ought to be alright. Alternatively, you can use Elf MotoGold 4 (one of the thickest 20w40 oils) or use 20w50 engine oils in summer (make sure their bottle says JASO MA i.e. certified for use in bikes).

[moto143]

yes even i think it's tuned for mileage. Even during city riding it gives nearly 53 Km/L.
luckily i get office cab so i can afford to be without the bike till this issue get's resolved. I have already composed the complaint, need to post it on Honda's website.

[moto143]

I have Lodged the complaint against the Service centre. I hope that Honda will get in touch with me by tomorrow.