Honda part numbers
Everyone is aware of how Honda's part numbering system works: The first five-character section denotes the area of the bike, the middle three-character section reflects on the model, and the final three numbers indicate minor changes such as surface finish and similar improvements. Some variation from this is found on screws and bolts, in which the diameter and length are often conveniently coded into the part number. But overall this is Honda's system. Interestingly, the part number's center section which is well-known as the Honda vehicle "model code", has an interesting and less understood property. Rather than simply identifying the motorcycle model the part is supposed to bolt onto, it actually communicates the model the part originated on, which is not necessarily the same thing. This for example resulted in the innaugural 1975 GL1000 having a lot of part numbers from Honda's cars.

Honda's parts supercession problem
Honda is to be commended for supporting vintage. Of the Big Four, they have demonstrated more effort at supporting older models than the others. The other three Japanese manufacturers have shown almost no interest in vintage. But Honda's vintage ethos, however well-meaning, does have a fault. In too many instances Honda is substituting part numbers seemingly without sufficient analysis. Most of the non-original part numbers Honda wants you to put on your vintage bike work fine. But some are just not appropriate. Not mind you from a concours, "correctness" standpoint, but from a practical, usefulness viewpoint. Clutch pushrods that were over several model years developed from their original one-material design to a superior two-metal type that effectively retained clutch adjustment as the engine warmed up, have been reverse-specd to the earlier single-material part that does not offer that benefit. Valves that were originally a unique part number for their engine due to very special dimensions have likewise been superseded to a later engine's valves having different dimensions. This is of special concern to the vintage Honda owner.

Mechanics' pay
In the early 1970s when I started in shops, a Honda dealer mechanic was paid exactly half of the labor the customer paid for the job. Fifty percent may sound great, but the mechanic of that era had no health insurance, he didn't take vacations, and there was no such thing as sick days (in my day he often got fired for being sick!). He even paid for his (required) uniforms. And on rainy days, he didn't make any money. In the 1980s shops began reducing that commission percentage to 40% then 30% and even less, and eventually the straight commission system was abandoned because it constituted a built-in raise for the mechanic when the dealership raised its labor rate every few years, as many do, and dealers decided they didn't like that. The most common system today is the "X amount per billed hour" system. In this automotive-derived system, the mechanic is hired at, say, $35 per billed hour. For every billable hour he produces, he is paid that $35, regardless of what the actual billed labor total is, or what the shop rate is, or anything else. But note that he still does not get paid when there is a lull in the flow of work.

Incentive pay would seem to be a good idea, and it would be in a perfect world. However, mechanics are at the bottom of the shop's food chain. All the people above them affect their actual pay on a moment-by-moment basis. In this case, time is indeed money. If the right parts aren't in stock or the customer can't be reached for approval, doesn't this affect the incentively-paid mechanic's income? Sure it does. Then there is human nature. When a little extra effort is required for a repair or service to be really effective, the incentive-paid mechanic is tempted to not make that effort, because it will cost him money.

Flat rate
"Flat rate" is a misunderstood and misappropriated term. In the dealership, flat rate means the amount of time the factory will reimburse the dealer for repairing warrantable vehicle issues. Just as with medical insurance, the amount reimbursed is way less than what is realistic. "Below market rate" would be phrase to a lawyer. The dealer, when he becomes a dealer, agrees, just as your doctor does, to be treated this way. He has no choice, or he cannot be a dealer. And the manufacturer admits and formally qualifies that this reimbursement is unrealistic when it does two things. One, it advises the dealer, in writing, to never use flat rate times to estimate retail work. Kawasaki, for example, adds a blurb to this effect at the bottom of many of its tech bulletins. Two, manufacturers have a system in which the dealer is allowed to petition the manufacturer for extra reimbursement in specific repair instances in which the dealer can adequately explain the reason(s) he needs extra reimbursement. These are one-time, case by case adjustments. But they illustrate the dynamic of the whole arrangement. It goes back to that adversarial thing again. No shop worth working for uses flat rate for retail work. No decent shop makes itself a hostage in that way or it will not stay in business. Retail work is typically estimated and charged at anywhere from 50 percent more to two and a half times flat rate. Flat rate is only for warranty. Unfortunately, warranty work makes up as much as a third of all the work a dealer does. And guess who suffers the most. The mechanic.

There is another issue related to flat rate. Dealers and other shops must deal with insurance companies when it comes to collision repairs. Insurance companies like to force factory flat rate onto the dealer in these instances. Some even have their own flat rate tables that they use, derived from the factory's. Either way, the shop is going to take it in the shorts and a good shop will push back and look out for itself.

And there is a third related issue. In the powersports industry there is a segment, of consultants, folks who make their money telling shops how to do their business. A very bad thing some of these "experts" do is preach to the shop that he needs to try harder to meet flat rate. They go so far as to promote a toxic, destructive culture of the "super mechanic", the guy that mythically can always meet factory flat rate, when in reality it is not intended for regular work. I cannot express how awful this is. But a lot of shops fall for it, to their loss and even failure.

The bottom line is "flat rate" as a term is synonymous with a hole in the ground. It's a trap to be avoided whenever possible. It does not describe retail labor charges, it is not in any way a normal standard, and it is harmful to the dealer and most of all the mechanic. Flat rate is one of the many things, perhaps one of the worst things, that is destroying, and if not corrected will completely destroy, the powersports industry.

Part 4