Another Sanity Check - Wrenches, Tuners and Mechanics Out There

Can experienced tuners, mechanics or shops chime in and tell me how many hours they would require to swap an engine in a recent supersport-tuned bike (take out the old one, install the new one, swapping exhaust system, cooling system, plug in the electronics)? Work done in the shop, not at the track. Track bike was already devoid of bodywork. Bike is a 2009 Kawi ZX-6R, as apparently it makes a significant difference in the time it may take.

Please don't include time spent on engine tuning, engine building, assessing the condition of the engine, compression checks, oil change, etc. as those are being billed separate?

I only need to get a fair idea of the time it should take to do a straight swap.

Thanks!

 

Greatly depends on the bike. Some models are a lot easier to R/R an engine on.

 

Depends. At the race track or at the shop?

 

Yup.

 

At the shop. On a 2009 Kawi ZX-6R.

 

45min to 1 hour (or so). Depends on bike and how "street" or "race" it is.

 

I think the most important part of the questions, is not "exactly how long it would take, to the minute", but as a shop owner " how would you bill it, hours-wise"?

Zero chance in hell that any good shop is billing 1 hr labor to do a motor swap

 

Thank you. I'm trying to figure out what would be a reasonable number of hours or total number for a shop to bill for this particular work. I specified what I include and what I don't include and want to get a sense of what is typical/reasonable, here.

Looking forward to more specific guidance.

 

If you are looking at a number, I have been told somewhere around $500-$600 for removing an engine and installing another one.

That is simply getting the old engine out, the new one in, and everything hooked up and running.

That isn't the dyno tuning, or anything else.

That is a "i know this engine is good, i just need them swapped" scenario.

Like Drew said, it is probably only a 1-2hr job. But you aren't going to find anybody that will do it for $100-$150 (basing it off the shops typical hourly rate).

 

1.5 to 2 would be a reasonable time in a shop, but I have done a GSXr in 45 minutes at Daytona under pressure. At a dealership 4 hours would be allowed and they would bill for 6.

At $99 an hour (local dealership rate) this follows what Chris is saying.

 

Does the bike have a title?

 

Without rushing, 1 hour to take out and 2 hours to install, oil+water, run shortly, top off, and safety wire. Experience with any particular engine speeds that up somewhat.

 

just had an r6 swap done, local guy, his own shop. 400 bux inc leak down, valve check, sync TB's, and install manual cam chain tensioner in new motor. Ski

 

We quote 4 hours out and 4 hours back in at our labor rate of $74 an hour when the bike doesn't have bodywork.
Again that's a QUOTE but it's saved our ass many times because of stripped bolts, effed up electrical connections, aftermarket crap bolted on, etc.
Also don't forget when you have another guy come to help you lift the engine out of the frame that's two billable people on the bike for X amount of time so it covers that also.
We never strive to be the "cheapest" we strive to be the best.

 

Yea, i was gonna say, it aint always a race who can do it faster...

 

I was pleasantly surprised by how easily the motor came out of my 2005 GSXR 750. But looking at my RC51, that looked like a son of a bitch. Mostly because of the side radiators and exhaust are a little more of a pain. I would think most i4 bikes wouldn't be too bad.

 

if you are SLOW it takes 3 hours total. (I've had to do this to my 09 zx6r after my engine exploded this season). If you are fast, 30 min to an hour. This motor is REALLY easy to remove and install. Any shop quoting more than this is bullshitting you. It IS a lot of work and requires special tools, so you won't find anyone willing to do it for less than $300-$600. You can make the tools using sockets+dremel, an engine hoist makes it easy, but you can just use a floor jack, or transmission jack.

 

I will buy you a case of beer if you can remove and reinstall that engine by yourself in 30 minutes and it runs properly within that 30 and doesn't blow up a second time.

 

30 min. That's funny