Howard worked on my BMW R60. I fried my ignition system. He put on electronic ignition and other parts. He also went above and beyond cleaning and sealing the gas tank. Howard kept meticulous records and kept me informed every step of the way. He also kept me informed about cost. I can't say enough about Howard, this was the best experience I've ever had with a vehicle repair. I would use Howard again in a heartbeat. I give Howard my highest recommendation! Andy Ader read more

So my '85 Honda V65 Magna needed some work since I started hearing noise in the engine and I also wanted an electrical connection eliminated also. Howard was able to determine that my starter clutch was causing the unusual noise and after finding one on ebay, he installed it and performed some very nice looking electrical work too. Unfortunately, after getting the bike back home, I noticed it now had a new oil leak. I immediately got in touch with Howard and though he was surprised to hear about the leak, he said he would stand behind his work and would come to my house to fix the problem! Turns out it was a gasket which was an easy fix. I will definitely take my bike to Howard for any future repairs and would recommend anyone else needing work done on their bike to consider Stender motorcycle service and repair. read more

What started off with a response from my ad posted on Facebook for a motorcycle mechanic to repair my vintage 1976 bmw r90/6 ended up as a dismal failure of sorts. Howard seemed willing and able to handle the requested work of repairing my bike; new steering head bearings, rebuilding front forks , adding new dyna ignition , lube and inspect spline with clutch pack all done successfully but he seemed unable to fully understand the nuances of synching carbs after rebuilding them. Float bowl gaskets we're not correct ones plus there was a stuck main jet he was unable to fix yet he seemed sure when I picked the bike up after nearly 4 months that the bike was in fact synched and ready to ride. Far from it was the truth as the fuel into the carbs was way too rich due to the I'll fitting gaskets and the stuck needle causing the bike to run very poorly. Not to mention that he totally overlooked the obvious oil leak from the right cylinder head gasket dripping on to the exhaust pipe even after his 15 mile test ride. I saw the smoke from the dripping oil in every video he showed me not to mention after 5 minutes of riding 1/2 mile myself that it was a bad leak. The other things he failed to do was get the recently rebuilt and calibrated speedo and tach hooked up correctly as there was no neutral light indicating even as he showed me in previous videos that it was working. All of that plus the failure to correctly hook up the brand new guages for the voltmeter and oil temp which he installed at the drain plugs for. (All drain plugs leak ) after having the bike home I've noticed all drain plugs leaking especially the rear shaft one that has formed a large puddle on cardboard that I put under the bike. Even after tightening the drain plug it still leaks excessively. I was beyond mad after getting the bike home that the horns were installed in the wrong place(inside tool storage area under seat) instead of at the sides of battery where I wanted them . Howard doesn't like talking on the phone and his mails are short unless he's defensive about questions. His video reports are short and appreciated . After all was said and done I requested a refund for 265. For the failed guages and speedo hook up which he obligingly refunded. Kudos for that. His work as a mechanic for the rest of the work was adequate but his electrical and carburetor synch failure was a deal breaker for me so I couldn't give him more praise because of those things. He also gave me a total bill that included a 4 page report that shocked me with his high bill which was nearly twice what I told him my budget was initially when I gave him the list of work I wanted done . I think his 25. An hour advertising was deceptive in that the work done would have cost me the same at a real bmw mechanic at 80. an hour for some of the same work that I had gotten quotes for doing. I don't know why mechanics can't be up front about straight costs for things that are routinely done ie rebuilding front forks, lubing spline or rebuilding carbs . Although my carbs were pretty bad to begin with and he fully explained the extra work so I appreciated that. Next time I will search out a qualified bmw mechanic that does work solely on bmw bikes as they are nuanced. The other thing I will mention is he didn't want to replace my oil pan gasket for some reason as well as replace the Allen head screw at the bottom of fork which was stripped and which I provided a new Allen head screw for. Good luck if you have a Harley as howard can probably handle that as well as Hondas and triumphs . But there are exceptions to be mindful of and maybe my expectations were too high for them to be met at Stender's motorcycle repair. read more

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