Bike Butcher in Antigua, Guatemala
 

The board description only mentions "good" shops, but I think it's worth warning about this guy because having work done in Antigua (as opposed to having to go to Guatemala City) is so appealing, and others may get caught out...

The offender:

Marco Antonio Lopez
Calle Real San Felipe #8-23, Antigua, Guatemala (going north on 6 Av Norte, five minutes walk past the first corner)

The offenses:

* Killed my battery
* Broke the replacement battery
* Routed cables incorrectly
* Bent cable guides so he could route the cables incorrectly!
* Didn't do most of the work requested, despite being given the operators manual, both shop manuals and clear instructions
* Got the wrong tyres (could have been a language problem, but I'm not feeling generous toward him)
* Joyrode my bike
* Took out the front brake pads (what the hell for?), left them soaking in oil from the old oil filter, then put them back. He then told me my front brakes were weak and probably needed bleeding (everyone knows a KLR front brake is weak, right, but go ahead and bleed 'em) leaving me with practically *no* front brake!
* In general, just bodging everything he touched, e.g. *hammering* in the R-pins for the axles, misaligning the tyre inner-tubes, cleaning the K & N filter in petrol, losing valve caps...
* I don't know what else, but I wake up worrying about it

So, be warned! He was recommended to us as a race mechanic by the father of an age-group Central America dirtbike champ, but in my opinion he's the epitomy of the worst grease monkey one can think of.

Rant over; hope you all have better luck than me.

James.