I had a similar experience (extraordinarily honest mechanics) a few years ago when the rear wheel bearings in my ST 1100 burned up.

Two mechanics worked on the bike almost all day, including taking me around town to (successfully) find two identical bearings, and they refused to take more than USD $15 for the full day's work.

I think that most Moroccans are inherently very honest people. It's one of the things I like most about the country.

Michael

There are trustworthy mechanics. I also had a rear wheel bearing fail. This was in Fez in 2008 on an almost new BMW F650GS twin. The cost was just 100dh which was then about £8.

But there are some that are non-trustworthy. In 1974 I was touring on a 'pre-marriage honeymoon' with my wife-to-be in our Triumph Vitesse convertible when the clutch stopped working properly. We stopped in Ouarzazate which then was not much more than a military post and Club Med resort, and the mechanics found two of the bolts securing the gearbox to the engine (with the clutch in the middle) had snapped and every time I pressed the clutch the gearbox moved backwards. Extremely simple job to fix, however the bill was the equivalent of £120 which almost 50 years ago was a vast fortune for the UK, let alone Morocco.

I knew there was no way I could negotiate the bill down to something realistic, or even expensively realistic. So I truthfully said I didn't have enough money on me and non-truthfully said I would go to the bank in the morning. The reality is that we skidaddled out of town. I still feel uneasy for cheating them, but console myself knowing they were nothing but rip-off merchants.

The €500 bill I spoke about above to pull a 4x4 out of the dunes was about ten years ago now, so goodness knows how much some of the chancers will try to charge. But you are over a barrel.

As for transporting the bike to Tanger Med, Peter Buitelaar of Bikershome was (maybe still is) an agent for ADAC recovery and from memory charged €0.50 per km for rescues, plus the same again to get back to base. Again, this was ten years ago, so factor in inflation.

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Hey all, I’m still at my hostel waiting for the insurance to call me back. I call them every hour or so but apparently it’s all in the hands of their agent here who’s now trying to arrange transport to Meknes. Really not ideal as I don’t have a direct contact. If I don’t hear back in the next few hours I might try to got to Erfoud to check the bike and see if there is anything I can do from there.
Cheers,
Andrea

Speak to Garage Royale in Erfoud they are the best in the area.

The Morocco Desert Challenge finished in Merzouga on Sunday. There should be lots of trucks heading to the ferry if the haven’t already left.

We were in the area on Saturday but too far away now to help. A cheap recovery option is to rent a van that allows you to return it to an office in Tanger and transport the bike yourself.

Another good contact is Ali Oubassidi at Ksar Bicha.

Thank you, actually that’s where the bike currently is. But because I’m handling the situation through the insurance they are not going to fix it as they are trying to have it sent to a Honda dealer in Meknes. I’m gonna visit them shortly as I’m in Erfoud too now.

Ok they are a good bunch and very well recommended, we got a gwagen aluminium gearbox case welded overnight there last year, they did a very good job.

It’s a shame it was suggested there are no decent mechanics in the area