Hi, new here.
(if inappropriate, please advise if there's a better place to put this)

Loaded question .... I'm in Melbourne Australia - can anyone recommend a (good) mechanic with experience on XT660's? Preferably Melb-North to Melb-West, but will travel if worth it.

I want to look at drive-line upgrade options (gearing etc) as my drive-cush and chain have failed (see below) so I'd like to talk with someone who knows the bike and available options - aftermarket performance parts are not plentiful for the XT660 in Oz - I usually source mine from Europe, which I will do again (and wait) for the better outcome.

I'm about to try a new guy in Melb-West (Westside MC in Sunshine Nth), as he has a decent rep, and he talked with some knowledge about my bike. He seemed confident, although he bunched it into 'all high-revving singles'. I can confirm he has at least worked on Yam Raptor/Grizzly(?) ATV (700cc version of the engine). He was also happy to fit my tyres (at reasonable cost) when I bought them online - most in Oz wouldn't since they've missed out on the sale.

The last mechanic I used (10,000km) had a good reputation, but I was unhappy with the result. The right tank shroud mount clip came back broken and pitifully mended (with craft glue I think!!). That side's clip was actually super stubborn, so he must have just forced it in the wrong direction (he had indicated he had never worked on XT660s before). I ended up dropping the bike the next week (0kph) and broke it proper, so didn't pursue it. He actually sorted the low-down throttle snatchiness, but since then it was harsh(er) on the gas/high revs/on the freeway. He had also slacked off the rear spring and it was sagging like hell under throttle until I realised and put it up one notch again (I'm easily double his weight). He seemed a bit tentative on the hand-over and in follow-up call.

I figured the harshness was something with the 'tune', but the driveline (cush) has since failed (+ chain + (I think) spocket-carrier bearing) without my noticing (13,500km), which explains the harshness (I hope ?), so I can only wonder what the h@ll he/they could have done to compromise the drive-cush so suddenly? He mentioned that the chain had been too tight, and that he had slacked it off - I was pretty sure it wasn't, and there was no harshness before the service.

The Yamaha dealer in the city I bought the bike from were great at 1000km service (they swapped out a rear damaged wheel bearing at no cost), but their workshop (a guy I hadn't seen before) tried to fleece me at the 5000km service. He wanted to swap out my fork seals (I lube my sliders, and he jumped on it when he saw the oil), the tyres (@5000km!!) and rear pads - I let him have the pads cause he was obviously under pressure (management?) and I figured how much can that add ($40+labour)? It was just shy of $100 for non-genuine rear pads that squeal and are eating my rear disc - he didn't have OEM (quoted as $150!!). The service ended up being about double what he initially advised. Pads + Oil + labour. I think the service manager had changed - the staff were (all) visibly less happy the second time.

I had a lead on a Yamaha dealer/workshop (?) in Melb south-west but didn't write it down and for the life of me can't find anything in the area I was told it was.