125 bike service

[stranger12]

hi gents,

my bike is quite new , less than a year old and the manufacture suggests that i should do a full service every 3000 km which is around 1800 miles . this is very expensive at £110 a service as i do around 1k miles everymonth thus have decided to do the service my self .

how often do you advise on changing my oil and spark ?

is there anythingelse i should check as well?

i regulary ( every month or two) go around the bike with a spanner to ensure all screws and nuts are tighten up. i also do the chain adjustment every 2-3 weeks plus lub every week

appreciate all inputs

[eastanglianbiker]

what bike is it. is it 2 stroke or 4 stroke ? need more info to give better advice

[stranger12]

i think it may be 4 stroke , it is a sym 125 which is similar to honda cg 125

[eastanglianbiker]

just change spark plug and the oil and clean out the air filter and change it if paper one or if its a foam one then clean it out and re oil it thats about it for a basic service as the oil filter is normally internal as far as im aware

[stranger12]

is oil, spark and filter all you do on bike regulary or as part of full service

is there anything else that should be regulary checked ? by the way how often or miles do you change spark and oil, my bike has done around 5k and so far had its first service which was minor so the oil was only changed

is 6-7 miles reasonable for a bike for spark and oil ? as mentioned the manufactures insists on 3 k (kilometers thus 1.8) which is very low and expensive

i should say I rather keep my bike safe and sound than save money but having it service every 2 month is just too much at £110 per service .

[pointblank0]

You won't need to service it nearly as much as that. I do about 12000 miles a year and I service it myself. As I ride in all weathers, I tend to change the oil and filter every 4 months. The air filter I change once a year, the plugs I check once a year and change them if needed.

I would say every 6 months or so, check things like bolt torques, cable freeplay, tire depth and wear, exhaust leeks etc.

Oh and I oil and check my chain each week, and it probably needs adjusting every few months.

Have a glance at your brake pads now and then and replace as necessary.

I don't really listen to the advice of garages anymore, as they are businesses and their sole purpose is to make money from us. It sounds like you check your bike quite regularly, so I wouldn't worry about it.

I wont mess with anything apart from the above unless I can feel or hear a problem, then I investigate and repair/overhaul if needed.

Not sure about the oil filter on your bike, may be one of those gauze internal things. Worth looking in a manual. I had a cb250 with an oil screen, and I just took it out and cleaned it every year. A bit more fidly, but I guess it needs to be done.

[stranger12]

all replies appreciated many thanks

i guess will only change the oil then

one thing is, when i undo the bolt to adjust the chain i don't know how much to tighten it to ensure that it will not undo itself and the wheel poping out . so i always think i have tighten it enought and scared one day i may break it

[Guest]

Another thing that's checked and adjusted is the chain tension.

[Fozzie]

Just set up this schedule

Chain tension every month and lubed - £7 for holts chain lube

Oil and filter every 2500 miles - £15

Spark plug every 5000 miles - £11

Valve clearance check every 5000 miles - free with some feeler guages and a spanner

Pretty good to go by given the 125 4-strokes ive had.

BTW the difference between 2-stroke and 4-stroke.

2-stroke sounds like a super-charged strimmer

4-stroke sounds like a turbo charged lawn mower

[pointblank0]

The rear wheel axle bolt needs to be tight. The Haynes manual for that model would have the exact torque setting, but generally they are round the 90Nm mark.

You would have to put some serious stress on it to snap the axle, but you could probably damage the threads if it's way over tight.

[stranger12]

thanks,

how often do you guys normally change oil or how man y mpg?

for instance on car some people say that you can do around 6-7 but i always changed it at 3-4k or if it is a year old.

i think it is same for bike, any other suggestions?

[uk190]

You won't need to service it nearly as much as that. I do about 12000 miles a year ....

isnt yours a honda? his is a cheapo chinese copy which will last a fraction of the time a honda will. if it even gets to 12k miles i'll be suprised.

OP.

double check the service intervals with the "dealer". it might be a case that the crap monkey metal that the engine is cobbled together from needs ridiculously short intervals to stop it dying even sooner than they hope. i just dont get why folks throw money at these things, its a false economy as a 20 year old jap will out live any chinese bike and still be worth what you paid for it.

a mate of mine owns a bike garage and sells chinese bikes and he makes a load of money from it, however, he is seriously thinking of stopping it due to the damage the dodgy build quality is doing to his reputation as a dealer. he has had to replace bikes that are less than a year old because they are beyond econimical repair.

sorry if this offends but i have heard nothing positive about any chinese bike. theyre cheap for a reason.

on the positive side of things, your attitude to regularly tightening things up is highly commendable and hopefully this and the correct service interval will keep it on the road for as long as you need it.

[stranger12]

@uk190,

thanks. you are right they are cheap. although mine is not chineese and tiwan which is slightly better.

i bought it because it comes with 3 year warranty and 2 year 0% finance and the cost is same as a normal honda possibly(1.5K) so why bought it really. since i had it the rev counter has failed twice and the speedo 1 time so it is cheap in my view, is it that common for rev counter to fail every 2 month ?

in regard to interval it is recommanded to do 3000 kmh which is around 1800 miles and that is very expencive to do as stated above ( at dealer £110ish) if i do it my self then i see 5-6k as reasonable , any objections ?

[pointblank0]

isnt yours a honda? his is a cheapo chinese copy which will last a fraction of the time a honda will. if it even gets to 12k miles i'll be suprised.

That's a fair point