Doing your own servicing

[Lumor_uk]

Hi guys, doing a course on website design. Just interested on how many of you do your own servicing. No I'm not going to create a rival website

Cheers.

[megawatt]

I do all my own and anybody elses that needs help. For 42 years.

[fastbob]

Always have . Initially because I was skint but now for the satisfaction of knowing its been done right . For me this is intrinsic to being a biker.

[Arwen]

I do all my own servicing, apart from the bikes first service.

I oddly enjoy servicing my own bikes.

[Guest]

How is this relevant to a web design course?

[raesewell]

What if you do some of the servicing but not all?

Edited July 5, 2018 by raesewell

[MarkW]

Based on my bike history I'm not sure how to respond to this:

ZZR1200

Covered in fiddly plastic trim with flimsy fasteners that broke every time you removed anything, necessitating hours of f*cking around with epoxy. Hated every minute I spent working on it. I even managed to get epoxy on my knob once - Christ knows how I managed that.

ST1300A

Decided not only to service it myself, but to completely overhaul it as a project. That was three years ago. Most of it is still in a bucket.

Electra Glide

Dead easy to service, and loved every minute of working on it.

K1600GT

Far too expensive and complex-looking for me to fiddle with, and I'll be buggered if I'm pissing around with all that plastic just to change spark plugs. Especially as there are six of them...

Make of that what you will.

[mikestrivens]

wouldn't dream of doing any servicing on cars or bikes. That is what garages are for. I will just about lube the chain, but I'd get a garage to do that if there was one local.

[Fozzie]

I used to do all of it but had a basic yearly service to get the stamp.

Then a Honda dealer in Ruislip cracked a sump on my CBR600F, and then a cam chain tensioner they replaced came loose. So now I do all of it no matter the level of difficulty.

My last big project was a Blackbird, which I did up over a period of 2 years from a rust bucket to a really good condition machine. When I sold it I sold it with all the receipts and some pictures in a fancy looking folder and the guy said it was as good as having stamps in the book.

[Lumor_uk]

What if you do some of the servicing but not all?

 

Now you've got me. Yeah I can't do the balancing of carbs . Haven't got the equipment.

 

How is this relevant to a web design course?

 

Designing a website on motorbike maintenance of course

[geofferz]

First service down by a main dealer for inevitable resale purposes. Not sure about second service yet...

If I need a new tyre the dealer doesn’t charge much to fit and balance it, though I do have to remove and replace the wheel.

This guy helps me with cosmetic aftermarket parts I buy online.

 

I do all my own and anybody elses that needs help. For 42 years.

 

I clean, tighten and line my own chain.

[Bhawk]

First learnt everything because I was skint.

Then once for convenience used a garage to rebuild my calipers. They did a shit job, hadn't cleaned anything up or took their time on it, there was also superficial damage to the external side of the caliper from a ham fisted monkey using grips.

So now I do it myself so I know the jobs been done properly, and the satisfaction of it all.

[Westbeef]

I do it 50/50, because i want the stamps in my book. I also get pay for major servicing as I'm likely to break my bike if I dont . Just booked in for a valve clearance check, every 12 months I'll get it in for a service and I'll do a service myself inbetween at 6 months.

Edited July 17, 2018 by Westbeef

[megawatt]

What you been quoted for valve clearance check?

[Fozzie]

I do it 50/50, because i want the stamps in my book. I also get pay for major servicing as I'm likely to brake my bike if I dont . Just booked in for a valve clearance check, every 12 months I'll get it in for a service and I'll do a service myself inbetween at 6 months.

 

If it's the 30k one don't bother, I've had 3 CBR600's, a 2001, 2003 and 2006, and did the check around that mileage and all of them were not a nats whisker out of spec!

It's also not a hard DIY job, you just need the fairings off, drop the radiator, and you can get at the head from there.

[Westbeef]

I do it 50/50, because i want the stamps in my book. I also get pay for major servicing as I'm likely to brake my bike if I dont . Just booked in for a valve clearance check, every 12 months I'll get it in for a service and I'll do a service myself inbetween at 6 months.

 

If it's the 30k one don't bother, I've had 3 CBR600's, a 2001, 2003 and 2006, and did the check around that mileage and all of them were not a nats whisker out of spec!

It's also not a hard DIY job, you just need the fairings off, drop the radiator, and you can get at the head from there.

 

I’m doing it for peace of mind up to nearly 40k now. Will keep its value up if I go to resell. He’s swapping the CCT whilst he’s there too as it’s a bit tappy now.

[megawatt]

So you're swapping the CCT , even though you probably don't need to? Auto or manual?

[Stu]

[Bianco2564]

Yes I do all my own servicing and repairs,engine rebuilds,the lot.

Don't trust dealers and don't want to pay ££££ per hour to them.

Same with my and my families cars,servicing,cam belts,clutches.

Must have saved a fortune over the year's.

Only thing I had to put OH's BMW into a indy garage recently was to replace abs pump,needing coding which i dont have the kit for.

That's why I prefer older bikes, less electronics the better.

[Foxy Stoat seeks Pig]

I try to do as much as I can on my own, with a few balls ups along the way. Hence my numerous pitstop posts

[Liveware Problem]

No.

I've done a few easy bits like changing the end can on my hornet (although getting the link pipe off was a huge pain!) and changing the clutch cable, but that's it really.

If that means I'm not a 'proper biker' in some peoples' eyes, so be it.

[Phill]

I've been brought up doing DIY and repairing/servicing cars and other stuff in the garage since i was little so it comes as a second nature to get my hands dirty on nearly everything, starting from bicycles to motorbikes and cars.

My YBR is dead easy to work on, im doing the servicing by myself, oil, filter, spark plug, in the car park! i wish i had a man cave so i could do more extensive repairs/servicing, that's one reason why i will have to send the bike at the garage, lack of space/tools.

[Kush]

Hi there I’m kush I wish I could device my own bike I have Kim exc 300 2006 could anybody possibly help me with a check over maybe a rebuild if any ones local to Colchester please drop me a message I’ll obviously pay for work ?

[V650]

After leaving the V650 in for service it came back with a stripped fairing bolt and missing grommets so now I do everything myself 

I have done all the usual service stuff like oil & filters  / plugs

I changed headstock bearings and wheel bearings

Replaced the gearbox on the Versys

Valve shim adjustment 

rethreaded the chain adjustment bolts on the swingarm

 

The Cb500X has only about 9000 miles on it so not done the plugs yet just oil & filters 

[Davidtav]

I have this conundrum at the moment. So I bought the VStrom 650 new last November when living in Yorkshire. It went to the dealer for 600 mile service. Planning to take it to the dealer for services up to 3 years old. And I believe the bike has a 3 year warranty if serviced by Suzuki. So the stamp in the book is worth having … but now I’m living in Scotland. My nearest Suzuki dealer is over 100 miles away. And a lot of that is highland roads. I’m wondering if I really fancy doing this in November?  I’ve done 6500 miles on the bike. Everything seems perfect. Planning to keep the bike a few years. I am tempted to just service it myself and keep all the receipts. I’m confident I would do everything competently. I haven’t decided what to do yet.