Of course you do it yourself, keep receipts "just in case"......taking to the dealer for the 600 mile service is a waste of money and a scam IMHO. Oil/filter, check all bolts, throttle free play adjustment check, GO FOR A TEST RIDE.

 

I have a print out of the maintenance schedule that the dealer gave me, and I too have a hard time understanding the cost justification. Since it's the first service (and this is my first new motorcycle), I still feel obliged to bring it in. If it is in fact just oil/filter and bolt check though, I can handle that...

 

I keep a small booklet on board my 09 Wee that is used to record maintenance, parts and lubrication intervals. Our memory gets fuzzy in time but the journal is accurate enough for an understanding of standards of upkeep. Costs can be recorded on a running basis for those who care to keep that data. YMMV

 

This subject comes up often enough that it probably should be a sticky.

 

If I can do it, anybody can. Maybe buy the oil and filter from them, so they make a little money.

 

Considering labor is now around $100 an hour, 2 hours for a 600 mile service is fair. It is basically an oil/oil filter change, chain adjustment, check all fluids and check critical fasteners.

If you have the desire, tools and experience....by all means, do it yourself. I do my own work too.

 

Should be an hour tops my friend, no way all that takes 2 hours. :fineprint:

 

Well I would like a service manul on hand. Before the 600 mile service. Up until now the owners manul has been handy. Although not trying to shell out $90 for a manual! eBay has the CD copy for like $14.

 

And then they wonder why they're going out of business.

 

I have done my own 600 mile check on my Wee on the way home from a fly and ride. If you have ridden the bike for 600 miles you will know if the clutch needs to be adjusted, if the chain needs to be adjusted, etc. As by riding it you have checked it. The dealer has the check list as they do not know the condition of the bike. Most if all of the 600 mile check is just a look see except for the oil and filter change. If you are not sure of what or how, spend the money of the 600 mile check and buy the maint manual. You will save money in the long run and you will have become more familiar with your bike.

To answer your question, For me the 600 mile service cost is not worth the money. It is more of a CYA for the manufacture and a money making proposition for the dealer. Do change the oil and filter.

 

Not trying to seem like a cheap ass. I just like doing my own work. Also I don't want void my one year warranty.

 

Not trying to seem like a cheap ass. I just like doing my own work. Also I don't want void my one year warranty.

Complete scare tactics from dealers, can't say I ever recall a single warranty claim rejection on this forum or any other moto forum I have been on for specific bikes. It would have to be a blatant and obvious screw up, but yes I am sure it has happened to somebody. :grin2:

 

I don't know what country you're in, but if you're in the US, you won't void your warranty if you don't take it back to the dealer for the 600 mile service. And if the dealer tells you that, then he's lying to you, which is actually helpful because it tells you that he's dishonest and interested in performing a walletectomy on you.

If you aren't in the US, then disregard; warranty laws are different in other countries.

 

My thought is to do it yourself, it is good to have an understanding of how the bike works in case something lets you down. The first service is a good start with that.

 

Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act in the US, a warrantor (in this case, Suzuki) is forbidden from requiring a purchaser to have their bike serviced at a specific location or at a specific interval as a condition of a warranty, and they can't by law deny a warranty claim based solely on the fact that you didn't have your bike serviced at a dealer, or that you didn't adhere to the maintenance schedule.

That doesn't preclude Suzuki from claiming that a failure was due to a lack of maintenance and therefore not a warranty claim, which is why it's important to keep records of your own maintenance, but they legally can't deny a warranty claim based solely on the fact that you don't go to a dealer to service your bike.

 

The Dealer who bought and had my FJR shipped from Oregon and set it up out of the crate said basically what lots of dealer say....better have us do everything or your warrenty is out the window. Then you ask them politely to please put that in writing and sign it on dealership letter head and they look at their watch and say, "Oh my! Look at the time! Gotta go!

On the other side of the coin, I saw a commercial on the telly for a Honda car dealer over in Idaho that offers some sort of lifetime guarrentee, and right on the commercial they say you are welcome to do the maintenance anywhere you like or even do it yourself! I almost fell out of my chair...honesty from a dealer....who knew?

Again, I am not buying the expensive dealer extended warrenty for my XT but I am documenting the heck out of my first service coming up. Reciepts and lables for the oil, filter and crush washer. Pics and date and time of service. I sign it with my aircraft mechanics license number. (The only problem I ever had with a new bike was the charging coil for the battery went out on my 1972 TS 185 Suzuki, IIRC. Also IIRC there was a magneto so I didnt really need it and try as I might to show the local dealer the thing didnt charge, I just ended up buying the coil and putting it in myself....

 

My BMW had a service light come on when scheduled maintenance was due and it could not be turned off without a special device. Please tell me the strom will not do this.

 

Arent those BMWs interesting? You need a computer which BMW will gladly sell you to turn off that light. And a special tool to take off the cap on the brake fluid reservoir on the 2014 800 GT. And you might find a situation where your bMW wont start unless you re-boot the computer using that special computer you bought to reset the maintenance light... what a bunch of kidders.....I was going to wait for the F850 GS to come out but after hearing that the project was delayed and the new Made in China engine used a cam belt (!) I bought the XT. Glad I did.

 

Those "extended warranties" aren't actually warranties; they're service contracts. Basically, they're maintenance insurance. You pay a fee against the chance that something will happen to your bike. As such, they aren't bound by any of the warranty laws, so their individual conditions are pretty much up to whatever company underwrites the contract.

 

That is a good point. My new 2018 Subaru Forester has an 8 year 80,000 mi. service agreement underwriten by Subaru. Cost was $800. It pays $100 deductible, $40 a day car rental, $500 trip interuption and $100 towing (I have better towing than that). But it says that you have to keep accurate records of all maintenance done, which I think is fair. It is also transferable and you can cancel and get a pro-rated sum, too.

But yes, it is a service agreement.

 

This is a really good topic, and it does get me thinking.. I do all of my own wrenching with exception of the 600 mile service. The last two new bikes, I had the dealer do it. It killed me to do so, but I guess in my mind was concerned of a warranty situation. I think this time around, I’ll do the 600 mile service on my V2 myself. I guess I never really thought too much about what really happens (or doesn’t happen) during that first service

 

Should this have been expected?



Well, I performed the 600 mile service on my V2 last night, and I must say I was a little shocked when I changed the oil & filter. 1) the drain plug was only finger tight. When I was fitting the socket on the drain plug, it started to turn. I figured the socket was too large and was spinning around the bolt head, so I went to the next smaller size and it was too small. Went back to the first socket and realized that it was in fact engaging the bolt head. I didn't have any leaks, but I wonder how long it wold have taken to vibrate out if say the interval was 1000 miles instead of only 600 miles. 2) the fill cap was only finger tight. I'm not talking a snug finger tight. I'm talking loosy-goosy like the drain plug. 3) the oil filter by contrast almost would not come off. Don't know if this is dealer installed or done at the factory, but it was almost as if it was glued on. I could see the casing flex when I resorted to a filter wrench, and I was concerned I would crush the housing in the process.

I've only had two other new bike, and the dealer did those first services. All other bikes I've owned were used, so this was my first time performing the first service myself. Is it normal for the plugs to be so loose and the filter be so tight, or was I just "lucky"?

 

Some dealers are really good at subtly suggesting things like a warranty can be voided if you don't bring the bike back to them for service. Some of them aren't so subtle. Some buyers are under the impression that, by taking their bike back to a dealer for service, they're somehow "greasing the skids" in case they ever do need warranty work done on their bikes, or that they have to take it back to where they bought it in order to have warranty work done. None of that's true.

Shops don't want to do work when you, the customer, aren't the one paying for it. Some years back, I had a Hyundai that was in for a service and was told the subframe was rusting out at a critical point. Naturally, I was given a four figure repair estimate for it. So, I start doing some online research and found out my Hyundai was the subject of a class action lawsuit for the deteriorating subframe (they failed to put drain holes in the subframe, and salty water from states with winter and road salt was accumulating in the subframe and destroying it). My friendly local dealer, to whom I'd always taken my cars, refused to repair it under the recall, claiming that my car wasn't part of the recall since it was registered in North Carolina. Never mind that the VIN clearly identified my car as originating in the Snow Belt. It took several calls to Hyundai's US corporate headquarters, and getting right in the service manager's face, until they acknowledged that yes, they had to repair it at no cost to me.

That solidified the mantra that I've lived by ever since: "Dealers are not your friend". That doesn't mean they're your enemy, but it does mean that if they think they can squeeze a few extra bucks out of you with scare tactics like warranty work, or trading on your potential ignorance (like telling you that your 600 mile service check includes replacement of your spark plugs and a valve clearance check), they'll do it.

There's no sin in not wanting to do your own maintenance; you don't have to turn in your Man Card if you don't want to do it. But right there in your owner's manual, it lists everything they do on a 600 mile service (and at every service thereafter). If you just read that, and know what's involved, then you can call BS on a service manager when he tells you some nonsense about that service. If you sound like you know what you're talking about, a service manager might be less inclined to blow smoke up your ass.

 

how many computers has dvd anymore.......none. Paper book is better. as far as the service , do it yourself.

 

Well, yes, I do like paperback manuals more, and real news papers also....I must be old...all my computers have DVD players......I put on CDs and rip the music off to digital files.

 

Can I get a shake and fries with the burger ?:wink2:

 

It comes down to a matter of trust. Do you blindly trust that your dealer did all that was called for in any service operation, including set-up and pre-delivery inspection? 600 mile service..same thing.
You should be able to trust that they do what they say, but unless you physically check yourself, how do you know for sure?
You get a shop manual or other information source, and check them yourself. And you'd best trust yourself to be able to do that.
'81 I took my brand-new 1981 Honda CB750K(still in my garage) in for the (required for warranty purposes back then)
service. I got the bike back, then...check the valves..all were out of spec. Check the spark plugs, all were good. Ignition timing on cylinders 1 and 4 were four degrees retarded, cyls 2 and 3 were 7 degrees retarded.
As a condition of sale I requested a factory service manual..just before I signed the contract. I changed valve shims, set ignition reluctor spacings and timings, sync'd the carbs/adjusted idle mixtures/set idle speed... and bike ran better in every way.
True, that's is way more than Honda called for during a 600-mile service, but things werent right from the factory either. What they were supposed to do I rechecked. Then I knew.

 

Seems that today dealers are all out to get the money ?. Years ago I had a good dealer that was a small Kawasaki shop. A real Mom and Pop shop whose son was the mechanic. They were into building relationships with customers and were real motorcycle riders. They very fare price wise and never sold you anything you didn’t need. As a result i only bought from them.
I could walk back in the shop and watch my bike being worked on any time. Friday at closing time I would bring in a 6 pack of beer and the owner would get out the cheese and crackers and a select group of riders would partake in some good times.
He retired and motorcycleing has never been the same for me since.

 

Priceless, things like this are harder to get nowadays, Bike shops, Music shores, Tool stores, ect. the friendship over the years we had was more than the money exchange, it made the experience of having the thing better.

 

Kurt and Pepe, 2 excellent posts.
And both make the case for learning your machine and doing as much of the work on it yourself.
Building trust and a relationship with a business, in many cases, is a quaint idea from the past, or or it now seems.
Today, the bottom line is...The Bottom Line($$$).

But if you obtain a shop manual, get acquainted with the inner workings of your machine, pick up tools on an as-needed basis, search the 'net for info, learn from other's experience, and take your time while doing so, you will build a relationship with your motorcycle and gain trust in yourself.
To me, the feeling of being self-sufficient and not at the mercy of others for your motorcycling maintenance and repair is rewarding in and of itself. A "Man and his Horse" kind of thing.
When I work on someone's bike or car, I make sure they do at least 50% of the work. If I can get my hands dirty, so can they. My garage, my tools and equipment, and my guidance. I instruct where I can, and let the owner do the work wherever possible. We both recheck their work, and move on.
The look of self-satisfaction and empowerment on their faces is priceless. I explain what we are doing, and more importantly why we are doing it. And many have told me that, although they didnt have any intention of being a mechanic, at least now they coudnt be bullsh*tted if they had to take their vehicle in to a business for maintenance and repairs.