[nobie381]

I am currently at 570 miles and I know I will need the 600 mile service but it won't be easy to get out of work until next month.
Will I hurt the engine if I keep driving the bike for the next two or three weeks or should I just let my girl sit and then drive her down to be serviced?
I would mostly do 16 miles a day in commuting with 30 or 40 miles on a weekend (still alot of rain here and no rain gear yet). Also the shop I would be going to is 80 miles away.

Thanks in advance.

 

[JPK]

I am currently at 570 miles and I know I will need the 600 mile service but it won't be easy to get out of work until next month.
Will I hurt the engine if I keep driving the bike for the next two or three weeks or should I just let my girl sit and then drive her down to be serviced?
I would mostly do 16 miles a day in commuting with 30 or 40 miles on a weekend (still alot of rain here and no rain gear yet). Also the shop I would be going to is 80 miles away.

Thanks in advance.

Change the oil/filter yourself, and then take it in when you get a chance. Everything else at the 600 mi service is just checking/tightening/adjusting, but I'd change the oil sooner rather than later.

 

[BigMan73]

My dealer told me that under 1000 it doesn't matter
600 is just an arbitrary number
I'm at 850 and getting service this week

 

[JPK]

My dealer told me that under 1000 it doesn't matter
600 is just an arbitrary number
I'm at 850 and getting service this week

Just my $0.02, but IMHO that's a loooooooooong time to go before a first oil change. I typically change oil on a new motor at 300 and again at 600 miles. If you've seen the amount of metal that comes out in the oil at the first oil change you'll understand why it's less than ideal to leave that circulating around for so long. That said, I'm sure there are plenty of people that will tell about how they didn't change oil until 1,000 miles and their bike is running strong, so it's partly my own OCD.

 

[chirosyd]

1rst check up

Just went through this myself. Changed oil at 600, and dealer checked everything else at 900. All went well. Oil change did not show anything out of the ordinary in the old oil. Unless you have a lemon, the advice given by JPK sounds right to me. Just broke 1100 on my 2011 Black 650 and it gets better and better each day! good luck:thumbup:

 

[Cambion]

I am currently at 570 miles and I know I will need the 600 mile service but it won't be easy to get out of work until next month.
Will I hurt the engine if I keep driving the bike for the next two or three weeks or should I just let my girl sit and then drive her down to be serviced?
I would mostly do 16 miles a day in commuting with 30 or 40 miles on a weekend (still alot of rain here and no rain gear yet). Also the shop I would be going to is 80 miles away.

Thanks in advance.

I would agree with others that changing the oil sooner rather than later is probably better. Then again, it's unlikely the difference between 600 miles and 850 miles is going to make any difference in the long run.

For what it's worth, there are a couple of good shops much closer to you, including one in Sterling that has an excellent reputation. Both are open on Saturdays, though getting an appointment on a Saturday might be challenging, you'd have to call them to know for sure though. Of course, if you're just looking for an excuse to do an 80 mile ride I'd be happy to join you for a run out to Apple House for apple cider donuts! It's only ~60 miles but... well, apple cider donuts!

 

[BigMan73]

Just my $0.02, but IMHO that's a loooooooooong time to go before a first oil change. I typically change oil on a new motor at 300 and again at 600 miles. If you've seen the amount of metal that comes out in the oil at the first oil change you'll understand why it's less than ideal to leave that circulating around for so long. That said, I'm sure there are plenty of people that will tell about how they didn't change oil until 1,000 miles and their bike is running strong, so it's partly my own OCD.

This is not my first new bike.

The dealer (Ramsey Suzuki) is a well known dealer that is in this business for many years. One of the mechanics has an SV 650.
No disrespect to you, but I trust them more. They assembled the bike and it is running perfectly fine.
It is my personal (and perhaps incorrect) opinion that the whole oil/service thing is blown out of proportion.

 

[JPK]

This is not my first new bike.

Neither is it mine.

No disrespect to you, but I trust them more. They assembled the bike and it is running perfectly fine.
It is my personal (and perhaps incorrect) opinion that the whole oil/service thing is blown out of proportion.

Great- do whatever you'd like. I don't recall telling you what to do, but rather simply offering my opinion which you're free to consider or ignore. :thumbup:

 

[BigMan73]

Neither is it mine.
Great- do whatever you'd like. I don't recall telling you what to do, but rather simply offering my opinion which you're free to consider or ignore. :thumbup:

No worries, mate, didn't mean to make you feel bad - we are both just expressing opinions.

Now a technical question (Greywolf to the rescue..?) - What's the value of an oil filter if all these so called 'metal pieces' are not caught by it after only 600/850 miles?!
So in other words, after 600 miles there is so much filth in the oil that the filter stops performing its job?

 

[nobie381]

Reason for me to go to Village Motorsports 80 miles away is they quoted me 200.00 for the 600 miles service and two others quoted me 400.00. If you know someone closer in northern VA please let me know.

Also I have never owned a motorcycle so right now I have my wee and my wife's S40 that both need their 600 mile service. If any stormers have time and do it yourself knowledge I am willing to learn and will buy the beer for afterwards. Just let me know what I need to bring.

 

[Stixx]

FWIW, I bought a two year old like new strom with nine hundred miles on it. I had them do the six hundred mile service basically except for valve adjustment and coolant for 130 bucks. The dealer seems pretty decent though I admit to being spoiled on my other bike .

Anyway I plan to maintain mine mostly myself as I learn the nuances of this breed of cat. So far I like it and all I've had to do is lube the chain and ride the crap out of it. Love the gas mileage BTW, and it is starting to be fun putting a "few" farkles on it . Already had a couple even though the original owner hardly rode it at all. He also bought the extended warranty and I thank him for that.

So now I just need to get my fuzebox installed and some heated grips and a plug for my chargers to go into. That should keep me busy for a while .

 

[triman11427]

600 Mile service

Hi All,
I have a new 2011 Wee. After reading a variety of posts, I did change my oil at 97 miles and just drained the filter. The oil was glistening with metal filings! I drained the filter and reused the filter and added new oil. Now I'm at 300 miles and considering repeating what I did at 97 or waiting till 600 miles and replace the oil and the filter. My real concern is whether to let the dealer take my $260 to "check" things at 600 miles that I'm capable of doing myself. This is my 5th bike but only my 2nd brand new ride. I enjoy getting into my bikes so I'm not at the mercy of a dealer for "easy" maintenance. Nothing is falling off and the bike is purring. I don't know if the "inspection" portion of the service is any more than looking at the chain, starting the bike, eating lunch and writing up a bill (not that I'm skeptical):yesnod:

 

[JPK]

Hi All,
I have a new 2011 Wee. After reading a variety of posts, I did change my oil at 97 miles and just drained the filter. The oil was glistening with metal filings! I drained the filter and reused the filter and added new oil. Now I'm at 300 miles and considering repeating what I did at 97 or waiting till 600 miles and replace the oil and the filter. My real concern is whether to let the dealer take my $260 to "check" things at 600 miles that I'm capable of doing myself. This is my 5th bike but only my 2nd brand new ride. I enjoy getting into my bikes so I'm not at the mercy of a dealer for "easy" maintenance. Nothing is falling off and the bike is purring. I don't know if the "inspection" portion of the service is any more than looking at the chain, starting the bike, eating lunch and writing up a bill (not that I'm skeptical):yesnod:

Like you, I prefer to not wait until 600 miles for the first oil change. I changed oil and filter at 150, 300, 600, and then 1,500 miles. Metal filings in the oil were reduced in each, and not visible at 1,500. A good dealership should be willing to do the 600 mi service without oil/filter change, and charge you less for it. I've done this in the past with other bikes. For the Strom, I just did the whole 600 mile service myself and kept receipts. If a dealership won't budge on the cost of the 600 mile service without oil change, find another place to do the service.

 

[Penmaker]

I had the dealer do my 600 mile check. I got the usual oil and filter change but also got the check sheet of other stuff that varied from the new condition. I also got a graphic computer print out of the throttle body balances front and rear. It may help in the future (?). Total cost was $200.

 

[nobie381]

I ended up going to a shop for the first service, I plan to do the rest of the basic services myself (other than the 15k). But it was nice to know someone else checked out the bike. If there was an issue they would have found it way before I do. (First bike so unless something is obvious I will might it) It ended up being 214 which included the rear pegs to use a rear stand.

 

[triman11427]

The only thing I'm hesitant to do is work on the throttle bodies. I've done in on my BMW but since it's easy to screw up, I would have them do it. I'll see if they will discount the service if I do the oil and filter change.

 

[Schwa08]

Just had 600 service done yesterday and it cost me 138.40 and they installed my 16t sprocket. I was pretty happy with that. Now to put on my MSR high bars, handguards, Hyde skid plate etc... Never ends:yesnod:

 

[CanadianFZ6]

Reason for me to go to Village Motorsports 80 miles away is they quoted me 200.00 for the 600 miles service and two others quoted me 400.00. If you know someone closer in northern VA please let me know.

Also I have never owned a motorcycle so right now I have my wee and my wife's S40 that both need their 600 mile service. If any stormers have time and do it yourself knowledge I am willing to learn and will buy the beer for afterwards. Just let me know what I need to bring.

If I lived closer I would help you/show you... Literally a fifteen minute job... Drain the oil and spin on a new filter (how to do it is in the user manual).. Don't forget to fill the engine with about 3 Litres of fresh 10W-40 before starting her...:thumbup: