4K Service

[jmdaniel]

Is there any reason to have a dealer do the 4K service? My local wants $180, plus materials, for the work, and I guess it's just an oil change. If I'm not missing anything in what else gets done, and I'm not voiding any warranties, I can change the oil for a lot less than $180+...

[53driver]

Check your Owner's Manual for the different stuff that requires servicing at different intervals.
Mine only sees the dealer for complete fluid changes (radiator/brake/clutch/diff & engine oil while they are there).
Package deal for ~$250. Worth it to me.

If you no longer have your service manual, I'll see if I can post a pic of the pages involved. It used to be in my "New Member Tips" thread....
Yup - still there as a link at the end of the first post of this thread:
http://hondaf6b.com/showthread.php?8867-New-F6B-Owners-Here-s-some-collected-gouge-to-get-you-going-Updated-8-Jun-2017

Cheers,
Steve

[opas ride]

Is there any reason to have a dealer do the 4K service? My local wants $180, plus materials, for the work, and I guess it's just an oil change. If I'm not missing anything in what else gets done, and I'm not voiding any warranties, I can change the oil for a lot less than $180+...

Don't waste the money in my opinion...Never took mine back to dealer except for the brake recall and fluid changes, radiator,brake, clutch...Change your own oil/filter and unless you see something major, ride the bike and don't look back....Regards

[VStarRider]

Oil/filter change on this bike is very easy to do.

Would you feel better if you took it in to the dealer for first service? I always do that with my machines. Shows the manufacturer that you are committed to maintenance and supporting their dealer network if the event of a future warranty issue. Yamaha actually stated that one of the factors in the decision to give me a good will warranty after the original expired was this.

Your call - it is a personal decision.

[F6Dave]

My first new motorcycle was a 1976 Kawasaki KZ900. I'd done plenty of work on my previous bikes, including rebuilding a few engines, but I was encouraged to have the dealer perform the initial maintenance for 'warranty purposes'. As I remember it was at 600 miles/1,000 km and included an oil change, check of various components, and a basic tune up.

When I got it back it wasn't running as well as before, so I took it home and checked it over. They had attempted to adjust the ignition timing. Those old bikes had two sets of ignition points (one for each pair of cylinders) mounted to a plate, and timing was adjusted by moving the plate. Timing was way off, but easy to fix, so I set it and all ran fine.

I've owned 9 bikes since then, riding them over 600,000 miles. But that was my first and last trip to a dealer for the initial maintenance.

[jmdaniel]

My first new motorcycle was a 1976 Kawasaki KZ900. I'd done plenty of work on my previous bikes, including rebuilding a few engines, but I was encouraged to have the dealer perform the initial maintenance for 'warranty purposes'. As I remember it was at 600 miles/1,000 km and included an oil change, check of various components, and a basic tune up.

When I got it back it wasn't running as well as before, so I took it home and checked it over. They had attempted to adjust the ignition timing. Those old bikes had two sets of ignition points (one for each pair of cylinders) mounted to a plate, and timing was adjusted by moving the plate. Timing was way off, but easy to fix, so I set it and all ran fine.

I've owned 9 bikes since then, riding them over 600,000 miles. But that was my first and last trip to a dealer for the initial maintenance.

Looks like the hive mind says do it myself, so I will. The local dealer isn't who I bought the Wing from, and frankly, I had an experience with that really makes me question their shop folks. a rather small piece of wood got stuck behind the fan on the left side. Thinking it was warranty, I took it in, the shop did a perfunctory check without tearing it down, and they could see something, but not determine what it was. As I have full coverage on the bike, I got my Progressive rep involved, and he authorized the teardown, when the wood was discovered. I paid my deductible, Progressive paid the rest, of what turned out to be almost a $1K fix.

I go to pick up the bike, and notice a screw missing from the front lower cowl. I point that out to the service desk gal, she gets the mechanic back out, who makes a couple of trips back into the shop, and finally puts a screw in. Notice I didn't say "the" screw... And the guy didn't say a word to me, no "oops", or "sorry about that". I get the bike home, and sure as hell, the guy just grabbed a screw with a similar head and the same thread size; definitely not the screw that came with the bike. Later that day, I was running my GPS cable to the battery, so removed that skinny piece of molding that runs up under the pocket on the left side. The mechanic had not replaced one of the plastic clips that hold that piece on!

Rather than dick around with going back to the shop, I ordered the pieces myself, but did tell the shop that if I ever used them again, I didn't want that guy touching either of my scoots; in fact, I didn't even want him looking at them. Everyone makes mistakes, but this guy's nonchalant attitude was what cheesed me off.

[tenxxx]

Some mechanics just aren't fast enough to do the work in the allotted amount of time. They don't make base wages on some work, for that reason.
Thats why I would never work in a mechanic shop for someone else.
Its good on the customer side cause usually you know how much it will cost before they start.

[jmdaniel]

Some mechanics just aren't fast enough to do the work in the allotted amount of time. They don't make base wages on some work, for that reason.
Thats why I would never work in a mechanic shop for someone else.
Its good on the customer side cause usually you know how much it will cost before they start.

I wasn't asking for much, just the parts of the bike I came in with! :D