I have about 980 miles on my new Cb1100. Havent done a thing to it......I did not purchase a service plan. Any suggestions on what I should do service wise? I know I am due for an oil change.....
Is it worth bringing it into the dealership for it's first service? How much is the first service through the dealership? What do they do during its first service?
Has anyone done their first service that can share their experience?
Has anyone decided to do their own maintenance? Any suggestions would be very helpful !
Thanks
Most guys here are doing there own service. I followed The ferret's [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=202]600 mile service guide and didn't have any issues. I usually have dealers service my vehicles but thought I'd give it a try. I was surprised how cheap and easy it was. It took me around an hour or so.
A few have had the dealer do the service so they can share their experience. It's also been mentioned that there are some costly milestone services down the road that dealers should execute.
If I had any kind of mechanical confidence, I'd would have done mine myself. My dealer charged $176.
Wow $ 176 to change your oil and check a couple of things for being in spec. Crazy. Would be interesting to know exactly what they would tell you they did for that kind of money. They don't check valves, or timing, or idle adjustment even. No spokes to check tension on. Doubt seriously they pulled out a torque wrench and checked torque on motor mount bolts. No water to check in the battery. Not much to do on a 600 mile service these days.
Although I hear a valve adjustment is required at the 600 mile service on the new 500 twins. If that were the case one would need a dealer unless they were very mechanically inclined and had a service manual.
The biggest thing is oil and filter change. Then you want to check everything for security and condition. Remember most bikes are shipped with front wheel and handle bars off, for sure check these as most dealers have their rookies working make ready. Last year I bought a new Yamaha Super Tenere and several months after purchase I was checking tire pressure on front wheel and saw that both pinch bolts that hold the axle were backed off nearly half their length.
To kill two birds with one stone, wash the bike in detail and as you are washing each component check it for tightness.
I've always done the first service at the dealer. Of course I can change my oil, check the torque on bolts, adjust the chain, etc. But I like the idea of having a trained expert look it over that first time. After that it's all me unless something breaks or it's time for the valve check/adjustment. The CB valve accessibility might even tempt me to try that on my own...we'll see.
Luckily the techs at my dealer are really good. The guy who does Honda only has 30 years, over 20 at the same place. Same for when I had my Suzuki; that guy made my bike run like a top.
ferret's right: for $179 bucks you can certainly DIY and get the same results. I guess I'm just superstitious or something.
I'm not saying DON'T take it to your dealer for its first service, I'm saying it's easy to do it yourself if you wish, and as long as you save receipts and document the service, your warranty is still in effect. For some things, I take mine to the dealer, for others I take care of it myself. When I was in the industry, we had guys that came in for everything that needed done to their bikes "can you adjust my mirror?" " Can someone check my chain adjustment?" And that's ok, that's what a good dealer is there for, to coddle their customers, but we had no issue with the guys that came in to buy an oil and filter or set of plugs that were doing their own service work either. Whatever makes one feel the most comfortable is what one should do.
I was paying $200 to $300 for first and second service checks on my older bikes. I'm pretty sure I did a more exhaustive routine thanks to Ferret's how-to, and it costs peanuts compared to the dealer.
After the first service was done on my XR650L I found a couple loose bolts on the rear blinker. Turns out the oil return line was kinked a bit too causing restricted oil flow and lead to a motor burn up. Much finger pointing later I have little faith in "the trained experts at the dealer". Now I'm just one data point and I have had good experiences in the past, but when I can do as good a job if not better than the "trained expert" I'm doing it myself. If something goes south I don't have to look far to blame someone and it's a learning experience for me.
At some point I'll need to learn how to shim the valves but if a "trained expert" can do it I certainly can.
As pointed out in another thread, these shops hirer fresh blood for cheap. Very few are experts and the real good ones have moved on and need to be searched out. In most cases, you can train yourself to be expert enough.
i took her in to get all the bolts torqued..not necessary..just spoiling her..
