Time for my 4000 mile maintenance. Seems a lot like the 600 mile service, but the owners manual calls out two things I didn't really expect:
1. Inspect the spark plugs
2. No need to change the oil filter with this oil change
Pulling the plugs seems like overkill, doesn't it? Tank has to come off for valve inspection at 8,000, so it's a no-brainier to do it then. But at 4,000? Is everyone planning to do that (or have you already done it if you've cracked 4,000 mi.)?
Not changing the filter seems like a false economy. I guess I've never changed the oil in any vehicle w/o also changing the filter. OTOH, if the engineers at Honda aren't worried it'll be overly restrictive / clogged before 8k miles, maybe I shouldn't be? I'm inclined to spin a new one on, but is anyone else skipping it to save a couple $ or some space in the local landfill?
Normally, I'm not one to second guess the engineers, but I thought I'd ask y'all.
Curious in CA,
Rolls
I am sure the manual is setup to do just the bare minimum maintenance on these bikes. It simply makes no sense to change oil and run it through a dirty filter. Filters are a few dollars. Change the filter. Why chance it. if the bike is running good, I would not bother looking at the plugs. If you are curious, pull them and inspect them and then reinstall.
Most times the plugs will be fine. However; let's say there was a production problem and if you had inspected the plugs at 4K and caught it you would think you were a genius.
It's cheap insurance to make sure things are working the way they should be.
I would have no problem going the full 8,000 miles on the same filter, with an oil change in between...IF I HAD TO. I trust that if Honda believed this filter should be changed with every oil swap, they'd say so. You just need to let yourself get out of the old thinking, and realize how much better the oil and filters are today than they were 20 or 30 years ago.
But...I'll quickly admit that I am like most other people, and will change the filter at every oil change. It's a $15 dollar filter on a $10,000 dollar motorcycle.
Plus, around here, the municipal trash goes to an incinerator, where any scrap metal is captured and recycled. No landfill worries for me...just keeping Honda in business.
I haven't pulled my plugs and I honestly don't see any really good reason to. I keep a close eye on my mileage and I think if there were an issue it would show up there first. I also have not noticed any power loss and I think that would be the other indicator of a problem.
I also think they have these schedules set up for the casual rider as not too many people will be putting on the miles that I do every week.
My plugs will be pulled when I setup the bike for winter storage, so that is no sweat up in Maine with the mileage I will have by then. But what exactly would you be looking for when you inspect them? Corrosion, diminished electrode, pitting, I guess?
Check the colour, see if they are showing signs of excess fuel or oil (highly unlikely but hey, things happen).
Bike performance can go south fairly slow so it can actually be in a very poor state of tune and it may not have hit your radar yet. Many tales of guys taking their "perfectly running" machine to emissions only to find them out of whack. Emissions (no longer required in Phoenix) was a cheap way to find out if your bike was up to snuff or not.
Unless you get a NOX sniffer and test yourself you won't know now.
Naturally some of the older "performance" bikes needed to run on the rich side to run properly. Now guys don't have to rejet them just for testing then jet them back.
I use mileage tracking on my car. Mileage goes to pot (like on our trip this summer; needed to replace the brand new air filter after all the corn and sorghum pollen clogged it) and you know something is amiss. Very good tool, but I don't put the miles on the bikes for this to be a good one for me. More sensitive than seat of the pants for sure.
Just had my 6000 km service done by my local, very experienced, mechanic. Didn't worry about checking the plugs but definitely put on a new oil filter. It's cheap insurance to my thinking. Bike is all nice and shiny, oiled and adjusted, ready for a nice hills jaunt tomorrow. Life is good!
I checked my plugs a 2000mi always do this with new bike's especially with a 1 year warranty. Filter should be changed, combination of oil running through transmission = dirty oil & filter.
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ulling the plugs seems like overkill, doesn't it?
You don't have to pull the tank off to get the plugs out. I am doing my winter storage and the plugs come out to put oil in the cylinders. No tank removal required for that.