03-15-2018, 09:34 AM
Wow, lets see. If you are going to commute or ride year round, expect it to get dirty/salty. Wash it off in spring with s100. Wash off summer gunk in the fall with s-100. If you do commute, or ride year round, you will rack up enough miles in a short time that your bike won't be worth anything on resale anyway, so you might as well use the darn thing and get your moneys worth out of it. If you can't handle a dirty bike, or don't want to ruin it's value with high miles, only ride it short distances on bluebird days.
Maintenance: chains these days are extremely robust. Figure a chain adjustment when you get new tires ( every 8-10,000 miles) and maybe once in between. Lube when it looks dry or after you have ridden in the rain. Chain and sprockets will last in the neighborhood of 25-30,000 miles. Air cleaner and spark plugs every 25,000 miles. Brakes front and rear about every 20,000 miles. Brake and clutch fluids every 2 years. Valve adjustment or inspection... 2 theories. One..go by mfgs recommendation which is inspection every 8,000 miles. Two..go by symptoms, noisy valve train, hard starting, rough running, gas mileage goes down, have them inspected. Oil and filter changes, every 4,000 (not 8,000) and it's ridiculously easy on this bike. Oil changes are no doubt the most important maint item on the bike
If you are looking at a 14 left over, it DOES NOT have ABS, no matter what the dealer tells you.
My suggestion if you are looking for a bargain of a bike to really use, go for the 14 std at closeout prices despite the fact it doesn't have ABS or pick up a used DLX which will have ABS. It you want to have a bike to keep for a long time and take out in optimal weather as a show piece, go for the 17 EX.
Maintenance: chains these days are extremely robust. Figure a chain adjustment when you get new tires ( every 8-10,000 miles) and maybe once in between. Lube when it looks dry or after you have ridden in the rain. Chain and sprockets will last in the neighborhood of 25-30,000 miles. Air cleaner and spark plugs every 25,000 miles. Brakes front and rear about every 20,000 miles. Brake and clutch fluids every 2 years. Valve adjustment or inspection... 2 theories. One..go by mfgs recommendation which is inspection every 8,000 miles. Two..go by symptoms, noisy valve train, hard starting, rough running, gas mileage goes down, have them inspected. Oil and filter changes, every 4,000 (not 8,000) and it's ridiculously easy on this bike. Oil changes are no doubt the most important maint item on the bike
If you are looking at a 14 left over, it DOES NOT have ABS, no matter what the dealer tells you.
My suggestion if you are looking for a bargain of a bike to really use, go for the 14 std at closeout prices despite the fact it doesn't have ABS or pick up a used DLX which will have ABS. It you want to have a bike to keep for a long time and take out in optimal weather as a show piece, go for the 17 EX.