What do I need....
Discussion
on a weekly/monthly and so on basis to keep my bike clean and running well.
I will be picking up my first bike (600 FAzer) tomorrow and have the security side covered but need to know what items other bike owners recommended and use on regular basis to keep the bike running well and looked after
all help appreciated
Ta
I will be picking up my first bike (600 FAzer) tomorrow and have the security side covered but need to know what items other bike owners recommended and use on regular basis to keep the bike running well and looked after
all help appreciated
Ta
I got a load of wurth products for free a while back and so far cannot fault them.
I've got bike wash, dry chain wax (its an aerosol that evaporates and leaves a wax), chain cleaner, wheel & engine cleaner (smells of oranges which freshens the garage, brings the wheels up like new and leaves a water repellant sheen), bike polish (ok so the autoglym polish/meguires NXT wax combo i use on the car is better). As the stuff has run out I haven't bought many replacements that have been as good.
It is generally a few quid a can more expensive; for the wurth gear but worth it IMO.
AS Mentioned you'll need sponges and rags, i try to keep one sponge for bodywork and one for wheels, engine, swingarm. its worth getting a rear paddock stand too, makes cleaning and oiling the chain really easy. i have a cheap one off ebay for £15 and it does the job.
with all that crap in the garage you'd think i'm out there every week cleaning and buffing but really i only do it once a month, the bike seems to stay in good shape.
I've got bike wash, dry chain wax (its an aerosol that evaporates and leaves a wax), chain cleaner, wheel & engine cleaner (smells of oranges which freshens the garage, brings the wheels up like new and leaves a water repellant sheen), bike polish (ok so the autoglym polish/meguires NXT wax combo i use on the car is better). As the stuff has run out I haven't bought many replacements that have been as good.
It is generally a few quid a can more expensive; for the wurth gear but worth it IMO.
AS Mentioned you'll need sponges and rags, i try to keep one sponge for bodywork and one for wheels, engine, swingarm. its worth getting a rear paddock stand too, makes cleaning and oiling the chain really easy. i have a cheap one off ebay for £15 and it does the job.
with all that crap in the garage you'd think i'm out there every week cleaning and buffing but really i only do it once a month, the bike seems to stay in good shape.
... oh and the usual assorted spanners, socket set, torque wrench (a big one for adjusting the chain, a little one for when you start taking bits off the engine), allen keys, perhaps a soldering iron & solder and decent self amalgamating electrical tape (not the cheap stuff where the glue melts when it gets hot) for when you start fitting extras (e.g. hotgrips) or doing random mods (e.g. removing the timing retard on my bike).
If you think you won't do bits of work yourself think again because everyone i know with bikes gets drawn into the maintanence side of things too!!
If you think you won't do bits of work yourself think again because everyone i know with bikes gets drawn into the maintanence side of things too!!
just keep jumping on and riding it , speedway style on the slippery roads ,although nearly came a cropper this morning Yep all of the above but, most importantly, a decent Tyre Pressure gauge!
Above all else do not forget to check and set your tyre pressures correctly (when the tyres are cold) before each days ride. While you are at it, check the tyres for any nails cuts etc.
99% of the time you can get away with a few psi difference to what they should be, but, if you do get into an emergency cornering situation it might make the difference between you staying on the tarmac and visiting the verge!
The more you clean and polish the bike the more likely you will spot anything that needs adjusting. Just be a bit careful what polish you use. Someone mentioned Solvol Autosol, great polish for old British alloy casings but it is quite abrasive. I would expect that all the shiny bits on your Fazer will be clear lacquered, do not use it on these or any painted items, only on bare metal if there is any.
Above all else do not forget to check and set your tyre pressures correctly (when the tyres are cold) before each days ride. While you are at it, check the tyres for any nails cuts etc.
99% of the time you can get away with a few psi difference to what they should be, but, if you do get into an emergency cornering situation it might make the difference between you staying on the tarmac and visiting the verge!
The more you clean and polish the bike the more likely you will spot anything that needs adjusting. Just be a bit careful what polish you use. Someone mentioned Solvol Autosol, great polish for old British alloy casings but it is quite abrasive. I would expect that all the shiny bits on your Fazer will be clear lacquered, do not use it on these or any painted items, only on bare metal if there is any.
My weekly maintenance consists of:
Lube the chain.
Washing the bike. I have some decent car shampoo I use and it removes all but the gunk on the swingarm easily.
Check all lights work including dash lights etc.
Check tyre pressures and check tyres for wear/damage.
Check oil and coolant levels.
Spray switch gear with WD40.
I don't bother polishing the bike as it's a daily commuter and will be manky by the time I get to work the next day. That lot takes me about an hour. I have just got a new sponge so my old one is being relegated to swingarm duties and I've got a small soft alloy wheel brush from Halfrauds for doing around the engine and the exhaust collector box.
Once a month adds:
A liberal coating in Scottoiler FS365 corrosion inhibitor.
Check the throttle position sensor. Dead easy to do, but you need a T25 security torx bit. Maplins have a nice security set for under a tenner.
Balance the carbs. Need to get the tool for this job, Morgan CarbtuneII seems to be the one to get for £50-ish.
Don't know what else I should do every month, should be every roughly 1k miles for me, need to have a read of the manual. Checking the brakes seems a good idea! Check & gap the plugs too before I balance the carbs, I guess. Oh and I'm switching to Silkolene oil at the next 4k service and pushing the service intervals out to 6k.
Apart from that, I'm getting a hugger that protects the shock linkage too, that's number 1 priority atm (in fact, think I'll do it tonight). And as I found a bit of bare steel on the exhaust, the exhaust is coming off next week and getting coated in high temp paint.
Lube the chain.
Washing the bike. I have some decent car shampoo I use and it removes all but the gunk on the swingarm easily.
Check all lights work including dash lights etc.
Check tyre pressures and check tyres for wear/damage.
Check oil and coolant levels.
Spray switch gear with WD40.
I don't bother polishing the bike as it's a daily commuter and will be manky by the time I get to work the next day. That lot takes me about an hour. I have just got a new sponge so my old one is being relegated to swingarm duties and I've got a small soft alloy wheel brush from Halfrauds for doing around the engine and the exhaust collector box.
Once a month adds:
A liberal coating in Scottoiler FS365 corrosion inhibitor.
Check the throttle position sensor. Dead easy to do, but you need a T25 security torx bit. Maplins have a nice security set for under a tenner.
Balance the carbs. Need to get the tool for this job, Morgan CarbtuneII seems to be the one to get for £50-ish.
Don't know what else I should do every month, should be every roughly 1k miles for me, need to have a read of the manual. Checking the brakes seems a good idea! Check & gap the plugs too before I balance the carbs, I guess. Oh and I'm switching to Silkolene oil at the next 4k service and pushing the service intervals out to 6k.
Apart from that, I'm getting a hugger that protects the shock linkage too, that's number 1 priority atm (in fact, think I'll do it tonight). And as I found a bit of bare steel on the exhaust, the exhaust is coming off next week and getting coated in high temp paint.
Muck Off.....works well on a grubby mountain bike and worked well on my Monster.
Only tended to a smear of polish on the paintwork rather than anywhere else.
Yup, decent tyre pressure gauge is a good thing, and get used to doing bike checks.
The guy who sits next to me at work has a SV650 which he abuses greatly on his 70 mile round trip to work commute.
His idea of a bike check is if it starts, he rides it....hard....and as for cleaning it.....
As someone that come from riding vintage Brit bikes before getting the Monster I found that concept hard to understand.
I said how often to do check your tyre pressures?
When they look like their flat was the reply.....
The comment about keeping clean and being able to more likely spot something that's not right is a good point.
I never pressured washed the Monster......but then it was a Ducati, and chanceing Italian electrics with high pressure water probably isn't a good idea......
Only tended to a smear of polish on the paintwork rather than anywhere else.
Yup, decent tyre pressure gauge is a good thing, and get used to doing bike checks.
The guy who sits next to me at work has a SV650 which he abuses greatly on his 70 mile round trip to work commute.
His idea of a bike check is if it starts, he rides it....hard....and as for cleaning it.....
As someone that come from riding vintage Brit bikes before getting the Monster I found that concept hard to understand.
I said how often to do check your tyre pressures?
When they look like their flat was the reply.....
The comment about keeping clean and being able to more likely spot something that's not right is a good point.
I never pressured washed the Monster......but then it was a Ducati, and chanceing Italian electrics with high pressure water probably isn't a good idea......
garyhun said:
Got chain lube yesterday... going to do it after each ride!!!!
To be honest once a week will be fine unless you are doing serious distance.. I've not found any normal chain lube yet that doesn't fling off potentially coating anything on the bike it hits.
Personally once a week is fine for tyre pressures too, you get to know when something ain't right with the pressures due to different handling.
Also some oil/wd40 for regular moving parts that attract most road crud like gear change pedal and linkage and rear brake pedal.
Personally my bike as a 7.5 year old commuter R6 doesn't really ever get cleaned, I just keep the important stuff lubed, tyre pressures are correct and make sure the bike is serviced every 4k miles on the dot, brake pads and tyres as needed too. With the mileage I do per week (99% commuting across london) services are every 6 months pretty much.
sjtscott said:
garyhun said:
Got chain lube yesterday... going to do it after each ride!!!!
To be honest once a week will be fine unless you are doing serious distance.. I've not found any normal chain lube yet that doesn't fling off potentially coating anything on the bike it hits.
Personally once a week is fine for tyre pressures too, you get to know when something ain't right with the pressures due to different handling.
Also some oil/wd40 for regular moving parts that attract most road crud like gear change pedal and linkage and rear brake pedal.
Personally my bike as a 7.5 year old commuter R6 doesn't really ever get cleaned, I just keep the important stuff lubed, tyre pressures are correct and make sure the bike is serviced every 4k miles on the dot, brake pads and tyres as needed too. With the mileage I do per week (99% commuting across london) services are every 6 months pretty much.
Good feedback...thanks!!!!!!
Now....This has gone on far too long! So a guy has a couple of stacks, dusts himself down, gets the bike rebuilt and carries on.
Manages to commute like a nutter every day for...ooohh, months now with no problems other than smashing someones wing mirror, and getting his foot run over whilst filtering!!
Come on guys, it ain't a bad record is it?
Oh well, that's the kiss of death...I'll be coming off later then!
sjtscott said:
Personally my bike as a 7.5 year old commuter R6 doesn't really ever get cleaned, I just keep the important stuff lubed, tyre pressures are correct and make sure the bike is serviced every 4k miles on the dot, brake pads and tyres as needed too. With the mileage I do per week (99% commuting across london) services are every 6 months pretty much.
Exactly what I do with the blade although it looks pretty shit as a result. I find tyre pressures don't change much (obviously worth checking weekly anyway) and you can feel the smallest change as has been said. The biggest changes occur ime when the temperature changes dramatically from one day to the next.
Andrew D said:
So is this exteme maintenance requirement common to all bikes, or are there some that require less? For example, Beemers with shaft drive etc.
It just seems a bit onerous compared to car maintenance (which in my case means checking water, oil and tyre pressure before a long hoon).
It just seems a bit onerous compared to car maintenance (which in my case means checking water, oil and tyre pressure before a long hoon).
If you don't have a drive chain then seriously less effort again with shaft drive! All my bikes have had chains so I can't comment any further on shafties :-)
Tyre pressures are really the most important thing not to forget, seriously with two small contact patches compared to an avg car with 4 largish ones its all too important. I'll admit sometimes it might be longer than every week but I keep a footpump with confirmed accurate pressure guage so I can always do it first thing in the morning before riding.
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