Wow, have I been living under a rock? Cost of servicing...
Discussion
P675 said:
The 18k service (done at 24k) I got the indy to do, opted out of the fork servicing but it was still £600. Of course no valve adjustments were necessary. I'm at 31k now and will get the fork and shock serviced at K-Tech at some point, with DDC I want experts to look at it, and maybe re-spring for my weight too.
Also worth looking at https://ttechsuspension.com/ a few people on here have recommended over the years. I used them last year and found them to be very good.I was pleasantly surprised yesterday, in for the annual service at a Kawasaki main dealer and £180 ....an hours labour at £108, then oil, filter, disposal. I'm fine with that to keep the stamp in the book on a bike under 4 yr warranty.
Certainly there is a difference in pricing between the Jap main dealers who have been in the bike business for years vs the BMW, Ducati, Harley dealers that are now owned by the big car motor groups that appear to have bought these dealerships to extract as much ££ as possible from them with labour rates similar to big car dealers.
Certainly there is a difference in pricing between the Jap main dealers who have been in the bike business for years vs the BMW, Ducati, Harley dealers that are now owned by the big car motor groups that appear to have bought these dealerships to extract as much ££ as possible from them with labour rates similar to big car dealers.
trickywoo said:
Also worth looking at https://ttechsuspension.com/ a few people on here have recommended over the years. I used them last year and found them to be very good.
I'll vouch for him again. Sorted my VFR out when it needed a new stanchion as well as a number of other bikes.hondajack85 said:
At these prices,there has never been a better time to learn how to fix your bike .
When I had bikes that were £1-2k I would do it all myself. With this bike I bought for £9k 3 years ago, had service history so I thought I should keep it up. Values have fallen quite a bit, it's probably worth £5k now with the mileage. I'm thinking I'll just do oil change type stuff myself, but its still not cheap at £100 for oil and filter. Plus the faff element, I don't really enjoy doing it to be honest.
Well, the quotes finally came in.
Both indy specialists were more expensive than the main dealer who applied a small discount to get me to £920. One indy was quoting over £1500!
They all seemed consistent in their messaging: it's 18k miles, don't skimp ("well they would say that, wouldn't they"). It's approx 8 hours labour to do the oil, forks, valves, brake fluid, plugs.
Both indy specialists were more expensive than the main dealer who applied a small discount to get me to £920. One indy was quoting over £1500!
They all seemed consistent in their messaging: it's 18k miles, don't skimp ("well they would say that, wouldn't they"). It's approx 8 hours labour to do the oil, forks, valves, brake fluid, plugs.
OutInTheShed said:
Biker9090 said:
richhead said:
Fork oil change seems unnecessary unless its been leaking, its oil in a sealed space, no contaminants added unlike engine oil.
Tell me you've never opened a set of forks without telling me you've never opened a set of forks.Old fork oil both looks and smells bloody awful!
It's horrific some of the oil I've changed from forks in the past.
Steve Bass said:
The work itself is pretty simple, the real cost is having the tools and equipment for a home mechanic to do it.
Fork oil change? easy as pie but without something to hold the bike up with the front wheel out, it's a non starter. Then you need a fork oil syringe tool to set the oil height, a vice clamp to hold the fork stanchion, specialist tools to remove the fork cap... it goes on and on..
Holding the bike up isn't really tricky. I've even used a few bits of wood before when I was young and broke! Fork oil change? easy as pie but without something to hold the bike up with the front wheel out, it's a non starter. Then you need a fork oil syringe tool to set the oil height, a vice clamp to hold the fork stanchion, specialist tools to remove the fork cap... it goes on and on..
Other options are ratchet straps off a A frame step ladder or off beams in the ceiling (if the ceiling will take it).
Once they're off then for most bikes you don't need lots of expensive tools and it would almost certainly be cheaper than a dealer doing it. For an S1000XR I think the special socket for the cap at ~£30, a bent bit of wire and a ruler would do it. Much trickier if you're doing springs or seals though.
Changing fork seals is not too hard, it's worth getting, or 3D printing, a tool to insert the seal.
Servicing my bikes always takes me a long time, because I use it as an opportunity for a deep clean, check everything, a bit of contralube on connectors etc. One thing that takes ages is making enough space to put fairing parts safely out of the way.
But I don't always do a whole service in one go. I might change oil and filter one evening, adjust the chain next week, check the cam belts at the weekend. Etc.
Servicing my bikes always takes me a long time, because I use it as an opportunity for a deep clean, check everything, a bit of contralube on connectors etc. One thing that takes ages is making enough space to put fairing parts safely out of the way.
But I don't always do a whole service in one go. I might change oil and filter one evening, adjust the chain next week, check the cam belts at the weekend. Etc.
OutInTheShed said:
Changing fork seals is not too hard, it's worth getting, or 3D printing, a tool to insert the seal.
Certainly much easier with cartridges than old school damper forks! Most you can just undo the fork tops, rattle gun out the bolt on the bottom and pull the entire cartridge out then its just a case of pulling the dust seals and removing the circlip (without scratching the leg!) then use the leg as a slide hammer to remove the seal and bush...Where it goes wrong is if you don't have a rattle gun. Or the bolt spins. Or the DPO has buggered it and its rounded to f
k. Or the seal has rusted in place/the bushes have worn and instead of slider hammering it out the bushes overlap (or worse pulls through). +1 on 3D printing the seal tool though. I've got a two piece one I printed (because USD forks) which has seen fair amounts of use (and of course still works on RWU).
Jap90s said:
For most jobs you don't need fancy tools just a bit of ingenuity
For forks, I haven't got a fancy stand but I do have a ratchet strap to loop around the bars and a beam in my garage
Never needed a syringe, just measure the air gap using a ruler and a cable tie
I used my adjustable angle grinder pin spanner to undo the fork caps etc
Loads of videos on YouTube ?
Yes, I was always a bit scared of touching the forks on mine. Then I found a YouTube video that clearly showed how to do the job on the same model of fork, so I bought some cheap eBay tools and had a go. And you know what? It went just fine, it really wasn't so bad. I've pulled them apart a second time about a year later, to replace the fork seals, and that went fine too. I already had a front stand so the brake-specific tools only cost about £30 all together. Vastly cheaper than a pro workshop at £100+ an hour.For forks, I haven't got a fancy stand but I do have a ratchet strap to loop around the bars and a beam in my garage
Never needed a syringe, just measure the air gap using a ruler and a cable tie
I used my adjustable angle grinder pin spanner to undo the fork caps etc
Loads of videos on YouTube ?
My H2 costs under £300 a year. had a few little things needed replacing like a MS seal which was a little more. depending on how many miles you do.
The only one that coats upwards of £3.5k is at 35k on my bike when the supercharger needs to be rebuilt. But never going to get to that distance myself. And had the bike 20 years
The only one that coats upwards of £3.5k is at 35k on my bike when the supercharger needs to be rebuilt. But never going to get to that distance myself. And had the bike 20 years
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