keeping bike maintained.
Discussion
Hi guys just registered as a member and thought i'd ask some advice.
Ive just bought my first bike ( Fazer 600 ), but im not mechanically minded. The guy i bought it off loved the bike and was nearly in tears as i drove him home after dropping it off. Anyway due to not having passed my test yet ive been unable to get the bike out on the road - as a result my battery died, which ive replaced, however with my test day looming im wondering what stuff i should doing to the bike before i take it out on the road. As ive said im not mechanically minded - in 13 years of just having cars i only ever put petrol/windscreen wash in and regularly checked my tyre pressure - other than that i always had my cars serviced regularly. I presumed keeping your bike serviced regularly would also be all i'd need to do. A mate,who is a biker, has said i will need to learn some stuff about engines etc and do many regular checks, this guy takes his engine apart for something to do when bored and the thought of taking things apart and putting them back together isn't what i want to be doing when i havent a clue. Since the bike has been in my garage for a month now i was thinking of getting it serviced at a local bike garage at a cost of £140. The previous owner got his mate to service it - it only has a partial service history, but its obviously been well looked after. Sorry for the length of this posting, but i would be very gratefull for any advice.
Cheers.
Ive just bought my first bike ( Fazer 600 ), but im not mechanically minded. The guy i bought it off loved the bike and was nearly in tears as i drove him home after dropping it off. Anyway due to not having passed my test yet ive been unable to get the bike out on the road - as a result my battery died, which ive replaced, however with my test day looming im wondering what stuff i should doing to the bike before i take it out on the road. As ive said im not mechanically minded - in 13 years of just having cars i only ever put petrol/windscreen wash in and regularly checked my tyre pressure - other than that i always had my cars serviced regularly. I presumed keeping your bike serviced regularly would also be all i'd need to do. A mate,who is a biker, has said i will need to learn some stuff about engines etc and do many regular checks, this guy takes his engine apart for something to do when bored and the thought of taking things apart and putting them back together isn't what i want to be doing when i havent a clue. Since the bike has been in my garage for a month now i was thinking of getting it serviced at a local bike garage at a cost of £140. The previous owner got his mate to service it - it only has a partial service history, but its obviously been well looked after. Sorry for the length of this posting, but i would be very gratefull for any advice.
Cheers.
Same as your car really...check all the fluid levels..oil in the little window on the lower side of the engine..fill it up on the little screw top on the crankcase..
Brake fluid level in the little glass on the brake resoivoir on the handlebar,check the chain does not have bags of play in it...oil it too,check the fork tubes are not covered in a fine oil...(fork seals),check the tyres have tread,have a peek if you can at the brake pads..are they down to the groove in the pad...
Brake fluid level in the little glass on the brake resoivoir on the handlebar,check the chain does not have bags of play in it...oil it too,check the fork tubes are not covered in a fine oil...(fork seals),check the tyres have tread,have a peek if you can at the brake pads..are they down to the groove in the pad...
- Chain maintanence,oil,oil filter,brake fluid,air filter,brake pads are your consumables...wheel bearings once in a while ...
Edited by F.M on Sunday 29th July 13:40
Thanks for the advice - i will get a manual, however if things ever go wrong with it i think i will take it to the garage, never really been interested in engines etc just luved bikes since a kid. My test is on 8th August, failed my last one cos i put my foot down on my u-turn, a learner car driver put me off half way through, my own fault though - wont happen again after spending a few bob on the bike and gear i will pass this time ! Going to invest in advanced training as well i think. Hopefully i will pick up some mechanical knowledge as i get more experienced - just a bit nervous about taking thigs apart at the moment - guess it all comes with experience !
Seems like a good site - lots of good advice.
Cheers.
Tyre pressures: Check them every week and don't believe the guage in the petrol station.
Bulbs: Check they work (especially the rear light, brake light and rear indicators). I'm assuming you'll notice if its dark and the headlamp doesn't work
Zero mechanical skill required for the above.
Chain: as has been said, check play every week and lube (get back in touch if you want to be "talked through" this, but its vital). 1% mechanical skill required.
Hydraulic clutch? If not, lube the cable every couple of months. 5% skill required.
Bite the bullet and buy the original Yamaha service manual - more expensive than the Haynes but a whole world better.
HTH,
Dave
Bulbs: Check they work (especially the rear light, brake light and rear indicators). I'm assuming you'll notice if its dark and the headlamp doesn't work
Zero mechanical skill required for the above.
Chain: as has been said, check play every week and lube (get back in touch if you want to be "talked through" this, but its vital). 1% mechanical skill required.
Hydraulic clutch? If not, lube the cable every couple of months. 5% skill required.
Bite the bullet and buy the original Yamaha service manual - more expensive than the Haynes but a whole world better.
HTH,
Dave
Ok thanks very much - i have just bought the original Yamaha manual from e-bay, think it's best i get the garage to give it the once over since im not sure exactly what has been done to the bike the last couple of years as the last owner got a mate to service it for him. Regarding oiling the chain, i bought a spray oil can - said on the front suitable for bikes, do you guys have any favourite lubes/spray oils you use for this this job? Also i put about a fivers worth of petrol in her about a month ago, i've heard this will now be turning into a crappy sludge in my tank - don't really fancy this getting into the engine - can anyone recommend a good engine cleaning product, should i put this in the tank once all the petrol has been used up? I start the bike every day and leave it to run for a while hoping to get rid of whats in the tank.
Thanks agin for any advice - i appreciate newbies like me must be a pain !
Cheers
Barry.
Thanks agin for any advice - i appreciate newbies like me must be a pain !
Cheers
Barry.
[quote=Buelligan 984]Tyre pressures: Check them every week and don't believe the guage in the petrol station.
I thought that petrol stations were the best place to check the tyres because by law they have to have them calibrated at regular intervals and so they are more accurate than your at-home jobbies?
I thought that petrol stations were the best place to check the tyres because by law they have to have them calibrated at regular intervals and so they are more accurate than your at-home jobbies?
Wedg1e said:
I thought basic maintenance was covered on the bike training courses...?
You only have to learn parrot fashion the things you need to do, not what they mean or how you do them.OP: Get a haynes manual, it'll have all the weekly checks in a seperate chapter (from memory) with links to the more technical sections as required. Each task will have a spanner rating which you can compare with your own
Whizz said:
Buelligan 984 said:
Tyre pressures: Check them every week and don't believe the guage in the petrol station.
I thought that petrol stations were the best place to check the tyres because by law they have to have them calibrated at regular intervals and so they are more accurate than your at-home jobbies?
...which would be nice were it not for the fact that Joe Public then repeatedly smashes that piece of precision instrumentation on the concrete floor...I thought that petrol stations were the best place to check the tyres because by law they have to have them calibrated at regular intervals and so they are more accurate than your at-home jobbies?
dern said:
Wedg1e said:
I thought basic maintenance was covered on the bike training courses...?
You only have to learn parrot fashion the things you need to do, not what they mean or how you do them.OP: Get a haynes manual, it'll have all the weekly checks in a seperate chapter (from memory) with links to the more technical sections as required. Each task will have a spanner rating which you can compare with your own
Whizz makes a valid point - garage guages ought to be accurate, but in my experience they are often out by 10%.
This leads to another question - how can you actually tell any guage you buy is accurate anyway, or am I just saying that the garage guage disagrees with mine? I have compared one of my decent digital guages with a "properly calibrated" guage and it was within 1 psi across the whole range from zero to 40.
I also have smatttire fitted (can't recommend it highly enough) and that is never more than 0.5 psi out of agreement with my guage.
As to the OP's question, I'm sure we all have our own views about which lube to use. Its the universal connundrum - if its not sticky it just flies off: if it is sticky all the dirt and crap just sticks to your chain. Personally I used the Wurth dry lube (but now I've got a rubber band so no more lube anyway!)
Dave
This leads to another question - how can you actually tell any guage you buy is accurate anyway, or am I just saying that the garage guage disagrees with mine? I have compared one of my decent digital guages with a "properly calibrated" guage and it was within 1 psi across the whole range from zero to 40.
I also have smatttire fitted (can't recommend it highly enough) and that is never more than 0.5 psi out of agreement with my guage.
As to the OP's question, I'm sure we all have our own views about which lube to use. Its the universal connundrum - if its not sticky it just flies off: if it is sticky all the dirt and crap just sticks to your chain. Personally I used the Wurth dry lube (but now I've got a rubber band so no more lube anyway!)
Dave
Buelligan 984 said:
This leads to another question - how can you actually tell any guage you buy is accurate anyway, or am I just saying that the garage guage disagrees with mine? I have compared one of my decent digital guages with a "properly calibrated" guage and it was within 1 psi across the whole range from zero to 40.
I don't think it matters to be honest. As long as it's not miles out you'd normally set it to factory and then go up or down a bit until it feels right to you. Write the numbers down and then as long as you always have the same guage you can set it to what you want. The number only strictly need to be accurate if you're forever swapping guages.Also 1 or 2 psi can make quite a big difference to feel so that immediately tells you that the actual number you're looking at is more or less only a guide anyway.
Having said that on the pencil guage I've got the factory numbers feel right anyway so I use them. Either that means the guage is accurate or the actual pressures I use suit me. Makes no odds frankly.
Edited by dern on Tuesday 31st July 10:08
Dern,
I think that you are basically right.
Remember that it is an offence to use a vehicle where the tyres are not inflated to a pressure that makes it suitable for use. As a rule of thumb, anything within 10% of the manufacturer's recommended pressure is usually automatically considered "correct". Outside that range, you're in a position where you may have to justify the presure you're using.
(Explaining to the Judge that "yeah but I use this pressure 'cos it gives good feedback when getting my knee down on the roundabouts" isn't likely to help)
Its only likely to become a real issue on the event of a serious accident, so I honestly hope its something you never have to worry about.
Dave
I think that you are basically right.
Remember that it is an offence to use a vehicle where the tyres are not inflated to a pressure that makes it suitable for use. As a rule of thumb, anything within 10% of the manufacturer's recommended pressure is usually automatically considered "correct". Outside that range, you're in a position where you may have to justify the presure you're using.
(Explaining to the Judge that "yeah but I use this pressure 'cos it gives good feedback when getting my knee down on the roundabouts" isn't likely to help)
Its only likely to become a real issue on the event of a serious accident, so I honestly hope its something you never have to worry about.
Dave
Buelligan 984 said:
Dern,
I think that you are basically right.
Remember that it is an offence to use a vehicle where the tyres are not inflated to a pressure that makes it suitable for use. As a rule of thumb, anything within 10% of the manufacturer's recommended pressure is usually automatically considered "correct". Outside that range, you're in a position where you may have to justify the presure you're using.
(Explaining to the Judge that "yeah but I use this pressure 'cos it gives good feedback when getting my knee down on the roundabouts" isn't likely to help)
Its only likely to become a real issue on the event of a serious accident, so I honestly hope its something you never have to worry about.
We're only talking one or two psi either way out of 36/42 so I think you're exagerating things slightly.I think that you are basically right.
Remember that it is an offence to use a vehicle where the tyres are not inflated to a pressure that makes it suitable for use. As a rule of thumb, anything within 10% of the manufacturer's recommended pressure is usually automatically considered "correct". Outside that range, you're in a position where you may have to justify the presure you're using.
(Explaining to the Judge that "yeah but I use this pressure 'cos it gives good feedback when getting my knee down on the roundabouts" isn't likely to help)
Its only likely to become a real issue on the event of a serious accident, so I honestly hope its something you never have to worry about.
If you're not going to ride it very often then think about getting a conditional charger for the battery. Most can have a plug wired up to the battery so it's easy to snap in the connection. Can be particularly pertinent if you have an alarm on the bike. Without one though my RVF400 could go 2-3 months without use and start on first press of the starter.
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