600 Mile Maintenance Question

[2fiddy]

Hey guys. I have a new 2010 Ninja 250r and I'm approaching the 600 mile mark and I guess I need to have an initial 600 mile service. Is this something that I should bring to a local bike shop to do or is it something I can generally do myself?

And what is the norm for a price for this service if you guys recommend a bike shop?

[CC Cowboy]

Call your dealer and ask what they do and how much. Check your manual for the 600mile checklist. Only you can figure out if you can do it yourself. It's not hard but then some people aren't good at working on their bike.

[bdavison]

If you have the tools, and experience working on bikes, I would highly recommend you do it yourself. Bike shops are ALL a rip off, and very rarely do as good a job as you can do yourself....if you can do it yourself.

Bike shops usually have a "certified" mechanic, but 9 times out of 10, he isnt actually the one that does the work. Usually some minimum wage kid they hired goes out, looks all over the bike, and says "Yup, its good to go". If they do actually do some work, half the time they dont have a clue and muck up even the simplest of tasks. Also, you are paying exhorbitant prices for "labor" for hours...when its a 15 min job that didnt require the tech to pick up a single tool because its just an "inspection". To be honest, its a complete waste of money in my opinion to take a bike in for a 600 mile service. Its nearly all inspection, and no work, and you could save that money for some new oil.

Here is what's involved in the 600 mile service.

All the cables. Choke, Clutch, and Throttle cables. Making sure they are all in proper working order, lubricated, and that any adjustments are correct.

Here's what the shop will do. Guy twists throttle lets it snap back, squeezes clutch, and moves choke lever. Sprays his can o WD40 on it, leaving goo all over your bike. Assuming they dont bind up or make any funny noises. He calls it good, and moves on.
Here's what you would do:
Check free play on the clutch lever, so its a nickle width of free play. Detach the cable end, put a cable luber on, and shoot some cable lube. Work it back and forth to make sure its all smooth, put a paper towel at the other end so it doesnt run all over the crankcase. Ditto for the throttle, and choke cable.


All the hoses. Radiator and Fuel, and brake hoses. No cracks, wearing spots, leaks, etc. Just a visual check and replacement if necessary. Top off coolant, or brake fluid.

Here's what the shop will do. Techy grabs his trusty walmart flashlight, shines it up in your fairings looking at all the stuff in there that he doesnt know anything about. If he doesnt see anything thats leaking, he calls it good, and moves on.

Here's what you would do. Remove the left and right fairings, visually check all around the fuel hoses, and radiator hoses looking for cracks, splits, dry rot, or leaks. Check brake lines going from master cylinders to the caliper looking for splits, or leaks. Check brake fluid levels, and top off if necessary, Check Coolant levels and top off if necessary.

Check all the lights to make sure they are working.
Even the bike shop should be able to get this one right.

Id recommend checking the brake pads, since some folks are heavy on the brakes, and wear them out quickly. If they need replacing, its a 10min job tops, and really REALLY easy.

The bike shop likely wont bother doing this at 600 miles, unless the thing is scraping metal to metal as they wheel it in the back. But you will.

Steering play inspect. Basically, you are just checking for flat spots in the head bearings, or a loose neck.
What the bike shop does: Techy grabs handlebars, and turns all the way to one side, and all the way to other side. Calls it good, and moves on.

What you will do Put bike up on jack or stand so it lifts front end off ground, grasp both forks near axles. Shake it front wards and backwards to see if there is any play in the head bearing. Push up and down on forks to see if the head bolt is loose. Turn both ways slowly, feeling and listening for any ticking sound that indicates a flat spot in headbearings.


Now would be a good time to give it fresh oil, and a new oil filter.
Shop might actually get this right....or maybe not. Like over-torquing your drain bolt and stripping it off in the case, or leaving it loose so that it pops out as you are riding home, dumping oil all over your rear tire, and causing you to lowside it coming out of the parking lot....or maybe they just put the wrong oil in.

Im sorry, but no self-respecting ninja owner should EVER pay a shop to do a oil change. If you do it, you will replace the filter, clean out the screen, and put the right oil in. None of the above is complicated, and a basic set of tools will let you replace or repair any of the items above.

Like the old saying goes...if you want it done right, do it yourself.

[DaBlue1]

If your bike is still under warranty, let a dealer do it. It will save you some headache in the long run if you should run into real problems. However it does not hurt to learn to do some stuff yourself the correct way.

[bdavison]

The warranty doesnt pay for "scheduled maintenance"....unfortunatly

[CC Cowboy]

If you do it yourself, make sure you log everything done in your manual.

[Alex]

http://www.ninjette.org/wiki/600_mile_service