My First Bike DIY Service

[COLZO]

Used to do routine services on my cars but my first service on my bike proved very successful. Oil, oil filter, air filter and plugs were changed today and all I can say is its like a new bike. With only 4900 miles on the bike to date the last service it had was the very first service 2 months after first owner bought it so if going by time rather than mileage the service was well over due. The 'tractor' engine is now gone, gear changes are slick and the throttle is so responsive. As I'm new to bikes the way the bike felt previously was all I knew and now I realise what a SV650S is all about! To say I'm happy is an understatement. Oil changes every 6 months from now on. New tyres next (Dunlop Roadsmarts or Pirelli Diablo Stradas) and tight link out the chain and it will be perfect. Roll on the summer! :D:D:D


Oh fixed my horn too. The bolt holding the bracket on to the radiator had fell off and the horn was wedged up against the radiator. No more Noddy horn for me. ;)

[Nicky S]

:cheers: i found that when i did my bike i will defently have to do it when i get my bike back on the road bin siting about for 4 months now :(

[kwak zzr]

Bonus u just saved yourself £170 :)

[Alpinestarhero]

About the oil thing

I topped my oil up the other day after the engine was louder than normal and the gearchanges not very clever. 200 ml's of oil later, and my engine is smooth and quiet and my gearchanges normal

:cheers:

[COLZO]

Bonus u just saved yourself £170 :)


So easy to do a service as well! Well I think my bike is quick now so God knows how fast your GSX R is!

[stephencassidy]

Morning all.

I too am about to attempt my first DIY service. The bike is 4 years old and its the first time it will have been serviced by me.

Are there any hints and tips/advice that I need to tak on board?

I intend to change, oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs and the front brakes. Also how often does the chain/sprocket need changing (I've done about 10,000 miles I think) and is that a DIY job?

Many thanks

Ste

[Dave20046]

Chain may be due for a swap soon (and with it the sprockets). If you have an air compressor you might get away with cleaning the air filter, unless it's been 10k since that was swapped too. Oil needs changing regular on th sv in my opinion as they don't hold an awful lot (and with it the oil filter, they're only about £5. Tip - Don't over tighten the oil filter do it as tight as you can with your hand, drain the oil when the engine's pretty warm - helps shift the crap...as it's draining lean the bike right over side to side.

[Dave20046]

also smear a bit of engine oil over the rubber seal on the oil filter before installing it.
Front spark plug is a hassle on the sv (I just removed the radiator and drained the system while I was at it and renewed the water/coolant). Chain is pretty DIY but on the sv you have to cut/grind the old chain apart to remove it and then you'll need to clip the chain together with a split link and ride to your local shop to get it rivetted properly

[thefallenangel]

Morning all.

I too am about to attempt my first DIY service. The bike is 4 years old and its the first time it will have been serviced by me.

Are there any hints and tips/advice that I need to tak on board?

I intend to change, oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs and the front brakes. Also how often does the chain/sprocket need changing (I've done about 10,000 miles I think) and is that a DIY job?

Many thanks

Ste

Chain/sprocket depends on wear/condition. Go to 3 o clock on the sprocket and pull the chain out. If you do it easily they need changing. Also if there's any noticeable wear on the chain then it's worth changing. You'll need at the very least a 1/2" socket set, hacksaw, chain riveter and allen keys/or 1/4 " socket set depending whats on the front sprocket.

Undo the front sprocket nut by getting someone to sit on the bike and jam the brakes on. Remove front sprocket, cut the chain off (hacksaw takes a while mind a grinder is easier). Take rear wheel out, remove rear sprocket, swap front sprocket, put the wheel back on and rivet in new chain.*

*A Lot easier said than done.

[dual-power sv]

Front spark plug is a hassle on the sv (I just removed the radiator and drained the system while I was at it and renewed the water/coolant).

do you always need to drain and remove the rad or can you get away with not draining it and just letting it rest on the hoses, or can you get away without removing the rad aswel.

[Dave20046]

do you always need to drain and remove the rad or can you get away with not draining it and just letting it rest on the hoses, or can you get away without removing the rad aswel.
You can get away with removing the horn and hinging it out of the way but I didn't have a proper plug spanner and knew my radiator was well dodgy so did it like I did.

[dual-power sv]

yea good point

[stephencassidy]

thanks all, I will be giving it a shot over the weekend.

ste

[boot]

These are my best practice rules for servicing. I'm not familiar with bikes yet, so impart my knowledge from servicing cars and information I have gathered while researching bikes.

If any of you have digital workshop manuals and servicing manuals for a bike, I would greatly appreciate acquiring these for SV650S 2000 W reg.

Always replace Oil Filter and Air Filter, or at least clean the air filter if you have a washable one. If there's a centrifugal oil filter, replace this every second service.

It is good practice to use an oil flush, Wurth being my favourite brand. Doing this every other oil change.

Be careful what oil you choose, it's best to stick to a good brand, but the most expensive is not always the best. Most part synthetics offer good lubrication qualities without the need or expense for fully synthetic. You should only go up the scale of oil quality, never back. If you currently use full synth, don't switch back to part as this can (this is a well documented but often disputed fact) cause damage to your engine.

I would opt for an oil change at maximum of every 2000 miles, but generally every 1500 on a bike (double for a car). If you're only going to do periodic oil changes, then the start and end of the good and bad seasons are best, beginning of May and end of September. Make sure you buy enough for top ups of the same type and brand, never mix your oils.

As you're going to be getting your hands dirty anyway, I'd advise on coolant change - it should be changed at it's maximum every two years - older than this, it's chemical make up tends to break down and can start to corrode. Although they probably wouldn't do it in a main-stealers, I would completely remove the radiator and flush it clean before replacing the coolant.

If you've noticed sponginess of your brakes, one bottle of DOT4 is about £7 and worth bleeding your full system, before you do this, check pad wear. Never drain and replace brake fluid, bleed the system continually until your new fluid comes through. Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time and changing it periodically will make a massive difference.

Chain as already stated previously, visually check and replace as necessary. I've never changed a bike chain, but would think it's easier to check fit and then remove wheel before riveting new one on to allow room for manoeuvre. I suppose I'll find out on my first chain change.

Check for free play in your clutch. Some cables are serviceable, some not. If it is serviceable, remove from lever, puncture hole in plastic sandwich or freezer bag, poke through hole and tape up to seal hole. Put clean engine oil in bag and suspend from wall or garage ceiling overnight. This will drain through and lubricate cable well. Place something on floor to catch any oil that escapes, and an old towel or cloth over the bottom end of the cable to soak up the worst.

While you've access to certain bit's of the bike that might not easily be get-attable, a spray mix of 1 part petrol to two parts oil used soon after mixing, will allow you to apply a thin film of oil to protect your bike. the petrol will evaporate leaving an nice thin film of oil which will help prevent from corrosion. This in the main part can be rubbed down with a soft cloth to help maintain an nice clean protective finish to your bike, obviously do not use on foot pegs, gear lever, foot brake pedal, brakes or tyres.

The rest should be fairly straight forward - check light bulbs etc. Lithium grease for hinged items such as centre or side stands. Check for improper movement of wheels and how true/balanced they move. Tyre pressures (but you check that every time you go out don't you?). Steering lock - handle bars that touch the fuel tank are an MOT failure. Check for unusual free play in the steering bearing. Check pre-load for rear suspension is as it should be - you will need the help of SWMBO for this. Check forks for leaks and seals. Some people tightly fit cable ties to forks and lower right down to the damper, then check after a comprehensive ride out, the damper will move the cable tie up the fork and show how much movement there is in the front suspension.

Get hold of official workshop manual and invest in a good set of socket and a good quality torque wrench. Check range of torque settings for most jobs you'll do on bike before you buy. Don't buy tools from Halfrauds.

That's about all I've got to say on this.

[boot]

thanks all, I will be giving it a shot over the weekend.

ste

Start early on saturday morning, that way, if you eff anything up, you've got a little leeway with time to find help.

[davepreston]

boot pm me your email and ill send you da manuels

[COLZO]

To change the front spark plug you only have to take off the bottom radiator bolt on the right (brake) side of the bike and the radiator will swing up slightly to give you enough room. Well on a K6 anyway. Hardest bit of my service was removing the lower fairings in one piece!

[Quiff Wichard]

Morning all.

I too am about to attempt my first DIY service. The bike is 4 years old and its the first time it will have been serviced by me.

Are there any hints and tips/advice that I need to tak on board?

I intend to change, oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs and the front brakes. Also how often does the chain/sprocket need changing (I've done about 10,000 miles I think) and is that a DIY job?

Many thanks

Ste

best tip.. give yourself twice as long as you think..

make lots of tea,

take 5 min rests and admire your work

AND - ensure you put your sump plug back on before you fill up your new oil.. and dont forget new filter AND oil change you need larger amount of oil..all inthe book..

it is soooo satisfying getting your hands dirty and doin your own service..

[Dan]

These are my best practice rules for servicing. I'm not familiar with bikes yet, so impart my knowledge from servicing cars and information I have gathered while researching bikes.

If any of you have digital workshop manuals and servicing manuals for a bike, I would greatly appreciate acquiring these for SV650S 2000 W reg.

Always replace Oil Filter and Air Filter, or at least clean the air filter if you have a washable one. If there's a centrifugal oil filter, replace this every second service.

It is good practice to use an oil flush, Wurth being my favourite brand. Doing this every other oil change.

Be careful what oil you choose, it's best to stick to a good brand, but the most expensive is not always the best. Most part synthetics offer good lubrication qualities without the need or expense for fully synthetic. You should only go up the scale of oil quality, never back. If you currently use full synth, don't switch back to part as this can (this is a well documented but often disputed fact) cause damage to your engine.

I would opt for an oil change at maximum of every 2000 miles, but generally every 1500 on a bike (double for a car). If you're only going to do periodic oil changes, then the start and end of the good and bad seasons are best, beginning of May and end of September. Make sure you buy enough for top ups of the same type and brand, never mix your oils.

As you're going to be getting your hands dirty anyway, I'd advise on coolant change - it should be changed at it's maximum every two years - older than this, it's chemical make up tends to break down and can start to corrode. Although they probably wouldn't do it in a main-stealers, I would completely remove the radiator and flush it clean before replacing the coolant.

If you've noticed sponginess of your brakes, one bottle of DOT4 is about £7 and worth bleeding your full system, before you do this, check pad wear. Never drain and replace brake fluid, bleed the system continually until your new fluid comes through. Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time and changing it periodically will make a massive difference.

Chain as already stated previously, visually check and replace as necessary. I've never changed a bike chain, but would think it's easier to check fit and then remove wheel before riveting new one on to allow room for manoeuvre. I suppose I'll find out on my first chain change.

Check for free play in your clutch. Some cables are serviceable, some not. If it is serviceable, remove from lever, puncture hole in plastic sandwich or freezer bag, poke through hole and tape up to seal hole. Put clean engine oil in bag and suspend from wall or garage ceiling overnight. This will drain through and lubricate cable well. Place something on floor to catch any oil that escapes, and an old towel or cloth over the bottom end of the cable to soak up the worst.

While you've access to certain bit's of the bike that might not easily be get-attable, a spray mix of 1 part petrol to two parts oil used soon after mixing, will allow you to apply a thin film of oil to protect your bike. the petrol will evaporate leaving an nice thin film of oil which will help prevent from corrosion. This in the main part can be rubbed down with a soft cloth to help maintain an nice clean protective finish to your bike, obviously do not use on foot pegs, gear lever, foot brake pedal, brakes or tyres.

The rest should be fairly straight forward - check light bulbs etc. Lithium grease for hinged items such as centre or side stands. Check for improper movement of wheels and how true/balanced they move. Tyre pressures (but you check that every time you go out don't you?). Steering lock - handle bars that touch the fuel tank are an MOT failure. Check for unusual free play in the steering bearing. Check pre-load for rear suspension is as it should be - you will need the help of SWMBO for this. Check forks for leaks and seals. Some people tightly fit cable ties to forks and lower right down to the damper, then check after a comprehensive ride out, the damper will move the cable tie up the fork and show how much movement there is in the front suspension.

Get hold of official workshop manual and invest in a good set of socket and a good quality torque wrench. Check range of torque settings for most jobs you'll do on bike before you buy. Don't buy tools from Halfrauds.

That's about all I've got to say on this.

Mega-post.

Mainly good advice, but I wouldn't change air filters as regularly as you suggest - it's false economy. Also, I wouldn't use engine flush as regularly - you will never get all of the flushing agent out after a change and it will thin your oil with its detergent properties.

Mixing oil is acceptable as long as the lubricants meet the same standards. In a race engine, maybe not - but in a road motor it won't do any harm. You'll mix oil every time you change to a different brand anyway as you can never drain every last drop out.

Rather than the engine oil/petrol mix idea, I'd favour ACF-50 or similar to prevent corrosion.

And Halfords is not the evil empire of doom most people make out. Their Halfords Professional range are very good quality and covered by a lifetime warranty.

[injury_ian]

I would opt for an oil change at maximum of every 2000 miles, but generally every 1500 on a bike (double for a car). If you're only going to do periodic oil changes, then the start and end of the good and bad seasons are best, beginning of May and end of September. Make sure you buy enough for top ups of the same type and brand, never mix your oils.


2000 miles max? you must be having a giraffe!!

That'd be a service every fortnight for me!

:smt019

mostly sound advice mind.


Also Halfords Professional range are of a very high quality, I trust them with the full force of my knuckles, its the Suzuki cheese that will make you cry / bleed.

[Dave20046]

best tip.. give yourself twice as long as you think..

make lots of tea,

take 5 min rests and admire your work

AND - ensure you put your sump plug back on before you fill up your new oil.. and dont forget new filter AND oil change you need larger amount of oil..all inthe book..

it is soooo satisfying getting your hands dirty and doin your own service..
Very true, take your time too and think. Think about how what you're doing affects the bike mechanically, a lapse in concentration could say mean you remove the alternator cover forgetting there's oil behind there and cause a right mess :-dd.

Suprised you don't use latex gloves after seeing your garage quiff :razz:




*ignores the fact he sometimes uses latex gloves*

[boot]

At roughly 2.3 litres of let’s say Silkolene Comp 4 10w/40 Oil 4 litres at £32, at an interval of 2000 miles would work out roughly one pence per mile, if you were to change oil every 4000 miles, this would stand you at 0.5 pence per mile. Therefore you price increase per mile is merely 0.5 pence, or £250 for 50,000 miles. It’s a quick, easy and worth-while job in my opinion. This is how I justify to myself such regular oil changes. As for the environment, well that’s another issue entirely.

If you don’t flush and switch from part-synth to fully-synth you could pretty much kiss your engine goodbye. Fully-synth is known to loosen carbon deposits like a flush would, then you just have that cr@p floating around your engine.

Having said all this, I’m happy to agree to disagree on oil change frequency, air filter change/clean frequency and engine flush. We're merely offering our own opinions on good practise, the information, facts and figures are out there, this is just how I interpret them.

[Dave20046]

1p a mile?! rip off I never thought of it like that.

[dual-power sv]

i always run cheap oil(around £15 for 4litres) but i change it every 1500 miles and change the filter every 2 maybe 3 oil changes.

the bike is soooo smooth cant fault how it runs, probably as a result of my keeping everythin in check, apart from the slight popping on over run, think its throttle balancing, going in next week and should be done.

[Dave20046]

i always run cheap oil(around £15 for 4litres) but i change it every 1500 miles and change the filter every 2 maybe 3 oil changes.

the bike is soooo smooth cant fault how it runs, probably as a result of my keeping everythin in check, apart from the slight popping on over run, think its throttle balancing, going in next week and should be done.
I wouldn't run my bike off cheap oil. Althoguh that said £15 isn't really cheap. The stuff I use retails about £20 per 4 litres. I change filter maximum every 2 changes (hiflo filtro or whatever they're called)

[injury_ian]

A fellow colleuge from Italy has a R1200 bmw over there, he hasn't changed the oil in 20,000 miles.

He is an engineer as well! :(

[stephencassidy]

** UPDATE **

What a nightmare getting the oil filter off!! I purchased a strap wrench and used my torque wrench to try and get it to budge and ended up snapping the strap ... long story short, managed to get it off and the new one was quite difficult to tighten. its all done now, no leaks and it sounds a lot better :-)

Now whilst I was changing the front brake pads I noticed the front forks.
How easy (and expensive) is it to sort this out?

thank for all you posts

Ste

[dual-power sv]

What a nightmare getting the oil filter off!! I purchased a strap wrench and used my torque wrench to try and get it to budge and ended up snapping the strap ... long story short, managed to get it off and the new one was quite difficult to tighten. its all done now, no leaks and it sounds a lot better :-)
Ste


quick tip for anyone trying to remove a stubbern oil filter, long screw driver and a hammer, send the screw driver through the old oil filter and it'll be a doddle to get off.

[stephencassidy]

tried that, this is the upshot

screwdriver went straight through (as I have done on cars many times before) and as I was trying to turn it was that tight it just tore through the metal. I ended up tapping it round with a chisel!

Just been out for a spin, its like a new bike :-)

[Dave20046]

jeese nice filter..and those fork seals are in a bit of a state too.

[stephencassidy]

How easy is it to replace the fork seals?

[dual-power sv]

not to bad, main thing you'll need is a fork seal driver, apart from that alsong as youve got some mechanical knownage you should be ok, best things is to get a haynes manual, it'll talk you through it.

[Sid Squid]

Those aren't the fork seals, they are the shrouds that sit above the seals so the seals don't have to deal with keeping crap out as well as keeping oil in.
Replacement is easy: Remove fork, pull off shroud, push new one in, refit fork. No need to disturb oil or seals.

Don't use a flushing oil, there's no benefit nowadays as modern oil is wedged full of detergents, as long as you warm the engine first you'll get out everything that's needed. By all means use either semi or fully synth, still no need to flush as they are equally detergent - fully synth won't loosen anything that semi synth left behind, (but it wouldn't have anyway).
On that subject fully synth is not what I would choose, more money, and your bike will be in a breakers yard many years before the possible benefits are realised. Unless you habitually do daftly short trips there's no need to increase oil change frequency. Think about this for a moment - how many miles will you do on your bike? Nowadays the average bike ends up in the breakers yard with a surprisingly small mileage on it, it's just worthless long before it's worn out, so as just about every middleweight bike will put 100,000 miles up as long as it's been serviced anything like the maker stated, the possible benefits of expensive synthetic oil won't make any difference to you or probably the next three owners either.

Petrol or paraffin and oil mix is excellent protector and a fraction of the cost of ACF50. I use paraffin as it's slightly oily and sticks a dab better, all the lighter, more flammable elements will evaporate off anyway.

[boot]

Avoid using a torque wrench to loosen anything. Only ever use them to tighten. They're expensive precision made tools that need to be looked after. Always remember to return it to it's lowest setting after use to prolong it's accuracy.

[Feldspar]

I'm just about to get all the bits together to service mine. Was quoted £225 from local bike shop and realised I could scrape the bits together on eBay for about £75 and do it myself. No contest. Thanks to all who posted on here, useful info.

Anybody got any input on K&N air filters? I know from car days that they're a 'name' and are supposed to be better but are they? Noticeably so? They're roughly double the price of a normal one, worth it in your opinion? Found a new K&N air filter for my SV on eBay for £37 inc P+P whereas a normal one is about £18.50 delivered. Your thoughts?

[xXBADGERXx]

Don`t waster your money on a K&N , standard filter will suffice :)

[rowdy]

quick tip for anyone trying to remove a stubbern oil filter, long screw driver and a hammer, send the screw driver through the old oil filter and it'll be a doddle to get off.
Don't recommend doing this unless you want more hassle.
Was doing mine once and it just buckled up when using a filter strap, a mate of mine was there and suggested the screwdriver through the filter method. I said no don't fancy that much, went in to make a brew and think about the problem but when I came out he'd gone and done it anyway. He bu**ered off home leaving me with the remnants of the filter still attached firmly to my bike.
Another mate of mine fabricated a tool with two prongs that fitted in the holes of the filter mounting plate and a handle which thankfully done the job. However, happless mate number one had been smacking the screwdriver with a hammer onto the thread that the oil filter screws onto and f***ed that up making fitment of the new oil filter slightly tricky.

[davepreston]

Used to do routine services on my cars but my first service on my bike proved very successful. Oil, oil filter, air filter and plugs were changed today and all I can say is its like a new bike. With only 4900 miles on the bike to date the last service it had was the very first service 2 months after first owner bought it so if going by time rather than mileage the service was well over due. The 'tractor' engine is now gone, gear changes are slick and the throttle is so responsive. As I'm new to bikes the way the bike felt previously was all I knew and now I realise what a SV650S is all about! To say I'm happy is an understatement. Oil changes every 6 months from now on. New tyres next (Dunlop Roadsmarts or Pirelli Diablo Stradas) and tight link out the chain and it will be perfect. Roll on the summer! :D:D:D


Oh fixed my horn too. The bolt holding the bracket on to the radiator had fell off and the horn was wedged up against the radiator. No more Noddy horn for me. ;)
did mine today and yes it is the best feeling ever wife had to order me back home 1 1/2 tanks of fuel later

[Feldspar]

Just did mine, got all the bits off eBay for £68. Motul 5100 Oil, HiFlo Filtro Oil filter, HiFlo Filtro Air Filter and 2 x Iridum NGK Spark Plugs. Took me about 2 hours in total and 1 hour 59 minutes of that was getting that bloody front spark plug out. Grrr... Apart from that I was surprised how easy and accessible everything was. Much easier than working on old Triumph classic cars! Doing the service myself and saving £150 from the £220 my local mechanic shop quoted gives me a warm feeling... but that may be just because I've p*ssed myself, dunno.

It runs better, sounds smoother and I feel good about having treated the bike to some tlc. Couldn't recommend it more. As someone else said up-thread, you also get to know your bike a bit better and become less afraid of popping the tank, taking stuff off, putting stuff back on again. Checking the wiring, lube points, blah.

Now I need the head-racer bearing and the front forks re-building. I don't think I'm going to attempt those myself unless anyone on here has some magical advice and you all say it's easy?

Thanks again to those who posted with general helpful info.

[keith h]

I had the same problem with the oil filter, I completely crushed it after starting with a strap & then a chain wrench before chiseling the thing off near the base. I put the new one on & gave it 1 full turn.
It states in the owners handbook to tighten 2 turns after the seal touches the base, car filters are usually 3/4 of a turn. I spoke my local garage when my k5 was in for its first MOT,they said 1 turn was more than enough as even they were fed up with getting these filters off! As you all aware, too tight distorts the seal.

[Feldspar]

Reference the oil filter, I did mine up by hand 'til it was tight. I didn't have a tool-kit with my 11th hand bike so I got an oil filter cup that fits onto a standard socket set handle. I gave it one full turn with that. Seemed tight enough. Have run the bike, no leaks. I too don't think you should over-tighten these. The manual does say 2 turns but someone in my manual has made a note some years back saying 1 to 1.5 turns - seems about right to me.