DIY Service - what needs doing?

[Jordy]

I bought the bike last month with just short of 12k miles, I've done almost 1k since and would like to service the bike just for piece of mind.

It has a full service history (every 4k miles a stamp) but it only mentions a change of oil/filter each time. There is a seperate receipt for tyres/wheel balance & exhaust fitment, but no mention of spark plugs/air filter/ brakes/fluids. This concerns me...

I'm confident I can do all minor servicing on the bike myself with the aid of a haynes manual, and I have the time to do so. Only problem with doing it myself is that I will have no stamp in the service book, but then when I come to sell it hopefully the buyer will be able to tell it has been well looked after right?

Here is what im planning on doing over the next few weeks:-

Oil/filter Change - What oil shall I use/what oil would you recommend? (prepared to pay for the best). I know it's 10W40 but there's so much choice out there, just looking online I found: - 'Road - Oil for commuter and long distance tourers' OR 'Race - Oil for professional racers, high performance superbikes' They're the same grade so what's the difference? And then to throw a spanner in the works silkolene do a V-twin oil but that's 10W50 FS or 20W50 Mineral. Is it correct that I want semi-synthetic?

Spark Plugs - Is it worth buying the iridium type (CR8EIX) over the standard? Also the recommended plug has a gap of 0.6, when in the haynes it says a gap of 0.7 - 0.8. Are you expected to check and set the gap from new out of the packet?

Air filter - I see you can buy one from weemoto for about £15 or you can opt for a K&N for about £42 that will apparently last 50k miles before even needing a clean, think I might go for the KN as it is suppose to improve performance as well? Woth paying extra for do you think? Would anyone recommend going for a KN?

Coolant/Brake fluid - No question here! :o(yet) :)

Pads/dics - Fine
Tyres - Fine
Chain/sprockets - fine (adjusted recently)
Idle speed is low at about 1k RPM but doesn't cut out - I will have a little play with the screw at some point

Is there anything else that you think might be needed?

Future - (around 15k)

Carb synch - garage jobby
Valve clearences - Garage jobby
Front fork oil - garage job I think
Brake/fuel hoses - Every 4 years they recommend, seems a bit OTT? Think I will just replace if i notice any perishing/leaks. Get some braided lines.

Anything else worth doing you can think of? Perhaps the rear suspension unit at some point but I think i will wait for it to fracture/leak before I replace? (looks fine atm and I find it fine, but then it is my first bike lol)

Thanks.

[Luke-Mac]

I got brand new K&N air AND oil filters for £45ish on fleabay from a company called YBfilters and have no complaints what so ever, i feel (though might just be in my head) that it slightly improves throttle response and power though that will also be the new oil (castrol sports touring stuff)

HTH

[thefallenangel]

brake calipers. Clean them out to start.

Oil + Filter. People recommend halfords oil or the Hein Griecke.

[rictus01]

Hmm well they say for every good experience there's a bad one.....

I ordered a K&N of of YBfilters a few years back, there system crashed whilst in mid order, I tried again and it charged me for two, I emailed them to explain the problem and they made a great fuss that I should pay for two.

I had to open a dispute and get it resolved that way, they weren't helpful at all, in fact even after they had lost the dispute, they tried to bill me for dual postage when they hadden sent two anyway, I wouldn't and haven't delt with them since, of course they may have better customer service now, but with other sellers why take the risk.

Cheers Mark.

[embee]

Oil - to keep it simple, use a 10W-40 semi-synthetic oil with a known brand name or at least a well known retail name (e.g. Castrol, Silkolene, Motul, Halfords etc), which is specifically for bike use (contentious, but it means it won't give any clutch issues and it has the additives to suit the integral gearbox on a bike, look for JASO-MA on the label).

Oil filters - I like to use OE (Suzuki, made by Tokyo Roki usually, but can be branded Filtech in US etc.) filters, other brands can be somewhat unknown quantities though well known brands ought to be OK.

Spark plugs - I like to use iridium wherever possible, they offer better starting and better ignitability under tricky conditions especially with carbs (transients, on-off throttle etc). Gap of 0.7-0.8mm is recommended for curvey (in handbook). Iridium design puts less voltage demand on HT system, so slightly larger gap could be used if desired but there's little benefit above 0.8 in practice usually. They should last for 30k miles typically (at least), available online for around £12 a pair.

Others may have different views.

[yorkie_chris]

Oil/filter Change - What oil shall I use/what oil would you recommend? (prepared to pay for the best). I know it's 10W40 but there's so much choice out there, just looking online I found: - 'Road - Oil for commuter and long distance tourers' OR 'Race - Oil for professional racers, high performance superbikes' They're the same grade so what's the difference? And then to throw a spanner in the works silkolene do a V-twin oil but that's 10W50 FS or 20W50 Mineral. Is it correct that I want semi-synthetic?

That V twin oil is for h*rl*y crap.

Use 10w40 with JASA MA standard, I use rock oil guardian, works fine. So does most any other.

[MattCollins]

What year is the bike? 4k mi stamps don't mean much more than that the minimum service requirements were carried out. Judging by some of the more common problems found on the forum, I'd suggest a couple of weekends re-greasing all bearings and cleaning and re-greasing the calipers. At least learn to check your own valve clearances and carb balancing is a doddle.