Bought my first bike yesterday. Needs a service.

I bought my first ever bike yesterday, an SV650 K6. I need to service it, well not me, but my dad. He has a mechanical background and always services the cars. He's going to change the oil filter, air filter, and replace the spark plugs. He's also going to tighten the chain slightly because it's a bit slack. Is there anything else that needs to be done? It's only done 11k miles so hopefully wont need that much.

I need to buy the parts, and Ive been asked to get an oil filter, air filter, and 2 spark plugs. Could anyone direct me to a website (in the UK) that sells these, and/or recommend me which type/brand to get. I'm a complete beginner and this is my first bike so any help whatsoever is appreciated. Thanks

[TamSV]

First big service isn't until 15,000 miles (valve clearances) so pretty much what you've suggested plus a general check over, grease pivots etc. If he's feeling adventurous he might want to check the shock linkage and head bearings for grease as Suzuki don't like to use too much. I'd always change the coolant and brake fluid if I don't know how old it is.

The brake calipers can get a bit grotty and sieze up easily so that's worth a look/clean.

I personally use HiFlo air and oil filters and NGK plugs, which all seem to work fine. Get them from your local shop or online from ebay or the usual online suspects - M and P, B & C Express etc. For oil I use Castrol Power 1 - mainly because that's what they've got in the local shop.

Congrats on the new bike. Piccies?

www.wemoto.com

Or you could even go to a Suzuki dealer, consumables like filter tend to be reasonably priced (I bought a VW genuine oil filter for my golf from the dealer cheaper than the equivalent Halfords!)

As above, what you have said there is all it needs for a 11K service, the garage I took mine to didnt even change the air filter though, just blew it out with an air line....

Chain slack is 20-30mm with the bike on the side stand and the rear axle nut is a 24mm and torqued to 100 N:m. Be careful undoing that as the plate under the nut likes to spin with it and take a slice out of the paint, I use a long bar and "jerk" it to shock it loose when I'm feeling energetic, if im being lazy I just fire up the compressor and give it a quick squirt on the impact gun.

You MUST! re-fit the spindle (axle) from the exhaust side so the nut is on the stand side if you have it out, somone fitted it the wrong way on a mates bandit and it took a chunk out of a 1 week old exhaust can... Messy.

For the valve clearances - what do you guys choose, dealer or DIY?

[Nobbylad]

Go to Hein Gericke and get 4L of oil and they throw in the oil filter free £23.99 all in. (I even got a magnetic oil filter this time around).

Get a Haynes manual which will show you how to do pretty much everything you'll ever need to in the way of servicing. That, combined with searching the forum will see you right.

For spark plugs, I use Iridium ones from this ebay seller, they also sell standard plugs too. They're the cheapest I've found for plugs => http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Iridium-...item588f01c9b5

Don't forget you'll need a new crush/copper washer for the sump plug...again you can get these from Hein Gericke (5 for £1.99) or from any car/bike mech shop.

[Nobbylad]

Originally Posted by lx_online

For the valve clearances - what do you guys choose, dealer or DIY?

I used to go to the dealer, thinking it was one of those 'difficult, techincal, mechanical' jobs....however now I've been doing all the servicing myself since the dealer I was using wasn't even changing all the plugs on a service. I've found there's a shed load of stuff that is easy to do (incl. valve clearances) that once you've overcome the whole 'newbie mechanic' fear factor and done it once, it really is a doddle.

As long as you can read/use a torque wrench - it's pretty much plain sailing.

[_Stretchie_]

And whereabouts are you? There may be someone nearby that can offer assistance

Originally Posted by _Stretchie_

And whereabouts are you? There may be someone nearby that can offer assistance

Sort of stealing the OP post now, sorry! I'm in Brackley - near Towcester/Milton Keynes/Northampton.

My bike is on 15,000 miles, so valve clearances are coming up. I really don't want to have to pay £400 for a service that includes this check - so I think I'm going to invest in a torque wrench like Nobbylad says.

[Nobbylad]

And a manual and some feeler gauges.

Spend time reading/re-reading the process and then scout around on here for tips. Don't forget that the dealer doesn't/shouldn't just do the oil/filter/plugs/valve check. They 'should' also check the fluid levels, steering head bearings and give the bike a general look over for loose stuff and anything that looks dodge.

Whether or not they all do is very subjective and dependant on the individual mechanic (and probably their workload/conscience) in most cases.

Some dealers are worth the money for the amount of time/care they will spend on your bike, others are not worth £40, let alone £400.