Service intervals - what's yours?

**outlawtorn** · 20th March 2009, 11:48

Hi all,

Just wondering what your service intervals are on your bikes? Mine is every 6000km's and my last service cost me $350 from Colemans, needless to say I'm shitting bricks for my next service which is due very soon. Does anyone know why bikes, or particularly Suzuki's Boulevards need to be serviced so regularly?

Cheers
J.

**vifferman** · 20th March 2009, 12:06

I believe big v-twins are harder on their oil, so it needs frequentish changes.
Once your bike's out of warranty, do your own services, and then you can pick when you do them: every 6 months or every x000 km. A guy I work with hardly ever rides his bike, yet has to get it serviced anyway, just because it's new and he's worried how the service log will look if he doesn't get its next 6-monthly service done. (I've never had that problem, as I've never owned a new vehicle....)

**Cajun** · 20th March 2009, 12:07

most japa bikes service intervals are every 6,000kms
my 600 i now do oil/filter every 5000kms at max.

the aprilia is every 10,000kms

**vifferman** · 20th March 2009, 12:09

Originally Posted by Cajun

most japa bikes service intervals are every 6,000kms

I was reading somewhere this week (on KB? In a thread about Ducati service??) that the 6000km Japanese service interval thing was bogus, and done for some legal reason related to warranties. It's certainly not related to the longevity of the oil or engine parts.

**outlawtorn** · 20th March 2009, 12:15

Yeah, my bike is still under warranty so I can understand the validity of regular servicing, but every 6000 k's makes me feel like someone is taking the piss....

Once it is out of its warranty period I'm defintely going to do the servicing myself.

**BOGAR** · 20th March 2009, 12:19

For $350 I had a full service done(all fluids + plugs + and minor adjustments + full check over on bike) but if its just oil and filter I would expect it to be allot less. The easiest way I found to cover it is to have an account just for things like that and then work out how much a week to stick into it so you (in theory) always have the money. Just don't dip into it like I do and it works great. What did you have done for $350?

**Cajun** · 20th March 2009, 12:27

Originally Posted by vifferman

I was reading somewhere this week (on KB? In a thread about Ducati service??) that the 6000km Japanese service interval thing was bogus, and done for some legal reason related to warranties. It's certainly not related to the longevity of the oil or engine parts.

yeah i can think so somewhat, but not gonna do harm by changing oil more regularly.

Originally Posted by outlawtorn

Yeah, my bike is still under warranty so I can understand the validity of regular servicing, but every 6000 k's makes me feel like someone is taking the piss....

Once it is out of its warranty period I'm defintely going to do the servicing myself.

well even when bike was in warrenty, i would do things to limit to the cost of servicing, remove fairings, why pay someone $60+ an hour to remove fairings, always provoided my own filter/oil, but 600 been out of warrenty for a few yeras now, i do it all myself.

**SVboy** · 20th March 2009, 13:53

I do my services-oil and filter at 3-3500kms. I stick to the manufacturers guide for medium services-air cleaner-clutch adjustment etc. I do it myself and use the factory manual. Oil interval is probably overkill, but my bike, my money and my piece of mind!!

**johan** · 20th March 2009, 14:43

I've seen how much dirt the dry clutch builds up when I had a closed non vented clutch cover. I guess running a dry clutch would contaminate the oil a lot less, compared to a clutch sharing the oil with the rest of the engine and transmission.

The way I understand it is that oil breaks down a lot quicker if you run it outside its operating temperature (too hot). It looses it viscosity quicker and doesn't lubricate properly.

I don't see why a twin would be harder on the oil, what's your thought on that?

**trump-lady** · 20th March 2009, 14:44

When sqiggles tell me

**vifferman** · 20th March 2009, 15:02

Originally Posted by johan

I don't see why a twin would be harder on the oil, what's your thought on that?

I was talking about big-bore cruisers like Harleys and whatnot - there's special v-twin oils available for them. They're popular with the VFR crowd as they score very highly in oil tests for resistance to breaking down and other qualities.

Mobil says:
"Mobil 1 V-Twin oil is designed for air-cooled, large-displacement bikes. Because of their design, these engines can generate very high localized oil temperatures and high overall bulk-oil temperatures.

As you know, a typical air-cooled V-twin's rear cylinder gets a lot hotter than the front cylinder – it's a matter of airflow. When it's hot out and you're stuck in traffic, the oil temperature in your bike climbs rapidly. Above about 250°F, conventional motor oil is going to break down. Mobil 1 V-Twin synthetic oil is good to above 300°F."

But do a Googling on "v twin oils" - there's some interesting stuff turns up.

**johan** · 20th March 2009, 15:06

That makes sense, thanks for that explanation!

**lankyman** · 23rd March 2009, 10:47

Originally Posted by outlawtorn

Hi all,

Just wondering what your service intervals are on your bikes? Mine is every 6000km's and my last service cost me $350 from Colemans, needless to say I'm shitting bricks for my next service which is due very soon. Does anyone know why bikes, or particularly Suzuki's Boulevards need to be serviced so regularly?

Cheers
J.

I do oil and filter on the viffer every 5 thou. Anything else just as is needed.