Service intervals - Can they be stretched as the bike ages?

[outlawtorn]

On average I clock up 1600 - 2000 kms per month, which means because I ride a Suzuki M50Z I have to have it serviced every 6000 kms. So I am at the dealership every three 3 months, and the roughly $350 - $450 it costs me for every service is killing me.

My mate rides a Harley and his service intervals are every 15 000!!
Why is the M50 every 6000? Can I stretch it out to every 8000, now that my bike has reached 62000 and is well out of its warrantee.

Any advice or feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
John

[Nasty]

Now this may seem mad (and fine if it does) but I would have thought a bike getting older needs its regular servicing more to ensure it stays in top shape. its really a choice thing. Why don't you do as so many and learn to do some of the servicing yourself. I can now change oil do chain tensions etc. I am sure it saves me a bomb.

[davebullet]

Learn to do it yourself. I would guess 4/5 services are just oil and chain adjust (is M50 a belt? ), plugs and throttle body sync These can be done without major mechanical skills.

Sure if you need new cam chains, valve clearance adjustment you might want to leave that to a qual. mechanic.

The other thing you can do is use quality oils with quality filters and neodymium magnets on the filter (to keep any metal particles less than the filtration size in the filter). As long as the crud gets filtered out, a fully synth oil can last a lot longer.

Therefore you could probably greatly reduce the service cost and only need to slightly increase the interval to do it.

Triumph's are 10,000kms but not sure I want to stretch that far....

[p.dath]

Now this may seem mad (and fine if it does) but I would have thought a bike getting older needs its regular servicing more to ensure it stays in top shape. its really a choice thing. Why don't you do as so many and learn to do some of the servicing yourself. I can now change oil do chain tensions etc. I am sure it saves me a bomb.

+1. I would think the same. Have you shopped around to see if anyone else will offer a better deal for the servicing? Oil and filter change should be straight forward. I just got the manual for my bike and learnt myself.
Try searching You Tube for your bike. Someone is bound to have made a video of doing it already.

[cbfb]

The irony is that the older it gets, the more work it needs to keep it going properly. But people tend not to give a shit so much about an old bike coz they're not worth much, so don't bother so often.

Yeah learn to do the easy stuff like oil changes etc yourself.

[skinman]

some more info that the OP didn't put in.
The M50 as with the C50 is a liquid cooled, shaft driven v twin.
I would have thought that service interval would vary as to how hard you ride it.
I would have thought 8000 k services would be ok as long as you dont ride like rossi.
I may be wrong but wouldnt the coolant have to be changed on a fairly regular basis.

[skinman]

just checked manual & it says
6000k or 6 monthly oil change & lube pivot points, check air filter
12000k or 12 months as above & replace spark plugs
18000k or 18 months as above + change air & oil filter
24000k or 24 months as 12000 & check valve clearances
every 2 years replace coolant & brake fluid
every 4 years replace fuel & brake hoses

Of cause at every service the manual says to check everything

[AllanB]

What type of riding are you doing? If around town then I'd stick to the 6k but I suspect it is a lot of open road so you could use a high quality synthetic oil and extend it. Triumph for example run full synthetic after the first service and have 10k service intervals. Ditto Ducati I believe.

My Honda manual states 12k for oil & filter but when you buy one the shop will tell you 6 k ......... I don;t do a lot of kms (6k a year) so I do my own each Xmas. Merry Xmas Hornet It had been a very good bike last year so I treated it to some stupidly expensive full synthetic for 2011.


I suggest you do your own oil and filter changes - you'll save heaps and it is a easy task.

[yachtie10]

This is a question i ask myslf
Why is the service interval the same for a gsxr the same as for you bike or my bandit

Maybe its just a standard sukuki uses for all

Mine is now out of warantee so i wont be paying for expensive oil changes any more
but doing it myself
speaking of which time to do one

[Gremlin]

The interval would be there for a reason, oil, or whatever. You don't have to have the shop do it... but it needs to be done.

[jonbuoy]

350-400 for an oil change?? Do the oil changes yourself and take it in to the dealer for every other service if your worried.

[pritch]

The other thing you can do is use quality oils with quality filters and neodymium magnets on the filter

WOW! I'm not the only one so anal as to do that?

[sinfull]

just checked manual & it says
6000k or 6 monthly oil change & lube pivot points, check air filter
12000k or 12 months as above & replace spark plugs
18000k or 18 months as above + change air & oil filter
24000k or 24 months as 12000 & check valve clearances
every 2 years replace coolant & brake fluid
every 4 years replace fuel & brake hoses

Of cause at every service the manual says to check everything

There ya go !

That should save you a grand in labour a year at least ! Only reason you should have to take it to a shop is to check clearances every 20 odd clicks ! Drop the oil and filter change to every 5000 k do it yaself and the lube points, well, there's a learn for ya to swat up !
Oh and tell ya mate with the harley to do his oil at 5k intervals too !

[bsasuper]

Yikes, that dealer must have a smile a mile wide every time he sees you ride in.Suzuki engines are very high quality and usually just an oil and filter change is all thats needed at a service, $60 should do it(doing it yourself).The other $290 must be going towards keeping the bike lift employed.A mate of mine has owned a gsxr1000 from new, he takes it to a dealer for services,they dont mind taking his $$$, he dont mind paying, but even the dealer told him they only do oil/filter change as thats all it needed.(he insist they check valve clearance every 25,000, NO adjustment needed,even at 75,000)

[Mully]

.A mate of mine has owned a gsxr1000 from new, he takes it to a dealer for services,they dont mind taking his $$$, he dont mind paying, but even the dealer told him they only do oil/filter change as thats all it needed.(he insist they check valve clearance every 25,000, NO adjustment needed,even at 75,000)

Mmm, I've just had the '14 in for it's 42k service - it was a minor one, but I got the local mechanic to do it just to give it a once over. The next service (48k) is a big one (valves and whatnot, even though everyone says not to bother), so I'll get him to do that one and then I'll do the minor ones myself.