26,000 Mile Service Results

There might be a few riders interested in the results of the 26,000 mile service I just had done by my mechanic (not the dealer) on my '04 FJR (bike actually has 24,800 miles on it):

1) Valve adjustment check--totally within spec, no adjustment needed. This is as expected, I have yet to hear of an FJR that required any valve adjustment at the 26K point. And only a couple that needed it at even the 52,000 point.

2) Fork oil change--this was the first fork oil change on this bike and my mechanic said the oil was almost silver colored. I should have changed it long ago.

3) Replaced the OEM paper air filter with a K&N filter--this was the first air filter change on this bike and my mechanic said the paper filter was pretty bad. The recommended 12,000 mile change interval is probably a good idea if you're going to stay with the paper filters. Better yet, replace it with the K&N.

4) Radiator fluid change--this was the first coolant change on the bike. Mechanic said it had debris in it and looked pretty weak. He put in Prestone Dex Cool extended life coolant (no silica or phosphates).

5) Hydraulic fluid change--this was the first brake/clutch fluid change. Mechanic said the fluids were still OK but had some debris and discoloration and needed replacement.

6) NGK standard sparkplug change--these were changed at the 8000 mile point, so the plugs had about 17,000 miles on them. Mechanic said they looked like new, he could put them back in the box and sell them again. I saw them and they do look like new. Replaced with iridium plugs.

7) Throttle body sync--The prior TBS was done at 8000 miles. Mechanic said only the #1 cylinder was off but it was off by quite a bit.

8) Brake pad check--front pads have 50% left, rear pads 70%.

9) New Avon tires mounted--the old Avons on the bike passed the 14,000 mile point Monday while I rode the bike to my mechanic. Almost even wear on front and rear tires, both had just barely gone below the wear bars. New Avons mounted. Mechanic said the new rear Avon was almost perfectly balanced without any weights, altho he put on a very small weight to get it absolutely spot on. Front Avon took a very minimal weight adjustment. On the ride home last night, I got up to about 60 mph and carefully released the grips--absolutely no shimmy or wobble down to about 20 mph. I never had any wobble problems throughout the entire life of the prior Avons either.

10) Installed new Westco battery.

11) Mechanic listened carefully for any unusual valve noises that might indicate development of the "ticking" exhaust valve guide problem and heard nothing. I asked him to listen for it because I have a slight amount of upper frequency hearing loss (caused by too many years of dirtbike riding and chainsaw use without adequate ear protection) and don't pick up noises like that.

Bike runs and handles like new again. Needs a major cleanup and then I'm ready for the riding season.

Lee in the Mountains of Northern California

That's good news, Lee! My '05 goes in next week. GULP! I had them order all the parts so that they'll have the bike, but a day - ch'yah, right! I have most of the 'check' covered and they'll be doing the valve adjust, TBS, fluid change, plug change and filter change.

So can we count on this being a regular feature every 3 years?

So can we count on this being a regular feature every 3 years?

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Glad to see those tatas aren't sucking up all of your wit.

This is as expected, I have yet to hear of an FJR that required any valve adjustment at the 26K point. And only a couple that needed it at even the 52,000 point.

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That's cause you ain't listening Lee. :angry:

You have made that exact same statement in the past, and then I have gone on to tell you that one of my valves was adjusted at my first valve check.

Hear me now?

Wait a minute. It took you 2.5 years and 28,000 miles to do your first air filter change? First coolant flush? First hydraulic fluid flush? And 17,000 miles on the plugs?

You must not like your FJR much, cause you sure don't take care of it very well.

You must not like your FJR much, cause you sure don't take care of it very well.

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And yet, you must plan on keeping it forever, or at least not trying to peddle it here.

Wait a minute.  It took you 2.5 years and 28,000 miles to do your first air filter change?  First coolant flush?  First hydraulic fluid flush?  And 17,000 miles on the plugs?

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Concur with others that you waited too long to do some of these items, IMO. Fluids in particular. And the air filter and spark plugs, without question.

Your mechanic's comments about the plugs "looking like new, he could put them back in the box and sell them again" is very illuminating. And, of course, completely without merit. You can't just "look" at a plug and pronounce it healthy. Yamaha doesn't call for spark plug replacement at 8K for no reason at all. The stock plugs are bottom-end, garden-variety copper plugs.... the internal resistance built up at 17,000 miles was undoubtedly significant.

So, does it run any different? You said like new, but did it run poorly?

Another good reason to learn how to perform these maintenance tasks at home. Most of these things can be done fairly easily and inexpensively in your driveway, but the costs add up if you have to pay a mechanic and that usually means they don't get done very often. It also means that you have to schedule the work, drop the bike off, get along wiothout it for a day or more, then pick it up.

On the other hand, it shows what a tough ol' pile the Feej is-it's only real shortcoming that thing we all know so much about, that occurs on just a few bikes, without reason, regardless of oil used, riding style, climate, break-in procedure used, or any other verifiable cause-running out of gas. Oh, and the tick.

TWN--I got a dealership mechanic tech I can highly recommend for your routine servicework, he does excellent break work :lol:

TWN--I got a dealership mechanic tech I can highly recommend for your routine servicework, he does excellent break work :lol:

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I do great 'break' work, too. Can-o-pop, bag-o-Doritos or Ho-Ho's and then, back to work.

My 'brakes', however, will never see another hand besides mine, thanks to this forum!

*wise cracks sure to follow* :****:

LOL--I figured I'd take a ration when I posted my note but that's OK.

Someone asked how the bike was running before the service. It was actually running fine engine-wise, a VERY slight hesitation on throttle uptake before, which is totally gone now. There was no miss nor noticeably drop in gas mileage, etc. The major thing I noticed from all of the work performed is how much better the front suspension feels with the fork oil change. I agree that this was my biggest mistake, the fork oil should be changed regularly.

And the comment my mechanic made about putting the old sparkplugs back on the shelf was tongue in cheek. He's well aware that the plugs are worn out even if they don't look it. This guy was a factory trained Honda mechanic for 15 years before he opened his own shop nearly 15 years ago and he's a top notch guy.

And to SkooterG--I must have missed your comments about your bike needing a valve adjustment at the 26K point, I don't recall anyone mentioning that their bike needed it. It certainly is pretty rare. Sorry.

And to the person who wondered whether I might regret posting this info on the Forum in case I later wanted to sell the bike--I don't plan to sell the bike, I love the bike and will probably ride it until it falls apart. My '87 GL1200 has 166,000 miles on the original engine and still looks and runs great. Ditto on my Nighthawk 700S with 100,000 plus. I don't always do every single service item at the recommended intervals--I don't have the time nor expertise to do most of the service work myself as many of you do, wish I did--but I do try to do the most important ones, and I'm diligent about changing the oil and filters myself right on schedule.

Cheers,

Lee in the Mountains of Northern California

B)

Good on ya Lee for taking all the, ummmm, "Constructive Criticism" with the right attitude.

Just change that damned air filter more often!

So what does all this mean? We don't have to do any work on it till about 25000 miles? Kick ***. I'm gonna ride my 05 into the dirt. What do they say? Rode hard, put up wet?

Ditto on my Nighthawk 700S with 100,000 plus. 

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Wow! That may be the most I've heard for a Nighthawk S. I still have mine, and I still think it's one of the coolest bikes ever made, for various reasons. Mine has about 33K on it. I rode it to Texas and back (from Maryland) through hurricane Dennis last summer over a long weekend. They're great bikes.

What's gone wrong over the 100K miles? Anything major?

I agree with you, Ari, the Nighthawk 700S is a great bike, one of the most rock solid bikes ever built. I think most of the '80's model 650 Nighthawks fall into that category too. The only thing halfway major that I've ever had go wrong with the bike was at about the 65,000 mile point. I started experiencing a totally intermittent, unpredictable sudden ignition failure, usually while travelling at high speed. My son was riding the bike one time on a ride we took to Utah/Colorado. We did nearly 800 miles the first day out and the bike ran fine most of the way until it suddenly quit on him in eastern Nevada while he was going about 80 mph. He stopped, turned the ignition key off then back on and the bike started up again. It ran fine for over 1500 miles, then did the same thing coming back into California near Lone Pine. He turned the key off, back on and it started and ran fine all the way home. Turned out to be a bad ignition module. Replaced it and the bike has been virtually troublefree ever since.

Someone asked "what does all this mean?". My purpose in posting the original note on the 26,000 mile service was not to say Do What I Do--I don't argue with the premise that if you want to keep your bike in pristine condition, you should ideally do all of the maintenance items at the recommended service points. But I know for a fact that a good many riders don't always adhere to the recommended service schedules, whether for lack of time, money, etc. etc. My intent in posting the note was simply to say that I didn't adhere to the recommended service items and intervals (except for oil/filter) and this is what I had when I did get around to having it done. End of story.

Lee in the Mountains of Northern California

Doesn't matter....you just saved me about two grand in service checks. Now I have to tell fjrchik about this....so she can ill maintain her new 06.