Would You Perform 600 Mile Service Yourself?

[bergmen]

I have always done all service and repairs on all of my motorcycles since 1961. A dealer will never touch my 2014 FJR for any reason.

Dan

 

[PhilJet09]

I wouldn't let the oil bolt scare me away from doing the first service. A naive mechanic trying to do the right thing could use the rediculously high torque specified in the manual and damage the pan threads during your first service too. You never know for sure unless you do the work yourself. Just keep accurate records.

 

[Data]

I would, and did. The salesman said they would be happy to do it- but it was a waste of money if I was comfortable doing it myself. A couple of bikes before the FJR I had a dealer do the "first service" on a new KLR and I got it back with the front axle nut loose- not just finger tight, but loose. Apparently the clown that did the work spun it on a few threads and forgot about it. That lesson has stuck . . . . .

Also agree with getting the engine nice and hot before removing the oil pan drain plug

.

 

[N4HHE]

I wonder if in those cases where the threads got stuck to the drain plugs if maybe those engine were not fully up to temp? The thermal expansion of Aluminum alloy is greater than that of steel (around 12-13 microinches per degree F for aluminum vs. 6-8 for various steel alloys), so the engine being as warm as possible will loosen the drain plug a little bit.

So you think its possible Yamaha warmed the engine up somehow before putting the drain plug in the first time? So that if the engine is cold the first time the drain plug is removed it will be too tight?

In general I drain engines cold, intentionally. If there is crud in the oil I'd rather it have settled to the bottom than stir it up and spread all over the engine where I can't drain it out. On the bottom of the crankcase/transmission it will be closest to the drain plug and have relatively clean oil on top to wash it out

Also find on cold drains I generally have to use more oil to fill to the designated mark than with hot. This demonstrates I am getting more old oil out, which has to be better than leaving more in.

If using an extractor to suck oil out the dipstick of a Mercedes turbodiesel I find it works best for the oil to be warm to hot. Takes a lot longer to suck it out at 70°F.

 

[bruinFJRguy]

I'm further into the DIY camp all the time. Why spend $200 on something I can easily do for $40? Also, I doubt they would take as good of care of my bike as me.

If I don't know how to do something, I'll learn. But the 600 mi is pretty basic. I doubt most dealers do more than change the fluids and give it a look over.

 

[Fred W]

I wonder if in those cases where the threads got stuck to the drain plugs if maybe those engine were not fully up to temp? The thermal expansion of Aluminum alloy is greater than that of steel (around 12-13 microinches per degree F for aluminum vs. 6-8 for various steel alloys), so the engine being as warm as possible will loosen the drain plug a little bit.

So you think its possible Yamaha warmed the engine up somehow before putting the drain plug in the first time? So that if the engine is cold the first time the drain plug is removed it will be too tight?

No, that's not what I said. I think the most likely scenario is that Yamaha installs the drain plug into the dry threads of the drain pan and torques it to the (excessively tight) spec in the factory service manual of 31 ft-lb. When the drain plug is removed for the first time, in the course of trying to break the plug free, the steel plug galls on the alloy threads and pulls some, or all of the threads out.

By warming both parts, the tolerance between the two will loosen slightly (due to their different expansion coefficients) making it less likely you will rip the threads out of the pan. I would never re-torque a wet drain plug to 31 ft-lb. People that have attempted to have ended up stripping their pans while tightening the plug.

 

[bergmen]

I'm further into the DIY camp all the time. Why spend $200 on something I can easily do for $40? Also, I doubt they would take as good of care of my bike as me.
If I don't know how to do something, I'll learn. But the 600 mi is pretty basic. I doubt most dealers do more than change the fluids and give it a look over.

Well said. Those of us who do (and have done) our own maintenance and repairs weren't born with this capability, we acquired this knowledge along the way. Having a mechanical genius for a father certainly didn't hurt but that shouldn't keep anyone who wants to know from gaining the necessary expertise.

Dan

 

[gixxerjasen]

My grandfather, aunt and uncle could tear down and build cars left and right. My father was the apple that fell far from the tree and had zero interest in that. He was more into arts and stuff. I remember one time him showing me how to gap and change spark plugs in the car, but that was the extent of it. I can recognize the difference between Dali and Van Gogh though, so I have a little culture. But vehicle maintenance was never even a discussion, though he did keep up with his, just not himself. Not knowing that you actually HAD to do stuff may have been the reason for my first car throwing a rod. Not sure if I ever had the oil changed ever.

That said, when I got my first bike, I bought a book on basic motorcycle maintenance. It was a fantastic book that I paid forward eventually, but it started off with easy stuff, doing your first oil change and worked up to checking valves and stuff. We all are aware that I've had challenges over time and have had to toss in the towel more than once and take it to a professional, but I try to do what I can, because each time I do something I learn a little more, even when things go **** up, there's learning there.

The learning continues this week as I finally delve head first into the voodoo black magic of carbs. I'm an IT guy so being able to hook your bike up to a computer and tune it makes sense, but these tubes and jets and needles are baffling. No place better to start I suppose than annoying pain in the rear tiny carbs, right?

So my garage has looked like this all week long.

Previous owner said he didn't know about carbs but it probably needed to be cleaned. To be truthful, he didn't know about carbs because he'd been jacking with the screws instead of troubleshooting properly. If he'd noticed the dry rotted cracked fuel line, that might have told him why it was running like crap. Fuel line replaced, I opened the air box and the filter fell out in a million pieces. Replaced that, got the carb dialed in and braap braap, kiddo took his first motoryccle ride today. Huge grins all around and filters and fuel lines are simple, easy and cheap. Glad I didn't take it to a dealer and decided to give it a go on my own.

My advice is to get out a wrench and see what you can do. It's often amazing at what you sometimes find when working on them. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes I use all my words and throw a tool or two (the cheap ones) but it's kind of gratifying when it all works out in the end.

 

[grumpypoo]

I personally would do it myself.

Look at it this way man. If I myself a 22 year old man can rebuild a transmission inside a garage and hopefully not have messed it up. I think you can handle each and every service. Buy a service manual take your time and enjoy cussing a lot at the bike. You'll never feel like one with the bike until you have half the damn engine on one side of your garage. Never ever trust a dealership. I learnt my lesson the hard way.

 

[Bounce]

I did mine myself. Just make sure and actually do it (not skipping steps like some shops do) and document it in your service folder.

Oil, filer, rear pumpkin, check fasteners, steering head bearing (it can settle in once it's been ridden), check hydraulic fluids and the connections, etc.

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/fjr-maintenance.xls