Bike Maintainence

[elusive]

Hi Guys

Being new to bike ownership and wanting to keep the maintainence up on my bike i was just wondering how often your bikes get maintained and what you guys do. eg. oil change etc.

a maintainence guide would be appreciated (for both road and trail bikes).

Thanks

[Revhead]

I oil my chain about every 200-400km. The book says I only need to do it every 1000km, but the extra flyoff is worth getting more life out of the chain (I got 35,000km out of my factory one).

I change the oil every 5,000km, and have the valve clearances checked/adjusted every 25,000km. The valves are as per logbook specs, the oil changes are a little more frequent (7,500 is recommended). I'm ultra pedantic about servicing though, particularly on the bike.

Trail bikes are much the same, just a lot more frequent due to the amount of crap they get covered in, and the fact that they're nearly always getting the ring caned out of them. Eg lube your chain before you go out for a play, then when you get back, clean it properly, then lube it again.

Not sure what you mean about a maintenance guide - how to lube the chain? How to change oil, or remove fairings? Internal engine work? Clutches? Or something else?

[elusive]

Thanks for that Revhead, exactly what i wanted to know. By maintaninece guide i ment services etc.

[rexxxy]

elusive, if i could recommend one thing to buy for your bike it would be a race stand. You will never oil your chain at the correct intervals if its a pain in the arse, so get a race stand and do it the easy way.

Send your bike to an authorised repairer / dealer for servicing. Its costs more, but they do it properly.

[Chris Rogers]

agree with rexxy.

the only way to oil a chain is with one of these stands.

[Robbo]

speaking of chain lube can anyone reccomend a cheap and good wax based one with little sling-off ? for a O-ring chains?

[Revhead]

Can't remember the brand of mine but it's in a brownish container with "CHAIN WAX" printed in black lettering. As I said above, I get a bit of fly-off, but that's because I overwax my chain.

I have trouble with a normal paddock stand - the Blade has uneven-height swingarm, which means the bike sits on an angle. Not too much of a drama, but enough to make me nervous about it. I usually just get someone else to spray while I hold the bike up on the side stand (it's really meaty, esp compared to my brother's spindly R6 stand).

[Slain]

i chain lube every month, change plugs and oil every 3000kms, check steering damper every week, clean tank and tap every 3000kms, check brake pads every 3000km.

[rexxxy]

I use Motul lube, I find it great, dosent fly off and the nozzle on the can dosent get clogged up like other brands (Belray).