1250 24k service

First topic message reminder :

Can anyone who has had or knows whats involved in a 24k service let me know whats involved , I have been quoted $750 for a 24k service on my 1250fa , seems a little steep to me , I know they check the valve clearance but what else ?

The K&N price sound about right for both sellers. You might get it cheaper online if you look around. A couple of bucks between sellers is nothing to worry about IMO.

$100 for a gen Suzuki one tho is BS, $40 sounds about right from memory.

With what you've found concerning prices, I'd be wanting to steer clear of this joint, he's either after some coin cause he's greedy or not doing so well, or he doesn't know shit from clay. That my opinion of course and YMMV

BG, I've got a K&N Air Filter for a 2004 which I realise I no longer need. Can sell it for the price I paid which is $71. Will even deliver it if I'm riding in the area, which I often do up that way.

B G, there's a fair few alarm bells going off with this fella. Avoid him like the plague. Dickhead or crook or both.



My sincere advice, as before in this forum, is to get yourself a haynes manual and do your own work. It sets out service interval and service items, level of dificulty of the job - replacing air filter = easy; syncing throttle boddies = little more involved; removing crankshaft = extremely difficult, etc. Anything not in the book or worded confusingly just ask on the forum.

If you don't have any tools then spend a couple of hundred on some good screwdrivers, metric sockets, metric spanners, and T handle allen keys.

The money you will save on the first service will be enough to take the wife to a swish resort for a night. Big points there.

Some or most workshops are charging $80 - $90 an hour so be careful. I't not hard to do most of the work yourself, you just need the tools and a good workshop manual. I've done all my rebuilds on cars,bikes mowers,anything mechanical myself. Some of these guys have got the piece of paper to say that they're qualified but make a mess of things and you end up refixing yourself. Not saying all are like that but some are.

thanks for the input guys , ok so I've decided to go ahead and do this service myself I headed over to brisbane motorcycles in caboolture this morning and picked up a OEM air filter a set of ngk spark plugs and 1L of shell antifreeze coolant ,I already have the oil , repsol fully synthetic 10w40 4L and the Suzuki oil filter , I am not going to attempt to syncronise TB's or check valves or flush the brake fluid (I will get the shop to do these in the new year )I am just going to do the basics , the rear sprocket looks new , I can feel a bit of a tight spot in the chain on take off sometimes but there is no play on the back of the rear sprocket if you know what I mean

If there are parts I need that I havent mentioned let me know , thanks again

Is the 1ltr of coolant for top up ( to change it takes 3.250ltr premixed) if so make sure yours is compatible with whats in there already as some coolants don't mix ( you can use a little distilled water if it's only a small top up ). Ideally ask at where the bike was originally filled to see what they use , or maybe change & flush the system if your not sure .
I usually use a new sump plug washer as well , but not everyone does.
(Your chain may just need a good clean with kero , re-lube & adjust.)

Good on you for giving it a go , you'll have fun & it's also very satisfying when you do it yourself

yeah thanks for bringing that up , the coolant I have in the bike now is green and this shell stuff is red , I spent an hour looking for my magnifying glass so i could read the label on the back of it and i will have to make sure i flush it all out thoroughly , a guy at work said to me never ever mix different coloured coolant , yeah it says on the back mix 50/50 with demineralised water so i guess thats 2 litres so I going to need another 1L

sump plug crushable washer (throw out the old one), buy a pack of aluminium multi size ones from Supercheap for $4. might also pay to invest in a torque wrench if you don't have one.

ok great will do

Make sure the red coolant you have is suitable to the materials the cooling system is made of. Likely to be OK, but check before you use it as some of the red ones are not suitable.

Most of the green ones are suitable (I use nulon products) but still do a complete flush and clean (a general cooling system cleaner will be fine) before replacing it so there is less chance of mixing brands, types etc

maybe I should take this red shell coolant back and get something else , what is this Nulon stuff called ? I've been told Engine Ice works really well

I've been following this thread with interest and maybe this comment should be the start of a different thread... don't know... I'll let the mods decide.

Perhaps a list of "preferred" consumables (what is most common and recommended by those on the forum) would be a good guide for people like me.

Engine oil brand & grade (note according to the book they recommend 10W-40 but looking at the chart 20W-50 might be better for QLD
Engine oil filter (brand/ part number)
Fuel filter (brand/ part number)
Air filter: OEM and aftermarket (brand/ part numbers)
Coolant brand/ type
Plugs

Brake fluid (brand/ part number)
Brake pads (Brand/ type front/ rear)
Chain (Brand)

Fork Oil (brand/ part number)

Sprockets (front rear/ teeth)

Beer (brand/ quantity)

I know its a bit like Holden vs Ford as some people prefer Motul to Shell or whatever, but a "guide" would be helpful

I can't agree more about the "servicing it yourself" bit. I just had a look at the Service Manual and the only thing that is consistently replaced is the engine oil and filter. the rest is a check and inspect...

I do my cars myself and will do the bike once warranty is up but...my 6K service is coming up on the Bandit and I'm torn between doing it myself (basically check and inspect everything and change the oil - but not the filter!) or paying the $280 and getting it done so as not to void warranty.

I change oil & filter together, you actually don't have to and studies have shown oil only even for a number of changes will not harm the engine, but I figure you're there, you're messy and its around $20 for a K&N filter so why not?

well after nearly 4 hours i have managed to change the oil and filter , i spent an hour head scratching trying to gently remove the side fairings and then after a monumental two hour tussle with an oil filter I have done it , I'm not sure who looks more beaten up the old oil filter or me

I am all set to remove the fuel tank to change the air filter but then realised i filled up on the way home on friday and the tank is full so i might wait till its nearly empty and then do it ,

Time to crack a coldy and ponder my good work

Bandit Gazza wrote:well after nearly 4 hours i have managed to change the oil and filter , i spent an hour head scratching trying to gently remove the side fairings and then after a monumental two hour tussle with an oil filter I have done it , I'm not sure who looks more beaten up the old oil filter or me

I am all set to remove the fuel tank to change the air filter but then realised i filled up on the way home on friday and the tank is full so i might wait till its nearly empty and then do it ,

Time to crack a coldy and ponder my good work

You can buy a tool that fits on the end of the filter ( like a socket ) & you use a spanner on a nut fixed on the end of it to undo / tighten the filter next time .

I've decided not to use this shell coolant I've bought so if someone can recommend a quality coolant to put in I would appreciate it , cheers

the dealer who set my bike up also sells yamaha & used the yamaha one in it ................seems fine.
This is all the book states , so as long as it meets the requirements it should be ok ( best to flush if your not using the same one as before )

thanks paul , yeah going to flush i guess what I'm looking for is a compatible green coolant , this shell stuff is red you mix it 50/50 coolant water like the book says, there's green coolant in the bike at present and I've been told to absolutely make sure there is no trace of green coolant left in the system if changing to a red coolant or bad things can happen , now I'm not a mechanic but sounds to me like i should just stick with a green coolant

Sounds like a plan

paul wrote:Sounds like a plan

or maybe I should just forget about the green and red and go for the really good blue stuff

Just a quick note because I saw it mentioned on the other page; completing your own servicing will not "void the warranty". Keep your receipts and follow the service schedule and provided you are not the cause of a part failing, your warranty will be fine.

Of course, if you screw up and put a spark plug in your coolant bottle or something then it may not be honoured by the dealer.

Sloth_27 wrote:Just a quick note because I saw it mentioned on the other page; completing your own servicing will not "void the warranty". Keep your receipts and follow the service schedule and provided you are not the cause of a part failing, your warranty will be fine.

Of course, if you screw up and put a spark plug in your coolant bottle or something then it may not be honoured by the dealer.

Umm, are you sure about that? The last time I looked at a warranty for a vehicle the servicing and repairs had to be completed by a qualified mechanic otherwise you void the warranty.

Just had my new bike serviced at Christensen's Warragul - first service, new oil filter, oil, general check over - $160. Pretty reasonable I think.

b12mick wrote:

Sloth_27 wrote:Just a quick note because I saw it mentioned on the other page; completing your own servicing will not "void the warranty". Keep your receipts and follow the service schedule and provided you are not the cause of a part failing, your warranty will be fine.

Of course, if you screw up and put a spark plug in your coolant bottle or something then it may not be honoured by the dealer.

Umm, are you sure about that? The last time I looked at a warranty for a vehicle the servicing and repairs had to be completed by a qualified mechanic otherwise you void the warranty.

Home servicing -v- warranty has been discussed many times and I reckon it will continue to be for a long time.

If you service the bike by following the instructions given in the user manual, at the specified interval shown in the servicing schedule, use specified fluids, parts (I tend to use OEM during the warranty period, makes it easier to back up statements of proper servicing) , etc and keep receipts of those parts (I tend to staple them to the corresponding page after writing date and kms on the receipt) ) and mark your book appropriately with date and kms and a signiture then so long as you are not proven to be the one that made it break, the warranty should be honored.
I will point out that if your servicing schedule says 6000kms or 6 months, you should service the bike at the 6 month interval even if you've done 10kms in that time or the OEM has every reason to deny any claim you make (not saying they will, but they can) as you've not followed the servicing schedule.

In the end it is up to the owner whether to service at home,pay an dealer, pay a bike shop, pay a mechanic, etc to do the work for them. What ever gives you a warm and fuzzy about caring for your bike is what is important.
Sure, I'll encourage anybody who will listen to service their bike (or car) themselves, I've even offered to help out people in the past, but in the end it's up to them.
The argument about voiding warranty by doing it at home should not be the main driver in that decision tho IMHO.