24,000 Mile Service

Joined
Jan 5, 2011
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283
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Richmond, VA
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2012 Kawasaki Concours 14
I dropped the NT off for the 24,000 mile service today, which is one of the more comprehensive service marks. The coolant fluid will be changed, along with the air filter and spark plugs, valves adjusted, etc. At this point, I have had the following services performed by Honda: 600 mile break-in service, 4,000 mile oil change, 8,000 mile service, 12,000 mile oil change, 16,000 mile service, 20,000 mile oil change, 24,000 mile service and two sets of tires installed. Boy, am I ever glad that I bought the 3 year service plan offered by my dealer!! I paid around $600 for the plan and have paid $0 for all the services listed above and I still have 16 months of services left to use! (I did have to pay for the tires, but not the installation). If I had paid for the above services, I would guess that I would be out of pocket about $2200 or so at this point, and probably $3500 or so by the time the service plan expires (again not including the cost of tires).
I'll be out of town for a week for a work trip to Vegas, so the timing for this service worked out perfectly. I've never been to Vegas and I am in absolute agony over the fact that I am being forced to go there, haha.

Happy Riding,
 

Phil Tarman

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Man, I wish my dealer had offered a service plan like that. I'm almost at 50,000 miles and have till the end of March for my 3 year mark. I could have saved a big wad of money! After I retire, I'm going to let Chuck Henderson teach me how to do the valve adjust and start saving some money.
 

Rob

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Aug 15, 2011
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562
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Portsmouth, NH
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2010 Silver NT700V
My Triumph dealer offered me unlimited scheduled maintenance for 3 years for $800 so I snatched that right up. The 600 mile service which does not check the valves was like $300. The 10k valve check ones I suspect will run $500 or more as it's about 4 hours labor and the dealer charges $100/hr.

I think it's great that dealers offer their own packages like that. Can save some people a lot of money.
 
Joined
Jan 6, 2011
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Aurora, Colorado
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19 Versys 1K SE, 14 FJR
Dealers can get away with that and make money because the majority of folks don't put but about 2 to 5000 miles on a bike, Max, in a year. Of course one would think that when dealing with a Sport Touring or Touring type bike/rider, the mileage will be more than that. Then of course, what short cuts are taken during the dealer service? Dealers will not loose money or they won't stay in business very long. The point of my post is that if you buy a service contract, be able to verify that ALL the service has been done. Be Trustful but be able to Verify.
 

Phil Tarman

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Jerry, about tires: the OEMs aren't anything particularly good. My rear was close to worn out at 6,000 miles and I was leaving on a 4,000 mile trip and didn't want to mess with them on the road. The front might have lasted that long, but the replacement BT-023s were much better handling and some better wearing. After them, I went to Metzler ME-880s (radial front, bias-ply rear in a 160/70X17). They lasted about 12,000 miles, but didn't handle that great.

Now I've got a 13,000 mile PR3 front that looks like it'll last another 3-4K, and a 4,000 mile Dunlop RoadSmart 2. The rear PR3 got punctured and we couldn't get a patch to seal it while we were in Spearfish. There weren't any PR3s up there and the RoadSmart seems like it's a comparable tire.

As for valve adjustments, I'm guessing you won't have any problems without doing them every 8K. My impressions from the UK Deauville-Owners Forum is that many riders go forever (or nearly so!) without checking them after the first couple of checks.
 

Warren

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Dec 13, 2010
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O'Fallon, MO
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2019 Yamaha XMAX
My dealer did not offer a service agreement for my NT. When I asked he said it was not available. Maybe it was for the reason Chuck mentions. When I picked up my NT after the 600 mile service the man in front of me was asking questions about his service agreement so apparently they did offer them at one time or just for certain models.
 

Phil Tarman

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Jerry, how many times had you applied for the IBR before getting chosen? Did you get in as a Hopeless Class entry?

Bob Higdon and I have gotten to be friends and he loves the NT. I've wondered if that friendship and my advanced age (I'll be 72 when the '15 Rally rolls around might help me get in. I'm not above pullling strings. But before I even apply I need to do some real rallies. After my Epic Post-Retirement Ride next summer, getting into some rallies and seeing if I can make the decisions that give me a chance will have something to do with whether I even apply.

When I did the "First-Ever IBA-Certified Ride in the Whole Western Hemisphere" on my NT on April 30-May 1, 2010, I sent in my paperwork and thought I'd emphasized that it was a first for an NT700V in the US, but what the ride auditors noticed was that I was 68. I didn't think that was the point!
 

Phil Tarman

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Are you attending the 2013 "IBA Pizza Party" held every year in Jacksonville, FL during Daytona Bikeweek, or are you snowed in that time of year?
Jerry, I won't be there this year, but maybe next year. I'm a United Methodist minister (if you hadn't figured that out) and I'll have used all my vacation time by then. But I'm turning 70 in February and retiring in June. So lots of things will be possible for me after that.
 

Phil Tarman

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Wouldn't work, Bob. It's not just a ride, it's a rally. Nobody but the fewer-than-a-hundred riders chosen out of the several thousand who apply (by sending in a hefty [I'm thinking it's $1800]entry fee) get the rally packs which have the destination and the bonus listings, or the IBR id tags or the IBR towels.

Nobody rides the Iron Butt Rally just to ride along. :-(

It's about 11,000 miles in 11 days, and takes a financial commitment beyond the entry fee. Most folks figure about $10,000 by the time you get your bike to the start, ride the rally, and then get back home.
 

MrSinator

Guest
I bought mine with about 700-some miles on it. I had the valves checked at about 1200 miles and then again at 8k. A the 8k service, the front jug intake valves were .01 out so we left them as they were, one of the rear exhaust valves was out .02 so no big deal. I'm at 22k miles now and I'm considering taking it in just to make sure but I've not experienced any symptoms of out-of-spec valves and I ride this bike hard. Starts fine, idles smooth and perfect at about 1200 RPM's, the same as it always has. On my 2008 Suzuki Boulevard C50, I had them done at break-in and never touched them until it started smoking a little at start-up and running rough at 28k miles so I'm not overly concerned about the NT since she purrs so well.
 
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Dec 18, 2010
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402
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Z'ha'dum
Or you can try my version of maintenance and not touch the valves ever. Now at 30k and no problems. Think it is time to get a air filter and change the plugs which I will do soon. Still 50mpg.
 

gr8bond007

Guest
My dealer did not offer me the service agreement when I obtained my bike and I paid out the nose for the first 5 months...the dealership had three locations and for my 12,000 mile service went to a different location than my purchase...the service manager asked my why I wasn't on a service plan and showed me that I had almost paid for half of the three year plan. He took me to the business office and found that I could sign up if my purchase was under six months. My 12,000 mile service forward was under that plan. As long as I put at least 10,000 a year on my bike it will more than pay for itself. I purchase my bike on 03/31/12 and have 16,525...so it should more than pay for itself.
 
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oregon
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MR Sinator,

If I had been in your situation an at the dealership I would have insisted that they adjust them to the center of the spec, You have already paid for them to go into tha area and only about te -15 minuts at the most for any qualified deler tec to make the adjustment once he has the top end opened up to check the adjustment. It is a simple screw and lock nut adjustment nd insertinig a feeler gauge under both of the valves when re-setting them.

I am usuraly at the dealership when mine is being serviced and observing what is going on. My tech knows my feelings about this as does the service manager . Granted I have a very good dealer / shop relationship and am allowed in the service bays when work is being done. I could do this stuff myself, but I have bad eyes and bad back and arthuritis in my hands, so I rarely get into the maint end of things any more. When I say my tech, he is not the only tech in the shop, butt he is the one who does 995% of the work on my bikes and has the most NT experience.

Eldon
 
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