First maintenance -$540???

[Vlad]

It's time for my first maintenance so I was on the phone with my dealer and they told me $540! I was stunned! Is it normal to be in that range? Can I do it myself? I consider myself able to do stuff, e.g. I was changing the oil myself for years. But this is brand new bike... so I am not sure what is the right thing to do...

 

[maxweljames]

I was told to expect 3-4 hours labor on top of the normal servicing fees when I had my 600 mile check completed. Because it's so difficult to take apart for that clearance check and put back together they were just charging people hourly rates for any time over and above a normal service. However I never saw the bill because the dealer picked up the first service as a part of my purchase agreement. So depending on the labor rates at your local shop, I could totally see a bill running into the $500's.

 

[Vlad]

Hi Vintagebob,
i was planning to go to East bay Motorcycle in Hayward, just because I bought it there. What do you think about Hollister Honda?
The other option that i was thinking was to change the oil myslef tomorrow, so I ca travel on the weekend and when I am back to take the bike to a dealer to inspect it.
On the other hand I have the service manual, I have good tools and some experience with other bikes and cars. I still fell a bit nervous to deal with the engine of a brand new bike.

 

[Phil Tarman]

In Denver I've been paying around $250-$300 for a complete 8K service. They've gotten faster in undressing and replacing the plastic.

Seems like Honda ought to have a flat rate service time ( "X" number of hours for the procedures times the hourly service rate).

 

[vzshadow]

I didn't pay anywhere near that, perhaps half. Heck for the 8000 mile service I paid a little over $600, but that included the purchase and installation price of two Michelin PR2 tires.

 

[Vlad]

I didn't pay anywhere near that, perhaps half. Heck for the 8000 mile service I paid a little over $600, but that included the purchase and installation price of two Michelin PR2 tires.

Right, it's just funny... that you can actually buy tires (or even another motorcycle) for the money that they want. And the guy was explaining what they will do, and except the valves and the oil/filter change the other stuff that I got was mostly "visual inspection"

 

[RedLdr1]

Vlad,

I was just under $400 for my 600 mile service...

 

[Laserdot]

Vlad, you might want to call Hollister Honda and see what their quote is. They are usually reasonable and as VintageBob said, they do a lot of NT work there. I had my 800 mi service done there and I think it was around $450. To me it was worth it to get the break-in fluids changed and the valves checked and adjusted. I have chosen to do the 8K services myself, which you can do pretty confidently with the help and resources found here.

Good Luck!

 

[charlie b]

You do have a choice of doing it yourself or having the dealer do it.

My 600 and 8000mi services both cost a bit over $400. Why did I have them do it? Cause I don't have the time.

I will change my own oil but valves will wait til I have the time. And I'll not have valves adjusted again until I think they need it. And yes, John is correct, you can hear the valve noise when they get too much clearance.

 

[Herb]

I would and have, forget valve adjustment, do visual and feel check if items shown in service manual and of course do oil and filter (WalMart 10-40W and their 6607 Filter works), at least check rear end oil level and ride. Cold Tire pressure. Tight valve you can tell by way it runs, loose you can hear. No thanks.

This is what I did. I eventually got around to checking values when I had the time to use the excellent pictures and advice from this forum. Saves a lot of money. I enjoy it.

 

[Lorien]

The shop I use wanted $400+ just for the valve check. By the manual it is a 4 hour job so with shop rates around $90-100 an hour there you are. I now have 18k and my valve check has consisted of listening real hard every morning on cold start and after warm up. The Deauville folks have suggested as much as 25k before checking so I thought I would give it a go. After all Honda does makes single overhead cam lawnmowers and I'll bet no one is checking them very often. Does pay very nicely for the new tires you will need sometime after 6k.

Lorien
ST13,ST11,Concours1000,Ace ShadowTourer,PacificCoast,Yamaha Vison550,250 Exciter,CB125 Scrambler, 305 Superhawk, S90 for the record.

 

[hondaaddict]

That's dealership hogwash. I'm not even a mechanic, and after reading a few thread on this forum, I went into my gargage and started tearing the bike down slowly. I got to the valves in way less than one hour. I put everything back together much faster. If I try to rush as fast as I can, I bet I can get to the valves in 15 minutes. A professional mechanic ought to be alot faster than me. I have a friend who is an auto mechanic, and he told me his dealership overcharges people all the time. Apparently that's the industry norm. Before the recession, he was making $100k as a GM mechanic. Because he finishes the work in much less time than the book rate, and he worked hard.

I was told to expect 3-4 hours labor on top of the normal servicing fees when I had my 600 mile check completed. Because it's so difficult to take apart for that clearance check and put back together they were just charging people hourly rates for any time over and above a normal service.

 

[Neil-OKC]

The dealer i bought mine from actually said they didn't reccomend doing that valve check at 600 miles unless you have obvious signs of a problem, ie hard to start, noise what not. They said most times it is just the dealer wanting to soak up more money from you. Have to admit I was rather surprised that a dealership would come right out and say these things but this guy has been in business for over 30 years and is so respected in the area that it is really hard to find any really bad comments about them.

 

[maxweljames]

If I try to rush as fast as I can, I bet I can get to the valves in 15 minutes. A professional mechanic ought to be alot faster than me. I have a friend who is an auto mechanic, and he told me his dealership overcharges people all the time.

A true professional would never rush through a job.

 

[ken]

The dealer i bought mine from actually said they didn't recommend doing that valve check at 600 miles unless you have obvious signs of a problem,

I was told the same by the owner of the shop where I bought mine, although he said they would do it if I insisted. He quoted $117.00 for the 600 mile check up (primarily oil, filter and basic adjustments), and $324 which added new air cleaner, spark plugs and valve adjustment. Labor was $240. I'm waiting until I'm ready to add electrical accessories, and then I'll check the valves.
Ken

 

[Bear]

I got a service contract, so the 600mi service done at 800mi was paid for. I do my own oil and filter changes. I use the Honda Synthetic Oil ad the K&N filter. The filter comes off easily with a ratcheting 17mm box wrench. I safety wire both the filter and the oil drain plug.

 

[Vlad]

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys! Very helpful!
I asked the dealer about a quote with no valve check - just the oil change and they told me 150 in labor and about 40 in parts (oil and filter I guess) - about $200 total. I won't travel during the weekend anyways anyways (I was planning to go to Tahoe) but my wife told me that the blue angels will be here so we'll go to San Francisco instead - so no rush for the first maintenance today.

 

[Bear]

Vlad,
You can save a ton of money doing your own oil and filter changes. You can get one of those flat oil catchers that will fit under the bike--available at most auto accessory stores. Changing the oil and filter with one of those is easy. When it is full, you can take it to a service station and dump it. My oil changes cost me $33.00 for Honda Synthetic (3 Quarts) and $15.00 for the filter--a far cry from what the dealer calls for. I forgot, you will also need a funnel.

 

[Vlad]

Thanks! This is what I'll do. I have a bottle of Mobil1 Racing 4T 10W40 left from previous oil changes and I am planning to use it (unless somebody thinks otherwise), I've ordered KN-204 from amazon and it will be here tomorrow, I'll borrow an oil pan from a friend and he has a oil disposal container also. The only problem is that I was not able to find in the service manual the size of the washer for the bolt that should be replaced (any ideas about that?). And thanks a lot for the reminder for the funnel - I always forget about that and my wife will be unhappy with the solution

The other thing is the warranty - I am not obliged to to the maintenance in a deanship, am I? If I do everything the way it should be and document it myself in the book the bike warranty will be still valid, right?

 

[Chuck 500]

You are right, getting a funnel from the kitchen would not be the "school solution". Ha ha.

Self maintance should not affect the warranty but document the work.

Make sure you get the correct filter. The NT one is short. If you put one in that is too long, the center stand will cut the filter. There is a You Tube video which illustrates this and several posts and threads here discussing it.

Keep the shiny side up,

Chuck