20K service - decided to do it myself..

[mgillespie]

Obviously the Honda dealers are living in cuckoo-land with their labour rates and markups on parts, but I had hoped some local independents were be more realistic with their labour prices and markups. (£40/hour seems the norm round here with 20% markup on parts).

So anyway, decided to do it myself. There are a few bits and bobs that need doing in addition to the usual service.

1/ I need a chain (may as well do the sprockets too), as it's at maximum adjustment and starting to get slack with no more adjustment left.
2/ Back tyre needs changing too (TKC80).
3/ Oil/Filter, Clean out or replace air filter, replace plugs.

Is there anything else I should be replacing checking/adjusting? Does anyone sell "service kits"? with everything included?

Had a quick look on busters, but was lost when it came to selecting a chain/sprockets, with lots of X-rings O-Rings, gold (real gold?) and all sorts of other mumbo jumbo. Can anyone recommend a half-decent and well priced set?

I'm undecided if I want to stick with the TKC80, as I don't do alot of green laneing these days. The front is fine, do tyre types need to be changed in pairs? Could I change to another tread pattern on the back safely or do I need to swap out both?

[Mutley]

Hi, just browsing & come across this. Nothings too hard on Ats so just take your time & it's pretty straightforward. The main bit is keeping the replacement for the gearbox sprocket as a Honda one.(with the rubber bush). It'll help your final drive shaft no end. Though some people have had no problems, why push it?

On the tyres, I've just fitted some Metzeler Enduro Sahara 3's . They're doing really well on the rad and have plenty of grip for minor excursions. Just a suggestion. Have a look at them

Any probs & loads on here will help with advice

Cheers

[GSPD750]

Don't go too cheap on the chain. Go mid to high range. X ring premium is my choice. Gold is good but it's more for looks. Go with the OEM Honda front sprocket which is cushioned. Other's may say it does not matter much and have had no problems with the non-cushioned...but I feel the Honda engineers put it their for a reason.

Tires can be mis-matched. Not a problem for me. Not sure what your laws are over there when it comes to MOT inspection.

Don't clean out your air filter as you mentioned. At least not with compressed air. It just lodges the dirt in deeper. You can tap it against a block of wood for the big stuff but just replace it if it is old.

Replace front and back brake fluids and front fork fluids if no history
of it being done.

Inspect clutch cable for fraying where it comes out of the conduit on the r/h side by the cover.

Inspect the coolant. If it looks grungy...drain and replenish it.

Clean and lube choke plungers while your gas tank is off.

Inspect fuel pump contacts if you have the original. I see Wemoto sells contacts for this pump or just buy a Facet for preventative measures.

If your replaceing spark plugs then you should also check valves for proper adjustment.


I'm sure others will chime in here.

[jasonbc]

Obviously the Honda dealers are living in cuckoo-land with their labour rates and markups on parts, but I had hoped some local independents were be more realistic with their labour prices and markups. (£40/hour seems the norm round here with 20% markup on parts).

So anyway, decided to do it myself. There are a few bits and bobs that need doing in addition to the usual service.

1/ I need a chain (may as well do the sprockets too), as it's at maximum adjustment and starting to get slack with no more adjustment left.
2/ Back tyre needs changing too (TKC80).
3/ Oil/Filter, Clean out or replace air filter, replace plugs.

Is there anything else I should be replacing checking/adjusting? Does anyone sell "service kits"? with everything included?

Had a quick look on busters, but was lost when it came to selecting a chain/sprockets, with lots of X-rings O-Rings, gold (real gold?) and all sorts of other mumbo jumbo. Can anyone recommend a half-decent and well priced set?

I'm undecided if I want to stick with the TKC80, as I don't do alot of green laneing these days. The front is fine, do tyre types need to be changed in pairs? Could I change to another tread pattern on the back safely or do I need to swap out both?

Honda service schedule go in 4000mile intervals so the 20k service is only a small, minor service as the major service is 16k thats valves and carbs balanced. Chain and sprockets Try a DID or REgina set but Honda prices may not be that bad

[Shox Dr]

Just bought a D.I.D. 525XVM Gold chain and sprocket kit from DK motorcycles. 89quid plus P+P

[AlanH]

I'm undecided if I want to stick with the TKC80, as I don't do alot of green laneing these days. The front is fine, do tyre types need to be changed in pairs? Could I change to another tread pattern on the back safely or do I need to swap out both?

Don't run a TKC80 on the front and a more road biased tyre on the rear on the road. The difference in grip is significant and you don't want the front to be the wheel with the least grip. Either put another TKC on the back or change both and sell the part work TKC front.

[mgillespie]

Looking at the prices of the proper honda parts, I can get a complete kit of proper Honda bits (which I assume includes the rubber bushed front sprocket) for £95.

David Silver Spares - PARTS

Does this sound like the best course of action? How do non Honda sets compare to the real deal? Are they better, is it worth paying the extra?

Cheers.

[jarl]

I'm doing something similar to you, but with my TA. Spent about £200 tonight and it's not over yet!

David silvers actually works out significantly more expensive as £95 doesn't include VAT or delivery. Also, with the honda set, you don't know if you're getting an RK or a DID chain; the RK is apparently poorer than the DID chain, so I bought a set that guaranteed I'd get the DID.
Chain and sprockets were courtesy of D&K, here for a 750 AT. Confusingly, their shop is called 'DK Motorcycle Spares', they are 'twowheelspares'. The important thing here is that you get the heavy duty X ring chain, not the standard version or even an O ring chain that some try to pawn you off with. Remember to buy a genuine sprocket from DS (phone them up) and then sell the one you get in the set on ebay. Busters on ebay have the sets slightly cheaper (£9 for the TA), but they don't specify the chain as heavy duty, so I avoided them.

Plugs: Use the NGK website to work out your part number (here) then search for the part number. Complete set of plugs for the tranny at £10.20 this way rather than £15. The consensus seems to be that iridium is good if you don't want to change the plugs for 80,000 miles. This isn't really a problem with the TA, I can't imagine it's tricky enough changing plugs on an AT to justify over double the cost either

Air filter, I went for pipercross as they seem to get good reviews and I like the fact that you can re-use them forever. This ran me £43 on ebay.

I went for a cheap hiflo oil filter, I figured even a cheap filter should outlast regular oil changes, and it makes it a lot easier to replace the filter every time if it only cost £5

Don't forget about your brake lines- if you're still on the original rubber ones, then it's probably time for a change to braided hoses. I'm in the process of trying to source these on the cheap; the best I've found is here, a shop called wezmoto. They're a bit cheaper for the TA though. I may be able to source something cheaper; watch this space. Either way, also check your master cylinder seals, mine are deteriorating (many thanks to AlanH for pointing that out before I knackered my master cylinder!), so I have a rebuild kit on order (£20). It's also worth doing a brake fluid flush through, I picked up a single man bleed kit from halfords for £7 the other day, I suspect this was pot luck with my branch though rather thana nationwide thing because I've never noticed this in my home branch. A small bottle of fluid is about a fiver from halfords.

Check your fuel hoses, coolant hoses and vacuum hoses for cracking. Replace if not in good condition. Also check spoke tensions. Tighten any obviously loose ones (6mm spanner or mole grips works for the TA), anything more complex than that is probably best left to a proper wheel builder.

Carb sync/valves are good things to do if you don't know when they were last done, as is fork oil. Check your wheel bearings, too, and if you're still on the original battery (Congrats? ) then check electrolyte levels. Otherwise just clean up the connections in preparation for the winter.

Give all exposed bits a quick spray of ACF 50 to keep corrosion at bay over the winter. Paint it onto your spokes, else it'll get on your discs (bad!). It is possible to spray onto your rims, but I painted it on as well because I can be a bit of a clutz . Make sure to wipe off any excess, or it'll get flung out by centrifugal force (centripetal, whatever... ) and end up on your tyre.

As has been said, I wouldn't have a TKC on the front and something else on the back. If you're going for mainly road work the general consensus seems to be anakee's or tourances, and though some people really like distanzia's, some hate them. Expensive mistake if you find yourself in the second category! Course, that's assuming they make these tyres in AT sizes.


Sorry for the essay, think that's covered everything I've learnt recently?

[doglegdon]

On the tyres, I've just fitted some Metzeler Enduro Sahara 3's . They're doing really well on the rad and have plenty of grip for minor excursions. Just a suggestion. Have a look at them

On the tyre side:-
Had two sets myself, great grip on & off road, but on cement road and off road-hard packed coral(you probably don't have either tho), 'longevity' is a word you can forget. Last set lasted me only 1500kms, changed to Tourances for mainly road and a little off, not regretted it, 6500kms so far and about 1/2 gone. Ratio front to rear is about 1:2 wear, for both types I've found so far.
Have Pirelli Scorpions on the Katie, only ones available and they are on 6500kms, at 1/2 way too.
On the chain side:-
I don't normally change the chain without doing the sprockets too, but up to you.
On the servicing side:-
I just do everything the Haynes manual suggests and anything else I have niggles with at the time, eg this service my 40K, the rectifier was giving grief and the nautilus horn relay eventually corroded itself into silence.
Next time home, will be balancing the carbs, with help from a 'friendly' mechanic.
Just my thruppence anyway.

[trophydave]

Don't forget about your brake lines- if you're still on the original rubber ones, then it's probably time for a change to braided hoses. I'm in the process of trying to source these on the cheap; the best I've found is here, a shop called wezmoto.

If you are changing your brake lines I think that it is worth paying extra to get stainless fittings rather than the zinc plated ones.