4000 mile service

[africajim]

I know of all the old ideas on oil, but my Vauhall van has a service limit of 20,000 miles! At around 15,000 it gets a bit tappety and a bit lazy in starting in the morning but after the service it's perfect again! most of our fleet are round the clock and suffer no ill effects from the 20,000 mile services. This proves technology has moved on.
I'm not advocating this for bikes, the engines work harder and at higher revs, (although I'm not sure about that, our vans are driven like we stole em!) I would say a filter and oil, which is a simple enough job as Jimmy says, 20 mins, every 4000 means nice clean oil with good flow, bound to be good for the engine.

[Austin]

I would say a filter and oil, which is a simple enough job as Jimmy says, 20 mins, every 4000 means nice clean oil with good flow, bound to be good for the engine.

.....and absolutely ****e for the environment and your wallet. If honda thought the oil needed changing every 4K they would say so.

I think you are right about keeping on top of the oil and filter but I have always stuck to the recommended intervals on all my vehicles and never yet had a problem related to engine or gearbox wear - except 2strokes.

[africajim]

£20 for oil and a filter, how much a cam or perhaps a crank?

My £20, my choice. I'll have oil and a filter thank you, and spend a well earned 20 mins dropping the bash plate, filter and drain plug.

As usual, only my opinion, as is all the posts I place in here. I'm not telling people what they should do, only what I would do. Perhaps a disclaimer instead of a signature's what I need?

[saitek]

[QUOTE=africajim;367296]

As usual, only my opinion, as is all the posts I place in here. I'm not telling people what they should do, only what I would do. QUOTE]

Stop telling people what you'd do. It might encourage them to do the right thing and get them all agitated!

[AncientAndy]

£20 for oil and a filter, how much a cam or perhaps a crank?

My £20, my choice. I'll have oil and a filter thank you, and spend a well earned 20 mins dropping the bash plate, filter and drain plug.

As usual, only my opinion, as is all the posts I place in here. I'm not telling people what they should do, only what I would do. Perhaps a disclaimer instead of a signature's what I need?

Jim,

What you and others do..... and think is what XRV is all about.

No need for a disclaimer.

Andy

[Darkenbad]

Too long ago for me to remember exactly, but it was relatively cheap. The 16,000 came as a bit of a shock when paying main dealer prices. I now use a well-respected back-street guy (Dick Jones in Cardiff) and even the "big" services are quite modestly priced.

Dave,
I used Dick Jones years when I had a 1200 Triumph, first class mechanic. I did all the @ servicing myself, I had that bike for 7 years so have lost touch with Dick, amazed he is still around.

Would you give me his number, I'll get him to service the Vara.

Regards

PK

[Dee Duble Yuh]

Details:
Dick Jones Cardiff

[twotter]

I remember having a chat about service intervals and oil with the local Honda dealer (then the Suzuki dealer and the Yamaha dealer just to be fair) when I was looking to replace my old R1150GS last year.

The GS has 6000 mile intervals using bog standard oil from the local petrol station. Why then did all three dealers insist that 4000 mile intervals were necessary on their products? Honda chap just smiled, the Suzuki chap changed the subject and the Yamaha chap dribbled on about oil quality these days not being advanced enough to last 6000 miles.

Bearing in mind I put 60k miles on the GS and self serviced every 6k for most of those miles they were talking a load of old pony methinks - though I'm sticking with the Honda service intervals anyway

[StumpyFingers]

I remember having a chat about service intervals and oil with the local Honda dealer (then the Suzuki dealer and the Yamaha dealer just to be fair) when I was looking to replace my old R1150GS last year.

The GS has 6000 mile intervals using bog standard oil from the local petrol station. Why then did all three dealers insist that 4000 mile intervals were necessary on their products? Honda chap just smiled, the Suzuki chap changed the subject and the Yamaha chap dribbled on about oil quality these days not being advanced enough to last 6000 miles.

Bearing in mind I put 60k miles on the GS and self serviced every 6k for most of those miles they were talking a load of old pony methinks - though I'm sticking with the Honda service intervals anyway

They just want your money.
The 4000 mile service is nothing more than checking the levels and cables are free, basically if you check your bike every week before you ride, it does not need a 4000 service.
It was put in place for those who do very few miles a year and never touch the mechanicals. The oil gets changed every 8000 on a Transalp so must be similar for the Vara.

[yellowpurple]

I work in the service department of car dealer & I have come to the conclusion that if nothing else, regular oil changes are an essential part of increasing the service life of any vehicle. VW group introduced long life servicing a few years back, meaning some engines would go without an oil change for more than 30000 miles! Bear in mind, the products had 60000 mile warranties, by the time the engines seized the warranty had expired! Therefore, the owner paid up for the repair. I think extended oil change intervals are a product of the marketing men winning the argument over the engineers to sell more product. And of course more parts when the engines did expire prematurely. I accept that oil technology has come a long way in the last 10 years & you can call me a cynic if you like, but I would rather err on the side of caution & change the oil on my bike earlier than the recommended interval.