4000 mile service

[AncientAndy]

I have just looked at my Service Schedule and realised that the Varadero 4000 mile service doesn't include an oil change. In fact, there appears to be just an inspect/adjust on the clutch, brake fluid and pads. Bearing in mind most of my miles are motorway, long days, I fully expect very little in the way of adjustment, let alone replacement. I expect the bike to hit the 4000 mile at 3 months old, so there will be no brake fluid deterioration.

Soooo, those of you that have had it, what did the 4000 mile service cost you?

I can't help feel that brake pad levels and clutch adjustment should be left to the riders discretion, after all clutch plates and pads are not covered by the warranty. Making this service mandatory to comply with the warranty smells of a con!

[Monsieur]

My old dad always used to say that if you don't do anything to a car make sure that you change the oil every 6 months - I now make sure I do and also change my varadero oil every 3/4000 miles

[AncientAndy]

Originally Posted by Monsieur

My old dad always used to say that if you don't do anything to a car make sure that you change the oil every 6 months - I now make sure I do and also change my varadero oil every 3/4000 miles

Oils have definitely got better over the years, but oil filters are pretty much the same and that is where the whole huge service interval thing falls down. Of course we could argue that improved engineering results in less contamination of the oil and filter..... well, yeah, sort of, not really.


My old Dad, would probably agree with your Dad!

If Honda required a 4000 mile oil and filter change, I would be more than happy to comply, but I think I am going to get a bill for very little benefit.

[jasonbc]

Originally Posted by AncientAndy

I have just looked at my Service Schedule and realised that the Varadero 4000 mile service doesn't include an oil change. In fact, there appears to be just an inspect/adjust on the clutch, brake fluid and pads. Bearing in mind most of my miles are motorway, long days, I fully expect very little in the way of adjustment, let alone replacement. I expect the bike to hit the 4000 mile at 3 months old, so there will be no brake fluid deterioration.

Soooo, those of you that have had it, what did the 4000 mile service cost you?

I can't help feel that brake pad levels and clutch adjustment should be left to the riders discretion, after all clutch plates and pads are not covered by the warranty. Making this service mandatory to comply with the warranty smells of a con!

Don't know if this will help you i never had a 400 service as it had been done when i bought the bike, but i did have the major service done at 16000 and that cost me £240 but they did say that it would have been about a £100 more if the valves required adjusting. But the dealer i used and several other dealer's i spoke to have said the same thing that most of the jap bikes, the valves never need adjusting so don't fret too much over the 4000 service price

[Dee Duble Yuh]

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.

[jimmysimpson1]

Why don't you change the oil yourself anyway ? It takes very little time and you don't have to remove any bodywork to get the filter off. Fresh good oil keeps wear at a minimum so less likely to need expensive adjustments. I change mine at 4000 mile intervals as a matter of course.

[AncientAndy]

Originally Posted by jimmysimpson1

Why don't you change the oil yourself anyway ? It takes very little time and you don't have to remove any bodywork to get the filter off. Fresh good oil keeps wear at a minimum so less likely to need expensive adjustments. I change mine at 4000 mile intervals as a matter of course.

I will be changing it whenever I feel the need, dependent on my usage, that way I know it has been done correctly, now and again.

This thread was more about ascertaining the price of the 4000 and whether others felt it a "rip-off" service.

[Austin]

Do it yourself The Vara is easy enough to work on and in reality there is little to check at 4K that you shouldn't really be looking at more or less continually anyway. I replaced my air filter with a K&N at 12K and now plan to only really change the oil & filter every 8k along with routinely keeping on top of things like lubing pivots, linkages, cables etc. Oh and the plugs every 32K - fantastic isn't it.

My TA has survived to 66K with this routine and is still going strong and it lives a much harder life than my Vara ever will.

[Snaphappy]

The 4000 is the Honda Warranty umbrella
If you miss it and something goes wrong they have a back door, whether or not it's true I'm with you and think its a rip off just as having to pay for the first low mileage service and check

[Dee Duble Yuh]

Yes, I should have mentioned in my previous reply that I used the main dealer while the bike was still under warranty. You might save a little money taking it elsewhere or doing it yourself, but you run the risk of having to pay for major bills if you can't prove it's been maintained properly.